Israel orders more residents to leave Rafah as it prepares to ramp up military action

11 May 2024, 09:54 | Updated: 11 May 2024, 15:37

Israel has ordered more residents to leave Rafah as it prepares to ramp up military action.

The IDF said it is expanding its operation and moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped.

There have been heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of Rafah, leaving crucial nearby aid crossings inaccessible and forcing more than 110,000 people to flee north.

IDF spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, told people to leave for the “expanded humanitarian area” in Al-Mawasi “immediately” on Saturday.

He said those who stay will expose themselves and their families to danger.

Israel's move into Rafah has so far been short of the full-scale invasion that it has planned.

The United Nations and other agencies have warned for weeks that an Israeli assault on Rafah, would cripple humanitarian operations and cause a surge in civilian casualties.

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It comes after Joe Biden's administration found Israel's use of US weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law.

There is "reasonable" evidence that suggests Israel has breached international law in its conduct in Gaza since the war broke out in the wake of Hamas' terror attacks on October 7, a report by the US government said.

"Given Israel's significant reliance on US-made defence articles, it is reasonable to assess that defence articles have been used by Israeli security forces since 7 October in instances inconsistent with its international humanitarian law obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm," it said.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said the country will "do what we have to do" to stop Hamas.

Speaking in an interview with Dr Phil on Thursday, he said: "We will do what we have to do to protect our country, and that means to protect our future. And that means we will defeat Hamas, including in Rafah. We have no other choice."

Mr Netanyahu also addressed US president Joe Biden's warning over an invasion of Rafah.

Mr Biden previously said that if Israel went into Rafah, "we're not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used, that have been used".

He also paused a shipment of heavy bombs to Israel last week amid fears of an invasion.

Mr Netanyahu said: "I've known Joe Biden for many years, 40 years and more.

"We often had our agreements, but we've had our disagreements. We've been able to overcome them.

"I hope we can overcome them now."

Meanwhile, the UK has also called into question its support for Israel in a full-scale invasion of Rafah.

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said the UK could not support a major offensive without a plan to protect civilian lives.

He said the UK was in a different situation to the US because the government did not supply weapons directly, but said arms export licences would continue to be measured against the risk of international humanitarian law being broken.

Answering questions following a speech in London, he said: "There's a very fundamental difference between the US situation and the UK situation.

"The US is a massive state supplier of weapons to Israel. We do not have a UK Government supply of weapons to Israel, we have a number of licences, and I think our defence exports to Israel are responsible for significantly less than 1% of their total. That is a big difference.

"On Rafah, we are clear that we would not support some major operation in Rafah unless there was a very clear plan for how to protect people and save lives, and all the rest of it.

"We have not seen that plan, so in the circumstances we will not support a major operation in Rafah."