The Israeli army has told Palestinians to begin evacuating eastern Rafah, according to an Israeli Defense Force statement on Monday, signalling that a ground invasion is imminent. People were told to move to Muwasi, an Israeli-declared humanitarian area near the coast. The army said it had expanded assistance into the area, including field hospitals, tents, food and water.
The announcement comes amid fragile cease-fire talks and ahead of a highly anticipated ground offensive that Israel has been vowing to undertake for months to weed out the remaining Hamas militants. On Sunday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed Hamas wasn't serious about a deal and warned of “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah."
His comments came after Hamas attacked Israel's main crossing point Sunday for delivering assistance, killing three soldiers.
Over 1 lakh Palestinians needs to be evacuated
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesman, said some 100,000 people were being ordered to move to a nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasi. He said Israel was preparing a “limited scope operation” and would not say whether this was the beginning of a broader invasion of the city. But last October, Israel did not formally announce the launch of a ground invasion that continues to this day.
Shoshani said Israel published a map of the evacuation area, and that orders were being issued through leaflets dropped from the sky, text messages and radio broadcasts. He said Israel has expanded humanitarian aid into Muwasi, including field hospitals, tents, food and water.
Israel's army said Monday on the social platform X it would act with “extreme force” against militants and urged the population to evacuate immediately for their safety.
IDF vows to carry on with plan despite global pressure
Israel's plan to invade Rafah has raised global alarm because of the potential for harm to more than a million Palestinian civilians sheltering there.
About 1.4 million Palestinians — more than half of Gaza's population — are jammed into the town and its surroundings. Most of them fled their homes elsewhere in the territory to escape Israel's onslaught and now face another wrenching move, or the danger of facing the brunt of a new assault. They live in densely packed tent camps, overflowing UN shelters or crowded apartments, and are dependent on international aid for food, with sanitation systems and medical facilities infrastructure crippled.
(With inputs from agency)
