Netanyahu approves Rafah operation as delegation heads to Doha

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved plans for a military operation in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip on Friday, according to his office.

Alongside the operational deployment, the army is preparing to evacuate the civilian population, the statement said.

The move comes despite growing international criticism of a potential Rafah operation as more than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering there after fleeing fighting elsewhere in the strip.

Politicians and aid groups are calling on Israel to draw up plans on how and where the approximately 1.5 million people now in the Rafah area can be brought to safety before any military operation.

Netanyahu also reiterated his assessment that a proposal by the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza war was "unrealistic."

At the same time, an Israeli delegation is travelling to Doha after a debate in the security cabinet on Israel's position.

Qatar has taken a leading role in negotiations for a further ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas in return for Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas said on Thursday that it had submitted a new proposal, including an end to the fighting in Gaza, aid deliveries for the population and the release of people kidnapped from Israel in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.

However, the Islamists continue to insist on the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the coastal area, which Israel is refusing.

Arab television channel Al Jazeera reported on Friday that Hamas had presented a proposal in three phases of 42 days each. Hamas set the condition that a permanent ceasefire be announced with the second phase, before the release of Israeli soldiers. For every Israeli soldier, 50 Palestinian prisoners in Israel, including 30 with life sentences, were to be released.