Israeli Defense Minister: Israeli Forces to Push Into Rafah After Khan Younis
Facts
- Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday that Israeli forces would push into Rafah — which straddles the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip — after they had completed their primary operations in neighboring Khan Younis. The UN estimates that more than 1.4M Palestinians — over half of Gaza's population — have been 'crammed' into Rafah.1
- Though Israeli intentions are still unclear, Gallant's comments have raised concern as Rafah is one of the primary areas to which Palestinians displaced by the fighting have fled. Hunger and disease have rapidly spread as resources dwindle, with a UN official calling Rafah 'a pressure cooker of despair.'2
- Gallant, while speaking with Israeli soldiers in the north of the country, said that any temporary truce between Israel and Hamas would not apply to the Lebanese border, where Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire since the war began. He added that, either through military or diplomatic means, displaced Israelis must be able to return to the north.3
- International media outlets have reported this week that Israel and Hamas have made some progress in reaching another agreement that would see the phased release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and an extended pause in hostilities. The details of the proposed agreement and the progress of negotiations have been unclear, though Hamas reportedly 'received the proposal positively,' per a Qatari official.4
- In contrast, Israeli media has been generally more skeptical of the deal, reporting on Friday that a group of unnamed Israeli ministers said that no plan for a hostage deal has been presented to the governing cabinet. These outlets suggested that a deal isn't coming soon, if ever.5
- Gaza's health ministry reports that the conflict has killed over 27K people in the Gaza Strip, the majority of whom were women and children. The war has also created a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation. The official Israeli death toll on Oct. 7 stands at around 1.2K people (and there are still over 100 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip).6
Sources: 1CNN, 2New York Times, 3The Times of Israel, 4Guardian, 5Jerusalem Post and 6MSN.
Narratives
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by FOX News. Israel's war against Hamas is surely just, given the atrocities the group committed during its Oct. 7 attack. However, Israel must take into account the innocent civilians in Gaza who are trapped between Israel's military machine and Hamas's terrorist fighters. Humanitarian aid entering the strip must be significantly increased, while heavy fighting, especially the airstrikes, must be reduced. Israel risks pushing Palestinians into Hamas's hands if it does not work to ensure the safety of civilians.
- Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. Though this has been a tragic war, Israel must eliminate Hamas and restore deterrence with Iran and its proxy Hezbollah. Hamas's military capabilities and infrastructure must be eliminated to ensure Israel's security. To eliminate this capacity for terror, Israel has been forced to use blunt tools to route Hamas forces, as they are so deeply dug into Gaza's civil infrastructure. The international community consistently parrots Hamas propaganda, as Israel worked from the get-go to deliver aid to Gaza and find a solution to end this war.
- Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. Israel continues to demonstrate that its war is not against Hamas but against the Palestinian people as a whole. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is already far beyond catastrophic, as over 1M Palestinians barely survive in dense and muddy tent camps while battling famine and disease. If Israel were to push into Rafah as it did Gaza City and Khan Younis, the consequences would be absolutely dire. Though the US, Israel's biggest ally, wants to minimize the war's intensity, it must instead exert more pressure to end the war completely.