Israel is getting ready to deploy forces into Rafah—a city in Gaza it recognises as the final stronghold of Hamas—that’s what the Israeli press led with on Wednesday. The reports suggest that there’s an ongoing effort to evacuate Palestinian citizens displaced by war, currently seeking refuge in Rafah.
A widespread operation in Rafah, put on hold for some time due to disagreements with Washington, is expected to commence in the imminent future, as per the popular Israel Hayom newspaper. The decision came from the Israeli government following unsuccessful ceasefire discussions with Hamas.
Various other Israeli news agencies relayed comparable stories, with a few even alluding to social media visuals showing the setup of a temporary shelter for those evacuated from Rafah. There were no immediate reactions from either the Israeli military’s spokesperson’s office or the office of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Rafah, which lies adjacent to the Egyptian border, has been overpopulated by over a million Palestinians who sought refuge there after fleeing war-torn regions in the Gaza Strip. This critical situation poses concern to Western powers and Cairo, the latter having completely refuted the possibility of an influx of refugees into the Sinai Peninsula. Consistently, facing criticism due to the escalating humanitarian crisis resulting from the war, Israel assures to establish provisions that protect the citizens of Rafah.
The conservative government in Israel maintains that four fully operational Hamas combat battalions are present in Rafah, bolstered further by the numerous retreating fighters from the militant Islamic outfit. The government of Netanyahu believes that achieving success is contingent on the invasion and conquest of Rafah, in addition to squashing Hamas and reclaiming any hostages that may be present there.
During a recent speech marking the 200th day of the conflict, Abu Ubaida, the armed wing spokesperson for Hamas, stated that Israel has only faced “humiliation and defeat” in a campaign that, according to Gaza health officials, has resulted in over 34,000 Palestinian casualties.
Taking into account Israeli counts, Hamas allegedly killed 1,200 individuals and took 253 captives on October 7th. Another 262 Israeli soldiers have reportedly been killed during ground combat that has seen the majority of the Gaza Strip being overrun.
Concurrently, the German government announced plans to re-establish collaboration with the UN’s Palestinian agency (Unrwa) in Gaza, a decision that came to light via a shared statement from the foreign and development ministries on Wednesday. This follows an inquiry led by Catherine Colonna, the previous French foreign minister, into the potential involvement of certain Unrwa workers in the Hamas-triggered attack on October 7th.
The inspection overseen by Colonna concluded on Monday, stating that Israel had been unable to validate its claims of several hundred Unrwa employees being affiliated with terrorist organisations in Gaza. The ministries of Germany advised Unrwa to rapidly instigate the propositions of the report. This included fortifying their internal audit performance and enhancing the external scrutiny of project handling. The German administration confirmed its impending continued collaboration with Unrwa in Gaza, mirroring the actions of Australia, Canada, Sweden, and Japan, among other nations. This was stated in the ministries’ report, according to Reuters.