Israel says 300,000 Palestinians have left Rafah as it expands evacuation orders

Israel has expanded the evacuation orders in the eastern parts of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

So far, around 300,000 Palestinians have left Rafah, according to Israel.

Rafah is the town at the southern-tip of Gaza where more than 1 million Palestinians displaced by the Israel-Hamas War had taken shelter. It is the only Gazan town that has not seen major fighting so far.

The expansion of the evacuation orders comes at a time when the rift between Israel and its principal partner the United States is the widest. While US President Joe Biden has halted shipments of heavy bombs and has said he would further stop weapons supplies if Israel invades Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly hinted that plans to invade Rafah will move forward anyway.

Separately, Israel also ordered fresh round of evacuation in northern Gaza where fighting has been halted for several weeks.

Israel issues maps with evacuation orders

For both Rafah and northern Gaza, Israel issued maps in Arabic to show from where it wants people to evacuate.

For Rafah, residents of the neighbourhoods of Al-Adari, Al-Jeneina and Khirbet Al-Adas are supposed to immediately move to the expanded humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, according to maps shared by the Israeli military on X (formerly Twitter).

For Gaza City, residents of Al-Salam, Al-Nour, Tal Al-Zaatar, Beit Lahia Project, Jabalia Camp, Ezbet Mlin, Al-Rawda, Al-Nuzha, Al-Jarn, Al-Nahda, and Al-Zuhour neighbourhoods have been told to relocate to shelters west of Gaza City.

Some residents told AFP news agency that they received the latest orders on phone via text and audio messages. The agency further reported that images on social media also showed leaflets with the latest order.

Saheb al-Hams, a hospital director in Rafah, was quoted as saying that “sadly, the Kuwaiti Specialist Hospital is now included in the places threatened with evacuation”.

“There is no other place for patients and injured people to go to but this hospital,” Hams said. He was further quoted as urging “immediate international protection” for the hospital.

‘Hamas is trying to rebuild its capacity’

In its evacuation order, the Israeli military said that the Hamas, the terrorist group it is fighting for over seven months, is trying to rebuild its capacity in northern Gaza. Therefore, operations with “great force” are needed in the region, said the military.

For several weeks, there have been reports that Hamas has been reestablishing itself at local levels in northern regions where the Israeli military had driven it away from. As Israel did not leave any policing element or made any alternative governance mechanism in areas it freed from the control of Hamas, the group has slowly been reestablishing itself to an extent in these areas as the Israeli focus moved southwards, as per reports.

“You are in a dangerous combat zone. Hamas is trying to rebuild its capabilities in the region, and therefore the IDF will work with great force against the terrorist organisations in the region in which you are located, and therefore everyone who is in those areas exposes themselves and their families to danger,” said the Israeli military in its statement in Arabic.

Israel says 300,000 Palestinians have left Rafah

Even as the Israeli government called for fresh evacuations, it said on Saturday that around 300,000 people have already Rafah.

“So far, approximately 300,000 Gazans have moved towards the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi” since the order was issued on Monday, the news agency AFP quoted an Israeli military’s statement as saying.

Earlier, the United Nations had said that the Israeli attacks in and around Rafah had forced more than 100,000 people to flee.

The international community, including the United States, has repeatedly warned Israel against an invasion of Rafah as it could create a grave humanitarian crisis. Meanwhile, Israel has maintained that the invasion of Rafah is a must as multiple Hamas battalions are still there and an operation in the town is needed to militarily defeat the group.