Israel has begun preparations to evacuate civilians from Rafah ahead of a long-expected assault on the city in southern Gaza where the bulk of Hamas’s remaining forces and more than 1mn displaced people are concentrated.

Israel has procured tens of thousands of tents for Palestinian civilians it intends to evacuate from Rafah in the coming weeks ahead a promised assault on the city it sees as the last bastion of Hamas in the Gaza Strip,

Israel's military is poised to evacuate Palestinian civilians from Rafah and assault Hamas hold-outs in the southern Gaza Strip city, a senior Israeli defence official said on Wednesday, despite international warnings of humanitarian catastrophe.

Two reservists brigades mobilised for Gaza missions while rows of tents put up in Khan Younis

Israel said Wednesday it is "moving ahead" with its planned operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, despite international outcry over fears for the 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering there. Red Cross official Fabrizio Carboni said humanitarian groups had no knowledge of reported plans to move Rafah's residents away from the city ahead of the assault.

Earlier this month some displaced Palestinians in Rafah attempted to return to northern Gaza but were forced back by the Israeli military. Witnesses said its forces had opened fir

Egypt helps put up tent camps in the Gaza Strip to handle flow of civilian refugees.