On Monday, Israel’s military claimed it had begun urging inhabitants of Rafah to evacuate the southern Gazan city as part of a “limited scope” military operation, but did not confirm media reports that this was part of preparations for a land invasion.
Seven months into its onslaught against Hamas, Israel is claiming that Rafah is housing thousands of the Palestinian Islamist group’s soldiers and that success is unattainable without capturing the city.
With over a million displaced Palestinians already taking refuge there from other parts of Gaza, the likelihood of a high-casualty operation is alarming Western countries and neighboring Egypt.
In what looked to be the start of a civilian evacuation before a ground attack, the Israeli military has urged Palestinians in eastern Rafah to relocate to a nearby so-called “humanitarian area.”
Yet, at the same time it is urging civilians to go to these supposedly “safer” humanitarian zones, the Israeli military has warned that Hamas has been known to shoot from those locations.
It stated that it would not establish a timetable for the Rafah evacuation, but would conduct operational evaluations.
The “limited scope” evacuation would require the movement of 100,000 people from Rafah, according to a prior assessment.
Earlier, an Israeli radio station, Army Radio, reported that Israel’s armed forces had begun evacuating Palestinian people ahead of a possible attack, however the military did not corroborate the information.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhuri reacted to the Israeli decision, saying “This is a dangerous escalation that will have consequences. The U.S. administration, along with the occupation, bears responsibility for this terrorism.”
UN Palestinian Relief Agency UNRWA tweeted “An Israeli offensive in Rafah would mean more civilian suffering & deaths. The consequences would be devastating for 1.4 million people. UNRWA is not evacuating: the Agency will maintain a presence in Rafah as long as possible & will continue providing lifesaving aid to people.”
At least 34,683 people have died, including more than 14,500 children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, and 78,018 have been injured since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October.