Reuters news agency says Israel has procured tens of thousands of tents for Palestinian civilians it intends to evacuate from the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip ahead of a possible ground offensive.

The Israel Defense Forces has conducted all necessary preparations to take Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah and can launch an operation the moment it gets government approval, a senior Israeli defense official said Wednesday.

Israel deems Rafah the last Hamas bastion in the Gaza Strip and is poised to evacuate Palestinian civilians from there and assault Hamas holdouts, the unnamed official told the Reuters news agency, which didn’t specify whether the source was connected to the IDF.

The Israeli military continued to carry out airstrikes across Gaza on Wednesday. Health authorities in the enclave said that 34,262 people have been killed so far.

Reuters quoted Israeli government sources as saying Israel's Defense Ministry has bought 40,000 tents to evacuate residents from Rafah.

The sources reportedly said Israel's war cabinet planned to meet in the coming two weeks to authorize civilian evacuations, which are seen as preparations for launching a ground offensive.

The Israeli military announced on Wednesday that it has mobilized two reserve brigades for defensive and tactical missions in the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli media outlet reported that the move is to prepare for future operations, including planned offensives in Rafah.

Some 1.2 million people are taking shelter in Rafah. Attention is focused on Israel's next actions as the international community, including the United States, an ally of Israel, has been expressing strong concern over the situation.