Israel ordered new evacuation operations in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza today, Saturday, forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee as it prepares to expand its military operation near the densely populated central area, defying increasing pressure amid the war from its close ally the United States and other countries.

As pro-Palestinian protests continue, the Israeli military also said it is moving to a devastated area in northern Gaza where it confirmed that the armed group Hamas has regrouped.

Israel has now evacuated the eastern third of Rafah, which is considered the last refuge in Gaza, and the United Nations has warned that the planned large-scale invasion of Rafah would further cripple humanitarian operations and result in an increase in civilian casualties.

The Rafah crossing is on the border with Egypt near main entry points for aid that have already been affected. Israeli forces took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, forcing it to close.

Egypt has refused to coordinate with Israel to deliver aid through the Rafah crossing due to “unacceptable Israeli escalation,” according to Cairo News Channel on Saturday, citing an unnamed official.

U.S. President Joe Biden stated he would not provide offensive weapons to Israel in Rafah, and the Biden administration said on Friday that there is “credible” evidence that Israel has violated international law protecting civilians – marking the strongest statement from Washington on the matter so far.

In response, Ofir Akunis, Israel's foreign policy adviser to the Prime Minister, told the Associated Press that Israel is operating in accordance with the laws of armed conflict and that the military is taking extensive measures to avoid civilian casualties, including alerting people to military operations via phone calls and text messages.

More than 1.4 million Palestinians – half of Gaza's population – are seeking refuge in Rafah, most of them after fleeing Israeli attacks elsewhere. Evacuations are forcing some individuals to return north, where areas have been destroyed by previous Israeli attacks. Relief agencies estimate that 110,000 people had left before the order issued on Saturday, adding another 40,000.

Hanane Al-Satari, a Rafah resident, said as people rushed to load mattresses, water tanks, and other belongings onto vehicles, “Are we going to wait until we all die on top of each other? So we decided to leave; this is better.”

Abo Youssef Al-Dari, who had previously fled from Gaza City, said, “The Israeli army has no safe zone in Gaza. They are targeting everything.”

Many people have been displaced multiple times. There are few places left to go. Some who fled the fighting earlier in the week set up camps in Khan Younis – half of which was destroyed in a previous Israeli attack – and in Deir al-Balah in the central region, putting a strain on infrastructure.

Some Palestinians are being sent to what Israel calls humanitarian safe areas along the already overcrowded coastal region of Mawasi, which houses about 450,000 people living in dire conditions, and the camp, littered with garbage, lacks basic facilities.

Georgios Petropoulos, an official with the United Nations humanitarian agency in Rafah, stated that relief workers do not have supplies to help people settle in new locations, saying, “We simply have no tents, no blankets, no beds, and none of the materials that displaced populations would expect to receive from the humanitarian system.”

Petropoulos added that the World Food Programme warned that food supplies allocated for distribution in southern Gaza would run out by Saturday, presenting another challenge as parts of Gaza face what the head of the World Food Programme described as “complete famine.”

Relief groups reported that fuel would soon run out, forcing hospitals to halt critical operations and stopping trucks delivering aid.

Heavy fighting also occurred in northern Gaza. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Avichay Adraee urged Palestinians in Jabalia and Beit Lahiya and surrounding areas to leave their homes and head to shelters in western Gaza City, warning that people were in a “dangerous combat zone” and that Israel would strike “with great force.”

The United Nations agency supporting people in Gaza, known as UNRWA, stated that approximately 300,000 people were affected by evacuation orders in Rafah and Jabalia, but the numbers are likely higher.

Northern Gaza was the initial target of the Israeli ground assault that began after Hamas and other armed groups attacked southern Israel on October 7, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths, mostly civilians, and the holding of 250 others as hostages. They are still holding around 100 captives and the remains of over 30. Hamas reported on Saturday that hostage Nadav Bobbleuil died after being injured in an Israeli airstrike a month ago. Hamas provided no evidence for this claim.

Israeli bombardment and ground assaults have killed over 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry, which blames Hamas for civilian casualties, accusing the group of operating in densely populated residential areas.

Civil authorities in Gaza provided further details on the mass graves announced by the health ministry earlier in the week at Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in northern Gaza, which was targeted in a previous Israeli attack. Authorities stated that most of the eighty corpses belong to patients who died from a lack of care. The Israeli army said, “Any attempt to blame Israel for burying civilians in mass graves is entirely false.”

At least 19 people, including eight women and eight children, were killed overnight in central Gaza in strikes that hit areas of Al-Zawayda, Al-Maghazi, and Deir al-Balah, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and a reporter from the Associated Press who counted the bodies.

Another round of ceasefire talks in Cairo earlier this week ended without any progress.