Israel's Rafah Invasion: Here Is What We Know (image@IDF)Israel has sealed off the Rafah border, the only link between the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and the rest of the world. By sealing the border, Israel has cut off the vital route for delivering the desperately needed humanitarian aid. On Tuesday, Israeli military said that it had seized “operational control” of Gaza’s border in Rafah that links the Strip with Egypt. Reportedly, Israel’s tanks were seen positioned in the centre of Rafah, which is seen as the demonstration from the Israeli side accentuating their desire to prolong the war. The move came while the truce talks with Hamas are on the table.
Israel claimed that the Rafah is being used for “terrorist purposes”. It alleged that Hamas’ Sunday attack on Karem Abu Salem crossing, which is also known as the Karem Shalom by the Israelis, was launched from the same vicinity. As usual, Israel has not provided any evidence for their claim.
It is to note that more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians has been cramped up in tents in Rafah. The Palestinians there had been traumatised beyond imagination as they had been chased around several times since the beginning of the war.
Here is what we know about Israel’s Rafah attack:
1. The 401st Brigade of the Israeli military entered Rafah, closing off the vital route for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
2. The Israeli military said it struck several Hamas targets in Rafah and killed more than 20 fighters were killed.
3. Israel launched a limited incursion in Rafah, killing over 20 Palestinians and wounding many more so far. Civilians were asked to evacuate, via Arabic text messages, phone calls, and flyers. They were asked to move towards al-Mawasi on the Mediterranean Sea coast. IDF said it had created a “humanitarian safe zone with field hospitals, tents and medical supplies” for the evacuating Palestinians.
4. Chaos erupt in central Gaza, as people from Rafah flew the are in fear of the Israeli bombing. The area has become packed with Palestinians not being able to find place to set up tent. Civilians fear that Rafah would become another Khan Younis, a place the IDF declared “safe” and later bombed to ashes.
5. Due to the closing of the border, aid flow to the Strip has been cut. The border has been a major route through which the humanitarian aid were delivered.
6. Heavy fighting between Hamas and the Israeli forces were reported, followed by the intense Israeli bombing campaign.
7. UNRWA said “the catastrophic hunger faced by people will get much worse” when the Rafah border is closed. It said the crossing have been a “lifeblood for the small amounts of goods that have been coming into Gaza since October”.
8. China urges Israel to listen to the international community and stop its attack on Rafah. Beijing said Israel should “do everything it can to avoid a more serious humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip”.
9. Turkey called the Rafah invasion as another war crime committed by Israel. It said by attacking Rafah while the truce talks are going on, “Israel has added to another to the war crimes it has committed in the Palestinian territories since October 7”.
10. Rafah’s Kuwait hospital is loaded with wounded patients as Israel intensify the attack. The main hospital of the city, the al-Najjar hospital is unable to take them as it is located within Israel’s red zone. It is to note that the Kuwait hospital does not have enough beds or other supplies to treat the amount of patients they receive now.