Netanyahu approves Rafah operation, Israeli officials to head to Qatar

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved a military operation for Rafah in Southern Gaza, that will also include the evacuation of civilians, his office said on Friday after the war cabinet met in the early afternoon.

The Rafah operation has been one of the levers Israel has used to pressure Hamas to make a deal for the return of the remaining 134 captives held in the enclave.

The international community has opposed the move fearing for the fate of the over 1.3 million Palestinians in the area of Rafah, many of whom fled there to escape bombing in northern Gaza.

The US has insisted that Israel must present a credible and realistic plan to protect civilians in Rafah, with US National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby saying on Thursday that the Biden administration has yet to see such a plan.

Tovah Lazaroff
https://www.jpost.com/