Is this a sign that the much-feared offensive will be launched? This Monday morning, the Israeli army “encourages” residents of the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah, a town in the south of the Gaza Strip where more than a million refugees are crowded, to go to humanitarian areas.
“The Israeli military will continue to work to achieve the objectives of the war, including the dismantling of Hamas and the return of all those kidnapped,” the statement said. “We have started a limited-scale operation to temporarily evacuate people residing in eastern Rafah,” an army spokesperson said at a press briefing, repeating: “This is an operation of limited scale. » According to a Source within the army, “around 100,000 people” are affected.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Israel issued an ultimatum to Hamas on Friday: without a ceasefire agreement by May 10, the Rafah offensive will begin. Over the weekend, talks about a truce became tense again between the two sides. International mediators are due to try to break the deadlock at an “emergency meeting” in Qatar on Monday, after seven months of war. A delegation from the Palestinian Islamist movement could return to Egypt from Tuesday to resume negotiations.
To achieve “final victory”, Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to proclaim, in recent days, that he would launch a major military offensive on Rafah, where according to Israel four Hamas battalions are grouped, despite pressure from capitals and NGOs, who fear the consequences of such an operation.
Beyond the concentration of population, Rafah is also the main land crossing point for humanitarian aid, strictly controlled by Israel which is besieging the territory. An offensive would be a “hard blow” to humanitarian operations, the UN warned.
