Israeli operations in north and south Gaza force displaced to flee again

Israeli forces continued to advance on the southern city of Rafah on Sunday and launched another operation against Hamas in the north, setting off a desperate scramble among war-weary civilians across Gaza. Humanitarian agencies warned that no place was safe and that essential aid had nearly run out, almost a week after Israel captured and shut down the border crossing with Egypt.

The expanding evacuations in Rafah, where Israel had ordered more than 1 million Palestinians to seek shelter from fighting early in the war, signaled a possible push into the heart of the city — a move that could prompt Washington, Israel’s staunchest ally, to freeze offensive weapons shipments after months of faltering cease-fire negotiations.

“We cannot, will not support an operation in Rafah, a major military operation, in the absence of a credible plan to protect civilians, and they [Israel] still haven’t delivered,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

Humanitarian agencies warned that no place was safe and that aid had nearly run out, almost a week after Israel seized and shut down the Rafah crossing.

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