Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday, February 26 (Kab 7) that the army has given the war cabinet a plan to evacuate thousands of civilians from the Rafah area in the south of Gaza.
The army has given this plan since the beginning of the military operation in Rafah, but it is not clear where these Palestinians will be sent.
The United States, which has been a staunch supporter of Israel for the past five months since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, has warned against military operations in Rafah without the safe evacuation of civilians, but Netanyahu reiterated that the operation And he also said that an attack against Hamas in this area would enable Israel to win this war in a few weeks.
In the announcement of Netanyahu’s office, no details were given about where to send the thousands of Palestinians in Rafah who took refuge there from the fighting, because this area does not have a common border with Egypt, and the Egyptian authorities said that their Borders will not open.
The Gaza Strip has been almost completely razed to the ground in the Israel-Hamas war, and the United Nations has warned that civilians in Rafah have no safe place to go in Gaza.
The United Nations has expressed concern about Israel’s military operations in Rafah and the evacuation of civilians from the area.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that humanitarian aid supplies in Gaza are “grossly inadequate” and warned that Israel’s military operation in Rafah would further undermine their efforts.
Mr. Guterres said, “Israel’s aggressive operation on this city (Rafah) will not only be terrifying for the more than one million Palestinians who have taken refuge there, but it will put the final nail in the coffin of our aid programs.”
Israel announces the operation in Rafah at a time when the President of the United States, Joe Biden, has expressed hope that a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will be held in Gaza next week.
Speaking to reporters in New York, Mr. Biden said the National Security Council adviser told him, “We’re close, but we’re not done yet.”
The President of the United States previously said, “I hope we will have a ceasefire by next Monday”.