Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks reached the center of Rafah town on Tuesday, multiple media reports said, signaling that Israel intends to fight towards the perimeter rather than surround it from the outside.
of The Wall Street Journal report:
Israeli tanks advanced further into Rafah on Tuesday, witnesses said, as the army announced it was expanding its operations in the southern Gaza city amid growing international condemnation.
The tanks passed near the Al-Awda Mosque, Rafah’s central landmark, a Palestinian in the city told The Wall Street Journal. The Israeli military did not comment on the details of the incursion into Rafah, but Israeli Army Radio said it had added another brigade to the five operating in the city and that troops were engaged in close combat with Hamas.
The tactic of infiltrating enemy city centers and counterattacking was first used by Israel in 2002 during Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank and later became the model for the urban war on terror, aimed at disorienting enemy fighters by attacking them from the rear.
Israel has also (controversially) used armored bulldozers to attack terrorist targets in urban centers, clearing paths for soldiers and vehicles to avoid bomb-plagued corridors.
As things stand, starting the battle in the center of Rafah has another advantage: It would allow more civilians to flee. It’s estimated that nearly one million Palestinians have already fled to nearby towns and camps.
Finally, growing international pressure over Operation Rafah may prompt Israel to accelerate its tactics and go straight for the city center rather than smaller, protracted skirmishes on the outskirts.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of his recently published e-book,The Zionist Conspiracy (And How to Join It)” is available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Not Free or Fair: The 2020 US Presidential ElectionHe is the recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship in 2018. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
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