Palestinians flee from Rafah, Gaza, on May 6. Ramadan Abed/Reuters
Palestinian civilians told to evacuate eastern Rafah by the Israeli military have described their fear and despair at being uprooted from their homes and shelters, as Israel airstrikes hit Gaza’s southernmost city.
“We left because they distributed leaflets,” Mohammed Ghanem, a resident in eastern Rafah told a CNN stringer in the area on Monday. “(They) are striking everywhere without differentiating between children, adults, militants or non-militants. I left my house that I have been building for 17 years.”
Ghanem and his wife were pushing strollers piled high with belongings. “We no longer have a home. We are heading to Mawasi because there is no safety with the Israelis. They are killing women and children,” he said.
Another woman from eastern Rafah said, “The Israelis sent us messages ordering us to leave. We cannot stay.”
Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military called on an estimated 100,000 Palestinians living in parts of eastern Rafah to “evacuate immediately,” telling them to move to Al-Mawasi, a coastal town near the city of Khan Younis that aid groups say is not appropriate for habitation.
In a statement, the office of Israel’s prime minister said the country’s war cabinet had “unanimously decided” to continue with the Rafah operation “to exert military pressure on Hamas.”
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Source link: https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-05-07-24/index.html