The Israeli army has ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza's southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area.
Israeli soldiers drive a tank at a staging ground near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Sunday, May 5, 2024.
Israel has described Rafah as the last significant Hamas stronghold after seven months of war, and its leaders have repeatedly said the invasion is necessary to defeat the Islamic militant group. On Sunday, Hamas carried out a deadly rocket attack from the Rafah area that killed four Israeli soldiers.
Israel's plan to invade Rafah has raised global alarm because of the potential for harm to more than a million Palestinian civilians sheltering there. The UN agency that has helped millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank for decades, known as UNRWA, warned on Monday of devastating consequences of a Rafah offensive, including more civilian suffering and deaths.
A Hamas official told The Associated Press that Israel is trying to pressure the group into making concessions on the ceasefire, but that it won't change its demands. Hamas wants a full end to the war, withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the eventual reconstruction of the strip in exchange for the Israeli hostages held by the militants.
Palestinians flee from the eastern side of the southern Gaza city of Rafah after the Israeli army orders them to evacuate ahead of a military operation, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Monday, May 6, 2024.
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