Israel urges Rafah residents to evacuate as IDF prepares to advance on city
Archive photo: Israel calls on Rafah residents to evacuate (facebook com tzahalonline)
The Israeli military has begun urging residents of Rafah to evacuate from the eastern quarters ahead of the planned IDF offensive on the city, according to The Times of Israel.
It is noted that civilians were urged to move to an expanded humanitarian zone in the areas of Al-Mawassi and Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli army began distributing leaflets in the eastern part of Rafah, sending text messages and calling Palestinians with evacuation instructions.
At the same time, the agency indicates that the evacuation order was only spread to some eastern quarters of Rafah, not the entire city, although Israel promised to act throughout the entire city.
Israeli officials have stated that the terrorist group Hamas has six battalions left in the Gaza Strip, with four of them in Rafah. Journalists also reported that there could be around a million Palestinians in Rafah, with approximately 100,000 in the areas from which the IDF called for evacuation.
The war in Israel
Last fall, Hamas militants invaded Israeli territory, killing hundreds of civilians and taking some hostage. The Israeli leadership declared a military operation against Hamas terrorists and began bombing the Gaza Strip.
At the end of March, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, Charles Brown, presented an alternative to the Israeli Defense Forces' ground offensive on the city of Rafah. Media reported that the White House administration urged the Israeli government to refrain from a full-scale offensive on the settlement.
Yesterday, Axios wrote that the United States has suspended the supply of ammunition to the Israeli army.
