An Israeli military official has said that if an invasion were to begin in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, an Israeli-designated “humanitarian zone” along the coast would be expanded to include more civilians.
The comments are among the first indications of the Israeli military’s plans for civilians in the event of a major ground maneuver in Rafah, which the Biden administration has urged Israel to refrain from because of the risks it would pose to displaced Palestinians.
Palestinians who have sought shelter in Rafah have been preparing for an Israeli incursion for months, huddled in crowded tents, schools and apartments. Many responded to Israeli calls to evacuate, but were also bombed in those places.
Israeli officials have repeatedly said the army will enter Rafah to fight Hamas battalions there, resisting international pressure to halt any operation.
In the event of an invasion, Israel would tell Palestinians to move into the expanded “humanitarian zone,” which would include a narrow strip of beachfront land known as Al-Mawasi and other unidentified areas in Gaza, the government said. military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, on Monday evening.
It was unclear how much land outside Al-Mawasi Israel would like to designate as a ‘humanitarian zone’ for civilians. Satellite images from Planet Labs revealed a significant increase in the number of people in Al-Mawasi in recent months: an aerial photo from Sunday shows tent camps occupying land that was vacant in mid-January.
Sandra Rasheed, the director of the Jerusalem office of Anera, an aid group, said Israel had not told the country about an impending operation in Rafah, but that the organization had found a shelter for its staffers and their families to move to in Al-Fah. Mawasi. United Nations officials also said they had not been informed by Israel of an impending invasion.
The western edge of the built-up area of Rafah is close to the southern border of Al-Mawasi and approximately three and a half kilometers from the center.
The Israeli military initially said Gaza residents should move to Al-Mawasi by mid-October. It reiterated that demand in December when it issued evacuation orders for the nearby town of Khan Younis and told residents to go to Al-Mawasi and some areas in Rafah.
Satellite images also appeared to show a new cluster of hundreds of tents being built west of Khan Younis. Images taken on Thursday showed more than 100 tents in the area, while images taken on Sunday showed more than 400 in the complex.
Israel is under increasing international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza. The official did not say how much more aid would be brought to Al-Mawasi. Mohammed al-Hassi, 48, a medic sheltering in Al-Mawasi, said the area was overflowing with displaced people, and feared a new influx would worsen conditions.
“There are not enough bathrooms, there is not enough clean water and there is not enough space,” he said. “The existing infrastructure can barely handle the number of people who are already here.”
Rafah is located on the border with Egypt, but because Egypt hardly allows residents into Gaza, there are few clear options for moving large numbers of civilians out of the city. Earlier this month, Jamie McGoldrick, then a senior U.N. humanitarian official in Jerusalem, said an Israeli invasion of Rafah could force hundreds of thousands of people to flee north, a risky journey over bombed roads littered with unexploded ordnance. .
The Biden administration has repeatedly urged Israel to delay a major military strike on Rafah, including during a virtual meeting last week. At that meeting, the American side evaluated options for the attack presented by Israel, but was not convinced that these plans met Mr. Biden’s demand that any operation be calibrated in a way that would minimize civilian casualties , according to a statement from the White House.
Israel has repeatedly encouraged Palestinians to seek shelter in Al-Mawasi, but the area has been hit several times by the Israeli army, according to Palestinians in the area. Israel has accused militants of firing rockets from Al-Mawasi.
“There is no safe place,” Mr. Hassi said. “I am a person without animosity toward Israel or anyone else in the world, but I cannot guarantee that the building, land or car I am standing next to will not be targeted.”
In Rafah, Rajab al-Sindawi, a second-hand clothes seller who fled there from Gaza City in the north, said he felt anxious as he, his wife and seven children squeezed into a small tent on a sidewalk.
“People are all waiting to hear how they’re going to get us moving,” he said.
Lauren Leatherby contributed to this article.