Palestinians break their fast amid the rubble of their destroyed home during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip March 13, 2024. (Credit: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem)
Israel’s military intends to direct a “significant” portion of Rafah’s population of 1.4 million toward “humanitarian islands” in central Gaza ahead of Israel’s planned ground offensive, Israel army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said, quoted by the Washington Post.
US President Joe Biden has warned in recent weeks that an Israeli invasion in the southern city would cross a “red line,” though he added that he is “never going to leave Israel.”
The humanitarian zones “that we will create with the international community” would house the displaced and provide food, water and other necessities, Hagari said at a news briefing Wednesday.
Throughout its offensive in Gaza, Israel has made similar announcements, calling residents towards zones identified as "safe" within a city or towards the South of the strip, but it has consistently bombed these areas.
Around 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge along Gaza's southern border with Egypt in and around Rafah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on Thursday on pledges to invade Rafah in the south, where most of Gaza's population has sought refuge and Israel is threatening a ground assault.
"There is international pressure to prevent us from entering Rafah and completing the job," Netanyahu said.
"I will continue to repel the pressures and we will enter Rafah ... and bring complete victory to the people of Israel," he said during a visit to a field intelligence base.
At least 31,341 people have been killed and 73,134 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and says 249 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.