Al-Akhbar-Egypt Sources: IDF Rafah Ground Op Planned Late Apr/Early May

Lebanese outlet Al-Akhbar is reporting that according to its Egyptian sources, the Israeli Defence Forces are planning a ground operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah following the Eid al-Fitr celebrations marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. This would put the date of the operation in mid-to-late April or early May.

• Al-Akhbar: "According to the information, the [Israeli] representatives spoke in the negotiations about several scenarios for dealing with the comprehensive storming of Rafah, which is expected to “take as long as Between 4 and 8 weeks maximum,” to achieve the goal of “eliminating the Hamas movement and liberating all the hostages,” as they put it."
• The report claims that Israel would seek to evacuate civilians from Rafah to central Gaza ahead of the operation. Given that over one million Palestinians are currently in or around Rafah this would prove a major operation in of itself.
• The US has continued to press the Netanyahu gov't to step back from a ground operation in Rafah. NYT reports US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin presented to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant "....the broad outlines of the Biden administration’s alternative approach to a major combat operation in Rafah. The main points were a focus on precision targeting intended to root out Hamas leadership, credible and effective steps to evacuate civilians sheltering there, an increase in humanitarian aid and securing the border between Gaza and Egypt."