Israel army says about 1,00,000 people being evacuated from east Rafah ahead of expected assault

NEW DELHI: The Israeli army said on Monday that it was evacuating over 1,00,000 people from eastern

Rafah

indicating a ground attack in southern

Gaza

. It asked

Palestinians

in eastern Rafah to relocate to a nearby "humanitarian area".
"The estimate is around 100,000 people," a military spokesperson said.
The evacuation, spokesperson said, "is part of our plans to dismantle

Hamas

...

we had a violent reminder of their presence and their operational abilities in Rafah yesterday."
"This is an evacuation plan to get people out of harm's way."

The military said that posters, text messages, phone calls, and media announcements will be used to "encourage... the gradual movement of civilians in the specified areas".
Meanwhile, Israeli air strikes continued to pound Rafah in southern Gaza, where about 12 lakh Palestinians have sought shelter. Sunday bombings in the southern strip killed at least 16 people, hours after Hamas rockets eliminated three Israeli soldiers.