Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press appear to show a new compound of tents being built near Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip as the Israeli military continues to signal it plans an offensive targeting the city of Rafah.
The tent construction is near Khan Younis, which has been targeted by repeated Israeli military operations over recent weeks. Israel has said it plans to evacuate civilians from Rafah during an anticipated offensive on the southern city, where hundreds of thousands of people have taken refuge during the war, now in its seventh month.
The construction of the tent compound comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened “additional painful blows” targeting Hamas over the breakdown of talks over trying to free the remaining hostages held in the Gaza Strip. That could include the long-threatened attack on Rafah, where half of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people have fled amid the war.
The U.S., Israel’s main ally, has repeatedly said any military operation needs to protect civilians. Netanyahu has said he would order to military to evacuate civilians from Rafah for the offensive, but it is not clear where they could go.
