Israel said on Wednesday it was “moving ahead” with its planned operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah against Hamas, drawing a stern warning from neighboring Egypt.
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A spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government said Israel is “making progress” with a ground operation in Rafah. However, the defense official did not provide a timeline.
The official said Israel's Defense Ministry had purchased 40,000 tents, each with a capacity of 10 to 12 people, to house Palestinians relocated from Rafah ahead of an attack.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel will press ahead with the attack on Rafah, the last major population center in Gaza that Israeli ground forces have yet to penetrate.
Israel, which began its war against Hamas after the October 7 attacks on Israeli cities, says Rafah is home to four Hamas combat battalions, reinforced by thousands of retreating fighters.
However, Israel received a warning from Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, who said any military operation in Rafah would have “catastrophic consequences” for the humanitarian situation in the sector and for regional peace and security.
Rafah borders the Egyptian border and is home to more than a million Palestinians who fled after Israel and Hamas broke out more than six months ago.
Israel's closest ally, the US, has called on the country to shelve plans to attack Rafah, saying it can fight Hamas fighters there through other means.
Israel has withdrawn most of its ground forces from southern Gaza, but has continued airstrikes and raids in areas its forces had abandoned.
Efforts by the US, Egypt and Qatar to reach an extended ceasefire in time to prevent an attack on Rafah have so far failed.
Officials in Gaza say more than 34,000 people have been killed in Israel's military campaign, while thousands more bodies are feared buried under the rubble.
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