AhlulBayt News Agency: Israeli media say the military has begun ordering Palestinians living in eastern neighborhoods of Rafah to evacuate ahead of a military operation in southern Gaza after last night's heavy bombardment.
Israel’s Army Radio said the order comes before a “military attack” and that the Palestinians are being told to move towards camps for displaced people in Khan Younis and al-Mawasi areas.
The order came after a night of intense Israeli bombardment on Rafah that killed 22 people, including eight children. Among the victims was a seven-month-old orphan who was born in the early days of the war.
This evacuation order follows what seems to be the failure of ceasefire talks in Cairo, and the insistence of the Israeli prime minister on expanding the ground invasion into Rafah city.
It also comes in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, and an intense Israeli response, in which they carried out 11 air raids, targeting areas in the eastern parts of Rafah city.
Residents of the eastern parts of Rafah city have been ordered by the Israeli military to evacuate sharply and immediately to the western part, to the evacuation zone al-Mawasi, an area that has previously been designated by the Israeli military as a safe zone.
It is important to point out that evacuation zones designated by the Israeli military have been constantly under attack, whether in western Khan Younis or here in Rafah, where 1.5 million people are sheltering.
A spokesman for the Israeli military told journalists it is evacuating “around 100,000 people” from eastern Rafah, ahead of an expected ground assault there.
The international community has warned Israel that a military operation in Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering, would be “catastrophic”.
The New York Times reports that an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity and Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, both blamed the Israeli prime minister for stalling the current truce talks.
At least 34,683 Palestinians have been killed and 78,018 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7.
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Israel’s Army Radio said the order comes before a “military attack” and that the Palestinians are being told to move towards camps for displaced people in Khan Younis and al-Mawasi areas.
The order came after a night of intense Israeli bombardment on Rafah that killed 22 people, including eight children. Among the victims was a seven-month-old orphan who was born in the early days of the war.
This evacuation order follows what seems to be the failure of ceasefire talks in Cairo, and the insistence of the Israeli prime minister on expanding the ground invasion into Rafah city.
It also comes in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, and an intense Israeli response, in which they carried out 11 air raids, targeting areas in the eastern parts of Rafah city.
Residents of the eastern parts of Rafah city have been ordered by the Israeli military to evacuate sharply and immediately to the western part, to the evacuation zone al-Mawasi, an area that has previously been designated by the Israeli military as a safe zone.
It is important to point out that evacuation zones designated by the Israeli military have been constantly under attack, whether in western Khan Younis or here in Rafah, where 1.5 million people are sheltering.
A spokesman for the Israeli military told journalists it is evacuating “around 100,000 people” from eastern Rafah, ahead of an expected ground assault there.
The international community has warned Israel that a military operation in Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering, would be “catastrophic”.
The New York Times reports that an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity and Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, both blamed the Israeli prime minister for stalling the current truce talks.
At least 34,683 Palestinians have been killed and 78,018 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7.
/129