Israel's military is poised to evacuate Palestinian civilians from Rafah and assault Hamas hold-outs in the southern Gaza Strip city, a senior Israeli defence official said on Wednesday, despite international warnings of humanitarian catastrophe.
Israel is poised to send troops into Rafah, the Gazan city it sees as the last bastion of Hamas, Israeli media reported on Wednesday, saying preparations were under way to evacuate war-displaced Palestinian civilians who have been sheltering there.
Israel has begun preparations to evacuate civilians from Rafah ahead of a long-expected assault on the city in southern Gaza where the bulk of Hamas’s remaining forces and more than 1mn displaced people are concentrated.
Israel has mobilised two more brigades for missions in Gaza ahead of a long-threatened offensive in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have fled
Israel's impending military operation in Rafah, the last remaining Hamas stronghold in Gaza, is to begin with an evacuation of civilians that could last up to five weeks, Israel's Kan radio reported on Thursday.
Israel said Wednesday it is "moving ahead" with its planned operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, despite international outcry over fears for the 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering there. Red Cross official Fabrizio Carboni said humanitarian groups had no knowledge of reported plans to move Rafah's residents away from the city ahead of the assault.