A fleet of heavily-armed jeeps carrying journalists rolled into the debris-laden Rafah, passing through crushed residential structures. Upon exiting our military vehicles, a deathly silence hung over this portion of the southern Gaza Strip, near the Egypt border. Piles of cement and distorted building rods speckled the marred scenery, while small cats scampered amidst the wreckage.
Once vibrant thoroughfares were now only a labyrinth of debris, deserted by all. Over a million inhabitants have escaped to avoid the Israeli bombardment that started two months prior. Large numbers have been persistently dislocated and are now dwelling in sprawling makeshift camps, facing an uncertain future whilst grieving their lost kin.
As Israel proclaims it is diminishing its operation against Hamas in Rafah, foreign press was allowed into the city under the supervision of the Israeli military. The army insists on having employed tactful finesse and constraint against Hamas combatants residing amidst civilians. However, the death, mass destruction and displacement of civilians have led to increased diplomatic isolation for Israel.
Over 38,000 Palestinians have reportedly lost their lives in the conflict, as stated by the Gaza health ministry run by Hamas. This figure, irrespective of distinguishing between civilians and Hamas militants, involves the numerous victims of the May bombing on a Rafah tent settlement by Israel employing 250-pound (113 kg) explosives.
Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, estimates the Palestinian casualty count to be around 30,000 and has claimed nearly half were non-combatants. The Israeli incursion was targeted at the destruction of Hamas and the liberation of its captives, yet it has not achieved either objective.
Based on the military’s estimate, approximately 900 members of the Rafah Hamas brigade and a total of 15,000 Hamas combatants have been killed. Regardless, three months post Netanyahu’s announcement of an ‘imminent total victory’, the military concedes that the Rafah blockade has only been successful in eliminating a third of Hamas’s force. The leadership of Hamas stands unaffected, and it’s believed that close to 120 hostages may still be somewhere within Gaza, with nearly a third feared dead.
Palestinians who have been displaced from the city remain uncertain about when they could return and what awaits them upon their return. Marwan Shaath, aged 57, shared in an interview that he had to abandon the three-storey family house they built intending for it to last for future generations. From pictures received from friends, he described the condition of the house as severely damaged – half of it has collapsed, walls and windows were obliterated and considerable portions were engulfed in fire.
In Rahaf, Israeli officials reported high-intensity combat, with hundreds of booby traps being set by Hamas. Israeli Officials presented a video supposedly showing a house rigged with 50-gallon (around 190 litres) water tanks filled with remotely detonated explosives.
According to updates released on Friday by the Israeli military, dozens of Hamas militants were killed in Rafah. A Hamas representative did not reply to requests for comments sent via text message. Col Yair Zuckerman, the commanding officer of the Nahal Infantry Brigade deployed in Rafah, openly taunted his Hamas counterpart during our briefing.
Our tour of Rafah was monitored by the military, riding with them as part of their convoy, although our reports were not subject to review or censorship by Israeli officials. The devastation caused by the conflict was palpable from the outskirts of a residential area, where passages for Israeli tanks and soldiers were clearly visible, combined with a heavy atmosphere filled with sand and debris.
The military displayed photos of surveillance cameras strategically placed within a locality, claiming they were used by Hamas to track Israeli forces and strategise attacks. Israeli soldiers claim to have come across combat kits commonly used by Hamas hidden in various homes, together with more sophisticated weaponry such as Russian-made surface-to-air missiles.
Israeli officials argue that such strategies by Hamas validate their choice to engage in conflict even in densely-populated areas, where Hamas militants are known to hide and store their weapons. However, it is also important to consider how these guerilla tactics employed by Hamas stem from the influential disparity they face against a technologically superior army, forcing them to rely on smuggled weapons.
Substantial amounts of this smuggling, Israeli officials say, occurs near Rafah’s border crossing and via tunnels leading towards Egypt. Israeli officials pinpoint this weapon smuggling as a key reason for its operations in Rafah calling these smuggling routes the “oxygen” for Hamas.
Despite the long-term blockade by Israel and Egypt’s efforts to eliminate underground contraband passages, it was confirmed to us by Israel’s military spokesperson that troops had discovered tunnels on the border. However, the number and the operation status of these tunnels before the war ensued was left undetermined. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the primary military spokesperson, mentioned, “A considerable amount of terrorist machinery was established along the border.”
Nearly 700 army personnel were accounted for by Israeli officials as fatalities ensuing the terrorist attacks that took place on October 7th. The assailants, led by Hamas, infiltrated Israel, seizing hostages and slaughtering civilians, women and children included. The Israeli authorities approximated the death toll on the day to around 1,200.
Among the fatalities was Colonel Jonathan Steinberg, the former commander of Nahal. His successor, Zuckerman, took charge hours after Steinberg’s demise, expressing his intention of completing their mission in Rafah together with his soldiers.
We accompanied the officers to yet another local vicinity, which offered a panoramic view of Rafah that stretched up to the sea. Admiral Hagari took a stance on top of a small desert hill. Looking towards Tal al-Sultan, a Rafah neighbourhood, he indicated that’s where the hostages were. He emphasized that saving them necessitated either rescue missions or military force.
He made a promise to us, he said, “We are committed to rescuing the hostages. Every one of your nations would react similarly in the aftermath of October 7th.”