Israeli media predict offensive in Gaza’s Rafah soon

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Israel is poised to send troops into Rafah, the Gazan city it sees as the last bastion of Hamas, Israeli media has reported, saying preparations were under way to evacuate war-displaced Palestinian civilians who have been sheltering there, Reuters reports.

The Rafah sweep, postponed for several weeks amid disputes with Washington, will happen “very soon,” the mass-circulation Israel Hayom newspaper said, citing a decision by the Israeli government after ceasefire talks with Hamas stalled.

Several other Israeli media outlets carried similar reports. Some noted footage on social media that appeared to show the erection of a tent city for Rafah evacuees.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and the Israeli military spokesperson’s office had no immediate comment.

The Netanyahu government says Rafah is home to four intact Hamas combat battalions which, it says, have been reinforced by thousands of the Islamist militant group’s retreating fighters.

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