Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved plans for a military operation in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip on Friday, according to his office. Alongside the operational deployment, the army is preparing to evacuate the civilian population, the statement said. The move comes despite growing international criticism of a potential Rafah operation as more than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering there after fleeing fighting elsewhere in the strip. Politicians and aid groups are calling on Israel to draw up plans on how and where the approximately 1.5 million people now in the Rafa…