Israel calls for evacuation of civilians from Rafah
The Israeli army scattered leaflets over Rafah this morning warning civilians of an upcoming ground operation in the eastern districts of the city. The statement said that anyone who is there is putting themselves and their loved ones at risk. Therefore, civilians were invited to evacuate to certain areas near the city of Hanyounis, where field hospitals, tents, food, clean drinking water and medicines will be available.
The Israelis also said that civilians from Rafah should not go to Gaza City in the north of the Strip, as well as to the border with Egypt and Israel.
An Israeli army spokesman told media that about 100,000 civilians are expected to be evacuated from Rafah as Israel prepares for a “limited-scale operation”, but did not say whether it would be the start of a wider assault on the city, which is home to some 1.4 million Palestinians from across Gaza.
The announcement to evacuate civilians from Rafah came after Hamas terrorists fired rockets from the outskirts of the city yesterday, killing at least three and injuring 11 other Israeli soldiers.
They guarded military equipment near the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
Israel responded this morning with airstrikes on Hamas positions in Rafah.
Over the weekend, efforts by the United States, Qatar and Egypt to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas on a hostage and prisoner exchange that would open the door to a temporary ceasefire in Gaza failed.
Israeli officials say the agreement was not reached because Hamas insisted that Israel agree to declare an end to the war and withdraw its troops from Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said yesterday that Hamas terrorists are not interested in a ceasefire in Gaza. “We have clear objectives of the war: to eliminate Hamas and release the hostages. We have set aside a certain time for negotiations, and we wanted to release the hostages as soon as possible, suspending the operational activity for a short time. Since the hostages are in a very difficult situation, we have to everything possible to free them.
We see disturbing signs that “Hamas” is not actually going to reach any agreement with us. This means that an operation will take place in Rafah and the entire Gaza Strip in the near future,” said Galant.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also insisted that his government would not agree to end the war until Hamas was completely destroyed.
“We are facing enemies who want to destroy us. I say to world leaders: no pressure, no international decision will deter Israel from self-defense. If Israel is forced to fight alone, Israel will fight alone,” Netanyahu said.
Israel’s closest ally, the United States, has called on Netanyahu to refrain from a ground invasion of Rafah, as it would prolong the war and deepen the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.
UN aid agencies have warned that street fighting in densely populated Rafah would put hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk of death. The World Health Organization is concerned about a possible “bloodbath” in Rafah and has warned that another mass displacement of people will expose hundreds of thousands of civilians to disease and starvation.
