Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 Palestinians in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Saturday, hours after Israel’s prime minister said he asked the military to plan for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people there ahead of a ground invasion.
He did not provide details or a timeline, but the announcement set off widespread panic. More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are packed into Rafah, many after being uprooted by Israeli evacuation orders that now cover two-thirds of Gaza’s territory. It’s not clear where they could run next.
Israel says that Rafah, which borders Egypt, is the last remaining stronghold for the Hamas militant group in Gaza after more than four months of war sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned that any Israeli ground offensive on Rafah would have “disastrous consequences,” and asserted that Israel aims to eventually force the Palestinians out of their land.—AP
