Israel orders thousands more Rafah residents to evacuate the city as it steps up attacks against Hamas in Gaza
As we've been reporting, the IDF has ordered the evacuation of Palestinians from more neighbourhoods in the southern city of Rafah, following similar orders for residents to evacuate to "humanitarian areas" earlier in the week.
The Israel Defense Forces has released a statement saying that "so far approximately 300,000 Gazans have moved towards the humanitarian area in al-Mawasi" since the order was given on Monday.
The calls for the "temporary evacuation" are being communicated to residents through "flyers, SMS messages, phone calls and media broadcasts in Arabic," the statement has also said.
The IDF also say they have called for people in and around Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, to "temporarily evacuate to shelters in western Gaza City" in order to "reduce harm" to residents "following attempts by Hamas to reassemble" in the area.
Humanitarian agencies, Israel's allies and other countries have accused Israel of not doing enough to ensure that food gets to those in need in Gaza.
Some have accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.
All aid for Gaza is subject to strict Israeli checks aimed at preventing supplies from reaching Hamas.
But aid groups have said these are complex and arbitrary, causing major delays. Israel has denied impeding deliveries and accuses aid organisations of failing to distribute it.
Most recently, in Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians have been sheltering, the UN has warned that food and fuel is running out.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military announced it had reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing, a key entry point that had been closed for four days because of Hamas rocket fire.
It released a video showing lorries entering the crossing on Thursday, but the UN said the fighting made it impossible for it to pick up the supplies.
The closure of the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings severed access for fuel, supplies and the movement of humanitarian staff, says Georgios Petropoulos, who is the head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The shutdowns "also affected any movement of civilians who could go out on medical evacuation”, Petropoulos has said.
In a video filmed on Friday but posted today on X, formerly known as Twitter, Petropoulos said the “World Food Programme (WFP) and UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) will run out of food for distribution in the south by tomorrow,” which means they would run out of food as of today.
He says this means people will be left "only with the aid that has already been distributed in their shelters, in their homes and on site".
Petropoulos has also said there are only four bakeries left operating in limited capacity in south Gaza, and they will be out of stock by Monday.
THESE AND MORE UPDATES FROM GAZA AT: Israel Gaza latest: Rafah residents ordered to evacuate city - BBC News
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