Hamas warns of 'catastrophic' consequences of Rafah evacuation
The Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas has sharply criticized the start of Israel's evacuation of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, ahead of a military operation.
Israel is damaging all efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza war, Mahmoud Mardawi, a senior Hamas official, told dpa on Monday.
The move would have a negative impact on the indirect negotiations and have a "catastrophic effect" on the local population, he said.
Mardawi emphasized that an Israeli military operation in Rafah, which is located near the Egyptian border, would not increase the pressure on Hamas. Israel would not succeed in achieving its war aims.
On Sunday, members of the Hamas military wing fired rockets at the Israeli border crossing Kerem Shalom, which is not far from Rafah, killing four Israeli soldiers.
Kerem Shalom is the most important border crossing for the delivery of aid from Israel to the coastal strip. The army temporarily closed it to humanitarian shipments after the rocket attack.
The military then reportedly bombed the site in Gaza near the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, where the attack had originated.
The Hamas-controlled health authority announced on Monday that at least 28 Palestinians had been killed in various Israeli attacks in Rafah since Sunday evening. There were also reports of heavy attacks in the east of the city of Rafah on Monday.
