Israeli airstrikes across the southern Gaza Strip overnight on Sunday killed at least 19 Palestinians, including a Hamas political leader and several women and children. Residents reported that tanks had advanced into the southern city of Rafah, where the military had ordered an evacuation, News.Az informs via NPR.
The military ordered people to leave the already heavily destroyed Tel al-Sultan neighborhood on foot along a single route to Mawasi, a sprawling area of squalid tent camps. Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas last week when it launched a surprise wave of airstrikes that killed hundreds of Palestinians.
Late Saturday, Israel's Cabinet approved a proposal to set up a new directorate tasked with advancing the "voluntary departure" of Palestinians in line with U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to depopulate Gaza and rebuild it for others. Palestinians say they do not want to leave their homeland, and rights groups have said the plan could amount to expulsion in violation of international law.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the new body would be "subject to Israeli and international law" and coordinate "passage by land, sea and air to the destination countries."
In Rafah on Sunday, Palestinian men, women and children could be seen walking along a dirt road and carrying their belongings in their arms, a recurring scene in a war that has forced most of Gaza's population to flee within the territory, often multiple times.
"It's displacement under fire," said Mustafa Gaber, a local journalist who left Tel al-Sultan with his family. In a video call, he said hundreds of people were fleeing as tank and drone fire echoed nearby. "There are wounded people among us. The situation is very difficult," he said.
Mohammed Abu Taha, another resident who fled, said many people were unable to evacuate because of the surprise incursion overnight. He also said his sister and her family were sheltering in a school in an area of Rafah surrounded by Israeli forces.
