Netyanhu Offered To Evacuate Civilians Before Rafah Operations

In response to a question concerning the destination of the Rafah evacuation, Netanyahu stated:

"You know, the areas that we've cleared north of Rafah, plenty of areas there. But, we are working out a detailed plan."

In advance of a scheduled ground attack in Rafah, Israel had circulated flyers alerting civilians to evacuate the area and proceed north through regions secured by the Israeli troops.

Before initiating attacks on Rafah, Netanyahu had promised to allow Gazan civilians "safe passage" out of the city and to transport evacuees north into regions cleared by the Israeli force.

Over a million Palestinians who had been displaced had evacuated northern Gaza as Israel targeted Hamas terrorist groups there, making up a large portion of the population of Rafah.

Rafah's immediate southern border is with Egypt, which has constructed a barbed-wire-topped border wall in northeastern Sinai and defended it with some 40 tanks and armored personnel carriers to prevent access from southern Gaza.

Source: The Standeford Journal