By Israel has ordered new evacuations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, forcing tens of thousands more Palestinians to flee their homes as the Israeli military prepares to expand its operations against Hamas militants.
The Israeli army said it is also moving into northern Gaza where Hamas fighters have regrouped.
The latest evacuation orders come despite strong international opposition and criticism of Israel’s conduct in the nearly month-long conflict. U.S. President Joe Biden has refused to provide offensive weapons to Israel for the Rafah operation.
On Friday, the Biden administration issued its strongest condemnation yet, saying there was “reasonable” evidence that Israel breached international laws protecting civilians in how it has waged war on Hamas.
The United Nations and aid agencies have repeatedly warned that an Israeli assault on Rafah, located on Gaza’s border with Egypt near key humanitarian entry points, would cripple relief efforts and lead to a surge in civilian casualties.
Over half of Gaza’s 1.4 million residents, most of whom already fled fighting elsewhere, have sought refuge in the city which was seen as a last safe haven.
The new evacuations are forcing people to return north to areas devastated by earlier Israeli attacks. An estimated 110,000 had already done so before Saturday’s orders, which will displace 40,000 more.
With few places left to go in the battered enclave, evacuees have set up tent camps in the half-destroyed city of Khan Younis and in Deir al-Balah, severely straining local infrastructure and resources.
“We simply have no tents, we have no blankets, no bedding, none of the items that you would expect a population on the move to be able to get from the humanitarian system,” said Georgios Petropoulos, an official with the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Rafah.
Israel’s capture of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, a main entry point for fuel, has forced its closure.
The World Food Program warns it will run out of food to distribute in southern Gaza by Saturday. Hospitals may soon have to halt critical services as fuel supplies dwindle.
Intense battles also rage in northern Gaza, where Hamas militants appear to have regrouped in areas previously pounded by Israeli forces.
The Israeli army warned Palestinians in and around the cities of Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya to evacuate to shelters in western Gaza City, calling their communities a “dangerous combat zone” that will be hit with “great force.”
UNRWA, the U.N. agency assisting Palestinians in Gaza, said evacuation orders in Rafah and Jabaliya have impacted some 300,000 people so far, with more expected given the areas’ dense populations.
“We’re extremely concerned that these evacuation orders have come both towards central Rafah and Jabaliya,” said UNRWA spokesperson Louise Wateridge.
Israeli airstrikes overnight killed at least 19 Palestinians, including 8 women and 8 children, in central Gaza.
More than 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have died so far in Israel’s bombardments and ground assaults according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Credit: AP
