Israeli airstrikes against Rafah: War tensions

This Saturday, February 10, Israeli airstrikes against Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his army to prepare a plan to evacuate civilians from the city.

Israeli airstrikes against Rafah in the Gaza Strip reportedly left several people dead.

The Associated Press, citing health officials and eyewitnesses, reported that 28 people were killed when airstrikes hit several houses in the Rafah area.

In this regard, AP said that among the dead were 10 children.

Netanyahu’s office said Friday that the army was ordered to develop a plan to evacuate civilians in Rafah and destroy four Hamas battalions it said were deployed there.

“It is impossible to achieve the war goal of eliminating Hamas by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah. On the contrary, it is clear that the intense activity in Rafah requires civilians to evacuate the combat zones,” the Prime Minister said following Israeli airstrikes against Rafah.

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Israeli airstrikes against Rafah

The statement did not say when it wanted the plan or where it thought the more than 1.4 million Palestinians might evacuate to.

United Nations officials have repeatedly said that nowhere in Gaza is safe, and these Israeli airstrikes on Rafah bear that out.
Israel has been advancing its offensive in recent days, aiming to wipe out as many military targets as possible.

Netanyahu said this week that Rafah and the town of Khan Younis are the “last two strongholds of Hamas.”

Rafah borders Egypt and officials there have warned that any ground operation in the area or mass movement across the border would undermine its 40-year peace treaty with Israel.

In addition, Rafah is the main humanitarian entry point into Gaza; Heavy fighting could further hamper relief efforts.
Meanwhile, Syria said Israeli airstrikes on Saturday hit several sites outside the capital, Damascus.

State media quoted Syrian military officials as saying the strikes came from the direction of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three people were killed in the strikes.

Tensions high

Israeli airstrikes against Rafah come as tensions across the Middle East have escalated following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

In addition, a drone strike in January killed three U.S. soldiers in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border.

Netanyahu’s announcement came hours after U.S. President Joe Biden delivered some of his strongest criticism yet of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, calling Israel’s conduct of the military operation “over the top” during a press conference Thursday night.

“We would in no way support forced displacement, which is against international law,” a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said Friday.

The head of the U.N. agency that helps Palestinians said there is a growing sense of anxiety and panic in the city because people do not know where to go.

Rafah is located in Egypt’s northern Sinai, the crossing is the only border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

It falls along a 12.8-kilometer (8-mile) fence that separates Gaza from the Sinai desert.