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The Israeli Broadcasting Authority revealed that Israel is working with Egypt to find broad lines for a possible ground military operation in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, while noting that the occupation army has set a time limit of one week to complete control of Khan Yunis.
In this context, the military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, said that military operations in Khan Yunis have been restricted and the number of combat brigades has been reduced to 5, one of which is in the eastern region.
He explained during his analysis for Al Jazeera that the occupation army now has a surplus of strength after withdrawing the brigades outside the border fence after the failure of the main effort east of Khan Yunis.
He indicated that there is an intention to expand operations in Rafah, but his calculations are dangerous there because this governorate has a specificity and a different situation with political borders with Egypt, and a military operation cannot be launched without coordination and there is no final agreement on that.
He pointed out that the Philadelphia axis (the Salah al-Din border axis between Rafah and Egypt) has an average width of between 400 and 500 meters and a length of 14 km, and there are 1.3 million people in it, according to him.
It is believed that the occupation is trying hard to search for a mechanism and approach to manage the battle so as to ensure the displacement of the Palestinians in Rafah to the north of the Gaza Strip, noting that the Al-Mawasi area in the south and what is known as “Gush Qatif” is full of displaced people.
He stressed that this approach will only be achieved by the end of the Battle of Khan Yunis, pointing out that in order for the Battle of Khan Yunis to end, the occupation army must declare its victory - at least on its part - as it did in the northern Gaza Strip and then begin withdrawing its forces and military equipment.
He pointed out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began repeating his talk about Rafah and the Philadelphia axis, in translation of his desire to prolong the war on Gaza for the longest possible period of time.
Source: Al Jazeera