From 55m ago
IDF issues call for ‘eastern neighbourhoods of Rafah’ to evacuate
Israel’s armed forces have issued a call for residents and displaced people of “eastern neighborhoods of Rafah” to evacuate, a day after Israeli leaders reiterated a promise to launch an attack on the southern city.
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 neighborhoods of Rafah to the expanded humanitarian space. This matter will progress in a gradual manner according to ongoing situation assessments that will take place all the time.”
The IDF said in its statement that it was making the call to evacuate through “announcements, text messages, phone calls and media broadcasts in Arabic.”
Israel has been warning for months it plans to send troops into Rafah, the southern city bordering Egypt where more than a million displaced Gaza residents have taken refuge.
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The IDF has issued a new update to journalists, describing the Rafah operations as “limited scope”.
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This morning … we began a limited scope operation to temporarily evacuate residents in the eastern part of Rafah.”
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Troops will continue to pursue Hamas militants “everywhere in Gaza until all hostages that they are holding in captivity are back home”, the statement said.
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The prospect of an invasion in Rafah has, in recent months, triggered alarm from aid groups and world leaders. US secretary of state Antony Blinken on Friday said Israel had yet to present “a credible plan to genuinely protect the civilians who are in harm’s way”, and without such a plan Washington “can’t support a major military operation going into Rafah.”
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Soon after the war in Gaza began on 7 October, Israel told Palestinians living in the north of Gaza to move to “safe zones” in the territory’s south – including Rafah.
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But Rafah has been repeatedly bombed from the air and Palestinians regularly say that no area of Gaza is safe.
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The IDF says it has expanded the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, in Rafah.
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The IDF is calling on residents in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah to temporarily evacuate to the expanded humanitarian zone.
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The expanded humanitarian zone includes field hospitals, tents and increased amounts of food, water, medicine and other supplies.”
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The statement from the IDF says it will “continue pursuing Hamas everywhere in Gaza until all the hostages that they’re holding in captivity are back home.”
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The IDF has expanded the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi to accommodate the increased levels of aid flowing into Gaza. This expanded humanitarian area includes field hospitals, tents and increased amounts of food, water, medication and additional supplies.
In accordance with the… pic.twitter.com/si47k9FCCz
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 6, 2024
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Israel’s armed forces have issued a call for residents and displaced people of “eastern neighborhoods of Rafah” to evacuate, a day after Israeli leaders reiterated a promise to launch an attack on the southern city.
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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 neighborhoods of Rafah to the expanded humanitarian space. This matter will progress in a gradual manner according to ongoing situation assessments that will take place all the time.”
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The IDF said in its statement that it was making the call to evacuate through “announcements, text messages, phone calls and media broadcasts in Arabic.”
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Israel has been warning for months it plans to send troops into Rafah, the southern city bordering Egypt where more than a million displaced Gaza residents have taken refuge.
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Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and the wider Middle East crisis.
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An IDF spokesperson has issued an “urgent appeal to all residents and displaced people” to evacuate a number of neighbourhoods of Gaza’s southern city of Rafah.
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IDF Arabic language spokesperson Avichay Adraee, said the Israeli army called on people in the Al-Salam, Al-Jeneina, Tabet Ziraa and Al-Byouk neighbourhoods to immediately evacuate to the “expanded humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi.”
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More on that in a moment, first here’s a summary of the day’s other main events.
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Israeli authorities shut down the local offices of Al Jazeera on Sunday, hours after a government vote to use new laws to close the satellite news network’s operations in the country. Critics called the move a “dark day for the media” and raised new concerns about the attitude to free speech of Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government.
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Senior Israeli officials ramped up pressure on Hamas on Sunday, saying Israel would refuse any permanent end to hostilities and threatening a new onslaught “in the very near future” if the militant organisation did not accept recently proposed terms for a ceasefire. In a televised address, Benjamin Netanyahu once more rejected Hamas’s demands for a definitive end to the war in Gaza, saying that any permanent ceasefire would allow the group to remain in power and pose a continuing threat to Israel.
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Hamas has reiterated its demand for an end to the war in exchange for the freeing of hostages. In their second day of truce talks in Cairo with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, Hamas negotiators maintained their stance that any truce agreement must end the war, Palestinian officials said.
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Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, accused Hamas of showing signs it was not serious about reaching a truce, and said that if this was the case Israel would launch military actions in Rafah and other parts of the Gaza Strip “in the very near future”.
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Key events
IDF describe Rafah operation as ‘limited scope’
The IDF has issued a new update to journalists, describing the Rafah operations as “limited scope”.
This morning … we began a limited scope operation to temporarily evacuate residents in the eastern part of Rafah.”
Troops will continue to pursue Hamas militants “everywhere in Gaza until all hostages that they are holding in captivity are back home”, the statement said.
The prospect of an invasion in Rafah has, in recent months, triggered alarm from aid groups and world leaders. US secretary of state Antony Blinken on Friday said Israel had yet to present “a credible plan to genuinely protect the civilians who are in harm’s way”, and without such a plan Washington “can’t support a major military operation going into Rafah.”
