Since Monday, around 300,000 people from the Gaza Strip have made their way to the humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi, the Israeli army said on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Islamist Hamas released another video of a hostage being kidnapped in the Gaza Strip.
The army had previously expanded the districts to be evacuated in East Rafah as part of its crackdown on the radical Islamic Palestinian organization. The army urged residents of Rafah to leave areas in the east and center of the city “immediately.” The request, published in Arabic on the online service
Residents in Rafah said they were asked by the Israeli army via X and text and voice messages on their cell phones to go to the “humanitarian zone” in the coastal town of al-Mawasi, about 10 kilometers away.
Pictures on online networks showed leaflets with the latest call, which the army said it had distributed in the affected areas. Accordingly, the evacuations also affect parts of the Shabura refugee camp as well as the districts of Jeneina and Khirbet al-Adas.
According to army spokesman Adraee, the evacuation order also applies to people in Jhabalija and Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. The reason given in the separate statement was that they were “in a dangerous combat zone.” “Hamas is trying to rebuild its capabilities in this area,” Adraee said. Therefore, the army will “act with great force against the terrorist organizations in this area.”
The Israeli army called on residents of East Rafah to leave the area on Monday. According to its own information, it also initiated an evacuation operation of “limited scope”. Despite international pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sticking to plans for a ground offensive in Rafah.
Israel sees Rafah as the last bastion of the radical Islamic Hamas. According to Israeli information, the operation is also aimed at freeing the hostages suspected to be there from Hamas’ control. More than a million people have sought refuge from the fighting in the border town with Egypt.
The UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA said on The White House said on Friday that it did not yet see a “major ground offensive” in Rafah, but was monitoring the situation “with concern.”
New hostage video released
On Saturday, Hamas’ armed wing released another hostage video. The 11-second recording by the Essedine al-Kassam Brigades, published on the online channel Telegram, shows an emaciated man with a swollen eye in front of a white-tiled wall, apparently speaking under duress. A text underneath reads: “Time is running out. Your government is lying.” It was not announced which Israeli hostage it was.
Israeli media initially did not comment on the new clip. Hamas has released similar hostage videos in the past, most recently in April. Israel condemns these publications as psychological warfare.
Meanwhile, fighting in the Gaza Strip continued. AFP journalists reported Israeli attacks from the south to the north of the area on Saturday. At least 21 people were killed in attacks in central Gaza, a hospital said. In Rafah, witnesses saw intense air strikes near the border crossing with Egypt.
On Friday, the Israeli army reported renewed rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. Nine rockets were fired from the Rafah region and five more from the center of the Gaza Strip at the southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva, about 40 kilometers away, the army said.
