Ruth Marks Eglash
Jewish Insider, Feb. 15, 2024
“The key to winning the war is for Israel to take over Rafah, destroy the remaining Hamas battalions and take control of the Egyptian border.”
As Israel turns its attention to Gaza’s southernmost governate, Rafah, and what could be its final big battle in the war against the Islamist terror group Hamas, it faces a complex military challenge in a densely packed urban arena and a diplomatic pressure point as some of its closest allies call for restraint and even an immediate ceasefire.
While four Hamas battalions are believed to be largely intact in Rafah and most of the Iranian-backed group’s senior leadership, including Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, is thought to be hiding there, the presence of more than 1.5 million civilians – many of whom fled fighting in the northern and central parts of the Strip over the last four months – sheltering in the area has drawn broad international concern, and mounting pressure on Israel to act with greater consideration for international law.
In a phone call this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Joe Biden called on Israel to “not proceed [into Rafah] without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the more than one million people sheltering there.” Other countries, including France and Israel’s strategic regional ally Egypt, have expressed concern over the IDF’s intentions to carry out a full-scale military operation in the area. The U.N. and other agencies providing humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza have warned of “devastating consequences” if the military operation goes ahead.
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