Netanyahu Announces When Israel Will Strike Rafah

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that Israel will launch large-scale operations in Rafah after evacuating the civilian population.

Palestinian National Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has called on Hamas to reach an agreement with Israel on the exchange of hostages and prisoners as soon as possible to avoid further escalation in the situation in Gaza.

The Israeli military is currently preparing to attack the southern Gaza city of Rafah, near the Egyptian border, where approximately 1.5 million of the enclave’s 2.3 million residents are sheltering from the fighting. According to Israeli sources, the remaining formations of Hamas militants have found refuge in the city.

The United Nations and many countries are urging Israel to abandon these plans. Abbas has indicated that an assault on Rafah would lead to thousands of casualties, suffering, and a mass exodus of Palestinians.