According to a media report, Israel's planned military offensive on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip will most likely not begin before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to a media report. An unnamed senior US official told the Times of Israel news website this assessment.
As the website reported yesterday, the Israeli army is still in the process of completing major operations in the city of Khan Yunis, north of Rafah, which has been heavily contested for weeks. At the same time, it is planned to take around 1.5 million Palestinians to safety in Rafah, before the military takes action against the remaining Hamas troops.
Implementing such a plan, including mechanisms to support people after they are placed in other locations, would take weeks, the official said.
Apparently the civilians are planning to move
The website, citing an Israeli official, further reported that the army planned to shelter civilians in Rafah, a northern area between Khan Yunis and the Wadi Gaza riverbed, which separates northern and southern Gaza.
According to the US official, if Israel does not begin this effort before Ramadan, which begins around March 10, the army could be forced to wait until after the Muslim holy month of fasting, they said. An attack on Rafah during Ramadan could be seen as particularly provocative by Muslims across the region.
Humanitarian organizations warn
In Rafah, the Israeli army is preparing for an invasion, in order to destroy the remaining Hamas battalions and free the supposed hostages there. However, the Israeli government has not yet issued an operational order.
Military action in the southernmost city of the Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt, is highly controversial because around 1.5 million Palestinians are packed into a small area, most of whom had already fled fighting elsewhere on the coast. . Aid organizations point to a catastrophic humanitarian situation.