Israel has issued fresh evacuation orders for Rafah in southern Gaza on March 31, 2025, signaling an escalation of its military campaign as the bombardment of the enclave persists following the collapse of a fragile January ceasefire. The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, announced via X that forces were returning to Rafah—one of Gaza’s largest cities—“with great force,” urging residents to flee immediately to al-Mawasi, a coastal area designated as a “safe zone.” However, this supposed sanctuary has repeatedly come under Israeli fire throughout the war, casting doubt on its safety. Shortly after the order, Al Jazeera Arabic reported that an Israeli strike on a tent sheltering displaced people in the region killed at least two individuals, underscoring the perilous conditions for civilians. The renewed offensive, which began on March 18, has displaced 142,000 people, according to the United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA), while Gaza’s Ministry of Health reports over 900 deaths since the latest escalation, pushing the war’s total toll past 50,000 since October 2023. The announcement follows a deadly weekend, with at least 64 Palestinians killed on Sunday, the first day of Eid al-Fitr, as the holiday’s celebrations were overshadowed by violence.
The intensified military operations have left Gaza’s population in a state of unrelenting fear and displacement, with attacks spanning the enclave from Khan Younis in the south to Beit Hanoon in the north. Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, described a relentless barrage, including the targeting of at least seven family homes in Khan Younis and continuous artillery shelling near the Nuseirat area and the Netzarim Corridor. In Deir el-Balah, explosions punctuated the air, and three farmers lost their lives, highlighting the indiscriminate reach of the violence. In northern Gaza, children like Wissam Nassar and Hussein Alkafarna voiced the terror that now defines their lives, with Nassar afraid to approach the beach for fear of shelling and Alkafarna lamenting the absence of Eid’s traditional joys—new clothes replaced by constant dread. The war, ignited by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that killed 1,139 people and saw about 250 taken captive, has morphed into a protracted Israeli onslaught, with Rafah’s latest evacuation orders signaling no reprieve for a population already battered by 18 months of conflict.
As Palestinians marked Eid al-Fitr—a three-day holiday concluding Ramadan—the grim reality of war eclipsed any semblance of festivity. By Monday morning, at least nine more people had been killed in Israeli strikes, adding to Sunday’s toll and deepening the sense of despair. The evacuation orders and ongoing attacks reflect Israel’s broader strategy to expand its military footprint in Gaza, even as international calls for restraint grow louder. Images of Palestinians inspecting the rubble of a house in Khan Younis, struck overnight, captured the devastation that has become routine. The so-called safe zone of al-Mawasi, repeatedly hit despite its designation, exemplifies the shrinking options for Gaza’s civilians, many of whom have been displaced multiple times. With the death toll climbing and infrastructure crumbling, the latest phase of Israel’s campaign threatens to further erode the enclave’s social fabric, leaving families like those in Beit Hanoon to mourn lost futures amid the ruins of their present.
