Defense &
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The Big Story

How much time is left before the Rafah invasion?

Reports emerged Friday that the Israeli military told the Biden administration of a plan to begin removing civilians from Rafah in Gaza ahead of a long-threatened invasion, but officials say otherwise.

“We haven’t seen a comprehensive plan, a plan as it relates to their thinking on the Rafah operations,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday. “We have been also clear of our concerns of any major military operations into Rafah.”

Israel has repeatedly warned of a major operation against Hamas in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, where roughly 1 million displaced Palestinian civilians have fled to after months of Israeli airstrikes and shelling.

But that operation may be coming sooner than later as the Israel Defense Forces have informed aid groups and the administration of a plan to move people out of Rafah to al-Mawasi, on the southern coast of the territory, Politico reported.

But Jean-Pierre said talks are still ongoing and that no solid plan has been presented.

“There’s more than one million Palestinian civilians seeking refuge in Rafah and we want to make sure that their lives are protected,” she said. “We want to continue to have the conversations that we’ve been having with the Israeli government.”

Reuters reported that Israel had given Washington some preliminary information, but officials haven’t seen a full plan, with a U.S. official telling the outlet that the proposal outlines the provision of shelter, food and evacuation routes but “needs more work.”

The United Nations humanitarian aid agency, meanwhile, warned Friday that hundreds of thousands of people would be “at imminent risk of death” if the Israeli military moves on its assault in Rafah.

“It could be a slaughter of civilians and an incredible blow to the humanitarian operation in the entire strip because it is run primarily out of Rafah,” Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the U.N. humanitarian office, said at a Geneva press briefing.

Read more on the Israel-Hamas war here at TheHill.com.

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