Israeli military orders evacuation of parts of Rafah ahead of possible ground offensive

Israeli Military has ordered thousands of Palestinians to evacuate parts of Rafah on Monday indicating preparation for a long-threatened ground-invasion on Hamas holdouts.

Palestinians received Arabic text messages, telephone calls, and flyers to move to what the Israeli military called an “expanded humanitarian zone- Muwasi” 20 km (7 miles) away.

The recent announcement affects last-ditch efforts by international mediators to broker a cease-fire. Hamas and Qatar, a key mediator, have warned that an invasion of Rafah where over a million people uprooted by the war have been sheltering could derail the talks.

Soon after midday in Gaza, several explosions were heard in east Rafah, residents and Hamas media said, with an air strike targeting some houses where lines of smoke and dust sprung up, a Reuters report said.

Israel has said Rafah is the last significant Hamas stronghold after seven months of war, and its leaders have repeatedly said they need to carry out a ground invasion to defeat the Islamic militant group.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesman, said some 100,000 people were being ordered to move to a nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasi. 

Shoshani said Israel was preparing a “limited scope operation” and would not say whether this was the beginning of a broader invasion of the city.

The war that began October 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, has driven around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes and caused vast destruction in several towns and cities. Hamas had abducted about 250 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians. In retaliation, Israel has till now killed 34,500 civilians, according to local health officials.