Netanyahu says he ordered military to form plan to evacuate Rafah

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to develop a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

A statement released by the Prime Minister's Office said Netanyahu had also ordered the army and the defence establishment to present plans to defeat the Hamas battalions he said were still operating in the city.

Rafah has become packed with more than one million displaced Palestinians fleeing the Israeli bombardment elsewhere in the besieged enclave.