GAZA: Israel’s military on Monday proposed a plan for evacuating civilians from the war-hit Gaza Strip, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a ground offensive of the city Rafah was necessary for achieving victory.
Foreign governments and aid organizations have voiced fears that such a military operation will cause mass civilian casualties in Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians have converged.
Rafah is also a major entry point for desperately needed assistance, brought in through neighboring Egypt.
Netayahu’s office in a statement in Hebrew on Monday said Israel’s military has presented a plan to the cabinet for evacuating the population from areas of fighting in the Gaza Strip.
The statement did not provide any details about how or where the civilians would be shifted.
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The development comes after experts from Egypt, Qatar and US met in Doha for talks also attended by Israeli and Hamas representatives.
The United States said ongoing mediation efforts helped to achieve an understanding towards a ceasefire and captives’ release. A Hamas source told media that the group pressed on the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
UN aid agency calls for political action to avert famine in Gaza
The main UN aid agency for Palestinians has called for political action to avert famine in Gaza. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA said that dire food shortages in northern Gaza are a man-made disaster that can be lessened.
He said famine can still be averted through political will to meaningful assistance. The UN has said it faces problems, especially on aid deliveries to northern Gaza.
After four months of war, desperate families in Gaza’s north have been forced to search for food as looting and fighting have paused humanitarian deliveries.
According to Gaza health ministry the Israeli military offensive has killed at least 29,692 people in Gaza, mostly women and children.
