Egypt warns of 'catastrophic consequences' in Rafah as Israel waits

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi on Thursday rejected the displacement of Palestinians from the neighbouring Gaza Strip as Israel prepares for an impending military operation in Rafah.

Cairo is worried that a planned push into the southern border city of Rafah, the last remaining Hamas stronghold in Gaza after months of Israeli raids in the north and centre of the coastal strip, would trigger a mass exodus into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

"Egypt has adopted a clear stance since the first minute [of the war] totally rejecting the forced migration of Palestinians from their lands to Sinai or any other place in order to preserve the Palestinian cause from liquidation and safeguard Egypt's national security," al-Sissi said in a televised address.

Israel launching an offensive on Rafah will have "catastrophic consequences" on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and on regional peace and security, according to an Egyptian presidential statement.

Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, but Israel’s Gaza military campaign has inflamed popular feelings in the world's biggest Arab nation.

Rafah is the last holdout for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, triggered by the militants’ October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel which killed over 1,200. Almost 35,000 Palestinians have died since.

An Israeli media report says tens of thousands of people have already left Rafah ahead of the looming Israeli offensive.

Some 150,000 to 200,000 Palestinian civilians have left Rafah since April 7, the Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday, citing the army.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) refused to comment.

An Israeli military operation in Rafah, which lies in the very south of the Gaza Strip and borders Egypt, will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave according to aid agencies.

But Israel's Kan radio reported on Thursday that the Jewish state is making arrangements to try to limit the loss of life after widespread Western pressure.

The assault will begin with an evacuation of civilians that could last up to five weeks. In this first phase of the ground operation, civilians in Rafah will be moved to safer locations, the report said.

Hamas is making its own preparations for a showdown in Rafah and is supplying fighters with provisions and weapons, Kan reported.

Israel's allies and critics have for months implored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call off the invasion of Rafah, fearing mass civilian casualties.

More than 1 million displaced Palestinians from other parts of the Gaza Strip have taken shelter there. Rafah also is the site of the main crossing through which aid enters the territory.

Despite the pressure being piled on Israel, the government argues it must move ahead with the ground operation in order to achieve its goal of crushing Hamas.

Israeli officials say the Islamists have several battalions left in Rafah that must be eliminated in order to prevent Hamas from regrouping and attacking again.

Israel also believes that some of the hostages abducted during Hamas' October 7 massacres in southern Israel are being held in Rafah.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Israel is planning a gradual approach to limit the number of civilian casualties, but gave a slightly different time frame. It said Israel was looking at two to three weeks of evacuations and a six-week military offensive.

It is believed Israel intends to take the Palestinians to makeshift tent encampments in southern Gaza, such as the Al-Mawasi camp on the Mediterranean coast. Aid groups say it would be difficult to provide care for so many people in one place.

Israel's Kan radio reported that the Security Cabinet was to be briefed on Thursday about preparations for the Rafah operation and the status of indirect negotiations with Hamas that would enable the release of further hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners.

The US, Germany and 16 other countries called on Hamas to immediately release all hostages who have been held for over 200 days.

Hamas - along with other Islamist terrorist groups - took over 200 people hostage when they raided Israel on October 7.

"We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for over 200 days. They include our own citizens. The fate of the hostages and the civilian population in Gaza, who are protected under international law, is of international concern," a joint statement from the 18 countries said.

"We emphasize that the deal on the table to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza, and lead to the credible end of hostilities."