Israeli Military Operation in Rafah: Cross-Border Conflict and Humanitarian Impact

A report by Toni Mrad, English adaptation by Nadine Sassine 


On Tuesday morning, the Israeli army announced that it had launched an attack on a specific area east of the city of Rafah, declaring its control over the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side at the border with Egypt. The crossing separates it from Egyptian Rafah by a distance of no more than 100 meters.

The Israeli forces accompanied their control of the crossing with an intense ground and air bombardment targeting what they claimed were Hamas targets in eastern Rafah, including military structures and underground infrastructure used by Hamas. This resulted in the killing of twenty militants and the discovery of entrances to three tunnels.

As a result of the Israeli operation, the Rafah crossing, which constitutes the sole land passage for aid into the strip, has been closed. The region is already suffering from severe food shortages and a weakened healthcare system, and it has become difficult to evacuate war casualties from Gaza.

The operation faced resistance from the al-Qassam Brigades, who claimed to have targeted Israeli military gatherings east of the city of Rafah.

The operation, which came as a surprise following positive developments in the negotiations, also surprised the people of Gaza, who had been hopeful after Hamas agreed on Monday to the mediators' proposal for a prisoner exchange deal.

Given these developments on the ground, a question arises: Does the operation in eastern Rafah mark the beginning of a comprehensive and incremental invasion of the city?

For the Israeli government and its leadership, achieving the war's objective cannot be done without destroying Hamas, which Israeli estimates suggest has between five to eight thousand of its fighters entrenched in Rafah.

However, the attack on Rafah raises global concerns about the humanitarian cost that Palestinian refugees there may bear. It also raises concerns for Egypt, which fears the extension of the effects of any broad invasion into its territories and the movement of Hamas fighters across the border, potentially leading to security issues, according to Bloomberg.