Beijing, 11 May (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military sent a message to residents in the eastern part of Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, and some parts of northern Gaza on 11 May, urging them to evacuate to the "humanitarian zone" designated by Israel as soon as possible. The latest Israeli military order expands the scope of the "evacuation order" for the people of Gaza, and sends a signal to the outside world that the Israeli side is determined to push forward with military operations against Rafah.
The Israeli military ordered the evacuation of residents in eastern Rafah for the first time on the 6th, and the Israeli government announced its decision to advance the military operation against Rafah and put pressure on the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) later on the same day. The Israeli military issued a statement on the 11th saying that about 300,000 Gaza residents had evacuated eastern Rafah to the "humanitarian zone" of Mawasi, which is located in central Gaza and west of Gaza City.
Israeli army spokesman Avikai Adraj issued the latest order in Arabic on the social media platform X, covering residents and refugees from the Shabula refugee camp and three other districts in Rafah, as well as more than a dozen districts in northern Gaza, including Jabaliyah and Beit Lahiya. Adelari called these areas "dangerous fighting zones" and that "the IDF will strike hard against terrorist groups in the area as Hamas attempts to rebuild its presence there."
The latest evacuation order still specifies the destination for the "humanitarian zone" in Mawasi. Officials from the United Nations and international aid agencies have previously said that the area has become too crowded to withstand the influx of people.
The Israeli military has also disseminated the latest order by distributing leaflets and sending text and audio messages to residents' mobile phones. Some residents confirmed to the media that they had received mobile phone messages, and photos of flyers were also circulating on social media.
According to AFP, Suhaib Hams, director of the Kuwait Specialist Hospital in Rafah, sent a video message to media reporters informing that "unfortunately, the area where the Kuwait Specialist Hospital is located is now also included in the evacuation zone." Apart from this hospital, there is no other place in the area to treat the sick and wounded. He urged the international community to take immediate steps to protect the last remaining medical facility.
Israel and Hamas respectively confirmed on the 9th that the latest round of ceasefire talks in Gaza, the capital of Egypt, has broken down. The Israeli side announced that it would carry out a military operation in Rafah as planned. Although the international community has stepped up its mediation and urged a ceasefire, and the United States, as Israel's largest ally, has warned Israel not to attack Rafah on a large scale under the pressure of public opinion, Israel still insists on taking a tough stance.
Since the outbreak of the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict in early October last year, a large number of Palestinians in central and northern Gaza have taken refuge in Rafah, and now the number of Palestinians has exceeded 1.4 million, equivalent to half of Gaza's population.
After the Israeli army demanded that residents evacuate Rafah on 6 July, many refugees had to return to the war-torn northern part of Gaza. According to the Associated Press, aid agencies estimate that 110,000 people had been forced to return to their hometowns before the latest evacuation order on the 11th, and the new order will increase that number by another 40,000.
Israeli forces now take control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, forcing the crossing to close. Georges Petropoulos, an official at the Rafah office of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that aid workers had no more supplies to carry out assistance in the new refugee settlements, "no tents, no blankets, no mattresses, no humanitarian aid that should be needed to move people." He also said that the World Food Programme had warned that its relief food stocks in southern Gaza were running out and that by the 11th there would be "no food to distribute".
Other aid agencies say fuel reserves are also on the verge of depletion, health facilities will not be able to operate normally, and aid shipments to southern and central Gaza will be suspended.
According to the latest data released by the Palestinian health department on the 11th, the current round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict has killed at least 34,971 people in Gaza and injured 78,641. (Shen Min)