Israel’s 6-week drive to hit Hamas in Rafah and scale back Gaza war
- Israel plans to attack Rafah in southern Gaza, where over 1 million Palestinians shelter
- The area next to the Egypt border is the last remaining stronghold of Hamas in Gaza
Israel expects to continue full-scale military operations in Gaza for another six to eight weeks as it prepares to mount a ground invasion of the enclave’s southernmost city of Rafah, four officials familiar with the strategy said.
Military chiefs believe they can significantly damage Hamas’ remaining capabilities in that time, paving the way for a shift to a lower-intensity phase of targeted air strikes and special forces operations, according to the two Israeli and two regional officials who asked to remain anonymous to speak freely.
There is little chance that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government will heed international criticism to call off a Rafah ground assault, said Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official and a negotiator in the first and second Palestinian intifadas, or uprisings, in the 1980s and 2000s.
“Rafah is the last bastion of Hamas control and there remain battalions in Rafah which Israel must dismantle to achieve its goals in this war,” he added.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Friday that Israel Defence Forces (IDF) were planning operations in Rafah targeting Hamas fighters, command centres and tunnels, though gave no timeline for the campaign. He stressed that “extraordinary measures” were being taken to avoid civilian casualties.
“There were 24 regional battalions in Gaza – we have dismantled 18 of them,” he told a media briefing. “Now, Rafah is the next Hamas centre of gravity.”