The IDF has just begun the evacuation of the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah into the humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi. This comes after Hamas refused once again to accept any deal with Israel to release the remaining hostages.
It also follows the rocket attack by Hamas on Kerem Shalom yesterday.
Here’s more on the evacuation from Ynet:
The IDF on Monday began evacuating the population in Rafah neighborhoods, following the collapse of the hostage deal negotiations and Hamas’s demand to end the war in Gaza. Sources familiar with the details told Ynet the terror group’s official response to the proposed Egyptian deal has yet to be received.
“The IDF is expanding the humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi and is calling on the population to temporarily evacuate from the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah to the expanded humanitarian space,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement, that was also conveyed to the Gazan population by an IDF spokesperson in Arabic.
In the morning hours, the IDF dropped missives with instructions for the evacuation via designated routes for residents in eastern Rafah to reach defined safe areas prepared by the military to the north of the city near Al-Mawasi. The IDF estimates that about 100,000 Palestinians reside in the evacuated area, out of 1.3 million residents in the entire Rafah region.
The move isn’t a wide-scale evacuation of the entirety of Rafah, but rather the city’s eastern neighborhoods, while works are done to expand the humanitarian zone that was predefined and delimited in advance with a large living space including field hospitals and facilities to enable an operation in the city.
This also follows Israel’s War Cabinet approving the IDF’s military operation in Rafah:
Israel’s War Cabinet approved on Sunday the launch of a military operation in Rafah, which began with the evacuation of Gazans from the eastern part of the city near the border with Israel earlier on Monday. Two incidents preceded the decision – Hamas’ insistence on ending the war and the deadly rocket attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing in which four soldiers were killed.
Despite the ongoing public threats, mainly from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sunday marked the first time in the last four months — since an operation in Rafah was put on the agenda — that Netanyahu presented the first phase of the Rafah operation and demanded that War Cabinet ministers state their position on the matter. Ministers raised questions during the discussion, and eventually, one by one, decided to approve the operation’s first stage.
It’s about time that Israel begins the invasion of Rafah. I know this means that Hamas will likely kill the hostages, but that was always going to be the case. Hamas was never going to release all of the hostages because their demand that Israel pull out Gaza is not going to happen. If there’s any chance of forcing the hand of Hamas, it’s to resume the war and pressure them militarily to surrender.