Israel orders new evacuations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah as it prepares to expand operations

By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAM MEDNICK and SAMY MAGDY
Associated Press

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah as it prepared to expand its operation saying it was also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped. Fighting is escalating across the enclave with heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of Rafah, leaving the crucial nearby aid crossings inaccessible and forcing more than 110,000 people to flee north. Israel’s move into Rafah has so far been short of the full-scale invasion that it has planned. The United Nations and other agencies have warned for weeks that an Israeli assault on Rafah, which borders Egypt near the main aid entry points, would cripple humanitarian operations.