"Get out of Rafah now!" Urgent evacuation as IDF intensifies Gaza op

Earlier today (Sunday), the IDF issued an urgent evacuation warning for residents of the Tel Sultan neighborhood in Rafah, southern Gaza, while simultaneously initiating a major ground offensive in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, aimed at dismantling Hamas’ terror infrastructure and expanding Israel’s security buffer zone.

In a stark announcement early this morning, Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, declared the Tel Sultan neighborhood a "dangerous combat zone" and ordered residents to evacuate immediately. A map accompanying the directive outlined the evacuation route, instructing civilians to leave on foot via Gush Katif Road toward the al-Mawasi coastal area, a designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza.

“Movement in vehicles is prohibited,” Adraee warned in a post on X, emphasizing that staying in Tel Sultan or attempting to use alternative routes “puts your life and the lives of your families at risk.” The urgency of the message underscores the IDF’s expanding ground operations in Rafah, a city that has become a focal point of the conflict due to its proximity to the Egyptian border and its role as a shelter for displaced Palestinians.

This evacuation order follows a pattern of IDF warnings designed to separate civilians from combat zones as military activity ramps up.

Beit Hanoun: A Strategic Push to Weaken Hamas

Simultaneously, the IDF has launched a significant ground offensive in Beit Hanoun, a town in northern Gaza just 2 kilometers from the Israeli border. This operation aims to degrade Hamas’ operational capabilities by targeting terror infrastructure, including underground tunnels, weapons caches, and command centers. The IDF seeks to expand the security buffer zone along the border, a move intended to protect Israeli communities from rocket fire and infiltrations like the one carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which sparked the current war.

Israeli fighter jets conducted precision airstrikes on multiple Hamas targets in Beit Hanoun, coordinated with ground forces to maximize effectiveness. “During the operation, fighter jets struck several Hamas targets and terror infrastructure sites in the area,” the IDF stated, adding that these actions are part of a sustained campaign to “eliminate threats to Israeli civilians.”

The IDF has also opened humanitarian corridors, urging Beit Hanoun residents to evacuate combat zones for their safety. “The IDF will continue to operate against terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip to protect Israeli civilians,” the statement affirmed, highlighting Israel’s dual focus on military objectives and civilian protection.

A Dual-Front Strategy

Today’s developments reflect a strategic escalation on two fronts: the south, where Tel Sultan lies in Rafah, and the north, centered on Beit Hanoun. In Rafah, the IDF’s actions suggest a renewed push into areas previously spared from full-scale ground incursions, raising fears of further displacement in a city already hosting over a million displaced Palestinians. In Beit Hanoun, the offensive marks a return to a region heavily damaged in earlier phases of the war, signaling that Hamas retains a foothold despite previous IDF claims of dismantling its northern command structure.

Israel Realtime (WhatsApp) contributed to this article.