Israeli military tells Palestinian civilians in parts of Rafah to ‘evacuate immediately’

Israel’s military on Monday said it has begun evacuating Palestinians from parts of Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, ahead of an expected military operation where roughly half of the enclave’s entire population is sheltering.

“For your safety, the IDF appeals to you evacuate immediately to the expanded humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi,” Avichay Adraee, the Israel Defense Force’s head of the Arab media division, wrote in a post on X, according to a Google translation from Arabic.

“The IDF will act with extreme force against terrorist organizations in your areas of residence, as it has done so far. Anyone who is close to terrorist organizations puts his life and the life of his family at risk,” the post said.

Al Mawasi is a small stretch of coastal scrub land, just over half a mile wide and 8.6 miles long, and is already host to several hundred thousand displaced Palestinians. More than 1.2 million people are currently sheltering in Rafah, most of whom fled other parts of the Gaza Strip, predominantly living in tents and without access to sufficient water, food, and basic medicine.

The White House — as well as the United Nations, WHO and other multinational organizations — has urged Israel against an offensive in Rafah, warning of catastrophic humanitarian consequences. Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu said that an operation there is essential to his country winning the war against Hamas.

“The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there – with or without a [cease-fire] deal, in order to achieve total victory,” Netanyahu said while speaking in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

The IDF believes that between 5,000 and 8,000 Hamas fighters are in the densely-populated southern city, which it says is the militant group’s last holdout.

The announcement Monday comes after the latest round of hostage and cease-fire deal negotiations ended in Cairo on Sunday, with both Hamas and Israeli officials trading blame for the talks’ collapse.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sunday that “we see signs that Hamas does not intend to go to any agreement.” Israel did not send a delegation to Cairo for the discussions, which were mediated by Qatar and Egypt.

Hamas has proposed releasing a number of hostages in exchange for a full and permanent cease-fire, which Israel’s government said is a no-go, as it aims aim to continue its military offensive in Gaza until it deems the group to be completely eliminated. The Hamas delegation left Egypt on Sunday for Qatar, where it has a political office, saying that “in-depth and serious discussions took place” in the last several days. It will return to Cairo on Tuesday to continue talks.