Egypt Daily News - Israel carried out intensive air strikes on Rafah on Monday evening after it stressed its call on residents to evacuate the east of the city located in southern Gaza, according to what an Agence France-Presse correspondent reported.

The strikes continued almost non-stop over the past half hour, according to what an Agence France-Presse correspondent present in the field in Rafah reported shortly before ten o’clock in the evening (19:00 GMT).

The Israeli army earlier repeated its call on residents of the eastern neighborhoods of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip to evacuate the area, in preparation for a “ground operation,” after the Hamas movement announced its approval of a ceasefire proposal submitted by Egypt and Qatar.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said during a brief press conference, “We ask the residents this evening (Monday) to evacuate the areas we have identified,” explaining that “the beginning of the evacuation of residents from the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah” is part of “preparation for a ground operation in the region.” He added that throughout the day, the planes also bombed more than 50 targets in the Rafah area, which they described as “terrorist” targets.