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Clouds of smoke over Rafah after Israeli shelling (February 25)

Photo: Said Khatib / AFP

Despite massive international outcry and public calls for moderation even from close allies, Israeli preparations for the planned offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza, are progressing.

The Israeli military has presented its further operational plans to the War Cabinet.

As the military announced on Monday night, the cabinet had been presented with "a plan for the evacuation of the population from the fighting areas in the Gaza Strip and the upcoming operational plan."

In addition, a plan for the provision of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip was approved "to prevent looting in the northern strip and other areas," it said.

No details were given in the short statement.

Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinians are seeking shelter from the fighting in other parts of the sealed-off coastal area in a confined space and under miserable conditions, was also not explicitly mentioned in the Israeli military's statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to quickly launch plans for a military offensive in Rafah despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations.

He announced at the weekend that he would convene the cabinet at the beginning of the week to have the operational plan approved.

The plan will also include the evacuation of the civilian population.

The working week in Israel began on Sunday.

Netanyahu: Offensive is definitely coming

The planned offensive on the city of Rafah, which is overcrowded with refugees, has been heavily criticized internationally.

Even allies like the USA are calling on Israel to show restraint.

However, Netanyahu is determined to launch an offensive in Rafah.

The head of government repeatedly emphasized that it would be impossible to achieve his war goal of eliminating Hamas if four Hamas battalions remained in Rafah.

Even an agreement on a ceasefire would "delay a little bit" such a military operation, but it will happen, Netanyahu told the US television station CBS.

"If we don't reach an agreement, we will do it anyway," Netanyahu continued.

"It must be done, because complete victory is our goal, and complete victory is within reach - not in months, but in a few weeks when we begin the operation."

USA: Basic principles for hostage agreements established

At the same time, positive signals came from the USA regarding a future agreement in an effort to achieve a ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told CNN that representatives of Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar had agreed "on the outlines of a hostage agreement for a temporary ceasefire" at their meeting in Paris.

As the Egyptian television channel Al-Kahera News reported, negotiations between "experts from Egypt, Qatar, the United States and Israel" and Hamas representatives continued on Sunday in Doha.

The war was triggered by the major attack on Israel on October 7th by Hamas, which the EU and the USA classify as a terrorist organization.

Islamist fighters committed atrocities primarily against civilians.

According to Israeli information, around 1,160 people were killed and around 250 hostages were taken to the Gaza Strip.

In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has since taken massive military action in the Gaza Strip, with the declared aim of destroying Hamas.

According to Hamas figures, which cannot be independently verified, more than 29,600 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since then.

jok/dpa