NEW DELHI: Israel is now laying plans to move into Rafah and evacuate the Palestinian civilians before the invasion, amid continuous warnings that it may lead to a humanitarian catastrophe, as confirmed by a senior Israeli defence official.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israeli government spokesperson said that Israel was "moving ahead" with the plans of a ground operation, without specifying any period.

According to an official of Israel's Defence Ministry, they have purchased 40,000 tents, each of which has a capacity for 10 to 12 people to house the Palestinians, once they are displaced from Rafah in advance of an assault.

As reported by Reuters, an Israeli government official said that the war cabinet of Netanyahu planned to meet in the next two weeks for authorising civilian evacuations, which is likely to take a month.

Rafah, which is near the Egyptian border, is home to more than a million Palestinians who have travelled from the rest of Gaza amid the Israeli offensive.

Israel, which launched an attack on Hamas after its towns were infiltrated by the Islamist group in the October 7 attacks, claims that Rafah is hosting four Hamas combat battalions which are filled with thousands of retreating fighters, and that they need to be eradicated for victory.

"Hamas was hit hard in the northern sector. It was also hit hard in the centre of the Strip. And soon it will be hit hard in Rafah, too," said Brigadier-General Itzik Cohen, commander of Israel's 162nd Division operating in Gaza, while speaking to Kan public TV.

The United States, which is the closest ally of Israel, has appealed to the country to keep the plans for an assault on hold and has stated that Israel is capable of combatting Hamas fighters in other ways.

"We could not support a Rafah ground operation without an appropriate, credible, executable humanitarian plan precisely because of the complications for delivery of assistance," said David Satterfield, US special envoy for Middle East humanitarian, while speaking to the reporters.

"We continue discussions with Israel on what we believe are alternate ways of addressing a challenge which we recognise, which is Hamas military present in Rafah," he added,

Egypt's State Information Service said that it will not permit Gazans to be pushed beyond the border towards its territory.

Egypt also warned Israel to reconsider the Rafah offensive as it "would lead to massive human massacres, losses (and) widespread destruction", stated State Information Service said.

In the wake of Israel's plans, Egypt's top intelligence chief held talks with top Israeli intelligence and military officials along with other key officials in Cairo on Wednesday (April 24) to discuss a possible operation by Israel Defense Forces in Rafah, said three senior Israeli officials.

Egyptian officials have also hinted that such an operation will rupture the relations with Israel and can also harm the peace agreement between the two nations.