According to a press release on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the army’s “action plans” for the offensive on Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

“The Israeli army is ready for the operational part and for the evacuation of the population,” said the statement, which did not provide additional details about the long-announced operation, against which the United States and the United Nations have repeatedly warned. for AFP.

Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed for weeks to continue the war until Hamas is eliminated and has repeatedly announced an upcoming offensive on Rafah, the closed border with Egypt where the UN says about a million and a half Palestinians are gathered.

Washington, for its part, reiterated its opposition to any offensive on Rafah that would endanger civilian refugees.

“I will continue to reject the pressure. We will enter Rafah. We will complete the elimination of the Hamas battalions,” he reiterated in a message on the X social network on Thursday.

Last month, Israel’s prime minister asked the army to present him with a plan to evacuate the civilian population. The army submitted the plan to the war cabinet in late February, but no details have been released.

On a visit to Vienna, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Friday that he had “not yet seen the plan” provided by Israel, while reiterating that the United States wanted “a clear plan that can be implemented”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that at least 13,000 “terrorists” were among the Palestinians killed in Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and vowed to continue the offensive in the enclave’s south, an action that US President Joe Biden described as like… it’s like his “red line,” according to Reuters.

Biden calls for evacuation of civilians from Rafah before offensive

Biden and his aides have strongly urged Netanyahu not to launch a major offensive on Rafah until Israel develops a plan for the mass evacuation of civilians.

More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have taken refuge in the Rafah area.

Asked by MSNBC on Saturday if the Rafah invasion would be a red line, Biden said: “It is a red line, but I will never leave Israel. Israel’s defense remains critical. So there’s no red line (where) I’m going to cut off all arms shipments so they don’t have Iron Dome to protect them.”

Politico quoted Netanyahu as saying on Sunday that Israeli forces would advance to Rafah, adding: “You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is, that October 7th will not happen again. It won’t happen again.” .never”.

Three-quarters of Hamas’ battalions have been destroyed, and halting the offensive now will only allow them to regroup, Bild quoted Netanyahu as saying.