GAZA: The Israeli army has begun ordering Palestinians living in eastern Rafah to evacuate from the area, Israeli media reported on Monday. A spokesperson for the Israeli army told media that it is evacuating about 100,000 people from eastern Rafah, ahead of an expected ground offensive. The world has warned Israel that a military operation in Rafah would be “catastrophic”.
The new development took place as the Israeli troops have started pounding Rafah, where over a million Palestinians are taking shelters, killing around 21 civilians, Arab media reported earlier on Monday.
Emergency services said that seven people from one family and nine from another were martyred in the Israeli air strikes. Health source said that Israeli strikes took place at two different areas in the bordering city.
On Sunday, at least three Israeli soldiers were killed in a Hamas rocket attack, near the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Hamas’s military wing claimed responsibility for an attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza on Sunday.
Gaza health ministry said that over 34,600 Palestinians have been killed mostly women and children in brutal Israeli strikes since Oct. 7. Similarly, more than 77,000 people including women and children have been wounded in Israel’s air strikes.
Meanwhile, western media reported that prospects for a Gaza truce appeared slim on Sunday as Hamas reiterated its demand for an end to the ongoing war in exchange for the freeing of captives, and Israeli Prime Minister completely ruled that out.
The two parties accused each other for the stalemate and the Hamas delegation said it would leave Egypt ceasefire talks on Sunday night to consult with its top leadership. However, the Hamas planned to return to Cairo on Tuesday, Reuters citied sources.
In their second day of negotiations with Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Hamas’s negotiators said that their position that any ceasefire agreement must end the war, Palestinian officials stated.
