IDF orders evacuation of japanese Rafah | EUROtoday
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LIs the offensive imminent? The Israeli military, which has been surrounding Rafah for a number of weeks in preparation for a feared offensive, started this Monday, May 6, a “ operation of limited scale “aimed at evacuating” quickly” around 100,000 people residing in the east of this city in the Gaza Strip, calling on them to join ” humanitarian zones”. An announcement which comes as negotiations for a brand new truce took a flip for the more serious this weekend.
“ We have started a limited-scale operation to temporarily evacuate people residing in eastern Rafah,” a military spokesperson mentioned throughout a press briefing at Agence France-Presse (AFP). , repeating that “this is an operation of limited scale”.
Approximately 100,000 displaced
Asked in regards to the variety of folks involved, this spokesperson indicated that “ the estimate was around 100,000 people […] immediately.” Earlier in a press release, the military had mentioned “ encourage the inhabitants of eastern Rafah to move towards the expanded humanitarian areas”, specifying that ” calls to move temporarily to the humanitarian zone would be relayed by leaflets, SMS, telephone calls and messages in Arabic in the media.”
READ ALSO Gaza, Arab fervor and cynicismA Rafah resident advised AFP that some had acquired voice messages on their telephone inviting them to depart and textual content messages with a map telling them the place to go. The military assures in its press launch that it has “ expanded the humanitarian zone to al-Mawasi”, about ten kilometers from Rafah, where ” field hospitals, tents and an increasing volume of food, water, medicines and others.”
” Ekeep civilians away from danger » according to the IDF
According to the UN, around 1.2 million inhabitants, the majority pushed there by the fighting, are crowding into Rafah, a town on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip. Fearing a bloodbath among civilians, capitals and international organizations are opposing the announced operation by Israel, which says it is essential for its troops to enter Rafah to destroy the last battalions of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
“This evacuation plan aims to keep civilians away from danger,” mentioned the military spokesperson, “our goal is to fight Hamas, not the inhabitants of Gaza. And that is why we are carrying out this specific temporary evacuation,” he concludes.
https://www.lepoint.fr/monde/guerre-hamas-israel-tsahal-ordonne-l-evacuation-de-l-est-de-rafah-06-05-2024-2559527_24.php