Israel tells Gazans to leave border area before ‘intense fight’

Gaza: The Israeli army told Palestinians to leave areas in southern Gaza ahead of what it said would be “intense fighting” with Hamas, a sign it plans to extend ground operations in the enclave after a ceasefire collapsed earlier this month.

The notification on Monday covered Rafah, a city near Gaza’s border with Egypt, as well as surrounding areas. Two Israeli military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a ground operation would follow against targets related to Hamas and other fighters in the area. The army had previously said it was widening a security corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border.

Israel halted aid flows into Gaza and resumed air strikes and ground operations in the enclave after a six-week ceasefire expired March 2. Israel says it won’t relent until Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the US and many other countries, is no longer in power nor armed. It also aims to free 59 hostages still held in Gaza, as many as 24 of whom are believed to be still alive. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will use a mix of military force and diplomacy to recover them.

Since combat resumed in mid-March, a handful of rockets have been launched into Israel from Gaza, along with several mortar shells aimed at troops on the ground. Those caused no fatalities. Israel’s attacks have killed hundreds of Palestinians, including several Hamas field commanders and government figures. The death toll in Gaza since the war started in 2023 now exceeds 50,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The Israeli government’s actions have met with growing opposition from a public weary of the unprecedentedly long conflict and worried about the hostages’ fate. A weekend poll on Channel 12 TV found that 69% of Israelis want all the hostages back in a deal that would end the war with Hamas still standing, while 21% were opposed and 10% undecided.

In Gaza last week, thousands of Palestinians demonstrated in rare protests against Hamas. The demonstrations began in Beit Lahiya in the north on Tuesday, before spreading to Gaza City and central Gaza a day later. Protesters called on Hamas to relinquish control of the enclave.

Hamas triggered the war with an October 7, 2023 cross-border rampage in which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 abducted. Most of the hostages have been recovered during two Qatari- and Egyptian-mediated ceasefires, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians freed from Israeli prisons.

Meanwhile, new talks are under way. Hamas has offered to free five living hostages in exchange for a 50-day truce, according to Israeli media. Israel responded with a counter-offer it has not made public. Hamas has confirmed being in contact with the mediators.

Israel is conducting negotiations “while deploying firepower,” Netanyahu told his cabinet Sunday. “Therefore they’re also effective. Suddenly we see that there are cracks” in Hamas.