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The Israeli military has called on more than 100,000 Palestinians to evacuate eastern Rafah ahead of a long-expected ground invasion, and despite warnings of a burgeoning humanitarian catastrophe.
The Israeli Defence Forces have begun dropping flyers to Gazans sheltering in Rafah relief camps where the military is set to “operate with force” against Hamas, it said.
People have been asked to move to what Israel described as the “humanitarian zone” at Al-Mawasi as the army prepared for a “limited scope operation”, without confirming when the Rafah invasion would begin.
“In accordance with the approval of the political echelon, the IDF is calling on the population, which is under the control of Hamas, to temporarily evacuate from the eastern neighbourhoods of Rafah to the expanded humanitarian space,” a statement from the IDF said on Monday.
It said that it was contacting Palestinians through “announcements, text messages, phone calls and media broadcasts in Arabic”.
The army has begun dropping red and blue flyers that warn those sheltering in the Rafah Camp, the Brazil Camp and the neighbourhood of Al-Shabura to evacuate immediately.
The translated message from Arabic on the flyers reads: “Remaining in these areas puts your lives in danger.”
“The IDF is about to operate with force against the terror organizations in the area you currently reside, as the IDF has operated so far,” it added.
The evacuation notices came as prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to walk away from ceasefire talks that are due to continue through to Tuesday, after refusing to agree to Hamas’s demands to withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza.
Defence minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday that Israeli military action was required in Rafah due to Hamas’s refusal to mediate proposals for a truce and release Israeli hostages.
Mr Netanyahu has been unrelenting in his plans to invade Rafah despite warnings that it will lead to massive casualties among the civilians sheltering there. Israel has faced calls from both world leaders and humanitarian activists to call off its assault.
Rafah sits at the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt at the far south of the Hamas-controlled enclave, and has become increasingly overcrowded with up to a million Palestinians sheltering there from the Israeli offensive to the north.
The Israeli army describes Rafah as the last stronghold for Hamas and claims that between 5,000 to 8,000 of its fighters and senior leaders are holed up in the city.
The UN agency for Palestinian Refugees, the UNRWA, said the consequences of an invasion on Rafah would be “devastating” and that it is not evacuating.
“An Israeli offensive in Rafah would mean more civilian suffering and deaths. The consequences would be devastating for 1.4 million people,” it said on X.
“UNRWA is not evacuating: the Agency will maintain a presence in Rafah as long as possible and will continue providing lifesaving aid to people.”
On Sunday three Israeli soldiers were killed after Hamas militants carried out a deadly rocket attack from the Kerem Shalom crossing in Rafah.
The IDF claimed that 10 projectiles were fired from a part of Rafah crossing in southern Gaza, about 3.6km (2.2 miles) from a major crossing used for the delivery of aid. Hamas’s armed wing claimed responsibility for the attack.
