Israelis, Palestinians ponder Rafah invasion in Gaza during Passover holiday

JERUSALEM — Israelis marked a somber Passover this week, breathing easier after an ominous military escalation eased with Iran but bracing themselves amid signs that Israel is preparing the next phase of its war in Gaza: a final fraught assault on Rafah, the packed city where Hamas’s remaining fighters are holding Israeli hostages and more than a million civilians are sheltering.Gazans reported an increase in Israeli raids and shelling, and the Israeli military said Wednesday that it had struck more than 50 targets in the last 24 hours. World Food Program officials warned again of…