Israel Planning Another Evacuation in Gaza

Israel’s Prime Minister has rejected the Hamas response to the international ceasefire proposal as "delusional" and the Americans have described it as ‘over the top’. Many observers interpret this to mean that Hamas are not currently serious about negotiating an agreement - they knew their response would be completely unacceptable to the Israelis.

So, Benjamin Netanyahu has told the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and military advisors to present the War Cabinet with plans for the evacuation of the civilian population from the southern Gaza Strip, and the defeat of Hamas’ battalions in the area around Rafah, on the border with Egypt.

That instruction comes amid criticisms by American officials that Israel has not developed the necessary plans to ensure that civilians will be kept out of harm’s way. They and many others are concerned about the potential for a disaster if the IDF goes ahead too quickly.

However, there is no known precedent within military history for the scale of the civilian evacuation that has already been accomplished in the Gaza Strip. A special group known as ‘The Southern Command’s Population Evacuation Unit’ leads these efforts, having become a central part of the IDF’s operations.

The unit plays a unique role in connecting the civilian situation to the military’s operational plans and it will be central to this next, largest evacuation. Few people are giving the IDF credit for the measures it has adopted to reduce civilian casualties in this extraordinary war.

People’s concerns are highlighted in this BBC News video: