Israel has announced new forced evacuation orders for Rafah in southern Gaza, as the military said it plans to expand its renewed assault on the enclave.
The military’s Arabic language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, announced on X on Monday morning that the army was returning to “fight with great force” in Rafah, one of Gaza’s largest cities, and surrounding areas.
He called on Palestinians to immediately move to shelter in al-Mawasi on the coast. The area has regularly come under Israeli fire during the war in Gaza, despite being designated as a “safe zone”.
Shortly after the evacuation order, Al Jazeera Arabic reported that at least two people were killed during an Israeli attack on a tent housing displaced people in the area.
Last week, the United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) reported that 142,000 people have been displaced since Israel renewed its war on the enclave on March 18, breaking the fragile January ceasefire.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health has reported that more than 900 people have been killed since the bombardment resumed. That has raised the death toll since the start of the war in October 2023 to more than 50,000, it stated.
The October 7 Hamas attack on southern Gaza killed 1,139 people, and about 250 were taken captive, igniting the Israeli onslaught.
Grim Eid celebrations
Israeli attacks have continued to rain down on Gaza as Palestinians observe Eid al-Fitr, a three-day holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
On Sunday, the first day of Eid, at least 64 Palestinians were killed. By Monday morning, the situation in Gaza had the same grim outlook, with at least nine people having been killed in Israeli attacks.
Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary explained that in Khan Younis, the other main city in southern Gaza, Israeli forces have attacked “at least seven houses of different families”.
“There has also been endless artillery shelling in the central parts of the Gaza Strip, in Nuseirat, and also in the area very close to the Netzarim Corridor,” she said, adding that explosions were heard in Deir el-Balah, and three farmers were killed in the area.
In Beit Hanoon, northern Gaza, children who once celebrated the joyous occasion of Eid are now spending the holiday in fear.
“We’re too scared to go near the beach in case the Israelis shell us,” Wissam Nassar told Al Jazeera.
Hussein Alkafarna added: “We don’t feel any joy this Eid. We can’t get new clothes, never mind the constant fear we live in.”Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli attack on a house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip [Hatem Khaled/Reuters]
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