Jordan warns of ‘another massacre’ in Rafah amid Israeli evacuation orders

By Laith Junaidi

AMMAN, Jordan (AA) - Failure to prevent another Israeli massacre in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip will be an “indelible stain” on the international community, Jordan warned on Monday.

The Israeli army issued immediate evacuation orders on Monday 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.

“Another massacre of the Palestinians is in the making. Israel is warning Palestinians to leave Rafah as it threatens an attack. All must act now to prevent it,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said in a statement.

“Failure to prevent the massacre will be an indelible stain on the international community,” he said.

“Too many massacres have been allowed. Enough.”

Rafah is home to more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians, who have taken refuge from the war launched by Israel following a Hamas attack last Oct. 7 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.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul