Israeli officials have described Rafah as the last Hamas stronghold in the Gaza Strip, and in early May troops entered the southern city, on the besieged territory's border with Egypt, despite global alarm over the fate of Palestinian civilians sheltering there.
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that"intense" fighting against Hamas militants in the southern Gaza city of Rafah is nearly over, more than eight months into the devastating war.
The military seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing, a key conduit for desperately needed aid into Gaza that has remained shut since then. Netanyahu said that"after the end of the intense phase" in the Gaza Strip, Israel would"redeploy some forces to the north... primarily for defensive purposes".Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant's visit to Washington, which he said would include meetings that are"critical to this war", follows public statements by Netanyahu concerning US military aid which have added strains to ties with the White House.
"We also want to create a civilian administration, if possible with local Palestinians" and regional backing"to manage humanitarian supply and later on civilian affairs in the Strip", Netanyahu added. An early morning air raid on a family home elsewhere in Gaza City killed at least seven people, the civil defence agency said.
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