Date set for Israel’s invasion of Rafah, Netanyahu says | First Thing

Israel buys 40,000 tents to prepare for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the southern Gaza city. Plus: how green onions became a symbol of voter anger in South Korea

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Good morning.

Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that a date had been set for an Israeli invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. He did not disclose a specific date. In preparation for the invasion, Israel is buying 40,000 tents for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from the city on the border of Egypt.

What's the situation in the rest of Gaza? The world's global authority on food security is predicting that a famine is either already happening or will begin before July. Everyone here has lost more than a quarter of their body weight due to malnutrition. There is no food," said Mohammed Salha, acting director of al-Awda hospital.

What about in Khan Younis? After Israel withdrew its troops from Khan Younis, thousands of Palestinians returned to the devastated city, where about 55% of buildings have been destroyed or damaged. Ahmad Abu al-Rish said: It's all just rubble. Animals can't live here, so how is a human supposed to?"