Israeli military orders Palestinian civilians in Rafah to ‘evacuate immediately’

Israeli aircraft drop leaflets in eastern Rafah demanding residents to evacuate to Mawasi, located to the west of Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis

On Monday morning, Israel’s military issued a call for Palestinian civilians of eastern Rafah to “evacuate immediately,” ahead of a planned offensive in the area in the southern Gaza Strip, according to Israel’s state television KAN.

This directive follows a statement from the country’s defense minister to troops inside Gaza to expect “intense action in Rafah in the near future.”  

Israeli army spokesperson urges Palestinian residents and displaced persons in several areas east of Rafah to evacuate immediately toward the al Mawasi and Khan Younis areas.

In what appeared to be the beginning of a civilian evacuation ahead of a ground assault, however, the Israeli military called on Palestinians in eastern parts of Rafah to move to a nearby “humanitarian area.”

Avichay Adraee, head of the Arab media division of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, said, “For your safety, the Defense Army urges you to evacuate immediately to the expanded humanitarian area at the checkpoints.”

Adraee made “an urgent call” to people who were residing in “the municipality of Al-Shawka and in the neighborhoods – Al-Salam, Al-Jneina, Tiba Zaraa, and Al-Bayouk in the Rafah area.”

“The expansion of the humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi includes field hospitals, tents, large quantities of food, water, medicine, and other supplies,” he added.

“The army also allows collaboration with certain international organizations and other countries to expand the scope of humanitarian aid being delivered to the Gaza Strip,” he said, adding that “this process will proceed gradually based on ongoing assessments of the situation.”

“In this context, leaflets will be distributed, text messages and phone calls will be sent, and information is being broadcast through Arab media outlets. Army will continue working to achieve the objectives of the war, including dismantling Hamas and returning all Israeli hostages,” he added.

‘Israel army must enter Rafah, today’

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also supported the military offensive in Rafah, saying, “Israeli army must enter Rafah today”.

According to Army Radio, the decision to evacuate residents from eastern Rafah was taken late Sunday in cabinet session. It said that around 100,000 civilians believed to be present in the area set to be evacuated.

An IDF spokesperson said in a briefing Monday that it was a “limited scope operation to temporarily evacuate” and “not wide-scale evacuation.”

Israel has repeatedly signaled plans to send troops into Rafah, a southern city on the border with Egypt, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are believed to have taken refuge since Oct. 7.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant told troops Sunday morning inside the Gaza Strip to expect “intense action in Rafah in the near future, and in other places all over the Strip” because – as he put it – Hamas does not intend to reach an agreement on hostages and a ceasefire.

The fact that nearly 14,000 children were among the dead underscores the devastating impact of the violence on Gaza’s most vulnerable population.

 

The gravity of the situation has led to “genocide” accusations against Israel by the U.N. Security Council, reflecting the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

 

Recent developments have brought further horrors to light with the discovery of 392 bodies in mass graves in areas previously occupied by the Israeli army.

 

Despite all these developments, Israel’s attacks, which began on Oct. 7, continue and Israel is preparing for a ground operation against Rafah, a city of 1.4 million civilians.

 

Source: Newsroom