Israel launches an evacuation operation in Rafah, before the announced offensive – Telquel.ma

IIsrael launched an operation on Monday aimed at evacuating tens of thousands of Palestinian families from the eastern city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, where the army is preparing a major offensive in its war against Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been announcing for weeks the upcoming offensive on Rafah, which, according to him, is necessary to wipe out the last battalions of the Islamist movement in the Palestinian territory.

“The evacuation process has started on the ground, in a limited way. Residents are evacuating in fear and panic”Osama al-Kahlout, a Palestinian Red Crescent official in eastern Rafah, told AFP, specifying that around 250,000 people were staying in those areas.

The army confirmed it “began a limited-scale operation for the temporary evacuation of people living in eastern Rafah”evaluating at “about 100,000” the number of people affected.

Residents told AFP they learned the news when they woke up, after a night full of anxiety punctuated by a dozen Israeli strikes. Some were packing their things, in their tents flooded by heavy rain.

Rafah, on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip, has been turned into a giant refugee camp that houses 1.2 million Palestinians, or half the territory’s population, according to the UN, most displaced from the war further north.

Despite opposition from many capitals and international organizations that fear bloodshed, Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to launch this offensive regardless of the outcome of indirect negotiations aimed at imposing a ceasefire linked to the release of hostages in Gaza.

The round of negotiations ended on Sunday in Cairo without progress. Hamas continues to demand a definitive ceasefire, while Israel vows to destroy the Islamist movement, which launched an unprecedented attack on its soil on October 7, sparking the war.

Rafa under tension: residents forced to evacuate

This is what the leaflets that dropped in the eastern districts of Rafah on Monday morning warn of “The Israeli army is preparing to act strongly against terrorist organizations” and whoever remains “in that area, he endangers his life and the life of his family”.

“For your safety, the Israeli army requests that you evacuate immediately to the extended al-Mawasi humanitarian zone”ten kilometers from Rafah, it was indicated.

According to the military, “field hospitals, tents and an ever-increasing supply of food, water, medicine and more” are installed in this area.

“Everyone living in certain areas is evacuating their homes”a resident, whose sister lives in the affected neighborhood, told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“My family and I, 13 people, do not know where to go”said Abdul Rahman Abu Jazar, a 36-year-old man who lives in a settlement that needs to be evacuated.

THE “humanitarian zones” which the army has already indicated “crowded”without “a place to set up a tent or a school to shelter us”, “no hospital in this area”he continued.

Attacks and closure of the Kerem Shalom crossing

During the night, the army bombed Rafah, killing 16 people from two families, according to rescuers.

The evacuation began on Monday “is part of our plans to dismantle Hamas” of which “Yesterday we had a violent reminder of the presence and operational capacity in Rafa”underlined the army spokesman.

On Sunday, three Israeli soldiers were killed and twelve wounded by rockets fired from eastern Rafah around the Kerem Shalom crossing, the main entry point for humanitarian aid from Israel to Gaza.

The armed wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for the shootings, prompting Israel to close the crossing as international aid trickles into the besieged territory, where the UN fears widespread starvation.

The war broke out on October 7 when Hamas commandos infiltrating from Gaza launched an attack on southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli figures.

During the attack, more than 250 people were abducted and 128 remained trapped in Gaza, including 35 who died, according to the army.

The Israeli offensive launched in the Gaza Strip in retaliation has so far left 34,683 dead, mostly civilians, according to Hamas’ health ministry. Israel has vowed to destroy the Islamist movement, in power in Gaza since 2007, which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union.

International diplomacy in action to restart negotiations

An offer by mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States, presented to Hamas in late April, calls for a truce linked to the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed on Sunday that Israel cannot “accept” the demands of Hamas, which calls for a definitive cease-fire in Palestinian territory before any agreement, especially on the release of hostages.

Hamas, however, indicated on Monday that it intends to resume truce talks. “We will continue negotiations in a positive and open manner in order to reach an agreement (…) that provides for an indefinite ceasefire”movement spokesman Abdel Latif Al-Qanou told AFP.

CIA Director William Burns is expected in Qatar on Monday, according to a source close to the negotiations, for “urgent meeting with the prime minister” from the Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed ben Abdelrahmane Al Thani, “to discuss ways to get the negotiations back on track”.

“No pressure” international will not prevent Israel to “defend yourself”warned Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. “If Israel must be left alone, Israel will be left alone”he insisted, judgmentally “terrible volcano of antisemitism” according to him, it spreads around the world.