Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army to prepare to evacuate Rafah civilians

Aftermath of the Israeli airstrike in Rafah on Friday Photo: Fatima Shbair/AP

Binyamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army to prepare to evacuate civilians from Rafah on Friday ahead of a «massive operation.»

The move came despite US warnings that it would not support a ground invasion of the last relatively safe city in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said the military had been tasked with developing a «combined plan» to remove civilians from the southern border city, now home to 1.3 million people, to destroy what is believed to be the last refuge for Hamas.

“It is impossible to achieve the military goal of eliminating Hamas by allowing four Hamas battalions to remain in Rafah,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “On the other hand, it is clear that a large-scale operation in Rafah requires the evacuation of civilians from the combat zone.”

Four months after the start of Israel's war against Hamas, most of the Gaza Strip was destroyed by bombings and ground operations, including massive destruction along the border with Israel.

More than half of Gaza's pre-war population of 2.2 million has fled the fighting and destruction and is now concentrated in a small corner of the territory's southeast where conditions are dire.

Mr Netanyahu's statement came despite the most explicit criticism from Washington, Key Ally Israel believes that such a step is unacceptable.

“As you know, I believe that the response in Gaza, in the Gaza Strip, was excessive,” US President Joe Biden said on Thursday. «There are a lot of innocent people who are starving… stranded and dying, and that needs to stop.»

The State Department spokesman added that Israel's ground operation in Rafah «is not what we want.» would support» and that without proper planning it would be a «disaster».

Aid agencies, including the United Nations, have also warned Israel against expanding operations in Rafah, which is currently the only area in Gaza, where Palestinians have access to basic services.

“We need Gaza's last remaining hospitals, shelters, markets and water systems to remain functional,” said Catherine Russell, director of UNICEF, the UN children's agency. “Without them, hunger and disease will increase sharply, claiming more children's lives.”

The IDF has previously insisted that gaining control of Gaza City in the north and then Khan Yunis in the south is critical to eliminate Hamas. as an organized force.

However, military leaders now believe that Hamas leadership is hiding in the tunnels under Rafah and that Israel will not be able to defeat the terrorist group unless it engages the remaining forces in the south.

Previously, the IDF gave Gazan residents evacuation orders at short notice, but it was almost impossible to carry them out due to carpet bombing of the enclave.

However, Mr Netanyahu's statement may indicate that Israeli authorities may be prepared to enforce a real evacuation this time. It was not immediately clear where Palestinians might be evacuated from the south, as the rest of the Gaza Strip lies in ruins and most basic infrastructure destroyed.

Witnesses reported new strikes on Rafah overnight after the Israeli military Air raids intensified. The Palestinian Red Crescent said three children were killed in one strike.

“We heard the sound of a powerful explosion near our house… we found two children tortured in the street,” said 60-year-old Jaber al-Bardini. “There is no safe place in Rafah. If they storm Rafah, we will die in our homes. We have no choice. We don't want to go anywhere.»

In addition, Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, said on Friday that he had held talks with his Israeli counterpart about «post-conflict planning for Gaza», Netanyahu refused to discuss this topic and categorically discouraged members of his cabinet from doing so.

Israel's war against Hamas, launched in October in retaliation for the killing of 1,200 people by Hamas in southern Israel, has already killed more than 28,000 people, according to officials in Gaza.< /p>

Egypt also appears to be preparing for increased fighting on its border. Cairo has sent about 40 tanks and armored personnel carriers to northeast Sinai over the past two weeks as part of a series of measures to strengthen security along the border with the Gaza Strip, two Egyptian security sources said.