Palestinians Brace for Rafah Evacuation, Israeli Assault Plan

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, take shelter in a tent camp - Reuters
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, take shelter in a tent camp - Reuters
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Palestinians Brace for Rafah Evacuation, Israeli Assault Plan

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, take shelter in a tent camp - Reuters
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, take shelter in a tent camp - Reuters

Trapped in and around Rafah, more than 1 million Palestinians braced for Israel to complete a plan to evacuate them and launch a ground assault against Hamas fighters in the southern Gaza city.
Aid agencies warned that large numbers of civilians could die in the Israeli offensive and the UN Palestinian refugee agency said it did not know how long it could work "in such a high risk operation."
"There is a sense of growing anxiety, growing panic in Rafah," said Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UNRWA agency. "People have no idea where to go."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Friday announced that the military was ordered to develop a plan "for evacuating the population and destroying" four Hamas battalions that it said were deployed in Rafah.
Israel cannot achieve its goal of eliminating the Hamas militants who rule Gaza while those units remain, it said.
The statement, issued two days after Netanyahu rejected a Hamas ceasefire proposal, opens new tab that included the release of hostages held by the Palestinian militants, gave no further details.

Washington, Israel's main supporter, said it would not back an assault that did not protect civilians, and had briefed Israel on a new US national security memorandum reminding countries receiving US arms to adhere to international law.
"There are no new standards in this memo. We are not imposing new standards for military aid," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. "They (the Israelis) reiterated their willingness to provide these types of assurances."
More than a million people driven southwards by more than four months of Israeli bombing of Gaza are packed into Rafah and surrounding areas on the coastal enclave's border with Egypt, which has reinforced the frontier, fearing an exodus.
Doctors and aid workers are struggling to supply even basic aid to Palestinians sheltering around Rafah.
Israeli forces have been moving southwards towards the city after first storming northern Gaza in response to the Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel by Hamas gunmen.
The United Nations said Palestinian civilians in Rafah, opens new tab require protection, but there should be no forced mass displacement, which is barred by international law.
"No war can be allowed in a gigantic refugee camp," said Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, warning of a "bloodbath" if Israeli troops move into Rafah.
The Palestinian Presidency said Netanyahu's plans aimed to displace the Palestinian people from their land.
"Taking this step threatens security and peace in the region and the world. It crosses all red lines," said the office of Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority that exerts partial self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
An Israeli official who declined to be named said that Israel would try to organize for people in Rafah, most of whom fled there from the north, to be moved back northwards ahead of any assault.
Gaza's health ministry said at least 27,947 Palestinians had been confirmed killed in the conflict and 67,459 injured. More could be buried under rubble.
Almost one in 10 Gazans under the age of five are now acutely malnourished, according to initial UN data from arm measurements showing physical wasting.
The charity ActionAid said some Gazans were eating grass.
"Every single person in Gaza is now hungry, and people have just 1.5 to 2 litres of unsafe water per day to meet all their needs," it said.



Arab Ministers Finalize Gaza Reconstruction Plan Ahead of Cairo Summit

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (unssen) at the Al Tahrir palace to discuss details of the Gaza reconstruction plan, ahead of emergency Arab summit organized by Egypt this week, in Cairo, Egypt March 3, 2025. (Reuters)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (unssen) at the Al Tahrir palace to discuss details of the Gaza reconstruction plan, ahead of emergency Arab summit organized by Egypt this week, in Cairo, Egypt March 3, 2025. (Reuters)
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Arab Ministers Finalize Gaza Reconstruction Plan Ahead of Cairo Summit

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (unssen) at the Al Tahrir palace to discuss details of the Gaza reconstruction plan, ahead of emergency Arab summit organized by Egypt this week, in Cairo, Egypt March 3, 2025. (Reuters)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (unssen) at the Al Tahrir palace to discuss details of the Gaza reconstruction plan, ahead of emergency Arab summit organized by Egypt this week, in Cairo, Egypt March 3, 2025. (Reuters)

Arab foreign ministers held on Monday a preparatory meeting in Cairo to finalize an “Arab plan” for Gaza’s reconstruction without displacing its Palestinian population.

The plan for Gaza, drawn up by Egypt, would be presented to Arab leaders at Tuesday's extraordinary Arab League summit as a counter to US President Donald Trump’s plan to “take over” the Gaza Strip and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” while forcing its Palestinian residents to relocate to Egypt and Jordan.

Arab foreign ministers met behind closed doors in Cairo ahead of the extraordinary Arab League summit, which is expected to come out with one Arab position against the displacement of Palestinians, while adopting a plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Egypt’s plan would sideline Hamas and replace it with interim bodies controlled by Arab, Muslim and Western states, according to a draft seen by Reuters.

The Egyptian vision for Gaza does not specify whether the proposal would be implemented before or after any permanent peace deal to end the war triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.

Cairo's plan does not tackle critical issues such as who will foot the bill for Gaza's reconstruction or outline any specific details around how Gaza would be governed, nor how an armed group as powerful as Hamas would be pushed aside.

Under the Egyptian plan, a Governance Assistance Mission would replace the Hamas-run government in Gaza for an unspecified interim period and would be responsible for humanitarian aid and for kick-starting reconstruction of the enclave, which has been devastated by the war.

Last Saturday, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty said his country will train the Palestinian Police forces to be deployed in Gaza as part of the reconstruction plan.

Furthermore, Abdelatty highlighted Egypt's alignment with the Palestinian Authority on security and governance arrangements in Gaza.

Bilateral meetings

Abdelatty held bilateral meetings with a number of his Arab counterparts ahead of the Cairo summit.

He discussed with Palestinian Foreign Minister Mohammad Mustafa preparations for the summit, which will tackle the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip, efforts to consolidate the ceasefire agreement and underscoring the resolute Arab stance towards the Palestinian issue.

Abdelatty also met with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi.

They categorically rejected the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland and stressed the importance of regional and international solidarity to ensure the implementation of all stages of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza as a first step towards setting a clear political path aimed at reaching a radical and final settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, based on the two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state according to relevant international agreements and resolutions.

He also held separate meetings with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, Yemeni FM Shaya Zindani, Tunisian FM Mohamed Ali Nafti and Mauritanian FM Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani arrived in Cairo on Monday to participate in the ministerial-level preparatory session.

Algeria and Tunisia’s presidents will not take part in the summit. Instead, the two countries will be represented by their foreign ministers.