The Israeli military ordered Palestinian civilians to evacuate Rafah on Monday, signifying that the long-anticipated ground invasion of the southern Gaza city is likely imminent and that ceasefire talks have essentially collapsed.
An estimated 100,000 Palestinians were told to move to Muwasi, an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone near the coast, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
While IDF spokesman Nadav Shoshani said that Israel is preparing a “limited scope operation,” he did not indicate whether it was the start of a wider invasion in Rafah. About 1.4 million displaced Palestinians have been sheltering in Rafah since Israel targeted other areas in the Gaza Strip months ago in response to Hamas’s terrorist attack on October 7.
The announcement comes as Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant told U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in an overnight phone call that “there was no choice left and the meaning was the start of the Israeli operation in Rafah,” the minister’s office said.
The conversation was preceded by a Hamas rocket attack launched from Rafah on Sunday that killed at least three Israeli soldiers and injured eleven others. The attack also closed Israel’s key border crossing for aid.
After the attack, Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations mediated by Egypt and Qatar stalled as the two sides couldn’t agree on a permanent end to the war. Hamas demanded that the war have a definite end, while Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated he would only entertain a temporary pause in the fighting.
In Rafah, Palestinians received the Israeli evacuation order through air-dropped flyers, text messages, phone calls, and radio broadcasts translated to Arabic. Israel had also expanded humanitarian aid in Muwasi as part of the move, which includes field hospitals, tents, food, water, medication, and other supplies. The IDF also published a map of the evacuation area, showing where the Palestinian civilians are being told to move.
“The IDF will continue pursuing Hamas everywhere in Gaza until all the hostages that they’re holding in captivity are back home,” the Israeli army said. Hamas continues to hold about 100 hostages in Gaza.
The flyers warned civilians to “evacuate immediately” to Muwasi and said aid would be sent from Deir al Balah in the north to Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
“Anyone found near (militant) organizations endangers themselves and their family members. For your safety, the (army) urges you to evacuate immediately to the expanded humanitarian area,” the flyers read.
Egypt’s Rafah crossing, which permits humanitarian aid into Gaza, remained open as of Monday after Israel made the announcement.
A senior Hamas official condemned the Israeli order, calling it a “dangerous escalation that will have consequences.”
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, whose employees have been linked to Hamas, also said a Rafah operation will have consequences, including more civilians suffering and dying. The agency added it will stay in Rafah to continue providing humanitarian assistance to the roughly 1.4 million displaced Palestinians.
“An Israeli military offensive will lead to an additional layer of an already unbearable tragedy for the people in Gaza. It will make even more difficult to reverse the expansion of the already man-made famine,” UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini said on social media after the organization’s initial statement.
“What is needed is a ceasefire now, not new forced displacement and anxiety of endless suffering,” he added. “Together with our partners, we will stay and deliver critical assistance in Rafah as long as possible.”