Amnesty International has expressed concern over the ongoing Israeli operation inside Rafah, saying that any military action will worsen the flow of humanitarian aid.
“1.3 million people have fled to Rafah to seek shelter from Israeli bombs and attacks. They are crammed together in extremely poor conditions, with aid organizations struggling to help them,” Amnesty's Denmark chapter said on X.
“Any military action will worsen their relationship further,” it added.
The rights watchdog also expressed strong reservations over the contested Israeli plan to evacuate civilians in the military operation, saying there are no safe corridors for the civilians out of Rafah.
“100,000 have been ordered to evacuate by Israel, but there are no safe ways out of Rafah and no safe places to move to,” it said.
The rights organization urged both - Hamas and Israel - to observe the rules of the war and protect civilians in Rafah.
“This applies to the hostages in Hamas custody and the civilians in Rafah,” the statement added.
Following the Palestinian Hamas group announcement of accepting a Qatari-Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza, Israel's war cabinet decided to push ahead with an operation in Rafah in order to apply what it said "military pressure on Hamas with the goal of making progress on freeing the hostages and the other war aims.”
The Israeli army issued evacuation orders early Monday for Palestinians in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah and called on them to move to the town of al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.
Rafah is home to more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians who have taken refuge from the war launched by Israel following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed nearly 1,200 people.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians there.
