JERUSALEM

Israel on Monday announced it plans to conduct what it called a "major activity" in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, following the evacuation of Palestinians to the western area of the city.

“Of course, we will act in Rafah, and before the major activity, we will evacuate the residents from there to the western area,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Israel's public broadcaster KAN.

In recent weeks, Israeli officials repeatedly rejected the return of Palestinian refugees from the southern Gaza Strip to its north.

He said: “When we have to act in Rafah, I see no gap between the US and Israel, including evacuating civilians.”

Katz's statement comes a day after a spokesperson for the US National Security Council, John Kirby, confirmed that Washington would not support any large-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah without a viable plan ensuring the security and safety of 1.5 million displaced people.

On March 15, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved plans for a military operation in Rafah, and the army is preparing to evacuate the residents.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 31,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in the enclave, and over 73,700 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60%of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

,*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul