By Ben van der Merwe, data and forensics unit

Israel has ordered the evacuation of eastern Rafah, an area covering 31.2sqkm (around 12 sqm). 

Before the war, this area was home to around 82,000 people. 

Its population is thought to have swollen to 100,000 as a result of the war.

The area is much less densely populated than the rest of Rafah, and includes large tracts of farmland. There are several shelters in the evacuation zone, though it does not include Rafah’s largest tent camps. 

Crucially, it also includes the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings, through which the vast majority of aid enters Gaza, as well as Al Najjar hospital – one of Gaza’s largest still-functioning medical facilities. 

In order to accommodate those fleeing Rafah, Israel has expanded its “humanitarian zone” on Gaza’s coast significantly, from 18.5 to 59.9sqkm. 

The expanded area was home to just 64,000 people before the war, according to the UN.

“In Al Mawasi, there is a severe lack of sufficient infrastructure, including water available, and it is not feasible to support tens of thousands of displaced people there,” UNRWA spokesperson in Gaza Louise Wateridge said. 

In a statement posted on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson said that the area included “field hospitals, tents, and large quantities of food, water, medicine, and other supplies”.