Israeli Army Prepares To Carry Out Military Operations In Rafah

Israeli Army/PHOTO ILLUSTRATION via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - The Israeli army is preparing for a ground military operation in Rafah, a densely populated area of the southern Gaza Strip bordering Egypt.

Israel's public broadcasting agency, KAN, reported at the request of Egypt and the United States that military operations in Rafah would begin after the completion of the city's massive "evacuation".

The operation will be carried out following an agreement between Tel Aviv and Cairo regarding Israeli military activities in the border area between Gaza and Egypt, known as the Poros Philadelph.

KAN claims Israel has notified several countries in the region and the US of its readiness to carry out military operations in Rafah.

According to a report by the Yetioth Ahronoth newspaper, the Israeli army has approved a ground operation in Rafah.

Meanwhile, Channel 12 Israel reports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has informed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that ground operations in Rafah may begin in the next two weeks.

Earlier on Friday (8/2), Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to set a double plan to evacuate Palestinians from Rafah - houses for more than 1 million people seeking refuge from the war - and to defeat the Hamas group's final battalion.

Since the start of Israel's attack on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Israel has ordered residents in northern and central Gaza to flee to the southern part of the region, leading to the current overcrowded conditions in the southern region, especially in Rafah.

Israel continues its attack on Gaza, with 27,947 Palestinians killed and 67,459 others injured since October 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Israel's attack was triggered by a cross-border attack launched by Hamas, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 victims.

Israeli attacks also forced 85 percent of Gaza's population of refugees amid shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60 percent of infrastructure in the enclave was damaged or destroyed, according to the United Nations.