As of: February 12, 2024, 11:54 a.m
By: Kilian Beck
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Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said he wanted to destroy “four Hamas battalions” in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Millions of internally displaced people are at risk of being displaced again.
Gaza/Tel Aviv – Israel's military has temporarily concluded its nighttime operations in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
The dpa reported this early on Monday morning.
According to Israeli reports, two hostages were rescued from captivity by the Islamist Hamas during the operation.
The terror organization's Gaza Health Ministry estimated "around a hundred" Palestinians killed.
Hamas does not differentiate between its own combatants and civilians when it comes to those killed.
The information provided by both sides could not initially be independently verified.
The remains of the house from which the Israeli military is said to have rescued the two hostages that night.
© SAID KHATIB/AFP
There are currently around 1.4 million internally displaced people in Rafah on the border with Egypt, mainly from the rubble-ridden northern part of the Gaza Strip, estimated the left-liberal Israeli daily
Haaretz
.
This makes Rafah, along with Khan Yunis, the largest refuge for those displaced by the war between Israel and Hamas.
Palestinian news agency
Wafa
reported early Monday morning, citing medical personnel in Rafah, that hundreds of people had been injured in intense airstrikes in various parts of the city.
Netanyahu gives order to attack Rafah – Unclear number of Israeli hostages still alive
Israel's right-wing conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the country's army on Friday to prepare an offensive on Rafah.
“It is impossible to achieve the war goal of eliminating Hamas if four Hamas battalions remain in Rafah,” he said.
The army should therefore prepare the evacuation of civilians in Rafah.
In his view, the number of hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip justifies Israel's massive military action.
Asked how many hostages, to his knowledge, are still alive, Netanyahu replied in an interview with US broadcaster ABC News on Sunday: "I think enough to justify the efforts we are making."
Smoke rises after an Israeli bombardment in the southern Gaza Strip on February 11, 2024.
© Said Khatib/AFP
Many relatives of the hostages accuse Netanyahu of torpedoing negotiations led by international mediators that are supposed to lead to a ceasefire in the war with Hamas and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
On October 7, Hamas terrorists attacked several communities in southern Israel, massacring more than 1,000 civilians and abducting around 240 people to the Gaza Strip.
Around 100 of them have been released so far through the negotiations, but 30 are now said to have been killed.
US President Biden calls for a “credible and actionable plan” for the safety of civilians in Rafah
According to the White House, US President Joe Biden's telephone conversation with Netanyahu on Sunday focused on the shared goal of defeating Hamas and ensuring the long-term security of Israel and the Israeli people.
Biden also insisted on “using the progress made in negotiations (with Hamas) to ensure the release of all hostages as quickly as possible.”
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Before moving forward with the planned military offensive in Rafah in the Gaza Strip, Biden demanded that Israel come up with a convincing concept for the protection of the civilian population there.
In the phone call with Netanyahu, Biden reiterated that “a credible and implementable plan is needed to ensure the safety of the more than one million people seeking refuge there,” the White House said in Washington.
In addition, the US President called for concrete steps towards more humanitarian aid.'
At the weekend there were demonstrations again in Israel calling for the hostages to be rescued through negotiations with Hamas.
© AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP
NYT report: Military offensive in Rafah likely to end before Ramadan begins
According to a media report, Israel's army has not yet completed the planning of the military offensive on Rafah.
It will “probably take some time” and has not yet been presented to Netanyahu, the
New York Times (NYT)
quoted Israeli officials and analysts as saying on Sunday (local time).
The US government has also expressed concerns to Israel about the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins on March 10, the
NYT
reported .
The strategy is “very complex”.
Israel's plan has met with international criticism.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) warned that this would be “a humanitarian catastrophe.”
Egypt fears that desperate Palestinians could storm Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Israel is being considered as a refuge for the displaced areas in the center of the Gaza Strip or the city of Khan Yunis, the dpa reported, citing parliamentarians from Netanyahu's conservative Likud party and a former general.
To what extent these measures are sufficient to effectively protect civilians in the Gaza Strip is at least unclear.
Since the start of the war, there have been repeated reports of Hamas attacks on refugees and Israeli attacks in zones designated as “safe” for the civilian population.
(kb with dpa)