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Israel has completed preparations for a ground operation in Rafah

Smoke rises in Rafah after an Israeli attack (REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot)

Israel The terrorist group is not ready to make any more concessions Hamas After the failure of negotiations in Queue And preparing to attack Rafah After Ramadan, Egyptian sources briefed local media on Wednesday.

Rafah, on the southern Gaza border with Egypt, is the only urban center in the enclave that Israeli ground forces have not penetrated. Currently in the city About 1.5 million people are refugees, Most of the people displaced by Israeli attacks in recent months in the north and center of the Strip.

According to sources cited by a pro-Hezbollah Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, Offensive in Rafah will then begin Eid al-Fitr, A three-day holiday that follows Ramadan and ends around April 12, or early May at the latest.

The operation will last four to eight weeks and will involve moving the civilian population to the center of the strip along specific routes and at specific times, civilians will be announced in advance in each area of ​​Rafah.

According to Egyptian officials, the mass evacuation will be monitored by land and air to ensure that there are no Hamas militants or Israeli hostages hiding among Gazan civilians.

A Lebanese newspaper also reported Cairo expressed concern Through the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operation in the Rafah area, points out that it could lead to new escalation not only in Gaza, but in the entire region.

El Sisi expressed concern over the operation by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the Rafah area (REUTERS/Yves Herman)

Furthermore, the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Rejected the Israeli Prime Minister’s request, Benjamin Netanyahu, hotline to be contacted according to the newspaper. Israel may have promised to inform the Egyptians in advance of infiltration of the IDF The Philadelphia Corridorwhich goes west of Rafah along the middle border loop And Egypt.

The Egyptian sources further said that negotiations are taking place through mediation United Arab Emirates To bring medicine to Israeli hostages in exchange for allowing large quantities of medicine to enter the Strip.

Israel declared war on Hamas in retaliation for an offensive by Islamist militants who killed nearly 1,160 people, mostly civilians, in the south of the country on October 7.

According to the latest balance sheet from the Ministry of Health of the Hamas government in Gaza, the Israeli military campaign in Gaza under the Israeli blockade has killed nearly 32,500 people so far.

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