PM Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said that his government was working on a plan to evacuate people from the city of Rafah in southern Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive there against Hamas.
Netanyahu, in an interview with ABC News, said that he agreed with US officials that “safe passage” must be provided to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians who have taken shelter in Rafah.
He said, without giving specifics, that Israel was “working out a detailed plan” to move Gazans to areas north of Rafah. “Victory is within reach,” the PM said. “We are going to get the remaining Hamas terrorist battalions in Rafah, which is the last bastion,” he said. He added that “enough” of the 132 remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza are alive to justify the ongoing war. “We’re going to try to do our best to get all those who are alive back,” he said.