JERUSALEMThe Israeli military on Monday ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza city of Rafah, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion could be imminent, a further complication for ceasefire negotiations.
The operation in Rafah – where more than a million Palestinians are sheltered and many deaths are feared – has caused global alarm and Israel’s allies have called for it not to take place. The U.N. agency that cares for Palestinian refugees said Monday it would not comply with the evacuation order.
Israel has described Rafah as the last significant Hamas stronghold after seven months of war, and its leaders have reiterated that they need a ground invasion to defeat the armed group, which sparked the war with its attack on Israel on October 7.
Hamas and Qatar, a key mediator, have warned that an invasion of Rafah, along the Egyptian border, could derail talks.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesman, said about 100,000 people were being ordered to Muwasi, a nearby area declared by Israel as a humanitarian zone. It is a makeshift camp along the coast to which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled in search of safety, and where they live in precarious conditions.
Shoshani indicated that Israel was preparing a “limited scope operation” and did not clarify whether it was the beginning of a broader invasion of the city. Israel never officially announced the start of the ground invasion in Gaza that continues to this day.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin overnight that Israel had no choice but to attack Rafah.
Hamas launched a rocket from the Rafah area on Sunday that killed four Israeli soldiers, although Shoshani did not clarify whether the operation was a response to that attack.
The spokesman said Israel had published a map of the evacuation zone and that orders had been conveyed in pamphlets dropped from the sky, text messages and radio broadcasts. He added that Israel has expanded humanitarian aid to Muwasi, including field hospitals, tents, food and water.
The Israeli army said on social platform X that it would act with “extreme force” against the militants and urged the population to evacuate immediately for their safety.
Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, condemned the “forced, illegitimate” evacuation order and the idea that people should go to Muwasi.
“The area is already overloaded and lacks crucial services,” Egeland said.
Source: With information from AP
