Heavy combat is under way between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters.
Israeli Defense Forces estimate that some 150,000 people have left eastern Rafah after evacuation orders.
Israel launched a ground invasion of Rafah, a city in southern Gaza.
In a dramatic turn of events, Israel launched a massive military operation in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza. Heavy combat is under way on the ground as Hamas fighters fire rockets and mortars and detonate explosive devices with Israeli troops and tanks pushing deeper into the over-crowded city. An estimated 80,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah, with thousands more attempting to leave as Israel's military grounds invasion ramps up. The Israeli Defense Forces estimate that some 150,000 people have left areas of eastern Rafah after being instructed to evacuate at the beginning of the week. The city has become central to Israel's war in Gaza as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces pressure from coalition members to launch a full-scale ground operation in the city to destroy Hamas. Meanwhile, international pressure grows for Israel not to move in on the densely populated city. During the seven months of war, over 1 million Palestinians have taken refuge in Rafah, and Hamas is believed to have regrouped in the area after Israel's destruction of much of the north of Gaza strip. As Israeli forces continue their ground operations in Rafah, Palestinian civilians flee parts of the city after receiving evacuation orders from the Israeli military. The situation remains tense and fluid, with ongoing combat and a humanitarian crisis unfolding as aid operations struggle to keep up with the rapidly changing situation on the ground.
Palestinians have been fleeing Rafah’s tent cities in large numbers since the past 72 hours due to the threat of a potential major Israeli assault.
Several tent camps housing Gaza’s refugee population, including one in central Rafah with thousands of tents, have significantly decreased in size between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Israel Defense Forces estimate that some 150,000 people have left areas of eastern Rafah after being instructed to evacuate at the beginning of the week.
Rafah has become central focus of Israel’s war in Gaza as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces pressure from coalition to launch full-scale ground operation in city.
Hamas is believed to have regrouped in Rafah after Israel’s destruction of much of Gaza strip’s north.
Accuracy
About 80,000 refugees have fled southern Gaza city Rafah, but the situation is fluid.
Israeli occupation forces have been operating in all of the city, while a ground invasion has started in the eastern side of it.
An estimated 80,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah.
Thousands more Palestinians are attempting to leave.
President Joe Biden said that Israeli forces have not yet launched a ground invasion on Rafah, but media reports and humanitarians suggest that a ground assault on Rafah had already begun.
Amid the destruction caused by Israel’s Gaza offensive, 1.4 million displaced Palestinians have crowded into Rafah.
Israeli occupation forces have been operating in all of the city, while a ground invasion has started in the eastern side of it.
Footage from Gaza freelance journalist Majdi Fathi posted on Instagram Wednesday show explosions in Rafah and men carrying severely injured children.
Hospital records as of Wednesday afternoon showed that more than two dozen people were wounded after Israeli forces struck a part of central Rafah.
Accuracy
President Joe Biden said that Israeli forces have not yet launched a ground invasion on Rafah, a red-line move that he’d previously said would halt the U.S. supply of weapons to Israel.
Deception
(30%)
The author Sanjana Karanth presents a ground invasion of Rafah as already having started based on media reports and humanitarian accounts, while President Biden claims that Israeli forces have not yet launched a full-scale ground invasion. The article implies that the U.S. will withhold weapons if Israel invades population centers, but it does not explicitly state that this condition has been met. This creates a potential for deception by implying an ongoing ground invasion when it may not be the case, and suggesting that Israeli actions are more severe than what Biden claims.
According to Associated Press journalists on the ground, more than two dozen people were wounded after Israeli forces struck a part of central Rafah.
But media reports dispute the Biden administration's characterization of Israeli actions in Rafah as limited.
Fallacies
(80%)
The author makes an appeal to authority by quoting various sources such as CNN, Associated Press journalists, Al Jazeera reporter Tareq Abu Azzoum, Motasem A Dalloul, and Scott Anderson. However, the author also presents conflicting information from these sources regarding the extent of Israeli actions in Rafah. While some sources suggest a ground invasion has started in the eastern side of Rafah, others indicate that Israeli forces have been operating in all parts of the city. The author does not explicitly state any fallacies but presents conflicting information which could potentially lead to ambiguity and confusion.
