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This was announced by the Israeli army Palestinians to begin evacuation of eastern Rafah, according to an Israel Defense Forces Statementsignaling that a ground invasion was imminent.
People were told to move to Muvassi, an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone near the coast. The army said it has extended aid to the area, including field hospitals, tents, food and water.
In what appeared to be the start of a civilian evacuation ahead of a ground assault, however, the Israeli military urged Palestinians in the eastern parts of Rafah to move to a nearby “humanitarian zone.”
In a statement, the military said posters, text messages, phone calls and media reports would be used to “encourage … the gradual movement of civilians into the designated areas.”
Seven months into its offensive against Hamas, Israel has said that Rafah harbors thousands of fighters of the Palestinian Islamist group and that victory is impossible without taking the city.
But with more than a million displaced Palestinians taking refuge in Rafah, the prospect of a high-casualty operation worries Western powers and neighboring Egypt.
Earlier, the latest round of Gaza ceasefire talks ended in Cairo after Hamas reiterated key demands that Israel again rejected.
After earlier signs of progress, the outlook looked dim as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to resist international pressure to end the war.
Defense Minister Yoav Galant said Hamas was not serious about the deal and warned of a “powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places throughout Gaza” after Hamas attacked Israel’s main checkpoint to deliver much-needed aid, killing three soldiers.
Israel’s military said it believed Hamas was targeting soldiers massed on the Gaza border in preparation for a possible invasion of Rafah. Hamas said it attacked soldiers in the area.
But Israeli media reported that CIA chief William Burns, a key mediator in the talks, would meet with Netanyahu on Monday.
Israel did not send a delegation to the latest talks. Egyptian state media said the Hamas delegation had gone for discussions in Qatar, where the group has a political office, and would return to Cairo for further talks on Tuesday.
Another threat to the talks came when Israel ordered the local offices of the Qatari satellite news network Al Jazeera to be closed, accusing it of broadcasting anti-Israel incitement. The ban does not appear to affect the channel’s operations in Gaza or the West Bank.
Netanyahu, under pressure from hardliners in his government, continued to play down expectations of a ceasefire deal, calling key Hamas demands “extreme”.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement earlier that the armed group was serious and positive about the talks and that stopping Israeli aggression in Gaza was the top priority.
But Israel’s government has again vowed to press ahead with a military operation in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city on the border with Egypt, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents now seek refuge from Israeli attacks. Rafa is a key entry point for help.
Kerem Shalom, now closed, is another. The Israeli military said 10 shells were fired at the crossing into southern Israel and said its fighter jets later struck the source. Israel’s Channel 12 reported that 10 soldiers remain hospitalized. It is not clear how long the crossing will be closed.
The head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, Philip Lazzarini, called for an independent investigation and “accountability for the blatant neglect of aid workers”. He also said Israel denied him entry to Gaza for the second time this week.
In a fiery speech on Israel’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, Netanyahu said: “I say to world leaders, no pressure, no decision in an international forum will stop Israel from defending itself.”
– With AP
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