2024-04-26 02:59:02
A senior official in the Israeli Ministry of Defense said that the Israeli army is preparing to evacuate Palestinian civilians from Rafah, in preparation for the start of an attack on the city, which has become a refuge for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing from other areas of the Gaza Strip.
Reuters quoted a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as saying that Israel “will move forward” with a ground operation, but he did not specify a timetable.
The Ministry of Defense official indicated that the Ministry purchased 40,000 tents, each of which can accommodate between 10 and 12 people, for the Palestinians who will be transported from Rafah.
Aerial footage published on social media showed rows of white, square tents in Khan Yunis, which is about five kilometers from Rafah.
An Israeli government source said that the war cabinet headed by Netanyahu intends to meet during the next two weeks to approve the evacuation of civilians in a process expected to take about a month.
Israel claims that Rafah has four full combat battalions belonging to Hamas and has received reinforcements from thousands of the movement’s fighters withdrawing from other areas.
Brigadier-General Itzik Cohen, commander of the 162nd Division active in Gaza, told the Israeli public broadcaster (Radio Kan) on Tuesday, “Hamas suffered a strong blow in the northern Gaza Strip. It also received a strong blow in the center of the sector. “Soon you will receive a strong blow in Rafah as well.”
Washington, Israel’s closest ally, called for the attack plans to be abandoned and said that Israel could fight Hamas militants there by other means.
“We cannot support a ground operation in Rafah without an appropriate, credible, and implementable humanitarian plan, precisely because of the complexities of delivering aid,” David Satterfield, the US special envoy for humanitarian issues in the Middle East, told reporters on Tuesday.
Egypt says it will not allow Gazans to be pushed across the border into its territory.
The State Information Service said that Cairo warned Israel against moving in Rafah because this step “will lead to massacres, massive human losses, and widespread destruction.”
According to Egyptian security sources, military and security coordination between Egypt and Israel regarding any Israeli incursion into Rafah does not mean approval of it.
Medical officials in Gaza reported that more than 34,000 people were killed in the Israeli military campaign, and it was feared that there were thousands of bodies buried under the rubble.
According to the American newspaper “The Wall Street Journal”, Israel will carry out “gradual” military operations in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, instead of a comprehensive operation, in order to reduce civilian casualties.
Former Egyptian and Israeli officials told the American newspaper that Israel “plans to proceed with the military operation in Rafah in stages, including the advance evacuation of neighborhoods before the operations begin.”
The operations are likely to be “more targeted” than previous operations in Gaza, and will include “coordination with Egyptian officials to secure the border between Egypt and Gaza,” according to Egyptian officials familiar with the plans, whom the newspaper did not name.
Israeli officials exchanged their plans with Egypt, which warned that the invasion of Rafah would push the Palestinians into the Sinai Peninsula, according to the newspaper, which indicated that Egypt had “strengthened security measures on the border for its part.”
The officials said that among the ideas that Israel also discussed with its Arab counterparts was “allowing security forces backed by the Palestinian Authority to enter Gaza, to help manage security near the Strip’s southern border with Egypt.”
It is expected that the largest humanitarian zone in Gaza will extend from the Al-Mawasi beach strip in Rafah towards Deir Al-Balah in the central part of the Strip, according to what the Wall Street Journal quoted Egyptian officials as saying.
Egypt denies engaging directly with Israel in any discussions about a possible military operation in the Palestinian city of Rafah.
According to what the newspaper quoted Egyptian officials as saying, “The Egyptian Red Crescent has set up some tents in the city of Khan Yunis, and is working to set up more in the next few weeks.”
Last updated: April 25, 2024 – 21:06
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2024-04-26 02:59:02