Satellite pics show Israel massing troops & vehicles for ‘six-week’ assault on Rafah as 1 MILLION people to be evacuated

SATELLITE images show Israel gearing up their troops and military trucks for a potential six-week assault on the city of Rafah.

Israel is looking to end the horrific war while keeping civilian casualties low as they plan to evacuate over one million residents as part of their plan to flush out Hamas leaders hiding out in the city.

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Troops have been seen stationing themselves around the battered Gaza strip in recent days as an escalation of war looks imminent.

Up to 800 vehicles can be seen sat across two separate bases in Gaza, according to satellite imagery from Planet Labs.

Around 700 trucks are in the Negev desert in the south as 120 are preparing on the northern border of the Gaza Strip.

The birds eye view of the strip – which shows a blanket of white tents – also reveals how Israel has been using nine cleverly positioned military outposts around the enclave.

These are believed to have been put up in late 2023 just weeks after the horror October 7 massacre where thousands of innocent civilians were slaughtered by Hamas terrorists.

They typically house soldiers, vehicles and command centres and are set to host many of the civilians when they flee Rafah.

Many believe Israel is making moves towards the city as they look to launch a decisive assault in the area where they believe top brass Hamas cowards may be hiding out.

Israel has announced on multiple occasions they plan on storming the city as part of a six-week military operation starting in May.

An exact date is unknown but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the world to expect it soon.

He said last weekend: “In the coming days, we will increase the military and diplomatic pressure on Hamas because it’s the only way to release our hostages and achieve our victory.”

Egyptian officials told the Wall Street Journal that at least the first two weeks will be fully dedicated to getting civilians out.

It is most likely they will be taken to nearby areas such as Khan Younis where there is plenty of shelters and medical personal on hand.

Around 1.4million people took refuge in Rafah when the war began in October 2023 to escape the senseless bombing, kidnappings and ground battles.

Israel will work alongside the US, Egypt and other Arab allies to safely move the residents, say the Egyptian officials.

Israel’s military said in April that they had called up two reserve brigades “for operational activities on the Gazan front” which many believe indicates the Rafah attack as being imminent.

It comes after US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said “Hamas is more interested in a full-scale regional war” than a ceasefire deal.

Israel has been constantly campaigning for Hamas militants to return all the hostages snatched as part of a deal.

It is thought they still have around 100 hostages trapped with 30 others tragically dying while being held.

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Over 34,000 Palestinians have already died in the ongoing conflict, with two thirds of them being women and children, say local health officials.

The Gaza Health Ministry announced over 77,000 have been injured.

The US has previously asked Israel to think about avoiding a large-scale ambush on Rafah over civilian safety concerns.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “President Biden has been very clear about this: We cannot support a major military operation in Rafah.”

He claimed Israel could achieve similar success through other, safer means such as precision strikes and targeted raids.

The Israel Hamas war has been overshadowed by a much larger and looming Middle Eastern conflict in recent weeks.

Iran and Israel have been sending out warning shots to one another in tit-for-tat bombings and air strikes as fears over a potential WW3 ramp up.

The latest strike saw a humiliating Israeli revenge hit on an Iranian airbase last week.

The Isfahan base, home to valuable air defence kit, was struck on Friday in an attack that seemed to scare Iran into backing down after vicious threats.

It came after Iran launched 331 missiles and attack drones at Israel on Saturday last weekend – in an unprecedented and brazen escalation.

Iran’s attempt was thwarted almost completely – with over 99 per cent of its rockets shot down by Israel and its allies.

[Planet Labs PBC

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