The IDF has informed aid groups and the Biden administration of a plan to begin removing Gazans from Rafah ahead of an invasion, a US official and two other people familiar with the situation told Politico on Friday. The IDF recently told the US government and aid groups operating on the ground that they had developed a plan to move people out of Rafah to al-Mawasi, a small strip of land on the southern Gaza coast. The IDF sent a map of the area to aid workers this week, a copy of which Politico obtained. The IDF also told the aid groups the Rafah invasion will move ahead “soon” but did not give a specific date, the two people familiar said. The US official cautioned that this is not the “final” plan from the IDF, rather “some of their latest thinking.” A second US official told Politico the Biden administration is not aware of any imminent invasion and that it is still waiting on more details from Israel on exactly how it would move people out of Rafah. A Pentagon spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether the Defense Department had been briefed on the plan. Earlier on Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel has told Hamas that it has a week to agree to a hostage deal, or else it will begin its military operation in Rafah. The US has been vocal in its opposition to an Israeli operation in Rafah. On Wednesday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and stressed the US position that any operation in the Gazan city of Rafah would need to include a plan to evacuate Palestinian Arab civilians. The conversation followed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Israel, during which he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as with Gallant . Related articles: IDF launched ground operation in Rafah IDF expanding operations in southern Gaza Watch: IDF troops locate 25-barrel rocket launcher IDF concludes encirclement of Tel al-Sultan in Rafah Speaking to reporters at Ashdod Port, Blinken was asked about a potential Israeli operation in Rafah and whether Israel has provided a viable plan for such an operation. “On Rafah itself, look, our position is clear. It hasn’t changed; it won’t change. We cannot, will not support a major military operation in Rafah absent an effective plan to make sure that civilians are not harmed. And no, we have not seen such a plan. And at the same time, there are other ways – and in our judgment, better ways – of dealing with the real ongoing challenge of Hamas that does not involve or require a major military operation in Rafah. We’ve been talking with the Israelis about that; we’ll continue those conversations,” replied Blinken. (Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
