Israeli army begins evacuation of Rafah area, in southern Gaza; Palestinian Authority asks US for intervention

O Israeli army ordered, this Monday (6), the evacuation of eastern Rafahin the south of Gaza Strip, after weeks warning that an invasion would begin, while the Civil Defense of the Palestinian territory announced the bombing of two neighborhoods in the city. Israeli air and artillery bombardment “started on Sunday night and intensified this morning,” said Ahmed Redwan, a Civil Defense spokesman. Palestine, specifying that two attacked neighborhoods, Al Shuka and Al Salam, are among those that the Army asked the civilian population to leave a few hours earlier. The presidency of Palestinian Authority asked the U.S to prevent the invasion of Rafah by the Israeli Army. “We call on the US administration to intervene to prevent this massacre, which we warn will have dangerous repercussions”, said the Palestinian Presidency, quoted by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa and assured that it is multiplying “intensive” discussions with its international partners on this question.

The announcement of the evacuation hampers mediation efforts undertaken by Qatar, Egypt and the United States to reach a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which would allow the release of Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza after almost seven months of war. . The Israeli army said this morning that it had begun “a limited-range operation to temporarily evacuate residents in the eastern part of Rafah,” a spokesman said. “The estimate is almost 100,000 people,” said a military spokesman when asked how many people are being evacuated from this city that borders Egypt. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 1.2 million people live in Rafah. O Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, promised that he will invade Rafah, with or without a truce, despite the concerns expressed by the United States, his main ally, and the international community about the fate of civilians sheltering in this city. This evacuation order “foreshadows the worst: more war and hunger”, declared this Monday the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, who urged Israel to refrain from launching a ground offensive. A Rafah resident told AFP that some people received voice messages on their phones inviting them to leave and text messages with a map telling them where to go. “The inhabitants are leaving in terror, in panic,” said Osama al-Kahlut, representative of the Palestinian Red Crescent in eastern Rafah, who estimates that the area designated by the Israeli army affects around 250,000 people. The Army declared that it had expanded “the humanitarian zone to Al Mawasi”, a city located on the coast about ten kilometers from Rafah. Despite the announcement, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al Qanou indicated that the movement continues with “negotiations in a positive and open manner to reach an agreement”. The weekend’s negotiating cycle ended without concrete progress and the two sides exchanged accusations of intransigence. Hamas continues to insist that the ceasefire must be definitive and Israel maintains its promise to annihilate the Palestinian movement, which on October 7 carried out an unprecedented attack on Israeli territory that triggered the war.

*With information from AFP