Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday that he had ordered the army to begin preparations for the evacuation of the southern Gaza town of Rafah is considered the last refuge for the population of the Palestinian enclave, which was forcibly displaced by Israeli bombings in response to the attack by Palestinian militias on October 7th.
In a statement released by his office, the Israeli prime minister considers the defeat of the Palestinian Hamas movement to be incompatible without ending the armed forces stationed in that city and its surroundings.
“It is impossible to achieve the war goal of eliminating Hamas while leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah. “It is clear that a massive operation in Rafah will require the evacuation of civilians from combat zones,” the reference said, to an area where at least 1.3 million people are seeking shelter.
“Therefore,” the statement said, Prime Minister Netanyahu “ordered the army and security apparatus to submit to the War Cabinet a joint plan for the evacuation of the population and the destruction of these battalions.”