The Israeli occupation army announced on Monday that the process of evacuating the eastern areas of the city of Rafah includes about 100,000 people, after calling on residents to leave in preparation for a possible ground operation in the city located in the southern Gaza Strip.
The number of residents and displaced people is about a quarter of a million, and they are required to move towards the Al-Mawasi area, west of Rafah, and Khan Yunis.
The Israeli decision affected Al-Salam neighborhood, Al-Shoka village, and large areas southeast of Rafah.
The occupation forces dropped leaflets in eastern Rafah, sent text messages, and made phone calls to the Palestinians to inform them of instructions about the areas that must be evacuated, and the routes that must be followed to a specific humanitarian area, provided that the evacuation order applies only to some eastern neighborhoods of the city of Rafah at the present time, and not Over the entire city.
The Israeli army published a statement including “evacuation maps,” in which it stated, “An urgent appeal to all residents and displaced persons present in the Al-Shoka municipality area and in the neighborhoods - Al-Salam, Al-Jeneina, Tabet Zaraa, and Al-Byouk in the Rafah area in blocks: 10-16, 28, and 270. The IDF will work with extreme force.” Against terrorist organizations in the areas where you reside, as everyone who is near terrorist organizations has done, putting his life and the life of his family at risk.”
The statement continued: “For your safety, the IDF calls on you to evacuate immediately to the expanded humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi. We warn you that Gaza City is still a dangerous combat zone. Refrain from returning north from Wadi Gaza. We warn you not to approach the eastern and southern security fence.”
The occupation explained in its statement that it "expands the humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi, which includes field hospitals, tents, and large quantities of food, water, medicines, and other supplies."
He also pointed out that his army "allows cooperation with some international organizations and other countries to expand the scope of humanitarian aid being brought into the Strip."
The Kerem Shalom crossing with the southern Gaza Strip remains closed following the missile attack launched by Hamas yesterday on the occupying forces in the region, but it may be opened after a new assessment of the situation.
The occupation army called on Gazans in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah to move to Al-Mawasi, “where leaflets are being distributed, SMS messages and phone calls are being sent, as well as information being broadcast through the Arab media,” according to the statement.
He added that the army "will continue to work to achieve the goals of the war, including dismantling Hamas and returning all the kidnapped people."
A spokesman for the occupation army said, in response to a question about the number of people who will be evacuated, that “the estimates are about 100,000,” adding during an online briefing to journalists today, Monday: “This morning... we began a limited-scale operation to temporarily evacuate civilians from the eastern part.” From Rafah, this is a limited operation.”
According to the World Health Organization, the number of residents in the city is about 1.2 million people, the majority of whom were displaced from other areas in the Strip as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip for seven months.
The United States and many countries around the world warned Israel against launching a ground military operation in Rafah, amid fears of potentially disastrous effects on civilians who were displaced to the city.
For its part, Egypt has repeatedly warned "Israel" against launching such an operation, especially since it is located very close to its borders, stressing its refusal to "displace" the Palestinians who fled from other areas in the Gaza Strip and live in crowded tents near the Egyptian border.
Yesterday evening, Sunday, the Israeli occupation forces launched raids on 11 homes in the city of Rafah, killing 22 Palestinians, including 8 children.
More than 7 months after the Israeli aggression in Gaza, Tel Aviv claims that Rafah “harbours thousands of Hamas fighters,” and that “it is impossible to achieve victory without controlling the city.” Therefore, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to implement an expanded military operation in the city.
But with more than a million Palestinians taking refuge in Rafah, any major attack on it would lead to massive civilian casualties, amid UN and international concerns and warnings.
The Times of Israel newspaper reported the day before yesterday, Saturday, that “Israel informed officials of the administration of US President Joe Biden about the evacuation plan before the expected Israeli military operation.”
The newspaper quoted officials, who were not allowed to comment publicly, as saying that the plan whose details were presented by the Israelis did not change the US administration’s view that going ahead with the invasion would expose a large number of innocent Palestinian civilians to danger.