Netanyahu says no ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in Rafah as almost 500,000 evacuated

Israel’s prime minister said Wednesday that nearly 500,000 people had been evacuated from Gaza’s far-southern Rafah city and dismissed widespread fears of a “humanitarian catastrophe” there.

“Our responsible efforts are bearing fruit,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “So far, in Rafah, close to half a million people have been evacuated from the combat zones.”