News
Latest News
news bulletin
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Other News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Beirut
28
o
Bekaa
19
o
Keserwan
29
o
Metn
29
o
Mount Lebanon
23
o
North
29
o
South
28
o
Live
Video
Audio
Schedule
shows
العربية
watching now
The Stage
SUBSCRIBE
Home
Notification
Live
Video
Audio
shows
Beirut
28
o
Bekaa
19
o
Keserwan
29
o
Metn
29
o
Mount Lebanon
23
o
North
29
o
South
28
o
News
Programs
The News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Programs
Documentaries
Lebanon’s Centennial
News Bulletin
The Untold History
Talk Show
Series
Sports
Variety
Other
Comedy
Oldies
Breaking News
Latest News
Highlighted News
Most Read
Videos
العربية
Watch the latest programs and the latest developments on your favorite screen
Shows
Join millions of followers
Who We Are
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Careers
Channel frequencies
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions
Israel expects 6-8-week drive to hit Hamas in Rafah
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-02-19 | 07:10
High views
Share
Share
3
min
Israel expects 6-8-week drive to hit Hamas in Rafah
Israel expects to continue full-scale military operations in Gaza for another six to eight weeks as it prepares to mount a ground invasion of the enclave's southernmost city of Rafah, four officials familiar with the strategy said.
Military chiefs believe they can significantly damage Hamas' remaining capabilities in that time, paving the way for a shift to a lower-intensity phase of targeted airstrikes and special forces operations, according to the two Israeli and two regional officials who asked to remain anonymous to speak freely.
There is little chance that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government will heed international criticism to call off a Rafah ground assault, said Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official and a negotiator in the first and second Palestinian intifadas, or uprisings in the 1980s and 2000s.
"Rafah is the last bastion of Hamas control, and there remain battalions in Rafah which Israel must dismantle to achieve its goals in this war," he added.
The IDF hasn't explained how it will move more than a million people within the ruins of the enclave.
According to one Israeli security source and an international aid official, who asked not to be identified, Gazans could be screened to weed out any Hamas fighters before being sent northwards.
A separate Israeli source said Israel could also build a floating jetty north of Rafah to enable international aid and hospital ships to arrive by sea.
Nonetheless, an Israeli defense official said Palestinians wouldn't be allowed to return to north Gaza en masse, leaving scrubland around Rafah as an option for makeshift tent cities.
The regional officials also said it wouldn't be safe to move many people into a northern zone with no power and running water, which hasn't been cleared of unexploded ordinance.
Washington is skeptical Israel has made sufficient preparations for a secure civilian evacuation, several officials familiar with the conversations between the two governments said. Biden said on Friday he didn't expect a "massive" Israeli ground invasion to happen soon.
Furthermore, according to Hamas, the total victory promised by Netanyahu won't be quick or easy.
A Hamas official based in Qatar told Reuters that the group estimated it had lost 6,000 fighters during the four-month-old conflict, half the 12,000 Israel says it has killed.
Gaza's ruling group can keep fighting and is prepared for a long war in Rafah and Gaza, said the official, who requested anonymity.
"Netanyahu's options are difficult, and ours are too. He can occupy Gaza, but Hamas is still standing and fighting. He hasn't achieved his goals to kill the Hamas leadership or annihilate Hamas," he added.
Reuters
Israel Gaza War Updates
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Israel
Hamas
Rafah
Gaza
War
Attack
October 7
Palestinian
Egypt
Next
Bekaa Valley: A new 'frontline' in Israel's target list
Recommended For You
d-none hideMe
0
News Bulletin Reports
13:08
Securing nomination: Can Harris secure Michigan delegates for Democratic nomination?
News Bulletin Reports
13:08
Securing nomination: Can Harris secure Michigan delegates for Democratic nomination?
