The Israeli army said on Monday that its operation to begin evacuating residents of eastern Rafah in the Gaza Strip was temporary and limited. 

"This morning ... we began a limited scope operation to temporarily evacuate residents in the eastern part of Rafah," a military spokesperson told journalists in an online briefing. "This is a limited scope operation." 

The Israeli army said in a statement on Monday that it called on Gazans living in eastern Rafah to head to an "expanded humanitarian area" in the Palestinian territory.

Around 100,000 people in the area are being evacuated, according to the spokesperson. 

(With input from AFP)