Israel's push into Rafah to begin with evacuations, reports say

A soldier of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) prepares an Israeli army artillery battery at the Israeli Gaza border near Sderot, amid the escalating flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
A soldier of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) prepares an Israeli army artillery battery at the Israeli Gaza border near Sderot, amid the escalating flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
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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.

In this first phase of the ground operation, civilians in the southern city near the Egyptian border will be moved to safer locations, the report said.

Israel's allies and critics have for months implored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call off the invasion of Rafah, fearing mass civilian casualties.

More than a million displaced Palestinians from other parts of the Gaza Strip have taken shelter there. Rafah also is the site of the main crossing through which aid enters the territory.

Despite the pressure being piled on Israel, the government argues it must move ahead with the ground operation in order to achieve its goal of crushing the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Israeli officials say the Islamists have several battalions left in Rafah that must be eliminated in order to prevent Hamas from regrouping and attacking again.

Israel also believes that some of the hostages abducted during Hamas' October 7 massacres in southern Israel are being held in Rafah.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are planning a gradual approach in order to limit the number of civilian casualties, but gave a slightly different time frame. It said Israel was looking at two to three weeks of evacuations and a six-week military offensive.

It is believed Israel intends to take the Palestinians to makeshift tent encampments in southern Gaza, such as the Al-Mawasi camp on the Mediterranean coast. Aid groups say that it would be difficult to provide care for so many people in one place.

Israel's Kan radio reported that the Security Cabinet was to be briefed on Thursday about preparations for the Rafah operation and the status of indirect negotiations with Hamas about a ceasefire that would enable the release of further hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas is making its own preparations for a showdown in Rafah and is supplying fighters with provisions and weapons, Kan reported.