It was stated that the Israeli army is preparing to launch a land invasion of Rafah city in the south of the Gaza Strip very soon.
According to Israeli official television channel KAN, citing unnamed military sources, the Israeli army is preparing for a land invasion operation in Rafah to evacuate a large number of Palestinians very soon. The channel’s military news commentator, Itay Blumental, said, “According to the Israeli army’s plan, more than 1 million Palestinians in Rafah will be asked to evacuate the area and come to recently prepared shelters in the south and central part of the Gaza Strip.” said.
Blumental noted that thousands of tents had previously been prepared in the south and central part of Gaza by international aid organizations and other states for the displaced Palestinians coming from Rafah.
In its broadcast, KAN showed photographs taken by satellites showing the tent city established in recent weeks between the city of Rafah and Khan Younis.
Stating that the plan was presented to the USA and unnamed regional countries, Blumental said that the Israeli army’s advance in Rafah will be gradual. Blumental underlined that the people in the area to be evacuated will be notified before the Israeli army’s ground operation against Rafah begins.
According to Blumental, according to Israeli security officials, the evacuation of people in the city of Rafah will take 4 to 5 weeks.
PLANS HAVE BEEN REVISED
KAN reported that due to the reservations of the USA, the plan prepared by the Israeli army was changed and revised 4 times.
Claiming that the Americans initially strongly opposed the land operation against the city of Rafah out of concern that it would harm innocent people, but later realized the importance of entering the city, Israeli official television KAN noted that Tel Aviv was in the process of establishing an operations room together with the USA for the Rafah operation.
In the statements based on an unnamed Israeli military official, it was stated that the official stated that they understood the fears of the USA, but that it was not possible to end a military operation in the Gaza Strip without entering Rafah.
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Egypt, Jordan and the USA, were inconclusive as the Tel Aviv administration rejected Hamas’ demands for an end to the war and withdrawal of its forces from the Gaza Strip.
Israel, which wants to occupy Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinians have taken shelter in Gaza, by land, insists on the occupation, describing the region as “the last stronghold of Hamas”, despite warnings of humanitarian disaster. As a result of Israel’s intense air attack and land occupation of the northern and central parts of Gaza since October 7, Palestinians were forced to migrate to the south.
