Tens of thousands of Palestinians evacuated from Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, on Saturday after Israel warned them to do so ahead of an imminent military offensive that would usher in a bloody new phase in the seven-month conflict. Was.
The roads leading out of Rafah were clogged with long lines of people, young and old, sick and healthy, in overloaded pickup trucks, battered cars, pony carts and hand trolleys. Many people carried their belongings as they walked under the scorching summer sun. Some were pushed or carried in wheelchairs.
More than 150,000 people have been evacuated from the city of Rafah, the largest evacuation in recent months, since the Israel Defense Forces ordered evacuations to eastern neighborhoods shortly before seizing a border crossing with Egypt east of the city on Tuesday. He is one of the evacuees. “correct, limited operationThis is to stop Hamas from smuggling weapons and funds into Gaza.
Despite repeated calls for restraint from the United Nations, humanitarian agencies and close allies, the attack now appears to be just a precursor to a wider attack that Israel has been threatening for years.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected U.S. pressure to prevent Hamas from carrying out a full-scale attack on Rafah, saying Hamas has most of its leadership and remaining forces based in Rafah and that the Biden administration plans to ship a shipment of 3,500 bombs. He said that it has been temporarily suspended. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that Israel would remain “isolated” and fight “nails in the face” if necessary.
Early Saturday morning, the IDF instructed residents to evacuate central Rafah through flyers and messages on social media. Analysts said this suggested Israeli forces were likely to advance into central Rafah as early as Sunday, and across the city.
The IDF said in a statement that its forces “continue to operate against the terrorist organization Hamas, which uses the Gaza population as human shields for its terrorist activities and infrastructure.”
About 1 million people who were evacuated from other parts of Gaza have been sheltering in Rafah for several months.
“We are in a state of extreme tension and anxiety right now,” said Dina Zayed, 54, who has been in Rafah for six months since fleeing northern Gaza shortly after the war began. . “We don’t know what will happen to us. We move forward into the unknown. Everyone feels the same way. Our days ahead will be difficult.”
There are serious concerns about the safety of people taking shelter in the Israel Defense Forces’ designated “Extended Humanitarian Area” in coastal Almawasi, with aid workers saying the situation there is already dire.
Muhammad Kafman, 54, said he was concerned about the situation in al-Mawasi, a stretch of sand and dunes that is home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people, with a complete lack of food, clean water and medical supplies. Stated. Sanitation facilities are almost non-existent, leading to the rapid spread of disease.
“We also don’t know what we will do. We are currently preparing to go to what is supposed to be a safe and humanitarian area designated by the Israeli military, but this is just a lie.” said Kafman, who has lived in Rafah since January.
Aid reaching southern and central Gaza is limited because the Rafah border crossing into Egypt is closed and the Kerem Shalom border with Israel is difficult to reach due to fighting.
Aid agencies say fuel supplies are in short supply, but Israel announced on Friday that it had delivered 200,000 liters of fuel to Gaza through Kerem Shalom. This amount is what the United Nations says is needed every day to keep aid trucks running and hospital generators running. It is unclear whether UN staff were able to recover the fuel.
The IDF also hinted at new attacks in northern Gaza and called on those living there to move elsewhere. Fighting has intensified in areas west and north of Gaza City, where Hamas has reestablished a presence following the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
So far, the Israeli offensive, launched after Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel in October, killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 hostages, mainly women and children. More than 34,970 Palestinians, including children, were killed.
Some 132 Israeli hostages are believed to remain in Gaza, but up to half may already be dead.
Hamas announced on Saturday that British-Israeli hostage Nadav Popplewell, 51, had died from injuries sustained in an Israeli airstrike more than a month ago. There was no confirmation of the claim.
Hopes for a ceasefire briefly rose last week, but they were dashed when Israel rejected a deal proposed by mediators.
Israeli officials told the Y-Net news site that hostage and ceasefire talks with Hamas have not completely broken down. Indirect negotiations would resume “if there is a cooperative response from Hamas,” they said.
Hamas said on Friday that efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement were back to square one after Israel rejected an international mediator’s plan, while the White House urged both sides to remain engaged “even virtually”. He expressed his determination to work hard.
Demonstrations were expected across Israel on Saturday, calling on the government to reach a deal to release the hostages.
The United States said Friday there is reasonable evidence that Israel has violated international law protecting civilians in its war against Hamas, the Biden administration’s strongest statement yet on the issue.
In response to the U.S. report, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser Ofir Falk said Israel was acting in accordance with the laws of armed conflict and that the military would avoid civilian casualties, including by warning the public about military operations by phone. He said that he was taking extensive measures to ensure this. And text messages.
