When news broke that Israel planned to start an offensive in the city of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, it was faced with a barrage of warnings and condemnations, including from its allies.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron urged Israel to ‘think seriously’ before it launched a large-scale operation in the city. US President Biden called on Israel to halt the offensive. The EU representative for foreign affairs and security, Joseph Borrell, urged Israel’s allies to stop arming it, and Egypt threatened to suspend the peace deal over the planned offensive.

Rafah sits close to the border with Egypt. Originally home to about 250,000 people, it’s where 1.4 million Palestinian civilians have found refuge since the war between Israel and Hamas started last October. It is also where Hamas terrorists have escaped to. Four Hamas battalions are embedded within Rafah’s civilian population. The border between Gaza and Egypt, called the Philadelphi Corridor, is the location of many tunnels reaching into Egyptian territory. Hamas has been using these tunnels to replenish supplies, including weapons, that help keep them fighting the Israel Defence Forces.

Rafah is Hamas’s last stronghold in Gaza and therefore strategically important. If Israel is to pursue the goal of removing Hamas from power, it cannot do so without fighting Hamas forces in Rafah and operating along the Philadelphi Corridor.

Similar to what Israel has done previously in the war, it is planning to evacuate civilians from Rafah before an offensive begins, but this time, things are much trickier. In terms of space, much of the Gaza Strip is in ruins and unsafe. Additionally, safely relocating 1.4 million people, many sick, hungry and exhausted, is also a monumental task that can worsen the humanitarian crisis. Knowing this, Hamas has made Rafah its current centre of operations, using the 1.4

QOSHE - Israel has to invade Rafah if it wants to destroy Hamas - Limor Simhony Philpott
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Israel has to invade Rafah if it wants to destroy Hamas

6 1
14.02.2024

When news broke that Israel planned to start an offensive in the city of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, it was faced with a barrage of warnings and condemnations, including from its allies.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron urged Israel to ‘think seriously’ before it launched a large-scale operation in the city. US President Biden called on Israel to halt the offensive. The EU representative for foreign affairs and security, Joseph Borrell, urged........

© The Spectator


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