As of: February 10, 2024, 11:05 a.m
By: Yekaterina Jalunina
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing a military offensive on the city of Rafah.
Criticism of Israel's plans is numerous.
Tel Aviv/Gaza – The Israeli armed forces are targeting Rafah.
Following an order from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to develop an evacuation plan for the city's civilian population, the Israeli army continued its bombing of targets around the southern Gaza Strip.
The German Press Agency
reported attacks in the area around the city on Saturday morning, citing eyewitnesses.
New offensive in the Gaza Strip – Netanyahu orders plans to evacuate Rafah
Already on Friday, Netanyahu called on the Israeli armed forces to submit to the government a “combined plan to evacuate the population and destroy the battalions” of the radical Islamist Hamas in Rafah.
“It is impossible to achieve the war goal of eliminating Hamas if four Hamas battalions remain in Rafah,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Before that, however, the civilians in the city on the border with Egypt should be brought to safety.
The city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip lies on the border with Egypt.
© Mohammed Talatene/dpa
Offensive on Rafah imminent – Human Rights Watch fears “catastrophic consequences”
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) sharply criticized Netanyahu's plans.
HRW representative Nadia Hardman said it was illegal to force the more than one million Palestinian refugees in Rafah to undergo a new evacuation without having a safe place to go.
This move could have “catastrophic consequences.”
Hardman called on the international community to act to prevent further atrocities.
Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, has also condemned Israeli plans to attack Rafah.
His office said on his behalf that these plans were aimed at expelling the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip.
Abbas belongs to Fatah, which is based in the West Bank.
Rafah offensive: UN Secretary-General Guterres warns of humanitarian emergency
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned of serious consequences for the entire region.
He emphasizes that half of the Gaza Strip's population is trapped in Rafah and has no possibility of escape.
On the news platform
X
(formerly Twitter), his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric wrote that mass expulsions must be avoided at all costs.
In addition, according to media reports, both the US government and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock have clearly expressed their rejection of military action in Rafah in recent days.
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Middle East war between Israel and Hamas – attack on Israel on October 7th
On October 7th, Hamas triggered the war with its attack on Israel.
Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU and the USA, entered Israeli towns that day and carried out massacres of civilians.
According to Israeli figures, around 1,160 people were killed, including many civilians.
In addition, around 250 people were taken hostage into the Gaza Strip.
In response to the attack, Israel launched a massive military operation in the Gaza Strip.
According to Hamas' latest figures, more than 27,940 people have been killed since then.
However, this information cannot be independently verified.
(
dpa/jek
)