Why an attack on Rafah is dangerous for civilians

Since the war began, Israel has carried out ground operations across most of the Gaza Strip, pushing Palestinians further south. The United Nations estimates that up to 1.7 million people have been displaced by the conflict. Much of it is in Rafah, where around 275,000 people lived before the war.

Civilians in Shouka and the eastern Rafah districts of Salam, Jeneina, Tabet Ziraa and Byouk were ordered to head to a camp in the Mawasi area on the outskirts of Khan Younis, a statement in Arabic from Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee said. an IDF spokesman.

The residents of Rafah were informed through airdropped leaflets as well as messages, phone calls and radio broadcasts in Arabic, the IDF said.

Mawasi has been considered a safe zone in war for some time. Satellite images last month showed a growing camp in the area. But aid groups have warned that there is little infrastructure in the area to support the growing refugee population.

“Even before today’s evacuation orders, Al-Mawasi was uninhabitable,” Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, executive director of Mercy Corps, said in a statement. “Our team members report that the tents sit endlessly under the scorching sun with no relief in sight and there is no electricity, water or help.”

Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis were also considered part of what the IDF described as an expanded humanitarian zone. Both locations experienced fighting and destruction during the war, making them difficult to access for relief deliveries or evacuations.

The red zone – the focus of Israel’s new operation – includes Al-Najjar Hospital, which offers limited cancer treatment options, dialysis, pediatrics and emergency care.

Mhoira Leng, a palliative care nurse who recently returned from volunteering at the hospital, said in a statement that patients and staff there were already struggling to receive care. “The staff live in tents and have little access to food. Now they are forced to flee and transfer immobile patients from the only hospital in Gaza that offers this care.”

The zone also includes two key entry points for aid deliveries into Gaza: the Rafah crossing and the Kerem Shalom crossing. Aid groups warned that this could be disastrous for humanitarian efforts in the enclave.

“Rafah is currently the central hub of all humanitarian operations and a lifeline for the delivery of aid to Gaza,” McKenna said. “An offensive will cause humanitarian assistance – already hampered by extremely limited access, burdensome border controls and the destruction of vital infrastructure from roads to warehouses – to collapse.”

The zone also includes a large portion of Rafah’s agricultural land. The fighting there could further impact Gaza’s ability to produce its own food.

Niha Masih, Lior Soroka, Annabelle Timsit and Cate Brown contributed to this report.