The Israeli Army Prepares for Partial Withdrawal from Rafah to Establish a City for 20,000 People

SadaNews - The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz reported on Friday evening that the Israeli army is preparing for a possible withdrawal from some areas in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, as part of plans to establish what it described as a new "city" accommodating around 20,000 people.

The newspaper quoted security sources as saying that the Israeli political leadership has not yet issued orders for the army to prepare for withdrawal from positions inside the Gaza Strip, nor has it directed the commencement of the second phase of the proposed plan.

According to the same sources, leaders in the Israeli army believe it is essential not to transition to the second phase before recovering the last hostage's body, considering this a prerequisite for any field or political changes in the course of operations.

This comes amid ongoing ambiguity regarding the next steps and varying estimates between the political and military levels regarding the timing and mechanism of moving to subsequent phases.
Hamas Warns of Agreement Collapse

In this context, Palestinian sources informed Al Jazeera that Hamas has expressed its strong protest to the mediators guaranteeing the agreement against the continued violations by the occupation, emphasizing that these violations seriously threaten the course of the agreement.

The sources added that the movement stressed to the mediators that the assassinations carried out by the occupation under what it described as false justifications could lead to the collapse of the agreement, amid ongoing tension and uncertainty about the next steps.