Israeli military orders evacuation of central Rafah, prepares to expand operations

The Israeli military has ordered Palestinians to evacuate more areas in the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, in a further indication that the regime is preparing to expand its military operations in the city despite widespread international opposition.

The new evacuation orders issued on Saturday cover areas in the center of Rafah, forcing tens of thousands more people to move to “an expanded humanitarian area” in al-Mawasi, situated in the western part of Gaza, where aid workers have described its conditions as “horrific”.

The Israeli military said in a statement that about 300,000 people have left eastern Rafah since it ordered an evacuation of the southern Gaza city earlier this week.

In a post on X, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee called the areas to be evacuated a "dangerous combat zone," urging residents and displaced people to go immediately to shelters west of Gaza City.

Israel carpet-bombs Rafah after Hamas accepts Gaza ceasefire proposal

The Israeli military intensifies carpet-bombing of Rafah city accompanied with ground advances shortly after Hamas agreed to a ceasefire proposal in Gaza.

The Israeli military also claimed that it was continuing “precise operational activity” against the fighters of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in eastern Rafah and on the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing, which borders Egypt.  

The latest evacuation orders suggest a major expansion of Israeli military operations in the center of Rafah, threatening destruction and displacement of many more, and a likely advance through the entire city.

On Tuesday, the Israeli regime entered Rafah's eastern sector and seized control of Gaza’s side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, which is the main corridor for the transfer of aid into the besieged strip, despite widespread international opposition.

The incursion came after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators Qatar and Egypt.

About 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering in Rafah. The city had been designated a “safe zone” by the Israeli military. Palestinians are now struggling to evacuate Rafah since the Israeli military dropped leaflets ordering them to leave.

World on edge as Netanyahu orders invasion of Rafah

The regime’s military sent tanks into Rafah and established control over the Gaza side of the border crossing with Egypt.

The United Nations said on Friday that more than 100,000 Palestinians have been forced to leave Rafah, amid intensified Israeli strikes on Gaza’s southernmost city.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) also estimated that “around 110,000 people have now fled Rafah looking for safety.”

Israel launched the devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed more than 34,900 Palestinians and injured more than 78,000 others.

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