2024-03-29 08:54:04
Egyptian source: “Attack expected after Al Fitr holiday ends”
Attack for 4-8 weeks… Refugee evacuation plan to central Gaza Strip
U.S. opposes ground war, offering alternative… The delegation is scheduled to visit the US
While negotiations for the release of hostages and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip have reached a stalemate, there have been predictions that Israel will begin a ground operation against Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, after mid-April.
According to the Times of Israel (TOI) on the 27th (local time), the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese media Al-Ahrab cited an Egyptian source in contact with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as saying, “From mid-April to early May, after the end of the Eid al-Fitr holiday.” It was reported that an attack on Rafa was expected to occur.
Eid al-Fitr is an Islamic holiday celebrating the end of the fasting period of Ramadan, and is held for three days starting on the 10th of next month.
Sources said the Rafah ground operation will last four to eight weeks and will evacuate as many as 1.5 million refugees to central Gaza along a set route at specific times. The IDF plans to notify civilians in each region of the evacuation schedule in advance.
Egyptian officials said there would be extensive surveillance on the ground and in the air to ensure there were no Hamas fighters or Israeli hostages among the civilians.
Egyptian authorities reportedly expressed deep concern about this operation and warned that if a ground war is launched, the war in Gaza could lead to an expansion of the war in the region.
The media reported that Egyptian President Abdulfattah Sisi also expressed strong concerns and refused to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly.
It is understood that four Hamas battalions remain in Rafah. It is presumed that some hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’ surprise attack on Al-Aqsa on October 7 last year.
However, it is expected that there will be room for such a plan to be adjusted through US arbitration. The U.S. Joe Biden administration is strongly opposed to the Rafah ground operation and is persuading Israel by suggesting alternatives, such as precision-targeted attacks on Hamas.
During Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s recent visit to Washington DC, the White House security chief and the Pentagon’s top officials reportedly proposed such an alternative.
In addition, it is expected that there will be progress in the discussions as Israel pushes back on sending a delegation, which it had canceled in opposition to the UN Security Council’s adoption of a ceasefire resolution in the Gaza Strip.
White House spokesman Currin Janpier said at a briefing that day that Israel had requested to reschedule the delegation’s visit to Washington, and that the two sides were discussing it.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stated that Prime Minister Netanyahu had never approved the delegation’s departure, but did not immediately deny reports about the resumption of dispatch.
An Israeli official also told TOI that the announcement was correct and that Minister of Strategy Ron Dermer and National Security Council Chairman Tsachi Hanebi will visit Washington once the schedule is confirmed.
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2024-03-29 08:54:04