EGYPT IS CONCERNED
Israel has said it is determined to expand its ground combat to Rafah, portraying it as the last significant stronghold of Hamas fighters, but has not given a timeline. Addressing international concerns, Israel has said it would develop a plan to evacuate civilians before invading the southern city.
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 such an operation could threaten diplomatic relations between the countries. Many other world leaders have issued similar messages of concern.
Israel has said it has no plans to force Palestinians into Egypt. 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. Egypt has not publicly acknowledged the construction.
Two senior Egyptian officials said Saturday that Egypt is building additional defensive lines in an already existing buffer zone. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details with the media.
The buffer zone, which Egypt built in recent years as part of its battle against an Islamic State group insurgency, is 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the border. It was meant to prevent weapons smuggling to and from Gaza through underground tunnels. Authorities said they destroyed over 1,500 tunnels over the years.
The newly fortified zone is not intended to shelter Palestinians fleeing Gaza, said Diaa Rashwan, the head of the State Information Service.
THE WAR DRAGS ON
The Israeli military launched its present war on Gaza after the unprecedented Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, that killed 1,200 people in Israel and took 250 others hostage.
The Gaza Health Ministry on Saturday raised the overall death toll in Gaza to 28,858, saying the bodies of 83 people killed in Israeli bombardments were brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours.
The count does not differentiate between combatants and civilians, but the ministry says two-thirds of those killed are women and children. More than 68,000 people have been wounded, including 11,000 who need urgent evacuation for treatment outside Gaza, it said.
In recent weeks, Israel’s military has focused on Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city and a Hamas stronghold. The city’s Nasser Hospital has been portrayed by the military as a Hamas hideout and as one of its last targets in Khan Younis.