Israel bombs two neighborhoods in Rafah, hours after the evacuation order

The Israeli military carried out airstrikes on Rafah on Monday, hours after Israel told Palestinians to evacuate parts of the cityfrom southern Gaza, where over a million people have taken shelter, Reuters reports. According to the Gaza Civil Defense, Israel is bombing two neighborhoods in Rafah, reports AFP. For his part, the head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell calls on Israel to abandon a ground offensive and considered “unacceptable” the evacuation order given by Israel to the residents of Rafah.

Explosions in Rafah shortly after evacuation order

The Israeli army intensified its shelling of two neighborhoods in Rafah on Monday, after ordering residents to evacuate them in the morning, the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza told AFP.

Israeli air and artillery bombardment “has been going on since last night and has intensified since this morning,” explained Ahmed Redwan, a spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defense, adding that two of the neighborhoods targeted — al-Shuka and al-Salam — were among those where residents received evacuation messages from the Israeli army.

The Israeli army had previously announced that it had begun to evacuate civilians from Rafah, a city located in the south of the Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt, considered by Israel to be the last bastion of the Palestinian movement Hamas. The IDF described the operation as “of limited scope”, without mentioning the ground offensive planned and approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reports News.ro.

Residents were invited by SMS, phone calls and posters in Arabic to join an “extended humanitarian zone” 20 kilometers away.

“It’s raining heavily and we don’t know where to go. I’ve been anxiously waiting for this day to come and now I have to look for a place to take my family,” Abu Raed, a resident, told Reuters via an app of chat.

Explosions were heard shortly after noon in the eastern city of Rafah.

A senior Hamas official described the evacuation as a “dangerous escalation”.

“The American administration, together with the occupiers, is considered responsible for this terrorism,” Sami Abou Zouhri told Reuters, referring to Israel and its American ally.

The evacuations concern several neighborhoods on the outskirts of Rafah: civilians are being sent to tent camps in the nearby towns of Khan Yuniss and Al Mawasi, according to Israeli military radio.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stressed the need for a military attack, “especially in the Rafah region”, due to the deadlock in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas regarding the ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

Talks between the two sides in Cairo have been stalled since an attack on a Kerem Shalom crossing in the Gaza Strip claimed by Hamas killed four Israeli soldiers on Sunday, a “senior” source said. by the Egyptian television station Al Qahera.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian group Hamas said on Monday that any Israeli operation in Rafah would be no “picnic” for Israeli forces.

The EU’s appeal to Israel

Israel must abandon a ground offensive in Rafah, the European Union’s foreign minister said on Monday, adding that the EU and the international community “can and must” act to prevent such a scenario.

“Israel’s evacuation orders to civilians in Rafah portend the worst: more war and famine. This is unacceptable,” Borrell said in a post on X.