Prime Minister Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli army to evacuate civilians from the southern Gaza town of Rafah ahead of a major offensive against Hamas. But there is no clear answer as to where these people will be evacuated. BBC news. 

Both the European Union (EU) and the United Nations expressed concern over the decision. At the same time, the United States has warned Israel that the Rafah attack will bring 'disaster'. 

The BBC reported on Saturday that 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge in Rafah due to the war in Gaza. There are currently 2.3 million civilians in the Gaza Strip.

Relief agencies say it is not possible to evacuate everyone from the city somehow.

Netanyahu told military and security officials to quickly submit to the cabinet a joint plan to evacuate people from Rafah and destroy Hamas battalions.

Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Friday that eliminating Hamas would require the destruction of four Hamas battalions in Rafah. Otherwise it is impossible to achieve the goal of war. Therefore, intense activity in Rafah requires the evacuation of civilians from the battlefield.

Rejecting the latest ceasefire terms proposed by Hamas earlier in the week, Netanyahu told troops to 'get ready to operate' in Rafah. At the same time, he commented that after only a few months, Israel will have a 'complete victory' against Hamas.