TEL AVIV, Israel: Israel's defense minister on Friday said Israel is "thoroughly planning" a military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, signaling determination to move ahead despite growing international concerns about the safety of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians seeking refuge there.
U.S. President Joe Biden has urged Israel not to carry out the operation without a "credible" plan to protect civilians and to instead focus on a cease-fire, while Egypt has said an operation could threaten diplomatic relations between the countries. Many other world leaders have issued similar messages of concern.
An estimated 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gaza's population, have crammed into Rafah, most of them displaced by fighting elsewhere in the territory. Hundreds of thousands are living in sprawling tent camps.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel has inflicted heavy losses on Hamas during a war that is now in its fifth month and that Rafah is "the next Hamas center of gravity" Israel plans to target.
"We are thoroughly planning future operations in Rafah, which is a significant Hamas stronghold," he said. He declined to say say when the operation might begin, though Israel has previously said it will first develop a plan to evacuate civilians.
Palestinians and international aid agencies say there is no safe place to go, with Israel also carrying out strikes in areas where it had told civilians to seek shelter, including Rafah.
The Israeli military launched its war in response to a cross-border Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that killed some 1,200 people in Israel and took 250 others hostage. The air and ground offensive has killed over 28,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave, caused widespread destruction, displaced some 80% of the population and sparked a humanitarian crisis.
Egypt has repeatedly warned Israel not to push Palestinian civilians in Rafah across the border, saying a mass influx could lead to the end of the 1 979 peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.
While some Israeli hard-liners have called for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, Gallant said there were no plans to do so.
"The state of Israel has no intention of evacuating Palestinian civilians to Egypt," he said. "We respect and value our peace agreement with Egypt, which is a cornerstone of stability in the region as well as an important partner."
New satellite photos, however, indicate that Egypt is preparing for that very scenario. The images show Egypt building a wall and leveling land near its border with Gaza. Egyptian officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The Israeli offensive has included months of airstrikes as well as a ground invasion that has steadily moved southward through most of Gaza.
In recent weeks, it has focused on Khan Younis, Gaza's second-largest city and a Hamas stronghold.
On Friday, Palestinian health officials in Khan Younis said that five patients in intensive care died after their oxygen ran out following a raid by Israeli troops in southern Gaza's largest hospital.
The Israeli army has been searching the Nasser Hospital complex, arresting suspected Hamas militants and searching for evidence that the remains of Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas might be there. Israel says it does not target patients or doctors, but staff say the facility is struggling under heavy fire and dwindling supplies, including food and water.
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