The anticipated Israeli invasion of Rafah is now under way after Israeli forces dropped leaflets on the eastern part of the city, ordering an evacuation to a so-called "safe zone" and warning that "extreme force" will be used against all who remain in Rafah.
The Israeli military announced that about 100,000 people in the eastern part of Rafah have to evacuate to the Al-Mawasi Refugee Camp on the Gazan coast.
Relief groups have warned that an evacuation of civilians from Rafah, which is protecting an estimated 1.4 million Palestinian civilians, is not feasible because there is nowhere to go due to Israel's indiscriminate destruction of Gaza. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) even warned that Al-Mawasi does not have the resources to take in an additional 100,000 evacuees.
The NRC said the "forced, unlawful" evacuation order could lead to "the deadliest phase of this conflict."
The international charity Oxfam also strongly criticized the Israeli evacuation order and mentioned that Israel has many times bombed areas it alleged were safe.
"Oxfam condemns this forced evacuation order, the potential Rafah offensive, and the Biden administration’s unconditional support for Israel that has helped bring us to this point. There is nowhere safe to go: for over six months, Israel has routinely killed civilians and aid workers, including in clearly marked 'safe zones' and 'evacuation routes.' The notion that the 100,000 civilians being evacuated by Israel will be safe and protected is simply not credible," said Abby Maxman, CEO of Oxfam America.
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United States officials have declared they are against Israel invading Rafah without a definite plan to protect civilians.
Biden administration showing no signs of placing pressure on Netanyahu
The administration of President Joe Biden has shown no signs that it is interested in placing any kind of real pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, as Israel has already moved forward with the planned assault and U.S. weapons deliveries to Israel continue to arrive.
Israeli bombs battered Rafah before the evacuation order was released, with reports of no less than 22 civilians, along with eight children, being killed in the strikes. (Related: Israel strikes Rafah where all remaining Gaza refugees fled: 22 DEAD, most of them CHILDREN.)
Rafah residents said Israeli strikes hit the city after the evacuation order.
"They told us to evacuate, and here we are doing so. We hope that God will bring us goodness, God willing," said Mahmood Wahba as he prepared to flee with his family for the city of Khan Younis, near al-Mawasi.
Wahba said his family had learned about the order on the internet, while the IDF had also disseminated its message through air-dropped flyers, text messages and loudspeakers.
NRC spokesperson Samah Hadid said she feared the evacuation orders were the "start of the nightmare scenario that we’ve been dreading for months."
"We've been warning against a military operation in Rafah because the consequences will be deadly and devastating for the over one million IDPs [internally displaced persons] in the area," Hadid said in a phone interview early Monday, May 6.
Hadid also appealed to the Biden administration to "use its influence and leverage over Israel" to stop any military operation in Rafah.
"We need this to happen urgently so that the Israelis get a clear message from their strongest ally that a military offensive in one of the largest displacement sites in the world cannot take place. We have yet to see real pressure applied," Hadid said.
Follow Humanitarian.news for more news about the humanitarian groups working in Gaza.
Watch the video below about President Joe Biden saying the U.S. will not support Israel's operations in Rafah.
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More related stories:
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Israel gears up for massive ground operation in Rafah despite growing global opposition.
Saudi Arabia warns of "VERY SERIOUS REPERCUSSIONS" if Israel storms Rafah.
U.S. begins construction of humanitarian aid port off Gaza as Israeli invasion of Rafah looms.
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