*Four Israeli Soldiers Killed In Renewed Hamas Attacks
*Egypt Condemns Israeli Control Over Gaza Side Of Rafah Crossing
THE Israel Defence Forces (IDF), on Monday, May 6, commenced the evacuation of the city of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, ahead of an expected military operation in the area.
“We have began a limited scope operation to temporarily evacuate inhabitants of eastern Rafah,” an IDF spokesman said.
The IDF called on the inhabitants of the eastern part of the city on the border with Egypt to move to the al-Mawasi camp on the Mediterranean, a few kilometres to the north.
The Israeli military sent the tanks into Rafah overnight and said it had operational control over the Gaza side of the border crossing.
An estimated 100,000 people are affected, according to an IDF spokesman, adding that they were informed by text message, telephone and leaflets and via Arabic-language media.
Indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist terrorist organisation, Hamas, in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on a new ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners had previously failed to produce any immediate results.
The IDF spokesman said people were to go to an “expanded humanitarian area” in the al-Mawasi area, adding that food, water and medicine was available there and the army had also set up field hospitals, without saying how much time people had to evacuate.
He emphasised that the supply of humanitarian aid to the population would continue unhindered during the evacuation operation to the coastal strip via various routes, including the port in Ashdod.
Israel wants to use the military operation in Rafah to smash Hamas’ remaining battalions, which it had been fighting in the coastal strip since October last year when the group staged a surprise attack on the country.
Hostages are also believed to be held in the town on the border with Egypt and Israel had been threatening to launch a ground offensive into Rafah for months.
Its allies had been urgently warning against a Rafah offensive, because hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Palestinians had moved there.
The office of Israel’s Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, said he spoke with his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, overnight regarding the operation and briefed him on the Sunday Hamas attack, in which 10 projectiles were fired from the area adjacent to the Rafah crossing toward the area of the Kerem Shalom humanitarian crossing.
Three Israeli soldiers were killed in that attack on Kerem Shalom, which is the most important border crossing for the delivery of aid from Israel to the Gaza Strip.
The Army temporarily closed the Gaza Strip to humanitarian shipments after the rocket attack before bombing the site in the Gaza Strip near the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, where the attack had
originated.
Gallant’s office said the minister discussed the hostage release efforts, saying Hamas refused the frameworks at hand and that military action was required, since there was a “lack of an alternative.”
“The state of Israel cannot tolerate a situation in which Hamas continues to attack its citizens while showing a “lack of seriousness” on releasing the hostages.
“Israel is committed to achieving its war goals, the destruction of Hamas and the return of the remaining 132 hostages still in Gaza,” the spokesperson said.
Gallant expressed his appreciation to Austin for the US and its “partnership and leadership” and highlighted the US’ important role on the hostage issue.
Israel said it would evacuate the city before conducting combat operations in Rafah, which is expected to take several weeks.
Hamas had prepared its fighters in Rafah for deployment against Israel and supplied them with provisions and weapons and the number of militants guarding the hostages had also increased, according to reports from Israel.
Meanwhile, Egypt has condemned the Israeli military operations in Rafah and its control over the Palestinian side of the border crossing.
A foreign ministry statement released on Tuesday, may 7, said it considered the move “a dangerous escalation threatening the lives of more than one million Palestinians who depend mainly on this crossing, as it is the main lifeline of the Gaza Strip.”
The Rafah border crossing has been “the safe gateway” for those sick and wounded to get out of Gaza for treatment and for humanitarian and relief aid to enter the enclave, the statement added.
Egypt urged Israel to exercise the maximum levels of restraint and avoid a policy of brinkmanship that has long-term effects, as such would threaten the fate of the strenuous efforts made to reach a sustainable truce inside the Gaza Strip.
It also called on all influential international parties to intervene and exert the necessary pressure to defuse the current crisis and allow diplomatic efforts to achieve their desired results.
Humanitarian aid into Gaza via the Rafah border has stopped, as Israel assumed control over the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, following attack by Hamas’ military arm, the Qassam Brigades, on the Israeli border crossing, Kerem Shalom, with rockets on Tuesday.
The Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attacks, which triggered warning sirens in the area, according to IDF, which said there was no initial information on casualties.
On Sunday, the Qassam Brigades attack on Kerem Shalom with around 10 rockets killed four Israeli soldiers and injured others, forcing a closure of the most important border crossing for the delivery of aid from Israel to the Gaza Strip.
An Israeli military officer had said on Tuesday, before the new attack, that the crossing was still closed, even as efforts were being made to reopen it as soon as possible.
International aid organisations have repeatedly warned of hunger among the civilian population in Gaza Strip, prompting Israel to respond by allowing more aid supplies into the coastal strip in recent weeks.
