In an ominous sign of yet another humanitarian crisis, Israel has begun to construct tents to house well over one million Palestinian civilians to be marched from Rafah to sites in Khan Younis so that Israel can root out Hamas in Rafah. Of course, there is not much left of Gaza north of Rafah, which is still standing, but not for long.
President Biden had warned Netanyahu not to invade the city. The administration wants assurances that any ground assault must be preceded with plans and implementation to house over one million people, enough food and water to accommodate them, sanitation facilities, and medical access.
The IDF originally planned to invade Rafah in four weeks. That is not good enough; US analysts stated the best scenario would take four months to implement basic humanitarian precautions.
Satellite imagery has discovered that Israel has erected tents amidst the rubble of central Gaza.
Citing Israeli and Egyptian officials, The Journal said the Israeli plans envision that the first two to three weeks of the operation will consist of evacuating civilians, in coordination with the US, Egypt and other Arab countries.
The evacuation will reportedly involve moving civilians to the nearby city of Khan Younis, among other areas in Gaza, where Israel will set up shelters with tents, food and medical facilities.
After that, the officials said the IDF will gradually move troops into Rafah and target areas where it believes Hamas leaders and operatives are hiding.
Israel has said Rafah, where Hamas’s four intact battalions are deployed, remains the terror group’s last major stronghold in the Strip after the IDF operated in the north and center of the Palestinian enclave. It also believes that many of the remaining 133 hostages kidnapped in the Hamas-led October 7 atrocities are being held in Rafah.
The Egyptian officials said the fighting in Rafah is expected to last at least six weeks, though the timing of the operation remains uncertain.
An Israeli security official quoted in the report said the IDF will “have a very tight operational plan because it’s very complex there.”
The BBC writes on evacuation plans:
The satellite pictures show rows of tents at a site to the west of Khan Younis as well as tents near Rafah. Before and after pictures showed that both encampments had been constructed this month.
Earlier this month Israeli media reported that Israel was buying 40,000 tents to prepare for the evacuation of Palestinian civilians from Rafah. On Wednesday Reuters quoted Israeli government sources as saying each tent could hold between 10 and 12 people.
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On Friday US secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US "cannot support a major military operation in Rafah" a day after the US and Israel held a virtual meeting to discuss an offensive.
He said the US had not yet seen a plan for getting civilians out of harm's way and any military operation would have "terrible consequences" for civilians who remained in Rafah.
Conditions in the overcrowded southern city are already dire, with displaced people there telling the BBC there was a lack of food, water and medication.
Earlier this month some displaced Palestinians in Rafah attempted to return to northern Gaza but were forced back by the Israeli military. Witnesses said its forces had opened fire on crowds heading along a main coastal road. killing five people. The IDF did not comment directly on that incident but did say that Palestinians should stay in southern Gaza because the north is a "dangerous combat zone".
American University students continue to protest the war in Gaza.
A mass grave of over three hundred men, women, and children were massacred with hands zip-locked behind their backs.
Famine has not abated in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu has held meetings with ministers and has reportedly talked to Western allies as the ICC is believed to be preparing arrest warrants for war crimes.
US military aid to Israel under scrutiny as Biden signs $26 billion in new assistance
President Joe Biden signed legislation Wednesday for $26 billion in additional wartime assistance to Israel at a time when there is increased scrutiny over whether the country’s military is meeting U.S. human rights standards.
Israel’s foreign minister thanked lawmakers for passing the security aid bill, calling the package “a clear testament to the strength of our alliance” and saying it “sends a strong message to all our enemies.”
The aid comes amid an internal review by the administration whether U.S. partners who were provided with American weapons have complied with international and U.S. laws.
Under National Security Memorandum 20 (NSM 20), Biden directed the departments of State and Defense in February to ensure that all recipients of aid meet U.S. legal requirements. This includes the Leahy Law, two legislative provisions named for Senator Patrick Leahy that mandate the U.S. cut off assistance to any foreign military or law enforcement units if it determines there is credible evidence of human rights violations.
Israel provided its assurances of NSM-20 compliance in March, and the State Department has until May 8 to report to Congress whether it finds Israel's assurances credible.
Ahead of that deadline, an unofficial panel of American academicians and former State Department officials called for suspending the arms transfers, accusing the Israel Defense Forces of a “systematic pattern of war crimes.”
All hell could break loose just in time for the US elections. Lordy.