Faustus said:
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/02/09/world/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news
Heading into the Southern tip of Gaza at the crossing with Egypt.Good luck with that last bit PMFA.Quote:
Netanyahu Orders Military to Make Plans to Evacuate Civilians in Rafah
. . .
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has ordered the Israeli military to come up with a plan for civilians sheltering in the southern city of Rafah to evacuate, his office said on Friday, clearing the way for an expected offensive into the crowded city.
. . .
In recent weeks, roughly 1.4 million Palestinians have squeezed into Rafah one of the last areas of the Gaza Strip in which Israeli ground troops have yet to deploy in force.
. . .
But it is not clear where those people could go. Many of them have fled from towns and cities farther north in the enclave, devastated by war, where fighting continues and basic supplies are critically short, and Israel has said they cannot yet return. Egypt has sealed the border and Cairo so far has shown no inclination to let large numbers of Palestinian refugees cross, in part because of fears they will never be allowed to return.
. . .
In a statement, the Israeli prime minister's office said that it could not realize Israel's aim of eliminating Hamas's rule in Gaza while leaving intact what it said were battalions of the group's fighters in Rafah.
The military's "combined plan" would have to both "evacuate the civilian population and topple the brigades," it added.
Israeli leaders have made clear in recent days that they intend to extend the invasion of Gaza into Rafah, on the border with Egypt. On Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu said the Israeli security establishment was preparing to operate in the densely crowded area.
"Our soldiers are now in Khan Younis, Hamas's main stronghold." his office later wrote on social media. "They'll soon go into Rafah, Hamas's last bastion."
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based in the occupied West Bank, demanded that Israel's allies put pressure on its government not to send troops into Rafah.
. . .
Once the operation in Rafah finishes up, I'll be curious if Israel maintains a permanent presence in Gaza, or if they'll repair to the (now) much more heavily guarded border. Absent being there in considerable force it's hard to imagine the IDF would want to maintain what amounts to targets at checkpoints as in the West Bank (especially in the urban centers), but there are political considerations as well.
I wouldn't give anything back to those animals. Exile them into the desert and let nature take care of the rest of them.
