Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee after Israel seizes Rafah as part of new 'security zone'

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 03, 2025 9:28 AM EDT | Last Updated: 15 minutes ago

Hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans sought structure connected Thursday successful 1 of the biggest wide displacements of the war, arsenic Israeli forces precocious into the ruins of the metropolis of Rafah, portion of a recently announced "security zone" they mean to seize.

A time aft declaring their volition to seizure ample swaths of the crowded enclave, Israeli forces pushed into the metropolis on Gaza's confederate edge, which had served arsenic a past refuge for radical fleeing different areas for overmuch of the war.

Gaza's Health Ministry reported astatine slightest 97 radical killed successful Israeli strikes successful the past 24 hours, including astatine slightest 20 successful an airstrike astir dawn successful the Shuja'iyya suburb of Gaza City.

Later connected Thursday, an Israeli airstrike killed astatine slightest 20 Palestinians, including women and children, wrong a schoolhouse gathering that served arsenic a structure for displaced families in Gaza City, section wellness authorities said.

Medics said 3 missiles slammed into the Dar Al-Arqam schoolhouse gathering successful Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City, and the Israeli subject said it struck a bid centre that had been utilized by militants to program and execute attacks against Israeli civilians and service troops. It did not supply evidence.

Rafah "is gone, it is being wiped out," a begetter of 7 who had fled from Rafah to neighbouring Khan Younis, told Reuters via a chat app.

"They are knocking down what is near lasting of houses and property," said the man, who declined to beryllium identified for fearfulness of repercussions.

After a onslaught killed respective radical successful Khan Younis, Adel Abu Fakher was checking the harm to his tent.

"Is thing near for us? There's thing near for us. We're being killed portion asleep," helium said.

The battle to seizure Rafah is simply a large escalation successful the war, which Israel restarted past period aft efficaciously abandoning a ceasefire successful spot since January.

Gazans fearfulness imperishable displacement

Israel has not spelled retired its semipermanent aims for the information portion its troops are present seizing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said troops were taking an country helium called the "Morag Axis," a notation to an abandoned erstwhile Israeli colony erstwhile located betwixt Rafah and Khan Younis.

Gazans who had returned to homes successful the ruins during the ceasefire person present been ordered to fly communities connected the bluish and confederate edges of the strip.

They fearfulness that Israel's volition is to depopulate those areas indefinitely, leaving galore hundreds of thousands of radical permanently stateless successful 1 of the poorest and astir crowded territories connected earth. The information portion includes immoderate of Gaza's past cultivation onshore and captious h2o infrastructure.

Since the archetypal signifier of the ceasefire expired astatine the commencement of March with nary statement to prolong it, Israel has imposed a full blockade connected each goods reaching Gaza's 2.3 cardinal residents, recreating what planetary organizations picture arsenic a humanitarian catastrophe aft weeks of comparative calm.

Israel's stated extremity since the commencement of the warfare has been the demolition of the Hamas militant group, which ran Gaza for astir 2 decades.

But with nary effort made to found an alternate administration, Hamas-led police returned to the streets during the ceasefire. Fighters inactive clasp 59 dormant and surviving hostages, which Israel says indispensable beryllium handed implicit to widen the truce. Hamas says it volition escaped them lone nether a woody that ends the war.

The warfare began with a Hamas-led onslaught connected Israeli communities connected Oct. 7, 2023, with gunmen sidesplitting 1,200 radical and taking much than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliatory run has truthful acold killed much than 50,000 Palestinians, Gaza health authorities say.

Israeli leaders accidental they person been encouraged by signs of protestation in Gaza against Hamas, with hundreds of radical demonstrating successful bluish Gaza's Beit Lahiya connected Wednesday opposing the warfare and demanding Hamas discontinue power. Hamas calls the protesters collaborators and says Israel is down them.

Most of Rafah's residents ordered to evacuate

Rafah residents said astir of the section colonisation had followed Israel's bid to leave, arsenic Israeli strikes toppled buildings there. But a onslaught connected the main roadworthy betwixt Khan Younis and Rafah stopped astir question betwixt the 2 cities.

Movement of radical and postulation on the occidental coastal roadworthy adjacent Morag was besides constricted by bombardment, said residents.

"Others stayed due to the fact that they don't cognize wherever to go, oregon got fed up of being displaced respective times. We are acrophobic they mightiness beryllium killed oregon astatine champion detained," said Basem, a nonmigratory of Rafah who declined to springiness a 2nd name.

WATCH | Continued Israeli attacks pb immoderate assistance agencies to trim their footprint: 

Markets person emptied and prices for basal necessities person soared nether Israel's full blockade of food, medicine and fuel.

The Palestinian Health Ministry, which is based successful the Israeli-occupied West Bank but has nominal authorization implicit hospitals in Gaza, said Gaza's full health-care strategy was astatine hazard of collapse.