The Israeli army presented a plan to “evacuate” civilians from “combat zones” in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's services announced on Monday, February 26, and remains committed to a military offensive against the crowded city of Rafah to start.
The army has “presented to the war cabinet a plan for the evacuation of the population from combat zones in the Gaza Strip as well as the plan for future operations,” the prime minister's office said in a brief statement, without giving details.
The announcement comes ahead of an expected Israeli offensive in Rafah, a city in the southern Palestinian territory where, according to the United Nations, nearly 1.5 million Palestinians live, the vast majority of them displaced, in extremely precarious conditions. There were bomb attacks on the city again on Sunday.
Despite repeated international warnings, Mr. Netanyahu wants to launch a ground operation against the city, backed by Egypt's closed border, which he portrays as Hamas's “last bastion.” An offensive will only be “delayed” if there is a ceasefire, which is currently being negotiated, he said on Sunday on the American broadcaster CBS. By launching this operation, Israel will be “a few weeks” away from “total victory” over Hamas, he said.
Many voices, including the United States, Israel's main ally, and the United Nations are concerned about the fate of the population in Rafah in the event of a ground offensive. “There is room” for civilians “to go north of Rafah to the areas where we have stopped fighting,” Netanyahu said on CBS.
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According to Washington, a “common basis” for a ceasefire has been found
At the same time, the mediating countries are trying to get the two parties to compromise on a ceasefire. Egyptian, Qatari and American representatives, as well as Israel and Hamas, resumed negotiations in Doha on Sunday, which “will be followed by meetings in Cairo,” according to a television close to Egyptian intelligence, AlQahera News.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that “common ground” was reached at a recent meeting in Paris between representatives of Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar on the “outlines” of a possible hostage release agreement. had been found and “a temporary ceasefire”. “There should be indirect talks between Qatar and Egypt with Hamas because in the end they have to agree to the release of the hostages. This work is ongoing,” he added on CNN.
The Emir of Qatar, Tamim ben Hamad Al-Thani, is also expected in Paris on Tuesday or Wednesday to discuss ongoing negotiations with the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron.
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According to a Hamas source, the talks are the first phase of a plan drawn up by the mediators in January that calls for a six-week ceasefire that would be linked to the release of Palestinian hostages and prisoners held by Israel and entry into the Gaza Strip is a large amount of humanitarian aid.
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But to reach an agreement, Israel is first demanding the release of all hostages and has warned that a pause in fighting does not mean the end of the war. Hamas, for its part, is demanding a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, the lifting of the blockade imposed by Israel since 2007 and safe housing for hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the war.
UN warns of famine
Since the war began, the Gaza Strip has experienced a major humanitarian disaster and 2.2 million people, the vast majority of the population, are at risk of “mass starvation,” according to the United Nations. According to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent, hundreds of people fled the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, driven by hunger. The international aid that arrives in small quantities from Egypt via Rafah is subject to Israel's green light and its delivery to the north is almost impossible due to the destruction and fighting.
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Palestinians in Gaza have told AFP in recent days that they are forced to eat leaves, use animal feed and even slaughter draft animals for food. However, famine in Gaza could still be “averted” if Israel allows humanitarian organizations to provide “significant assistance,” the commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Sunday. Philippe Lazzarini.
The war was sparked by an unprecedented attack in Israel on October 7 by Hamas commandos infiltrating from Gaza that killed at least 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data. During the attack, around 250 people were kidnapped and taken to Gaza. According to Israel, 130 hostages are still being held there, 31 of whom are believed to have died.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, which has been in power in Gaza since 2007 and which it, along with the United States and the European Union, considers a terrorist organization. According to the Hamas Health Ministry, the Israeli offensive has caused 29,692 deaths in Gaza since October 7, the vast majority of them civilians – a figure that cannot be verified by an independent source that would include both civilians and combatants.
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