Israeli armored vehicle near the Gaza Strip (Getty)
The American newspaper Politico quoted an Israeli military official as saying that the scheduled military operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip could not begin today, even if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the order to do so.
The Israeli military official added that the ground operation in Rafah is not imminent, as there is still a need to evacuate civilians and equip forces.
In the same context, Politico said, quoting an American official, that Tel Aviv did not share with the administration of US President Joe Biden a credible and implementable plan for Rafah.
According to 4 American officials quoted by the newspaper, Biden is considering imposing conditions on military aid to Israel if it proceeds with the invasion of Rafah.
"Red line"
The newspaper quoted unnamed American officials as saying that Biden did not impose any restrictions on sending weapons to Israel, but he may put that on his agenda if the Israeli army launches a ground attack on Rafah.
It is noteworthy that Biden indicated in a previous interview with MSNBC that the Israeli ground attack on Rafah was a “red line” for him, but he would also not abandon Israel.
Recently, the Israeli war government discussed a plan to “evacuate” the Palestinians from Rafah in preparation for its invasion, despite international warnings that such a step might lead to massacres against hundreds of thousands of displaced people who have no other place to go after they were forced to flee from all areas of the Strip under the burden of The war has been raging for the sixth month.
This comes as Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, leaving tens of thousands of civilians martyred and wounded, most of them children and women, in addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and massive destruction of infrastructure, which led to Tel Aviv appearing before the International Court of Justice. Charged with "genocide".
Source: Al Jazeera + Agencies + Politico