TEL AVIV — Israel has
said it is expanding its military operation to oust Hamas from Gaza to one of
the last remaining refuges in all of the strip: Rafah, a city on the border
with Egypt.
اضافة اعلان
“We complete the mission and will continue to Rafah,”
Israeli Defense Minister
Yoav Gallant wrote on social media Thursday,
describing how Israeli forces had “dismantled” the militant brigade in the city
of
Khan Yunis, a larger city less than 10 kilometers north.
Aid workers and
humanitarian organizations warned that Rafah
is already dangerously crowded with civilians who have been displaced at least
once, many of whom are sick or on the verge of famine. Further conflict in the
area runs the risk of causing significant harm, they said.
“The loss of life we face if Israel goes down into Gaza is
huge,” said Bob Kitchen, vice president for emergencies at the International
Rescue Committee, a humanitarian relief organization operating in Gaza.
The population of Rafah has swelled to “at least” 1.4
million people, Juliette Touma, director of communications for the UN agency
for Palestinian affairs,
UNRWA, wrote in a message. “This is five times the
population pre-war,” Touma said of Rafah, whose population was estimated at
280,000 before
Oct. 7.
Israeli officials have not specified what its plans for
Rafah look like. The country’s military has already conducted strikes in the
area, including an airstrike that hit near the
Kuwaiti Hospital in the city in
December that killed at least 18 people, according to hospital staff.
Aside from claiming the lives of thousands in Rafah if
Israel advances into Rafah, there are real fears that the incursion could lead
to forced displacement into Sinai.
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