Israel prepares to evacuate Rafah ahead of ground invasion to 'defeat remaining Hamas battalions' - hours after Biden condemned the IDF's 'over the top' conduct

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to prepare a plan to evacuate the population of Rafah to defeat the remaining Hamas battalions. Netanyahu made the announcement on Friday following international criticism of Israel's plan to invade the crowded town on Egypt's border A picture taken from Rafah shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday Netanyahu said on Friday that a 'massive operation' is needed in Rafah. Israeli airstrikes struck the central Gaza Strip and the southern city of Rafah on the border with Egypt overnight into Friday, causing nearly two dozen fatalities including women and children, witnesses and hospital officials said. Netanyahu's announcement came hours after U.S. President Joe Biden said that he considers Israel's conduct in the war to be 'over the top' People assess the damage caused by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment on a position by the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in Rafah on Friday Palestinians children wait in line to receive food prepared by volunteers for Palestinian families displaced to Southern Gaza due to Israeli attacks, between rubbles of destroyed buildings in Rafah, Gaza on Friday Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, take shelter in a tent camp at the border with Egypt, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday Israel's stated intentions to expand its ground offensive to Rafah also prompted an unusual public backlash in Washington. Netanyahu's words have also alarmed Egypt, which has said that any ground operation in the Rafah area or mass displacement across the border would undermine its 40-year-old peace treaty with Israel.