‘We’re going to do it’: Israeli PM set on invasion of Rafah
Al Jazeera
Israel is yet to say how it will protect the 1.4 million civilians crammed into the city from the planned assault.
Israel is determined to advance with its unspecified plans to invade the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where millions of displaced Palestinians are sheltering.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his intention to extend the military operation in an interview broadcast late on Saturday. “We’re going to do it,” he declared and said that the plans are being worked on.
The statement comes despite international alarm over the potential for carnage. An estimated 1.4 million Palestinians are crammed into Rafah, and hemmed in by the border with Egypt, after being ordered by the Israeli military to evacuate their homes elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.
The United States, Israel’s main backer, has warned against the plan to expand the ground assault into the city, which has for months been subject to almost daily aerial bombardments.
At least 25 Palestinians have been killed in overnight strikes on Rafah, according to Al Jazeera journalists on the ground, as the Israeli army has been ramping up its attacks this week. Over 28,000 Palestinians have now been killed since the start of the war on Gaza on October 7.
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