Ellen Ioanes
Israel has begun an aerial and ground offensive in Rafah, the largest city in Gaza that has remained outside of Israel’s direct operational control.
While Israel and the US are claiming it is a limited operation, it’s nevertheless raising fears that the long-threatened, full-scale offensive into the city that houses over 1.4 million displaced Palestinians could be imminent.
Here’s what we know: The Israeli military took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt Tuesday after conducting airstrikes Monday on the southern Palestinian city. It did so one day after ordering at least 100,000 Palestinians to evacuate from the eastern part of the city, prompting scenes of families fleeing north to areas heavily damaged by nearly eight months of fighting. Israel’s war cabinet voted Monday to push forward with the operation, even as ceasefire talks continue in Cairo and Israel.
Israel maintains that four Hamas battalions are operating from the southern city. Rafah is also one of the only places in Gaza that Israeli forces have not destroyed and is the site of two border crossings — critical routes for the humanitarian aid people in Gaza so desperately need.
No comments:
Post a Comment