Israel plans to evacuate civilians from southernmost Gaza city

Prime Minister Netanyahu asked the Israeli army to come up with a plan to evacuate people from Rafah, before launching a ground operation against the city.

"It is impossible to achieve the objective of the operation, which is to eliminate Hamas, while leaving four of its battalions in Rafah. On the other hand, conducting a major operation in Rafah requires evacuating civilians from the combat zone," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on February 9, referring to the city in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip.

Mr. Netayahu announced that he had instructed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to present to the cabinet a "dual plan" that combines evacuating people from Rafah and eliminating all Hamas battalions in the city.

The information was released in the context of Israel facing international criticism for its intention to send troops into Rafah, where about 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge after fleeing other areas in the Gaza Strip. Tel Aviv asserts that this is the last stronghold of Hamas in the area and that it needs to launch a ground campaign to wipe out all remnants of the enemy.

Israeli soldiers in action in the Gaza Strip in this photo posted on January 16. Photo: IDF — Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip in this photo posted on January 16. Photo: *IDF*

The IDF is still concentrating its forces in the city of Khan Younis, but the Israeli Prime Minister has repeatedly declared that the country will continue to advance towards the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip.

On the morning of February 9, the Israeli army carried out many airstrikes on Rafah and the central Gaza Strip, in which two apartment buildings and a refugee camp were hit, killing 22 people.

The attacks came hours after US President Joe Biden called Israel's military move in the Gaza Strip "out of bounds", marking Washington's harshest criticism of Tel Aviv since the conflict broke out in October 2023.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on February 8 that the US does not support Israel launching a ground operation into Rafah, while US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said that sending troops into the city without careful planning could lead to a "humanitarian disaster".

Egypt has also warned that any ground military action in Rafah, a city on the border with Egypt, would affect the 40-year-old peace treaty between Cairo and Tel Aviv. The government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi fears that an attack on Rafah could trigger a wave of Palestinian refugees flooding into Egypt.