Israel: Israel’s military has ordered people in eastern Rafah to leave quickly. This request comes after the defense minister told troops in Gaza to prepare for significant operations in Rafah soon.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that “announcements, text messages, phone calls, and media broadcasts in Arabic” will be used to make the evacuation announcement. “This matter will proceed in a gradual manner in accordance with ongoing situation assessments that will take place on an ongoing basis,” the statement continued.
According to the IDF, the operation would require the relocation of roughly 100,000 individuals and had a “limited scope.”
The IDF said in a statement that it was increasing food and water supplies and extending a humanitarian zone near Al-Mawasi, north of Rafah’s city centre, which includes tents and field hospitals.
The IDF added in the statement that it “will continue to work to realise the goals of the war, including the dismantling of Hamas and the repatriation of all the hostages.”
Since October 7, Israel has been relentlessly bombing Gaza, destroying entire neighbourhoods, cutting off supplies of food, fuel, and water, and forcing many Palestinians seeking shelter in Rafah to flee repeatedly during the seven months of fighting.
According to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokesperson Jens Laerke, journalists in Geneva were informed by aid agencies that Israel should refrain from initiating a full-scale ground invasion of Rafah, as “any ground operation would mean more suffering and death” for the 1.2 million displaced Palestinians taking refuge in and around the southernmost city of the strip.
The World Food Programme issued a warning over the weekend, stating that a “full-blown famine” is already occurring in northern Gaza and is quickly spreading throughout the strip.
The IDF’s foreign spokeswoman, Colonel Nadav Shoshani, stated during a briefing on Monday that the operation had “limited scope to temporarily evacuate” and “not wide-scale evacuation.”
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