Israel calls for Rafah evacuation ahead of possible offensive
The Israeli military called on residents of eastern Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, to evacuate to an "expanded humanitarian area," ahead of a possible offensive.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) early on Monday said that it "encourages" the residents of Eastern Rafah to move to an expanded humanitarian area in the al-Mawasi refugee camp, on the Mediterranean not far from the border with Egypt.
"In accordance with the approval of the government, an ongoing situation assessment will guide the gradual movement of civilians in the specified areas, to the humanitarian areas," the IDF said in a Telegram post.
The IDF characterized the evacuation as "temporary," adding that calls for the relocation would be "conveyed through posters, SMS messages, phone calls and media broadcasts in Arabic."
"The IDF will continue pursuing Hamas everywhere in Gaza until all the hostages that they are holding in captivity are back home."
In a followup post, the IDF told Gaza residents that it "will continue fighting the terror organizations that use you as human shields."
Indirect negotiations between Israel and the the Palestinian militant organization Hamas in Cairo at the weekend on a new ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners failed to produce any results.
Israel wants to use the military operation in Rafah to smash the remaining Hamas battalions. Hostages captured during the October 7 attacks which triggered the conflict are also believed to be held in the city on the border with Egypt.
Israeli allies, including the United States, have been calling on the government not to carry out such an operation in Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons have taken refuge from fighting elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.
