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A man with his horse-drawn cart in front of a destroyed house in Rafah

Photo: Mohammed Abed / AFP

Saudi Arabia has so far taken a very cautious public stance in the Gaza war. The Sunni regional power has now warned Israel against a military operation in the south of the Gaza Strip. The Kingdom noted the serious consequences of military action in Rafah and emphasized its categorical rejection of the forced relocation of hundreds of thousands of civilians, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry. Riyadh called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to "prevent Israel from causing an impending humanitarian catastrophe."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army on Friday to develop a plan to evacuate the population of Rafah. The invasion is apparently getting closer. Netanyahu said a “massive operation” was needed in Rafah. He had asked security officials to present a "dual plan" that included the evacuation of civilians and a military operation to "destroy" the remaining militant Hamas units. According to eyewitnesses, Israel has already carried out its first air strikes on targets in Rafah.

A military offensive in the city on the border with Egypt is considered highly problematic. The town, which had around 300,000 inhabitants before the war, is now said to be home to well over a million Palestinians. Most of them fled there from other parts of the Gaza Strip before the war, partly on orders from the Israeli military.

In the struggle for an agreement to release more Israeli hostages, US President Joe Biden is sending CIA chief William Burns to Cairo next week for talks, as the US news portal “Axios” reported, citing diplomats. Hamas negotiators left Cairo on Friday after "positive and good" talks, according to Palestinian organization circles. It was said that “a response from Israel” would now be awaited.

Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the EU and the USA, triggered the war on October 7th with an unprecedented attack on Israel. According to Israeli reports, around 1,200 people were brutally killed and 250 were taken hostage to the Gaza Strip. Israel then announced the destruction of Hamas and launched a massive military operation in the Gaza Strip. According to Hamas' latest figures, which cannot be independently verified, more than 28,000 people have been killed there since then.

dop/dpa/AFP