The Israeli military has told residents of neighbourhoods in central Rafah to evacuate, signalling a major expansion of its military operations in the city and threatening the displacement of hundreds of thousands more people, report The Guardian.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) seized the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in what it said was a “precise, targeted operation” last week after ordering the evacuation of eastern neighbourhoods.
More than 150,000 people have already fled the city. Many have fled to an “expanded humanitarian zone”, designated by the IDF on the coast and to the northwest where conditions are “horrific”, according to aid workers there.
The new instructions to residents suggest a coming offensive will take the IDF into the centre of Rafah, threatening destruction and displacement of many more, and a likely advance through the entire city.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has rejected US pressure to hold off an attack on Rafah, saying that Hamas has based most of its top leaders and remaining forces there.