“What we have been experiencing is mass destruction, lethal force being used on the ground against not only the eastern areas but also … in the middle and western parts [of Rafah],” Al Jazeera reporter Tareq Abu Azzoum said.
“Israeli fighters and artillery have been pounding all parts of the city, including the city centre.” Scott Anderson, the deputy director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in Gaza, told Politico.
Bias
(5%)
The author uses language that depicts Israeli actions as 'mass destruction' and 'lethal force being used on the ground against not only the eastern areas but also in the middle and western parts [of Rafah]'. She also quotes Al Jazeera reporter Tareq Abu Azzoum stating that 'Israeli fighters and artillery have been pounding all parts of the city, including the city centre.' These statements suggest a bias against Israel.
Israeli fighters and artillery have been pounding all parts of the city, including the city centre.
The truth is that the Israeli occupation forces have been operating in all of the city, while a ground invasion has started in the eastern side of it.
In May 2024, Palestinian civilians flee parts of Rafah after receiving evacuation orders from the Israeli military.
The Israeli military ordered around 100,000 people to leave the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Residents were told to move to Al-Mawasi, a nearby coastal area where an expanded humanitarian area would be available.
Accuracy
Approximately 100,000 people were ordered to leave Rafah by the Israeli military in the article.
About 80,000 refugees have fled southern Gaza city Rafah in another article.
Deception
(50%)
The article does not provide any deception from the author, but it does contain selective reporting and emotional manipulation. The author reports on the evacuation orders given to Palestinians in Rafah by the Israeli military without mentioning that these orders were a response to Hamas attacks against Israeli soldiers. This omission creates an imbalance in the information presented, as readers are not given the full context of why this evacuation is taking place. Additionally, statements from residents expressing fear and uncertainty are used to evoke emotional responses from readers.
The evacuation orders were delivered in leaflets that poured down onto eastern Rafah as rain soaked its crowded streets and ramshackle tents.
After a night of shooting, clashes all night and missiles, Khalil said, his family did not know where to turn.
Some analysts speculated that the evacuation orders for eastern Rafah might represent another negotiating tactic in cease-fire talks.
Fallacies
(85%)
The author uses inflammatory rhetoric by describing the Israeli military's actions as a 'night of shooting, clashes all night and missiles', which could be perceived as biased and sensational. The author also quotes Mahmood Wahba saying 'They told us to evacuate, and here we are doing so.' This statement is not a fallacy but it sets up an emotional tone for the reader. Additionally, there is an appeal to authority when the author mentions that Samah Hadid, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, warns against a military operation in Rafah and calls on the Biden administration to use its influence over Israel.
The evacuation orders were delivered in leaflets that poured down onto eastern Rafah as rain soaked its crowded streets and ramshackle tents.
They called us this morning and told us to evacuate the area. Where do we go?
We need this to happen urgently so that the Israelis get a clear message from their strongest ally that a military offensive in one of the largest displacement sites in the world cannot take place.
Bias
(85%)
The article from NBC News reports on the Israeli military's evacuation orders in Rafah, which could be seen as reflecting a pro-Israeli stance. The author does not provide any counterarguments or alternative perspectives from Palestinians or other sources. Additionally, the article mentions that some analysts speculate that the evacuation orders for eastern Rafah might represent another negotiating tactic in cease-fire talks, implying a level of strategic thinking from Israel. This could be seen as giving undue credit to Israel's position.
But their impact was not in doubt for residents of Rafah. 'They told us to evacuate, and here we are doing so,' said Mahmood Wahba as he prepared to flee for the city of Khan Younis, near Al-Mawasi.
Israel has said for months that it will launch a ground assault on Rafah, which has swelled to 1.4 million people since the conflict began, to target Hamas leaders, defying pressure from the United States and others who have warned that such an attack threatened devastating consequences for the Palestinians sheltering there, already facing limited food and aid.
The evacuation orders for eastern Rafah might represent another negotiating tactic in cease-fire talks.
