Israel abandons large offensive in Rafah after US pressure
The government of Israel, under pressure from the American authorities, has decided to abandon plans for a large offensive in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The previously considered plan, which involved sending two military divisions to Rafah, is no longer valid, as revealed by "The Washington Post."
The United States hopes that the smaller scale of Israel's actions will help avoid a large number of casualties among the Palestinian civilian population. On the other hand, Israel expects that the new operational plan in Rafah will not meet with opposition from US President Joe Biden, emphasized "The Washington Post."
On 6 May, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the war cabinet unanimously approved a military operation in Rafah. This operation aimed to put pressure on Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization, whose last four battalions of fighters, according to Israeli authorities, are hiding there.
The next day, the Israeli army took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing, which is a critical point between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Since then, the route through which humanitarian aid was delivered to Palestinians has been closed. In the following days, Israeli and Egyptian authorities blamed each other for the blockade of this border crossing.
On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant announced that the scope of the military operation in Rafah would be expanded.
On the brink of a humanitarian disaster
Rafah, a city that before the outbreak of the conflict was inhabited by about 250,000 people, has in recent weeks become a refuge for about 1.4 million of the 2.3 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. According to data from US and UN authorities, about 800,000 people have probably been evacuated from Rafah recently. The international community warns that the planned Israeli offensive could lead to further civilian casualties and worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas, which governs this territory, carried out an armed raid on Israel on 7 October 2023. As a result of this attack, about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed, and about 240 were abducted. In the ongoing retaliatory operations carried out by Israel, more than 35,000 Palestinians have probably died. At least 90 percent of the residents of the Gaza Strip had to leave their homes.
