Israeli airstrikes in Rafah kill 44

Netanyahu presses plan to evacuate hundreds of thousands from the city in advance of ground invasion.

RAFAH, GAZA STRIP — Israeli airstrikes killed at least 44 Palestinians — including more than a dozen children — in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Saturday, hours after Israel’s prime minister said he had asked the military to plan for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people there ahead of a ground invasion.

Benjamin Netanyahu did not provide details or a timeline, but the announcement set off panic and warnings from diplomats. More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are packed into Rafah, many after following Israeli evacuation orders that now cover two-thirds of the territory. It’s not clear where they could run next.

Israel says Rafah, which borders Egypt, is the last remaining stronghold for the Hamas militant group in Gaza after more than four months of war sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned that any Israeli ground offensive on Rafah would have “disastrous consequences” and asserted Israel aims to eventually force the Palestinians out of their land.

Shoukry also said Egypt was working to bridge the gap between the warring sides to achieve a permanent cease-fire and free the remaining hostages taken Oct. 7 in return for Palestinian prisoners in Israel. “The negotiations are complex,” he said.

There is increasing friction between Netanyahu and the United States, whose officials have said an invasion of Rafah without a plan for the civilian population would lead to disaster.

Israel has carried out airstrikes in Rafah almost daily, even after telling civilians in recent weeks to seek shelter there from the current ground combat in Khan Younis just to the north.

Overnight into Saturday, three airstrikes on homes in the Rafah area killed 28 people, according to a health official and Associated Press journalists who saw the bodies arriving at hospitals.