Israel military forces have ordered civilians seeking refuge in the southern Gazan city, Rafah, on Monday, May 6, to ‘evacuate immediately.’
According to CNN, the IDF issued the evacuation call a day after the defence minister told troops inside Gaza to take ‘intense action in the near future.’
The head of the Arab media division of the IDF spokesperson’s unit, Avichay Adraee, wrote, “For your safety, the Defense Army urges you to evacuate immediately to the expanded humanitarian area at the checkpoints.”
Adraee urgently called for people residing in ‘the municipality of Al-Shawka and in the neighbourhoods, Al-Salam, Al-Jneina, Tiba Zaraa, and Al-Bayouk in the Rafah to leave the area quickly.’
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokesperson Jens Laerke has already warned Israel against launching a ground invasion in Rafah while talking to journalists in Geneva.
Laerke mentioned that any ground operation in Rafah would mean more suffering and death for the 1.2 million displaced Palestinians sheltering in the city.
Moreover, the World Food Programme once again warned over the weekend that Northern Gaza is already experiencing a ‘full-blown famine’ which is spreading across the strip.
For the unversed, Israel’s constant bombing of Gaza since October 7, 2023, has devastated the whole neighbourhood to rubble, and many of the residents who have been displaced multiple times in the past seven months are seeking shelter in Gaza.
