With Hamas to blame for the impasse in talks, Israel looks ready to carry out its promised onslaught on the southern city of Gaza.
As it orders Palestinians to evacuate sections of the city in southern Gaza, the Israeli army looks ready to begin its long-awaited assault on Rafah.
Israeli authorities demanded on Monday that residents of Rafah, where a large number of Palestinians who had been displaced were previously forced to live, leave for “an expanded humanitarian area.” The action was taken as Israel and Hamas were blaming each other for the cease-fire talks’ failure.
In social media posts, the Israeli military stated that it “encourages” people living in eastern Rafah to relocate to the al-Mawasi refugee camp, which is situated west of Khan Younis on the Mediterranean.
Requests to relocate “temporarily” would be “conveyed through flyers, SMS messages, phone calls and media broadcasts in Arabic,” according to the army.
It stated, “[Israeli forces] will not stop pursuing Hamas everywhere in Gaza until all of the hostages that they are detaining return home.”
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee stated in a post on X that the plea was extended to everyone residing in the ash-Shoka area, specifically in the neighborhoods of as-Salam, al-Jnaina, Tabet Ziraa, and al-Bayyouk.
A spokeswoman for the Israeli military informed the media that approximately 100,000 people were being evacuated.
Israel’s ultimatum to evacuate and impending offensive, according to Hamas chief Sami Abu Zuhri, is a “dangerous escalation that will have consequences.”
No safety haven
For weeks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that an attack on Rafah is necessary, even though his country’s allies, including the United States, have issued dire warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe.
As part of Netanyahu’s promise to deliver “total victory” over the Palestinian group, Israel claims the city is a haven for Hamas leadership and militants, who must be eliminated.
NGOs on the ground, meanwhile, caution that Rafah’s enormous population has nowhere to go. Israeli bombardment on other parts of Gaza have earlier forced displaced individuals into the city, where their numbers are reported to have increased to 1.4 million. It’s unknown where those people might hide from a military onslaught.
An Israeli offensive, which the health authorities claim has killed over 34,000 Palestinians since October, will cause more misery and deaths, the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said in a social media post.
The order to evacuate came after a night of heavy Israeli shelling that claimed 22 lives in the city, including eight children.
The order came “in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known in Hebrew as Kerem Shalom, and an intense Israeli response, in which they carried out 11 air raids, targeting areas in the eastern parts of Rafah city,” according to Hani Mahmoud of Al Jazeera, who was reporting from Rafah.
It is noteworthy to mention that, up until now, the displaced families have not felt safe in any of the evacuation zones that the Israeli military has designated. Whether it’s in western Khan Younis or here in Rafah, where 1.5 million people are seeking refuge, these areas have actually been under constant attack,” he stated.
Unable to move
In a statement, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Hamas’s rejection of mediated plans for a Gaza truce that would have allowed it to release some prisoners has made a military operation in Rafah necessary.
After the most recent session of negotiations in Cairo ended without a deal, a Hamas spokesperson announced that the group’s negotiation delegation was traveling to Doha for “consultations.”
A source told the AFP news agency that CIA director Bill Burns is scheduled to visit Qatar on Monday for “emergency” talks regarding efforts at mediation with Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
Palestinian officials claimed that Hamas negotiators have remained steadfast in their demand that any deal involve an end to the conflict inside the enclave.
Instead of accepting a complete ceasefire, Israel has proposed a fighting halt in order to facilitate a prisoner exchange. There is mounting pressure on Netanyahu to obtain the release of the about 130 prisoners who are still being held in Gaza. Hardline coalition allies, on the other hand, are also pressuring him to carry on the fight.
Reporting from Rafah, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum stated that Palestinians have been feeling “a great sense of optimism” in the past few days regarding the Hamas and Israel talks in Cairo.
“However, that has decreased in light of media reports regarding the same points of contention between Israel and Hamas,” he stated.
Deputy prime minister of Belgium Petra De Sutter said that more sanctions against Israel are being developed and that an assault of Rafah will result in a “massacre.”
