The Israeli army is preparing to launch a ground offensive very soon on the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
As the official Israeli television channel KAN reports, citing unnamed military sources, the Israeli army is preparing for an operation in Rafah to evacuate a large number of Palestinians very quickly.
Military news commentator Itay Blumenthal said: “According to the Israeli army’s plan, more than a million Palestinians in Rafah will be asked to leave the area and come to recently prepared shelters in the southern and central part of the Gaza Strip.”
Blumenthal noted that international humanitarian organizations and other countries have previously prepared thousands of tents in southern and central Gaza for displaced Palestinians coming from Rafah.
In its broadcast, KAN showed photos taken by satellites showing the tent city established in recent weeks between Rafah and Khan Yunis.
Stating that the plan had been presented to the US and other countries, but not specifying which, Blumenthal said the Israeli army’s advance in Rafah would be gradual.
He underlined that the people in the area to be evacuated will be informed before the ground operation of the Israeli army in the area begins.
According to Blumenthal, who cites Israeli officials, the evacuation of Palestinians from Rafah will take four to five weeks.
Regarding the ground offensive on Rafah, the Israeli newspaper “Hayom” reported that “the decision to enter Rafah was made” as a result of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, responding negatively to an offer made through an intermediary a few days ago.
Israel, which wants to occupy Rafah, where some 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge from other parts of Gaza, insists on the occupation, describing the region as “the last stronghold of Hamas”, despite warnings of a humanitarian disaster.
34,183 Palestinians, including at least 14,685 children and 9,670 women, have been killed and 77,143 wounded in Israel’s genocidal attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7, AA writes.
