RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israel ordered further evacuations in the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Saturday, forcing tens of thousands more people to leave as it prepared to expand its military operation deeper into what is seen as the last refuge from Gaza, in defiance of growing pressure from its close ally, the United States and others.
As pro-Palestinian protests continued against the war, the Israeli military also said it was heading toward a devastated area of northern Gaza, where it claimed the Hamas militant group had regrouped after seven months of fighting.
Israel has now evacuated the eastern third of Rafah, and the main military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said dozens of militants had been killed there as “targeted operations continued.” The United Nations has warned that the planned full-scale invasion of Rafah would further cripple humanitarian operations and cause an increase in civilian deaths.
Rafah borders Egypt, close to the main aid entry points, which are already affected. Israeli troops captured the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, forcing it to close. Egypt refused to coordinate with Israel on the delivery of aid through the crossing due to “Israel’s unacceptable escalation”, state broadcaster Al Qahera News reported, citing an unnamed official.
US President Joe Biden said he would not provide offensive weapons to Israel for Rafah. On Friday, his administration said there was “reasonable” evidence that Israel had violated international law protecting civilians – Washington’s strongest statement on the issue.
In response, Ophir Falk, foreign policy adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told The Associated Press that Israel acts in accordance with the laws of armed conflict and that the military takes extensive measures to prevent civilian casualties, in particular by alerting the population of military operations by telephone. calls and SMS.
More than 1.4 million Palestinians – half of Gaza’s population – have taken refuge in Rafah, most after fleeing Israeli offensives elsewhere. The latest evacuations are forcing some to return to the north, where areas are devastated by previous attacks. Aid agencies estimate that 110,000 people had left before Saturday’s order which added 40,000 people.
“Are we all waiting to die on top of each other? So we decided to leave,” said Rafah resident Hanan al-Satari, as people rushed to load mattresses, water tanks and other belongings into vehicles.
“The Israeli army does not have a security zone in Gaza. It targets everything,” said Abu Yusuf al-Deiri, displaced earlier from Gaza City.
Many people have been displaced several times. There are few places left to go. Some Palestinians are sent to what Israel calls humanitarian safety zones along the Muwasi coastal strip, which already has about 450,000 people living in squalid conditions.
Georgios Petropoulos, of the United Nations humanitarian agency in Rafah, said aid workers did not have supplies to help people settle into new sites.
“We just don’t have tents, or blankets, or bedding,” he said.
The World Food Program said it would run out of food to distribute in southern Gaza by Saturday, Petropoulos said – an added challenge as parts of Gaza face what the WFP chief called “widespread famine”. Aid groups said fuel would soon run out, forcing hospitals to halt critical operations.
Heavy fighting was also underway in northern Gaza, where Hagari said the air force was carrying out airstrikes. Palestinians in Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya and surrounding areas were asked to take shelter in shelters west of Gaza City and were warned that Israel would strike with “great force”.
Northern Gaza was the first target of Israel’s ground offensive after Hamas and other militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 250 others hostage. They still hold around a hundred prisoners and the remains of more than 30 people. Hamas said Saturday that hostage Nadav Popplewell died after being wounded in an Israeli airstrike a month ago, but provided no evidence.
Israel’s bombings and ground offensives have killed more than 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. Israel blames Hamas for civilian losses, accusing it of establishing itself in densely populated residential areas.
Gaza civilian authorities gave more details about mass graves announced earlier by the Health Ministry at Shifa Hospital, the largest in northern Gaza and the target of a previous Israeli offensive. Authorities said most of the 80 bodies were patients who died due to lack of treatment. The Israeli military said that “any attempt to accuse Israel of burying civilians in mass graves is categorically false.”
At least 19 people, including eight women and eight children, were killed overnight in central Gaza in strikes that hit Zawaida, Maghazi and Deir al-Balah, according to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and a AP reporter who counted the bodies.
“Children, what is the fault of the children who died? » declared a relative. A woman caressed the face of one of the children lying on the ground.
Another round of ceasefire talks in Cairo ended earlier this week without any progress, after Israel rejected a deal that Hamas had said it had accepted.
Tens of thousands of people attended the latest anti-government protest in Israel on Saturday evening, amid growing pressure on Netanyahu to reach a deal.
“I think the (Rafah) operation is not intended for the hostages or to kill Hamas, it only has one goal, to save the government,” said protester Kobi Itzhaki.
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Sam Mednick reported from Tel Aviv and Samy Magdy from Cairo. Jack Jeffery contributed to this story from Jerusalem.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
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