The Israeli army on Monday began evacuating the city of Rafah in southern Gaza as it gears up for an expected military operation there as the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is reportedly making a “last-ditch” effort for a hostage deal. A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, “We begin a limited scope operation to temporarily evacuate inhabitants of eastern Rafah.” The IDF called on the inhabitants of the eastern part of the city on the border with Egypt to move to the al-Mawasi camp on the Mediterranean a few kilometres to the north. An estimated 100,000 people …