Israel expands military offensive, orders fresh evacuation in Rafah

Rafah, May 11

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Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Saturday, forcing tens of thousands more people to move as it prepares to expand its military operation closer to the heavily populated central area, in defiance of growing pressure from close ally the United States and others.

Israel’s military also said it was moving into an area of devastated northern Gaza where it asserted that the Hamas militant group has regrouped. Israel has now evacuated the eastern third of Rafah, which is considered the last refuge in Gaza.

The United Nations and others have warned that Israel’s planned full-scale Rafah invasion would cripple humanitarian operations and cause a disastrous surge in civilian casualties.

Rafah borders Egypt near the main aid entry points, which already have been affected. Israeli troops have captured the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, forcing it to shut down.

US President Joe Biden has said he will not provide offensive weapons to Israel for Rafah. On Friday the US said there was “reasonable” evidence that Israel had breached international law protecting civilians in the way it conducted its war against Hamas — the strongest statement yet that the Biden administration has made on the matter.

In response to the US report, Ophir Falk, foreign policy adviser to Israel’s Prime Minister, told the AP that Israel acts in compliance with the laws of armed conflict and the army takes extensive measures to avert civilian casualties, including alerting people to military operations via phone calls and text messages.

More than 1.4 million Palestinians – half of Gaza’s population – have been sheltering in Rafah, most after fleeing Israel’s offensives elsewhere. The evacuations are forcing people to return north where areas are devastated from previous Israeli attacks. Aid agencies estimate that 1,10,000 had done so before Saturday’s order, which adds a further 40,000.

“What should we do here? Do we wait until we all die on top of each other? So we’ve decided to leave. It’s better,” said Rafah resident Hanan al-Satari as people rushed to load mattresses, water tanks and other belongings onto vehicles.

“The Israeli army does not have a safe area in Gaza. They target everything,” said Abu Yusuf al-Deiri, earlier displaced from Gaza City.

Many people have been displaced multiple times, and there are few places left to go.

Georgios Petropoulos, an official with the UN humanitarian agency in Rafah, said aid workers had no supplies to help people set up in new locations.

“We simply have no tents, we have no blankets, no bedding, none of the items that you would expect a population on the move to be able to get from the humanitarian system,” he said. — AP

Won’t provide weapons: Biden

US President Joe Biden has said he will not provide offensive weapons to Israel for Rafah. On Friday the US said there was “reasonable” evidence that Israel had breached international law protecting civilians in the way it conducted its war against Hamas — the strongest statement yet that the Biden administration has made on the matter