Israel to expand 'humanitarian zone' in Gaza ahead of Rafah ground attack

By Yaqut Dandashi

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel is preparing to expand a “humanitarian zone” for Palestinian civilians ahead of a planned ground offensive in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli media said on Monday.

According to Israeli Amry Radio, the humanitarian zone will extend from the southern town of Al-Mawasi along the coastal strip to the outskirts of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

“The humanitarian zone will accommodate around one million people,” the broadcaster said.

Five field hospitals have been established in the area in addition to the already operating hospitals there, the radio said.

Despite growing global opposition, Israel has approved plans to launch a ground offensive on Rafah, where more than 1.5 million people have taken refuge from Israel’s brutal onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

At least 34,151 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 77,000 others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul