Israel Orders New Evacuations in Gaza’s Rafah

Internally displaced Palestinians settle in their shelters in a new camp following an evacuation order issued by the Israeli army, in Rafah, west Deir Al Balah town, southern Gaza Strip, 10 May 2024. (Issued 11 May 2024) MEPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Internally displaced Palestinians settle in their shelters in a new camp following an evacuation order issued by the Israeli army, in Rafah, west Deir Al Balah town, southern Gaza Strip, 10 May 2024. (Issued 11 May 2024) MEPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Israel Orders New Evacuations in Gaza’s Rafah

Internally displaced Palestinians settle in their shelters in a new camp following an evacuation order issued by the Israeli army, in Rafah, west Deir Al Balah town, southern Gaza Strip, 10 May 2024. (Issued 11 May 2024) MEPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Internally displaced Palestinians settle in their shelters in a new camp following an evacuation order issued by the Israeli army, in Rafah, west Deir Al Balah town, southern Gaza Strip, 10 May 2024. (Issued 11 May 2024) MEPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza's southern city of Rafah on Saturday as it prepared to expand its operation, saying it was also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped.
Israel’s move into Rafah has so far been short of the full-scale invasion that it has planned.
Army spokesman, Avichay Adraee, told Palestinians in Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya cities and the surrounding areas to leave their homes and head to shelters in the west of Gaza City, warning that people were in “a dangerous combat zone” and that Israel was going to strike with “great force.”

The United Nations and other agencies have warned for weeks that an Israeli assault on Rafah, which borders Egypt near the main aid entry points, would cripple humanitarian operations and cause a disastrous surge in civilian casualties. More than 1.4 million Palestinians — half of Gaza’s population— have been sheltering in Rafah, most after fleeing Israel’s offensives elsewhere.

Heavy fighting is underway in northern Gaza, where Hamas appeared to have once again regrouped in an area where Israel has already launched punishing assaults. Battles erupted this week in the Zeitoun area on the outskirts of Gaza City, in the northern part of the territory. Northern Gaza was the first target of the ground offensive. Israel said late last year that it had mostly dismantled Hamas in the area.

At least 19 people, including eight women and eight children, were killed overnight in Central Gaza in three different strikes that hit the towns of Zawaida, Maghazi and Deir al Balah, according to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah and an Associated Press journalist who counted the bodies.
Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.



The Head of the Arab League Slams Israel's Occupation of a Syrian Buffer Zone

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab League's foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt April 21, 2019. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab League's foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt April 21, 2019. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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The Head of the Arab League Slams Israel's Occupation of a Syrian Buffer Zone

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab League's foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt April 21, 2019. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab League's foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt April 21, 2019. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

The head of the Arab League is warning against Israel’s “expansionist greed” in Syria and the exploitation of the current “delicate moment” following the ouster of Syria's President Bashar Assad.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit urged the UN Security Council on Thursday to remain committed to the 1974 Israel-Syria truce following the 1973 Mideast war. The truce established a UN-patrolled demilitarized buffer zone between the two countries.

After Assad’s ouster on Dec. 8, Israeli forces occupied the buffer zone inside Syria, calling it a temporary move to block hostile forces.

Aboul Gheit emphasized that “the occupation of the Golan is illegal and unjustified except by the expansionist desires of Israel.”

The Arab League secretary-general said the 22-member organization supports the Syrian people’s aspirations “for a better life after long suffering at the hands of the previous regime.”

“We hope that Syria will undergo a successful transition that will pave the way to an end of the crisis without any foreign intervention, while preserving the Syrian unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.