Israel begins evacuation of Rafah before military action

Israel’s army began evacuating the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday ahead of an expected military operation. The military called on residents of the eastern part of the city on the border with Egypt to go to the Al-Mawasi camp on the Mediterranean, a few kilometers north.

“This morning (…) we began a limited-scale operation to temporarily evacuate residents in the eastern part of Rafah,” a military spokesman said in an online press conference. According to the army, “around 100,000 people” are affected by the evacuation. The military is “encouraging residents of East Rafah to move to the expanded humanitarian area,” the army said. Residents would be informed through posters, text messages, calls and media appeals in Arabic.

Allies warn Israel against military action in Rafah

Indirect negotiations between Israel and the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas in Cairo over a new ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners had previously remained unsuccessful.

Israel wants to use the military operation in Rafah to destroy the remaining battalions of the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas. There are also suspected hostages in the city on the border with Egypt.

Israel’s allies had been warning urgently for months against such an offensive in Rafah because hundreds of thousands of Palestinian internally displaced people are crowding there. However, Israel believes the operation is essential to ensure the destruction of Hamas’ fighting capabilities. Otherwise it could regain strength after the end of the war.

Evacuation from Rafah could take weeks

Members of the Hamas military wing fired rockets at the Israeli border crossing at Kerem Shalom on Sunday, killing three Israeli soldiers. Kerem Shalom is the main border crossing for the delivery of aid from Israel to the Gaza Strip. The army temporarily closed it to humanitarian transport after the rocket attack. According to its own statements, the military then bombed the place in the Gaza Strip near the Rafah border crossing with Egypt from which the attack had originated.

Before combat operations in Rafah, Israel says it wants to evacuate the city first. It is expected that this could take several weeks. Israel said Hamas had prepared its fighters in Rafah for deployment against Israel and provided them with provisions and weapons. According to media reports, the number of guards for the hostages has also been increased.

According to information from the Wall Street Journal, Israel wants to carry out its ground offensive in Rafah in stages. The paper wrote of two to three weeks of evacuation and six weeks of offensive.

Egypt warns of refugee influx

Senior Israeli intelligence and military officials met in Cairo last month, among others, with the Egyptian intelligence chief to discuss Israel’s planned deployment of its army in Rafah. The chairman of the Egyptian state information service SIS, Diaa Raschwan, had previously stated that there were no discussions with Israel about its possible military offensive in Rafah. Egypt firmly rejects plans for such an offensive and has made this position clear several times. The city in the south is considered the only one in the sealed-off coastal strip that is still comparatively intact.

Egypt fears, among other things, that an Israeli deployment in Rafah could lead to a rush of Palestinians across the border. The border crossing from the Gaza Strip to Egypt is in Rafah, and it is also an important gateway for humanitarian aid deliveries to the sealed-off coastal strip. Heavy fighting in Rafah could further complicate deliveries of food, medicine and fuel.

Note: This article has been updated.