Thousands of people are evacuating from Rafah following an announcement by the Israeli military asking residents and displaced individuals from eastern neighborhoods to leave ahead of a long-anticipated attack on the city and its surrounding areas.
More than half of Gaza’s population who fled to Rafah now have nowhere safe to go.
Witnesses described frightened families evacuating on foot, riding donkeys, or cramming their belongings into overloaded trucks on Monday. Overnight airstrikes by Israeli forces intensified “panic and fear,” prompting more individuals to follow the evacuation orders.
“There is extreme tension in all areas of Rafah, including areas west of the city. Many have begun to think about evacuating, and many have already evacuated,” one witness said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had distributed leaflets and were making announcements through various channels, including announcements, text messages, phone calls, and media broadcasts in Arabic. These communications directed residents to relocate to an “expanded humanitarian zone” located on the coast.
“This is an evacuation plan to get people out of harm’s way,” an Israeli military spokesperson told reporters.
As indirect negotiations for a ceasefire failed recently in Cairo, senior Israeli officials have consistently pledged to proceed with an attack on Rafah, despite significant international opposition and calls for restraint from the US.
Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday that apparent refusal by Hamas in the ongoing ceasefire talks meant “military action in Rafah was required”.
A senior Hamas official described the Israeli order for civilians to evacuate Rafah as a “dangerous escalation that will have consequences”.
“The US administration, alongside the occupation, bears responsibility for this terrorism,” Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
Israel has said that the upcoming operation will be of “limited scope” and would displace about 100,000 people. “This matter will progress in a gradual manner according to ongoing situation assessments that will take place all the time,” a spokesperson said.
Around 1.5 million people or about 65% of Gaza’s population are sheltering in Rafah, which was home to about 275,000 before the war.
Besides sheltering over a million people displaced from other parts of Gaza during the seven-month war, Rafah is a key logistics base for humanitarian operations across the territory. Dense tent encampments encircle the city, and have also already crowded al-Mawasi, the coastal zone approximately 3 miles north-east to which Israel has told people to evacuate.
Israeli assault on Rafah may cause ‘bloodbath’ and famine, aid agencies warn
Aid groups have warned of grave humanitarian consequences if an Israeli offensive on Rafah goes ahead, after Israel demanded that tens of thousands of people leave the eastern part of the city.
“A military incursion into Rafah could lead to a bloodbath because of how densely populated Rafah has become,” said Tamara Alrifai, the director of external relations for the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. “Another looming displacement is already creating panic and anxiety among a highly vulnerable population.”
Save the Children warned of deadly consequences for Palestinian children after Israeli forces issued relocation orders demanding civilians in eastern Rafah to flee to the Israeli-designated so-called ‘humanitarian zone’ in Al-Mawasi.
“We hoped this day would never come. For weeks we have been warning there is no feasible evacuation plan to lawfully displace and protect civilians. For weeks, we have been warning of the devastating consequences … Instead, the international community has looked away. They cannot look away now,” Janti Soeripto, CEO of Save the Children US aid group, said.
“The announced incursion will not only risk the lives of over 600,000 children but will at best disrupt and at worst cause the collapse of the humanitarian aid response currently struggling to keep Gaza’s population alive. The aid response is concentrated in Rafah, the only crossing permitted for aid agencies like Save the Children. Forcibly displacing people from Rafah while further disrupting the aid response will likely seal the fate of many children,” Janti Soeripto said in her official statement.
International Rescue Committee (IRC) has called for immediate international pressure to prevent humanitarian tragedy.
“An invasion of Rafah would be unconscionable. Not only will it put more than 1 million civilians at risk of death and displacement, but it will completely cut off the current trickling of aid that is crossing from Egypt through Rafah. Without that border crossing, the majority of the population – already facing imminent famine – will likely lose access to humanitarian aid coming in,” said Kiryn Lanning, IRC Country Director for occupied Palestinian territory. “This is as bad as it gets and will lead to horrifying levels of suffering and death. If not stopped, this offensive will result in catastrophic humanitarian consequences.”
World reaction to Israel’s evacuation order and planned Rafah invasion
World leaders have reacted strongly to Israel’s evacuation order and planned ground offensive in Rafah:
United States: U.S. President Joe Biden again urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against launching an offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Earlier in a statement, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said that the U.S. “can’t speak for [Israeli military] operations” but added “We continue to believe that a hostage deal is the best way to preserve the lives of the hostages, and avoid an invasion of Rafah, where more than a million people are sheltering. Those talks are ongoing now.”
European Union: EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell called the evacuation orders “unacceptable”. They “portend the worst: more war and famine”, he said, urging Israel to “renounce” a ground offensive.
United Kingdom: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the UK was “deeply concerned” about the possible offensive. He said that his government has been “deeply concerned about the prospect of a military incursion into Rafah given the number of civilians that are sheltering there and the importance of that crossing for aid,” he told Sky News in an interview.
France The French embassy in Israel issued a statement saying President Macron spoke with Netanyahu on phone and reiterated his firm opposition to the planned Israeli offensive on Rafah and the urgent need to ensure a massive entry of humanitarian aid through all access points to the Gaza Strip, the embassy said.
Egypt: The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Israel to exercise the “highest levels of self-restraint” and to avoid any more escalation at this “very sensitive time” with negotiations for a truce and captive release ongoing.
Jordan: Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said that “another massacre of the Palestinians is in the making.” “Failure to prevent the massacre will be an indelible stain on Int’l Cmyt [international community]. Too many massacres have been allowed. Enough.”