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full screen Israeli forces near the border with Gaza in southern Israel. Picture from last Wednesday. Photo: Tsafrir Abayov/AP/TT
The United States estimates that the Israeli military has massed enough troops on the outskirts of Rafah to launch a full-scale ground offensive in the border town in the coming days, two US government sources told CNN.
However, US officials are unsure whether Israel has made a final decision to launch such an operation, which would run counter to US demands and direct calls from President Joe Biden to desist.
One of the officials also warns that Israel has not come close to ensuring the necessary humanitarian preparations for a potential evacuation of over a million Gazans who are in the area.