Israel has told tens of thousands more Palestinians to leave Rafah, as it intensifies military operations in southern Gaza.

Flyers dropped from the air and posts on social media told residents in the city's eastern districts to go to al-Mawasi - a narrow coastal area which Israel calls an "expanded humanitarian zone".

Parts of Rafah where the streets were packed with locals and displaced people just days ago, now look like a ghost town.

Israel has said it will proceed with planned operations in Rafah despite the US and other allies warning that a ground offensive could lead to mass civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis.

Images showed smoke rising over the city on Saturday and witnesses quoted by AFP reported air strikes near the crossing with Egypt.

Posting on X, formerly Twitter, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that during the past day troops had been engaged in "face-to-face battles" with Hamas fighters in Rafah.

The IDF added that soldiers had found "a number of underground shafts" in the area.

In the past day, there have been dozens of Israeli air strikes across the length of the Gaza Strip, with the Israeli military saying it’s targeting what it calls terrorists and terrorist infrastructure.

It’s also instructed residents to leave some areas of northern Gaza; indicating its forces may return there months after they previously left.

The IDF said people in and around Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, need to "temporarily evacuate to shelters in western Gaza City" in order to "reduce harm" to residents "following attempts by Hamas to reassemble" in the area.

Originally displaced from Jabaliya, one man told the BBC he had received a message on his mobile, telling him to immediately evacuate Rafah.

"We don't know where to go. We are about 80 people," he told BBC Arabic's programme Gaza Lifeline.

"I don't have money to go back to Khan Younis. Some neighbours said to come and rent a place for very little rent. But I don't have money even to rent a car.”

Source:
courtesy of BBC NEWS

by Rob Corp

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