Tel Aviv: Israel on Wednesday said that it will move ahead with a ground operation in Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip city to attack Hamas holding outs despite international warnings of humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as per a news agency.
A representative from PM Netanyahu’s administration told Reuters that Israel is proceeding with the ground operation but did not give out any specific timeline. The defence official mentioned that the Israeli defence ministry had procured 40,000 tents, each accommodating 10-12 individuals, to accomodate Palestinians relocated from Rafah before the potential assault.
Footage which is circulating online has depicted rows of square white tents being erected in Khan Younis, a city approximately 5km from Rafah. News agency Reuters could not verify the video but examined images from the satellite company Maxar Technologies, which displayed tents on the previously vacant land in Khan Younis.
As per a Times Now, an insider from the Israeli government revealed that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s war cabinet intends to convene within the next two weeks to authorize civilian evacuations, a process which would take at least a month. Defence official while in a conversation with Reuters said that the Israeli military could initiate action promptly but was awaiting approval from Netanyahu.
Rafah is situated along the Egyptian border and is currently housing over a million Palestinians who sought refuge following a six-month Israeli offensive across Gaza. Many have pointed out the fear of displacement of the Palestinian people. Israel has launched an offensive against Hamas following the October 7 attacks on Israel. Tel Aviv has claimed that Rafah is home to four Hamas combat battalions, reinforced by thousands of retreating fighters and it must defeat them to achieve victory. However, the US has called for a different approach as it believes Israel can combat Hamas fighters there by any means.
Egypt’s Warning To Israel
Egypt has warned Israel against attacking Rafah. Egypt’s State Information Service has said in a statement that Egypt has warned Israel against attacking Rafah. As per a report from a news the three Egyptian security sources have said that while there is military and security coordination between Israel and Egypt regarding any potential Israeli incursion in Rafah, this coordination does not imply approval of such actions by Israel.
During this month Israel has pulled back the majority of its ground troops from Southern Gaza but it is still carrying out air strikes and carried out raids in areas previously occupied by IDF. Despite many efforts from the US, Egypt and Qatar to negotiate a prolonged ceasefire to prevent an assault on Rafah these attempts have been unsuccessful so far. As per a news report from Times Now, Gaza has reported that over 34,000 individuals have lost their lives in Israel’s military campaign and there might be many more who might be buried under the rubble.
