Belgium warns Israel's Rafah evacuation order, invasion will lead to 'massacre'

GENEVA

Belgium on Monday warned that Israel's Rafah evacuation order and announced invasion will lead to a "massacre," adding Brussels is working on further sanctions against Tel Aviv.

"The Israeli call for the evacuation of the citizens and refugees of Rafah, and the announced invasion, will lead to massacre," Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter said on X. "Belgium is working on further sanctions against (Israel)."


Sutter added that she will meet with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Maliki this noon.

The Israeli army issued on Monday morning urgent evacuation orders to Palestinian residents and displaced individuals in several areas of eastern Rafah, urging them to immediately relocate to the town of al-Mawasi.

The military also posted maps on its social media accounts illustrating evacuation routes.

According to Army Radio, the decision to evacuate residents from eastern Rafah was taken late Sunday in a Cabinet session. It said that around 100,000 civilians believed to be present in the area set to be evacuated.

Since Oct. 7, the Israeli onslaught has killed nearly 34,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, besides causing a humanitarian catastrophe.

Nearly seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians there.