Israel says its forces operating against Hamas targets in eastern Rafah

The Israeli army launched airstrikes in eastern Rafah late on Monday that it claimed were directed at Hamas.

"The IDF (army) forces are currently attacking, operating against Hamas targets in eastern Rafah in southern Gaza," army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement on X.

Israeli artillery also shelled several areas east of the city, according to an Anadolu reporter.

Several military vehicles were seen moving into the eastern border fence of Rafah city, witnesses said.

Earlier on Monday, the Israeli army issued immediate evacuation orders for Palestinians in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah and called on them to move to the town of al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.

Around 100,000 Palestinian civilians are estimated to be living in the areas to be evacuated, according to Israeli Army Radio.

Rafah is home to more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians who have taken refuge from the war launched by Israel following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that killed nearly 1,200 people.

Since then, the Israeli onslaught has killed more than 34,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, besides causing a humanitarian catastrophe.

Nearly seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

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.