Smoke rose over Rafah as the Israeli military told people living in central Rafah to evacuate, signalling a major expansion of its military operations in the city and threatening the displacement of hundreds of thousands more people. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) seized the Rafah border crossing with Egypt last week in what it said was a "precise, targeted operation" after ordering the evacuation of eastern neighbourhoods. More than 150,000 people have already fled the southern city in Gaza. The new instructions to residents, via leaflets and messages on social media, suggest a coming offensive will take the IDF into the centre of Rafah and on to a likely advance through the entire city Israel orders central Rafah residents to evacuate as major offensive looms Middle East crisis – live updates