Nearly One Million Gaza Civilians Have Evacuated From Rafah
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Nearly one million non-combatant Palestinians have now been evacuated from Rafah, a city on the border of Egypt and the Gaza Strip which Israel believes is hiding four remaining Hamas battalions and 128 Israeli hostages.
One and a half million Gaza civilians were displaced to camps in Rafah from parts of the enclave that were previously the target of Israeli operations. Israel’s offensive into the Gaza Strip is aimed at destroying Hamas’ infrastructure following the terror group’s genocidal attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel’s intention to launch a major ground offensive into Rafah has been a matter of extreme international controversy, with the United States not only joining worldwide calls for Israel to refrain from invading the city but even withholding a shipment of arms over its concerns that the civilian casualty toll would be massive.
The IDF says that it has facilitated the evacuation of some 950,000 Gazan civilians from Rafah and that around 400,000 remain. The evacuation of civilians thus far has taken just two weeks, rather than the “several months” previously estimated by the US Biden administration.
“Most of the evacuees have relocated to al-Muwasi, a Bedouin enclave along Gaza’s Mediterranean coast,” World Israel News (WIN) reported. “A minority have moved to Khan Yunis, another city in southern Gaza, where the IDF has already conducted a major ground operation,” WIN said.
Beginning the advance into Rafah despite international admonishments, as of May 20 Israeli forces have taken control of 30-40 percent of the city.