0
News Bulletin Reports
13:06
Netanyahu's conditions: Israel and Hamas struggle to overcome deadlock in ongoing negotiations
News Bulletin Reports
13:06
Netanyahu's conditions: Israel and Hamas struggle to overcome deadlock in ongoing negotiations
0
News Bulletin Reports
13:05
War resolution: Netanyahu confronted with ceasefire demands in talks with US leaders
News Bulletin Reports
13:05
War resolution: Netanyahu confronted with ceasefire demands in talks with US leaders
0
Israel-Gaza War Updates
08:00
WHO sends over 1 million polio vaccines to Gaza to protect children
Israel-Gaza War Updates
08:00
WHO sends over 1 million polio vaccines to Gaza to protect children
Subscribe to our VOD
SUBSCRIBE
Our visitors readings
d-none hideMe
0
World News
2024-07-03
France expels Iranian suspected of influence peddling for Tehran: AFP
World News
2024-07-03
France expels Iranian suspected of influence peddling for Tehran: AFP
0
World News
2024-07-22
Harris vows to win nomination and 'defeat Donald Trump'
World News
2024-07-22
Harris vows to win nomination and 'defeat Donald Trump'
0
Lebanon News
10:32
The Countdown Is On! Summer's Most Awaited Event: Miss Lebanon, Live Tomorrow at 8:30 PM on LBCI and lbcgroup.tv
Lebanon News
10:32
The Countdown Is On! Summer's Most Awaited Event: Miss Lebanon, Live Tomorrow at 8:30 PM on LBCI and lbcgroup.tv
0
Lebanon News
11:33
US President Biden’s deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals is not an indication of imminence of further escalation
Lebanon News
11:33
US President Biden’s deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals is not an indication of imminence of further escalation
Videos
d-none hideMe
0
World News
2024-07-21
Full Transcript: Trump's Coordinator of Arab Relations Discusses Plan to Win Arab Voters and Achieve Peace
World News
2024-07-21
Full Transcript: Trump's Coordinator of Arab Relations Discusses Plan to Win Arab Voters and Achieve Peace
0
Lebanon News
2024-07-18
Two dead in Israeli airstrike on Jmeijmeh, south Lebanon (Video)
Lebanon News
2024-07-18
Two dead in Israeli airstrike on Jmeijmeh, south Lebanon (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2024-07-11
Hezbollah's Ibrahim Moussawi to CNN: Regional powers do not seek full-scale conflict
Lebanon News
2024-07-11
Hezbollah's Ibrahim Moussawi to CNN: Regional powers do not seek full-scale conflict
0
Lebanon News
2024-07-09
Hezbollah’s "Hudhud" shows new footage of Israeli sites
Lebanon News
2024-07-09
Hezbollah’s "Hudhud" shows new footage of Israeli sites
0
Lebanon News
2024-06-18
Hezbollah scouts areas in northern Israel: What the hoopoe came back with (Video)
Lebanon News
2024-06-18
Hezbollah scouts areas in northern Israel: What the hoopoe came back with (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2024-06-12
Over 100 rockets launched from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel (Video)
Lebanon News
2024-06-12
Over 100 rockets launched from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2024-06-10
Video shows Israeli drone downing in Iqlim al-Tuffah, South Lebanon
Lebanon News
2024-06-10
Video shows Israeli drone downing in Iqlim al-Tuffah, South Lebanon
0
Middle East News
2024-05-21
Funeral ceremony of the Iranian president begins in Tabriz (Video)
Middle East News
2024-05-21
Funeral ceremony of the Iranian president begins in Tabriz (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2024-05-14
Exclusive LBCI interview: Canadian FM urges ceasefire and Resolution 1701 adherence in Lebanon talks, discusses Canadian support for LAF, UNIFIL
Lebanon News
2024-05-14
Exclusive LBCI interview: Canadian FM urges ceasefire and Resolution 1701 adherence in Lebanon talks, discusses Canadian support for LAF, UNIFIL
Most read
d-none hideMe
24 hours
7 days
Month
1
Lebanon News
10:32
The Countdown Is On! Summer's Most Awaited Event: Miss Lebanon, Live Tomorrow at 8:30 PM on LBCI and lbcgroup.tv
Lebanon News
10:32
The Countdown Is On! Summer's Most Awaited Event: Miss Lebanon, Live Tomorrow at 8:30 PM on LBCI and lbcgroup.tv
2
Lebanon News
10:42
US President Biden issues deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals, protecting them from deportation for 18 months
Lebanon News
10:42
US President Biden issues deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals, protecting them from deportation for 18 months
3
Lebanon News
11:33
US President Biden’s deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals is not an indication of imminence of further escalation
Lebanon News
11:33
US President Biden’s deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals is not an indication of imminence of further escalation
4
Lebanon Economy
02:19
Fuel prices decrease in Lebanon
Lebanon Economy
02:19
Fuel prices decrease in Lebanon
5
Middle East News
00:05
Rockets launched at Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, no casualties
Middle East News
00:05
Rockets launched at Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, no casualties
6
World News
06:12
Airport at Franco-Swiss border evacuated for 'security reasons'
World News
06:12
Airport at Franco-Swiss border evacuated for 'security reasons'
7
World News
00:55
Harris urges Netanyahu to alleviate Gaza's suffering: 'I will not be silent'
World News
00:55
Harris urges Netanyahu to alleviate Gaza's suffering: 'I will not be silent'
8
News Bulletin Reports
13:05
War resolution: Netanyahu confronted with ceasefire demands in talks with US leaders
News Bulletin Reports
13:05
War resolution: Netanyahu confronted with ceasefire demands in talks with US leaders
Download now the LBCI mobile app
To see the latest news, the latest daily programs in Lebanon and the world
Google Play
App Store
We use
cookies
We use
cookies
to make
your experience on this
website better.
Accept
Learn More