Crisis in Gaza: Israeli forces order evacuations in Rafah amid airstrikes

The Israeli army on Sunday called on people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to leave as troops initiated an operation against militants there.In a message on X, military spokesman Avichay Adraee said the army "launched an offensive to target the terrorist groups" in Rafah's Tal al-Sultan neighborhood.

Humanitarian Groups Speak Out

Adraee appealed to Palestinians in the area to evacuate the "dangerous combat zone" and head further north. Drone leaflets carrying the same call were dropped on Tal al-Sultan, AFP correspondents reported. Israel, committed to annihilating Palestinian militant group Hamas, resumed heavy shelling of Gaza and redeployed ground forces on Tuesday, breaking a ceasefire that had held in large part since January 19.

Critics Call for Ceasefire

Prior to its fresh attack, Israel early in March shut the gates of humanitarian aid into Gaza, which had been devastated by war, and switched off electricity supply, as an attempt to compel Hamas to agree to the Israeli conditions for a prolongation of the ceasefire and free the 58 hostages still being detained by Palestinian fighters since the October 7, 2023 attack that precipitated the war.