Israel tells Palestinians to evacuate Rafah amid new proposed hostage deal

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Mar 31, 2025 9:56 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 hours ago

Israel has projected an extended truce successful Gaza successful speech for the instrumentality of astir fractional the remaining hostages, Israeli officials said connected Monday, arsenic the subject issued caller evacuation orders and said "intense operations" were planned successful the southbound of the enclave.

The latest proposals would permission unfastened a last statement implicit ending the Israel-Hamas war, which has destroyed wide swathes of Gaza, killed tens of thousands of radical and displaced astir the full colonisation since it began successful October 2023.

The proposals foresee the instrumentality of fractional the 24 hostages believed to inactive beryllium live successful Gaza, and astir fractional the 35 assumed to beryllium dead, nearly 18 months aft they were seized by Hamas-led gunmen. This new truce would past betwixt 40 and 50 days, said the Israeli officials, who spoke connected information of anonymity.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said connected Sunday that Israel would step up pressure connected Hamas, but would proceed negotiations "under fire." Continued subject unit was the champion means of securing the instrumentality of the hostages, helium said.

Netanyahu besides repeated Israeli demands for Hamas to disarm, though the Palestinian militant question has rejected specified calls arsenic a "red line" it volition not cross.

The Israeli premier minister said Hamas leaders would beryllium allowed to permission Gaza nether a wider colony that would see proposals from U.S. President Donald Trump for the "voluntary emigration" of Palestinians from the constrictive strip.

Evacuation orders

On Monday, the Israeli subject told Palestinians surviving successful areas astir the confederate metropolis of Rafah to relocate to Al Mawasi, an country connected the shoreline.

"The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) is returning to aggravated operations to dismantle the capabilities of the violent organizations successful these areas," the military's Arabic-language spokesperson said successful a statement.

On the weekend, Hamas said it had accepted proposals made by Qatari and Egyptian mediators, which information sources said would entail 5 hostages being released each week successful speech for a truce.

The Israeli military, which has chopped disconnected assistance to Gaza, resumed operations connected March 18 aft a two-month truce, during which 33 Israeli hostages and 5 Thais were released successful speech for astir 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Efforts to determination to a 2nd signifier successful the ceasefire statement signed with U.S. backing successful January person mostly stalled, with nary motion of question to flooded cardinal differences betwixt the 2 sides implicit the postwar future.

Israel has said Hamas's subject and authorities capableness indispensable beryllium wholly dismantled and says the group, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, tin person nary relation successful the aboriginal governance of the enclave.

WATCH | 'We're surviving disconnected canned food': 

Hamas says it is consenting to measurement backmost to let different Palestinian medication to instrumentality its place, but has refused to disarm and says it indispensable play a portion successful choosing immoderate authorities follows.

Israel launched its run successful Gaza pursuing an onslaught by Hamas-led gunmen connected confederate Israeli communities connected October 7, 2023, successful which astir 1,200 radical were killed and 251 taken arsenic hostages into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

The subject run has killed much than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian wellness authorities.