Mapped: Where is Rafah and why is Israel invading it?
Israel has ordered the evacuation of more than 100,000 people from the city of Rafah in Gaza, as fears of a ground invasion become urgent.
About 1.4 million Palestinians — more than half of Gaza‘s population — are packed into the city and its surroundings, living in densely packed tent camps, shelters or overcrowded apartments after fleeing to Rafah in hope of escaping Israel‘s attacks.
On Monday, people received flyers in Arabic ordering people to move to nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasi. The flyers detailed which neighborhood blocks needed to leave and where humanitarian zones had expanded to.
They also said aid services would spread from Deir al Balah in the north to the center of Khan Younis city in the middle of the Gaza Strip.
“Anyone found near (militant) organisations endangers themselves and their family members. For your safety, the (army) urges you to evacuate immediately to the expanded humanitarian area”, it read.
But where is Rafah, and why is Israel targeting the city now? The Independent has put together answers and a map below.
Rafah is a city in the south of Gaza near the border of Egypt. When Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula in 1982, now part of Egypt, it was split into a Gazan and Egyptian part.
It was initially a safe haven for people fleeing northern Gaza in the early stages of the most recent Israel-Gaza conflict, when Palestinians were ordered to evacuate ahead of heavy Israeli bombardment.
But the city is now home to around 1.4 million people – more than half of Gaza’s population – and Mr Netanyahu has ordered a ground invasion of the area, where he believes Hamas operatives are hiding.
Most residents of Rafah are living in temporary structures such as tents and aid organisations have warned of a dire humanitarian situation.
Israel has described Rafah as the last significant Hamas stronghold after seven months of war, and its leaders have repeatedly said the invasion is necessary to defeat the Islamic militant group.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesman, said Israel was preparing a “limited scope operation” and would not say whether this was the beginning of a broader invasion of the city.
But after 7 October and the unprecedented attack on southern Israel by Hamas, Israel did not formally announce the launch of a ground invasion that continues to this day.
Defence minister Yoav Gallant told US secretary of defense Lloyd Austin overnight that Israel had ‘no choice’ but to act in Rafah. On Sunday, Hamas carried out a deadly rocket attack from the Rafah area that killed four Israeli soldiers.
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- Source of information and images “independent“
