Israel Issues Evacuation Orders for More Areas in Eastern Rafah and Northern Gaza

A few hours after the United Nations General Assembly supported Palestine's full membership in the organization, the Israeli army issued an immediate evacuation order for several more neighborhoods in the eastern Rafah area of southern Gaza and northern parts of the strip. According to the Associated Press, the Israeli army issued the new evacuation order on Saturday, May 22, forcing tens of thousands more to relocate. Reports indicate that following the previous evacuation order for some eastern Rafah areas, at least 110,000 people had left their homes in these areas. The Israeli army also stated that it is moving towards a region in northern Gaza, citing the 'replenishment' of Hamas forces in these areas as the reason. The extremist group Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by Europe and the United States. The White House stated that there are no signs of a large-scale assault on Rafah. The renewed movement of Israeli forces towards northern Gaza comes as Benjamin Netanyahu's government had announced weeks ago that it had completely taken control of northern Gaza. Israel, which has declared the complete destruction of Hamas as its ultimate goal in this war, has currently evacuated one-third of eastern Rafah and is directing operations closer to the densely populated central area of this region. This insistence on conducting ground operations in Rafah has faced open opposition from the United States, even leading to the seizure of some arms shipments sent from Washington to Israel by direct order from President Joe Biden. In recent weeks, following official reports of Israel's intention to conduct operations in Rafah, many leaders of Western countries and international and human rights organizations have issued warnings. The United Nations and other humanitarian organizations have been warning for weeks that Israel's attack on Rafah, which is near key entry points for aid at the Egyptian border, will paralyze humanitarian operations and lead to a catastrophic increase in civilian casualties. Over 1.4 million Palestinians - half of Gaza's population - have taken refuge in Rafah, most of whom reached this last refuge after fleeing Israeli attacks elsewhere. Meanwhile, repeated evacuation orders for various areas of Rafah force Palestinians to return north, an area that has been completely devastated in previous Israeli attacks. The UN World Food Program announced on Friday in a post on social media that the southern crossings to the Gaza Strip, where the main flow of aid passes through, have not received any aid for three days. According to the Associated Press, in a city sheltering about 1.4 million displaced Palestinians, only one bakery is operational, and the Israeli army is advancing with ground assaults into various areas. In recent days, Israeli soldiers have taken control of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, which was the main entry point for fuel into the city, and have shut it down. An official from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Rafah stated that there are no preparations for aiding the people in the area, and by Saturday, in addition to food, fuel will also run out in Gaza, leading to the cessation of hospital operations.