Israel Issues Expulsion Orders for One-Fifth of Gaza, Including All of Rafah
Gaza (Quds News Network)- The Israeli army has ordered native Palestinians to leave nearly 20% of Gaza, including the entire Rafah governorate and parts of Khan Younis. The so-called “humanitarian zone,” designated before the last ceasefire, has also disappeared from Israeli maps.
On Monday, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee threatened residents of Rafah and the eastern Khan Younis neighborhoods of Al-Manara and Qizan Al-Najjar ordering them to leave their homes immediately. The military plans to attack these areas soon.
Israel intensified its assault on Gaza on Sunday, the first day of Eid al-Fitr. The attacks killed 64 civilians, mostly women and children. Heartbreaking scenes of murdered children in Eid clothes have been widely shared on social media. That same day, rescue teams discovered the bodies of 14 Palestinian Red Crescent and civil defense workers in Rafah. Israeli forces had executed them a week earlier while they were on a rescue mission. They were put in a deep pit with their hands bound before they were shot and buried in the same pit.
On Saturday, the Israeli military announced an expansion of its attacks on Rafah. The assaults have continued across Gaza since Israel unilaterally ended the ceasefire agreement and refused to enter its second phase.
The truce, brokered by Egypt and Qatar with U.S. support, began on January 19, 2025. Hamas upheld its commitments in the first phase. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted by the International Criminal Court, abandoned the next stage.
Since resuming its attacks on March 18, Israel has killed at least 921 Palestinians and injured 2,054, mostly women and children.
With full U.S. backing, Israel has waged a genocidal war on Gaza since October 7, 2023. The assault has killed or wounded over 164,000 Palestinians, including tens of thousands of children and women. More than 14,000 remain missing under the rubble.
