Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden have on Monday announced that in the next few days two delegations from their respective countries will meet in Washington, the capital of the United States, to talk about the discussed plan for the Israeli invasion in the city of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, the only one that has not yet been invaded by Israel. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during meetings US officials would propose an “alternative approach” to allow Israel to find and imprison militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas without having to invade Rafah.
The plan was approved by the Israeli war cabinet last Friday: it involves the evacuation of the Rafah area and the subsequent attack. It is unclear at the moment how this evacuation should proceed. Military sources talk about the construction of humanitarian protection areas in the central area of the Strip, but it seems like a difficult plan to implement.
Nearly one and a half million Palestinians fleeing from other areas of the Strip found refuge in Rafah. International organizations and Israel’s allies, including the United States, have always opposed a military attack in the area due to the serious consequences this would have on the civilian population. The Israeli government and army, however, believe that the Hamas militants who are still active have also found refuge in Rafah.
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