Soon after the war in Gaza began on 7 October, Israel told Palestinians living in the north of Gaza to move to “safe zones” in the territory’s south – including Rafah.
But Rafah has been repeatedly bombed from the air and Palestinians regularly say that no area of Gaza is safe.
The evacuation announcement comes hours after one of the main crossings used to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza was closed after a rocket attack claimed by Hamas killed three soldiers.
Israel’s military said 10 projectiles were launched from Rafah towards the area of the Kerem Shalom crossing. The crossing was closed soon after, but other crossings remained open.
The armed wing of Hamas said it fired rockets at an Israeli army base next to the crossing, but did not confirm where it fired them from. Hamas media quoted a source close to the group as saying the commercial crossing was not the target.
Shortly after the Hamas attack, an Israeli airstrike hit a house in Rafah, killing three people and wounding several others, Palestinian medics said.
Israel’s military said it believed Hamas was targeting soldiers massed on the Gaza border in preparation for a possible Rafah invasion.
More than a million Palestinians are sheltering in Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
On Sunday, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant warned that military action in Rafah could begin in the “very near future.”
In a statement, Gallant said Hamas seemed not to be serious about reaching a truce in ongoing ceasefire talks.
This means strong military action in Rafah will begin in the very near future, and in the rest of the Strip.”
The Guardian currently has no information from on the ground in Rafah.
Israel has been warning for months it plans to send troops into the southern city bordering Egypt where more than a million displaced Gaza residents have taken refuge.
Israel believes thousands of Hamas fighters are holed up in the city, along with potentially dozens of hostages. Western leaders have expressed alarm at the prospect of such an operation and the potential for a high number of casualties.
IDF says it has expanded ‘humanitarian area’ which civilians should move to
The IDF says it has expanded the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, in Rafah.
The IDF is calling on residents in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah to temporarily evacuate to the expanded humanitarian zone.
The expanded humanitarian zone includes field hospitals, tents and increased amounts of food, water, medicine and other supplies.”
The statement from the IDF says it will “continue pursuing Hamas everywhere in Gaza until all the hostages that they’re holding in captivity are back home.”
The IDF has expanded the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi to accommodate the increased levels of aid flowing into Gaza. This expanded humanitarian area includes field hospitals, tents and increased amounts of food, water, medication and additional supplies.
In accordance with the… pic.twitter.com/si47k9FCCz
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 6, 2024
\n\n"}}” config=”{"renderingTarget":"Web","darkModeAvailable":false,"assetOrigin":"https://assets.guim.co.uk/"}”>
The IDF has expanded the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi to accommodate the increased levels of aid flowing into Gaza. This expanded humanitarian area includes field hospitals, tents and increased amounts of food, water, medication and additional supplies.
In accordance with the… pic.twitter.com/si47k9FCCz
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 6, 2024
IDF issues call for ‘eastern neighbourhoods of Rafah’ to evacuate
Israel’s armed forces have issued a call for residents and displaced people of “eastern neighborhoods of Rafah” to evacuate, a day after Israeli leaders reiterated a promise to launch an attack on the southern city.
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 neighborhoods of Rafah to the expanded humanitarian space. This matter will progress in a gradual manner according to ongoing situation assessments that will take place all the time.”
The IDF said in its statement that it was making the call to evacuate through “announcements, text messages, phone calls and media broadcasts in Arabic.”
Israel has been warning for months it plans to send troops into Rafah, the southern city bordering Egypt where more than a million displaced Gaza residents have taken refuge.
Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and the wider Middle East crisis.
An IDF spokesperson has issued an “urgent appeal to all residents and displaced people” to evacuate a number of neighbourhoods of Gaza’s southern city of Rafah.
IDF Arabic language spokesperson Avichay Adraee, said the Israeli army called on people in the Al-Salam, Al-Jeneina, Tabet Ziraa and Al-Byouk neighbourhoods to immediately evacuate to the “expanded humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi.”
More on that in a moment, first here’s a summary of the day’s other main events.
-
Israeli authorities shut down the local offices of Al Jazeera on Sunday, hours after a government vote to use new laws to close the satellite news network’s operations in the country. Critics called the move a “dark day for the media” and raised new concerns about the attitude to free speech of Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government.
-
Senior Israeli officials ramped up pressure on Hamas on Sunday, saying Israel would refuse any permanent end to hostilities and threatening a new onslaught “in the very near future” if the militant organisation did not accept recently proposed terms for a ceasefire. In a televised address, Benjamin Netanyahu once more rejected Hamas’s demands for a definitive end to the war in Gaza, saying that any permanent ceasefire would allow the group to remain in power and pose a continuing threat to Israel.
-
Hamas has reiterated its demand for an end to the war in exchange for the freeing of hostages. In their second day of truce talks in Cairo with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, Hamas negotiators maintained their stance that any truce agreement must end the war, Palestinian officials said.
-
Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, accused Hamas of showing signs it was not serious about reaching a truce, and said that if this was the case Israel would launch military actions in Rafah and other parts of the Gaza Strip “in the very near future”.