Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli attack on a house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, March 31, 2025     [Hatem Khaled/Reuters]

Tel Aviv, March 31 (RHC)-- Israel has announced new forced evacuation orders for Rafah in southern Gaza, as the military said it plans to expand its renewed assault on the enclave.

The military’s Arabic language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, announced on X on Monday morning that the army was returning to “fight with great force” in Rafah, one of Gaza’s largest cities, and surrounding areas.  He called on Palestinians to immediately move to shelter in al-Mawasi on the coast. The area has regularly come under Israeli fire during the war in Gaza, despite being designated as a “safe zone”.

Shortly after the evacuation order, Al Jazeera Arabic reported that at least two people were killed during an Israeli attack on a tent housing displaced people in the area.

Last week, the United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) reported that 142,000 people have been displaced since Israel renewed its war on the enclave on March 18, breaking the fragile January ceasefire.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health has reported that more than 900 people have been killed since the bombardment resumed.  That has raised the death toll since the start of the war in October 2023 to more than 50,000, it stated.

[ SOURCE: PRESS TV and NEWS AGENCIES ]