Israel has called on residents from more areas of Rafah in the Gaza Strip to evacuate and head to the “expanded humanitarian area” as it prepares to ramp up its military assault.
Despite heavy US pressure, Israel has said it will proceed with an assault on the southern city, where more than 1.4 million people have taken refuge from the fighting – around half of them children – and Israeli forces say Hamas militants are dug in.
Image: More areas of Rafah have been ordered to evacuate. Pic: IDF
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to proceed with the attack with or without US arms, saying “we will fight with our fingernails” if needed in a defiant statement.
The United Nations and other agencies have warned for weeks an Israeli assault on Rafah, which borders Egypt near the main aid entry points, would cripple humanitarian operations and cause a disastrous surge in civilian casualties.
The UK government has said it had “not seen a credible plan to protect civilians” and questioned the suitability of the current evacuation area of al Mawasi, describing it as “pretty barren land”.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Israel says Rafah is the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza and key to its goal of dismantling the group’s capabilities and returning scores of hostages captured in the 7 October attack by insurgents that triggered the war.
However, Hamas has repeatedly regrouped, even in the hardest-hit parts of the besieged enclave.
Heavy fighting is under way in northern Gaza, which was the first target of the ground offensive and where Israel said late last year it had mostly eradicated Hamas in the area.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee has told Palestinians to leave their homes in a number of neighbourhoods around Gaza City and head to shelters in the west, warning that people were in “a dangerous combat zone” and that Israel was going to strike with “great force”.
It came as the Biden administration said Israel’s use of US-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law, but wartime conditions prevented officials from determining specific instances of alleged breaches.
The assessment in a 46-page unclassified State Department report to Congress risks further souring ties with Israel.
The conflict was triggered by Hamas’s October attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw another 250 taken hostage.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.
Much of the territory has been destroyed and 80% of its population have been driven from their homes.
A cut in VAT and a new levy on arena and stadium tickets are urgently needed to stop grassroots music venues from closing, MPs have said. A report by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee said artists are facing a "cost-of-touring crisis", with venues stopping live music or closing entirely at a rate of two per week. The cross-party inquiry heard from the Music Venues Trust (MVT), which said 2023 […]
Post comments (0)