Half of Gaza’s population has been sheltering in Rafah city, most of whom have fled Israel’s ground offensives in other parts of the region.
Israel on Saturday issued fresh evacuation orders in the southern Gaza city of Rafah forcing several displaced Palestinians to move, reported the Associated Press.
The order came amid the Israeli military’s preparations for a full ground invasion of the city, where over 1 million Palestinians have fled amid the war on Gaza.
Due to the evacuation orders, nearly 1,50,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East said on Saturday, reported Al Jazeera.
The Israeli army, however, said that approximately 3 lakh Palestinians had moved from the eastern part of Rafah to al-Mawasi since the evacuation order was issued.
Rafah was considered the last refuge for Palestinians in Gaza. It was also the main point of entry for fuel before the Israeli military captured the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
The evacuations are now forcing Palestinians to return to the north of Gaza which has been destroyed due to attacks by the Israeli military.
