Netanyahu’s double plan for Rafah – What he asked of the IDF – US opposes such an action on the part of Israel
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army to prepare to evacuate Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip as it is expected to storm the city, the Press Association reports. This order from the Israeli Prime Minister is coming despite warnings from the White House, of the UN and other organizations that such an action would be disastrous.
Specifically, Netanyahu said that more than a million civilians who have crowded into the town of Rafah in southern Gaza should be evacuated before the Israeli army invades.
Netanyahu claimed he had ordered the Israeli military to present to the cabinet a “dual plan” that would include both the evacuation of civilians who have taken refuge there and a military operation to “crush” its remaining fighters. Hamas in the Rafah area.
“It is impossible to achieve the war objective of eliminating Hamas by keeping four Hamas battalions in Rafah,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
“On the other hand, it is clear that a massive operation in Rafah requires the evacuation of the civilian population from the combat zones,” he adds.
The statement from the Israeli prime minister comes amid criticism from the US that Israel has not carried out the pre-operational planning necessary to ensure that civilians are not at risk. As argued by White House without proper planning a military operation in the area would be “disastrous”.
About 1.5 million Palestinians are estimated to have taken refuge in the Rafah area, following warnings from the IDF to evacuate northern Gaza and other areas in the Strip amid a ground offensive against Hamas.
At the same time, aid workers warn that any advance by the Israeli army into the Rafah area could cause mass casualties among the one million Palestinians trapped there, with humanitarian aid at risk of collapsing.
Doctors and aid workers are struggling to provide even basic aid and stop the spread of disease.
“No war can be allowed in a huge refugee camp,” said Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), warning of the risk of a “bloodbath” if Israeli operations expand there.
“Expanded hostilities in Rafah could cause the humanitarian response to collapse,” the NRC added in a statement.
Source :Skai
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