Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to plan for the “evacuation of the population” from the area of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, his office said in a statement on February 9.
More than 1.3 million people are believed to be in Rafah -which is located on the border with Egypt- the majority displaced from other parts of Gaza, according to the United Nations.
In the statement, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said that it was not possible to both eliminate the Hamas Movement and leave “four Hamas battalions in Rafah.”
“On the other hand, it is clear that a massive operation in Rafah requires the evacuation of the civilian population from the combat zones,” the statement said. “That is why the Prime Minister directed the IDF and the defense establishment to bring to the Cabinet a dual plan for both the evacuation of the population and the disbanding of the battalions.”
Earlier this week, Netanyahu said that the IDF would “soon go into Rafah,” describing the border area as “Hamas’s last bastion.”
The office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned in a statement released on February 9 the plan for military escalation and called a potential evacuation a “real threat” and “dangerous prelude” to the Israeli displacement of Palestinian people from their land.
“The time has come for everyone to bear their responsibility in the face of creating another catastrophe that will push the entire region into endless wars,” the statement said.
From its side, Hamas warned on February 10 that there could be “tens of thousands” of dead and injured if the IDF attacks Rafah.
In a statement, the group said that any military action would have catastrophic repercussions that “may lead to tens of thousands of martyrs and injuries if Rafah… is invaded.”
Hamas added that it would hold “the American administration, international community and the Israeli occupation” responsible if that happened.
The IDF has already intensified strikes on Rafah in preparations for the attack. Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 Palestinians in the area early on February 10, the Associated Press reported, quoting Hamas health officials and its own sources.
An Israeli attack on Rafah will worsen the humanitarian situation. At least 28,064 Palestinians have already been killed in the Strip, according to the latest update by the Hamas-run health ministry, which also noted that more than 67,611 others have been wounded since the outbreak of the war.
Any such attack will lead to serious tension between Israel and Egypt, who reportedly warned Israel against any move in Rafah more than once.
