As US Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepares to visit on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday approved a plan to attack Hamas’ last stronghold in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, near the Egyptian border.
The IDF said in a statement:
Today (Sunday), on the eve of the second holiday of Passover, Chief of Staff Helj Halevi discussed and approved a war continuation plan with Southern Command Commander General Yaron Finkelman. Commanders of all divisions and brigades under their command.
The United States opposes the attack on Rafah, citing concerns for Palestinians taking refuge there, and says there are other ways to remove Hamas from Gaza, but it has not explained how. Not yet.
According to the Times of Israel, Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, which governs communities in the West Bank, said: I’m looking forward to it Unless the US intervenes to stop the IDF, Israel will attack Rafah within days.
Blinken is likely to try to dissuade Israel from Operation Rafah. According to Ynet, he It is scheduled On October 7, he traveled to Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the hardest-hit Israeli communities, becoming the highest-ranking US official to do so.
The US is also reportedly working with Israel to prevent the International Criminal Court from indicting Israeli officials and soldiers over the Gaza war, but Israel says the US is doing so in silence. He is complaining.
The tribunal’s indictment not only confirms the tribunal’s systemic bias against Israel, which fights genocidal terrorist forces and is sensitive to human rights law, but also threatens to endanger U.S. forces in the future. It will be.
Meanwhile, U.S. Navy ships have arrived off the coast of Gaza to begin construction of a floating pier for humanitarian relief, and the Israel Defense Forces are providing shore security.
Israel has hinted that it could delay its attack on Rafah if Hamas agrees to a deal to release some of the remaining 133 hostages, 100 of whom may still be alive. Egypt lobbied both sides for an agreement, and Israel conceded to Hamas’ demands to withdraw its troops from northern Gaza. But what remains at issue is Hamas’ demand that Israel agree to a permanent ceasefire that would allow the terrorist group to survive and win the war.
The IDF plans to evacuate tens of thousands of civilians from Rafah to neighboring areas of the Gaza Strip. It is also necessary to carefully consider the possibility that Hamas is using hostages as human shields, putting their lives at risk.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in February that victory in Gaza would only take “a few weeks” once Operation Rafah began. Objections from the Biden administration caused delays that have now cost months. Meanwhile, international protests against Israel grew, playing into the hands of Hamas and solidifying its resolve.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of a recently published e-book.The Zionist conspiracy (and how to join it)‘ is now available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
