Israeli army calls for Rafah residents to evacuate ahead of feared offensive Israel called on Saturday for Palestinians in more areas of Gaza's southern city of Rafah to evacuate and head to what it calls an expanded humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, in a further indication that the military is pressing ahead with its plans for a ground attack on Rafah. Meanwhile Israeli forces continued to carry out air strikes across the Strip, killing and wounding dozens in central and northern Gaza.