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Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/02/rafah-invasion-gaza-israel-displaced-hamas/
Israel Is Determined to Invade Rafah
(Washington Post) William Booth - In a videoconference with senior Israeli government officials Monday, the White House stressed that it is up to the Israelis to decide what to do regarding Rafah, a U.S. official said. U.S. officials say they will provide general guidance to Israel but no detailed alternative. Israeli military experts expect that the IDF - having ordered civilians to go to Rafah in the early stages of the war - will now order them to leave, neighborhood by neighborhood, as they enter the city to capture and kill Hamas fighters and search for hostages. IDF officials say the city sits atop a network of tunnels. Above and below ground, they believe, are thousands of Palestinian fighters and Hamas' top leaders. Israeli intelligence suggests that most of the remaining hostages are in Rafah. U.S. officials say their push to protect Palestinian civilians has bought time and made any major military operation in Rafah highly unlikely before late April or May.