GAZA: Israel's military has conducted all necessary preparations to take Rafah, which it deems the last Hamas bastion in the Gaza Strip, and can launch an operation the moment it gets government approval, a senior defence official told Reuters on Wednesday.
Some Palestinian civilians were fleeing their homes in northern Gaza on Wednesday just weeks after returning because of an Israeli bombardment which they said was as intense as those at the start of the war.
Much of the shelling was focused for a second day on Beit Lahiya on the northern edge of Gaza, where the Israeli military gave evacuation orders to four neighbourhoods on Tuesday, warning they were in a "dangerous combat zone".
After weeks of relative calm, Israel intensified its attacks overnight on Monday, focusing on areas — particularly in the north — from where it had previously withdrawn troops, saying the Palestinian militant group Hamas was no longer in control.
Plans for an attack on Rafah, where more than 1 million people have been displaced, have caused widespread international concern. Aid agencies have warned of a potential humanitarian catastrophe and US President Joe Biden has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to invade Rafah.
Moving civilians out of harm's way will be an important part of Israel's strategy, a government spokesperson said.
Israel has said it will eradicate Hamas following the group's rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
The war, now in its seventh month, has killed over 34,000 Palestinians, and many more are feared buried in rubble. The offensive has laid to waste much of the enclave, displacing most of its 2.3 million people and creating a humanitarian crisis.
In the past 24 hours, Israeli strikes have killed at least 79 Palestinians and wounded 86, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
Two people were killed in a strike on a house in Rafah, four were killed when a missile hit a group standing outside a supermarket in the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp and one was killed in a strike on a house in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, Palestinian health officials said.
Residents in northern Gaza and suburbs of Gaza City reported heavy shelling.
"We don't know why this is all happening. Is it because we returned home and we finally got some aid through after months of starvation and the Israelis didn't like that?" said Mohammad Jamal, 29, a resident of Gaza City, near Zeitoun, one of Gaza's oldest suburbs.
"It is as if the war started again. As if it is just happening, they burnt up the place," he said.
Asked about Wednesday's developments, the Israeli military had no immediate comment. — Reuters
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