Israel has announced plans to launch a full-scale offensive on the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza strip, claiming it is the only way to “completely destroy” Hamas. But according to former French military officer and author Guillaume Ancel, a large-scale military operation in the city that is now host to half of Gaza’s population is of no strategic interest. In his analysis, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s only goal is to make the Palestinian enclave “uninhabitable”.
Should new negotiations fail, the prospect of a military ground offensive in overcrowded Rafah raises the worst fears for the trapped Palestinian refugees. Nearly 30,000 people have so far been killed in the conflict, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
“In an area of 10 square kilometres, there are almost 1.5 million Palestinians, so this will necessarily lead to a massacre of the civilian population,” says Hamel. “Attacking the town of Rafah, where two-thirds of Gaza’s population is now squeezed, would mean committing carnage,” agrees Ancel.
The former soldier points out that the town has already been subjected to daily bombardment designed “to prepare the territory” for a ground attack. On Thursday, fresh Israeli bombardment of the city flattened a mosque and destroyed homes in what residents called one of their worst nights yet, killing at least 97 people and wounding 130 others in the last 24 hours, according to Gaza’s health authorities. Most victims were still under rubble or in areas rescuers could not reach.
If anyone is wondering why the casualty numbers seem to be plateauing, remember that Israel has rendered most of Gaza’s hospitals inoperable. People are still dying; there’s just nobody to count them anymore.
Hamas can stop that by releasing the hostages and surrendering. Easy.
Yeah let’s just ignore the whole occupation and the brutal daily violence used to maintain it for over five decades
Wait, didn’t Gazans have free elections in 2005/6 when they elected Hamass? So they are ruled by their own government they chose. Or are Hamass terrorists and usurpers? Then Israel is doing Palestinians a favor by getting rid of Hamass tyrants for them, right? Why did Egypt not declare Gaza a free Palestinian state last time it occupied it? Why did Jordan not do the same for West Bank?
If your great-great-great grandfather occupied my land am I allowed to rape your mother and sisters? You won’t object too much if I also kill you first, right? After all I’m only resisting the occupation.
The offered a deal to release the hostages if there’s a ceasefire and Israel rejected it. Israel doesn’t care about the hostages, they care about ethnic cleansing
Yeah “offered” a deal when Hamass got their asses fucked so much it stated bleeding. They want an unconditional full ceasefire which ain’t gonna happen buddy. Full ceasefire only when Hamass releases the hostages, surrenders all weapons and agrees to end their almost 20 year old tyrannical and terror based rule on Gazans.
You (Hamass) attacked on Oct 7 knowing full well that the opposite side was gonna rip you and your family a new one, now bear the consequences.
So you recognize Hamas isn’t popular, but ignore the reason they exist in the first place and justify Israel’s collective punishment and execution of other 12,000 children and 8,000 women on them anyway? If you want Hamas gone, then recognize that the way to do that is ending the occupation so Palestinians have Basic human and civil rights
Hamas founding charter and Revised charter 2017
History of Hamas supported by Netanyahu since 2012
Gaza Blockade is still Occupation
Some crazy Canadian kidnaps some people from America
America military bombs Canada so much that it reduces all of their cities to rubble, goes door to door killing children and raping women and children, capturing them and torturing them in blacksites and prisons, invites citizens to come gawk at their tortured prisoners, shoots and bombs canadian hospitals and foreign food relief and shoots people trying to reach aid stations or leave and then says that their goal is to make Canada completely uninhabitable.
Yeah… sure that is appropriate response and definitely the way the world works… Definitely not genocide and rampant war crimes…
Last time Lebanon tried that israel genocided and raped everyone. And cut pregnant women open.
Genocided and raped everyone in Lebanon? Lebanon must have ceased to exist as a country right?
Sabra and Shatila massacre: What happened in Lebanon in 1982?
The PLO withdrew from Lebanon by September 1, 1982. Assurances were provided by the United States and a multi-national force that the remaining Palestinian refugees and civilians would be protected.
Two weeks later, the Israeli military besieged Sabra and Shatila and provided cover for their allies, a right-wing Lebanese militia called the Phalange, to carry out the mass killings.
The killing continued for 43 hours, from 6pm on Thursday, 16 September, until 1pm on Saturday, 18 September.
While accurate figures on the number of people killed are difficult to ascertain, estimates have put the death toll at between 2,000-3,500 civilians.
Testimonies from the mass killing describe horrific acts of slaughter, mutilation, rape and mass graves. Images from the aftermath were aired on television worldwide and caused global outrage.
Yes and then Gaza is occupied by Israel for the rest of eternity so Gazans can quietly get tortured, raped and kidnapped (and ethnically cleansed like the West Bank). Very good deal.
West Bank is ethnically cleansed, how much did their population drop, 50%? 75%?, 90%? Oh those poor people must be suffering so much why don’t their billionaire and millionaire leaders who sit their asses in Qatar, Lebanon and Turkey do something for them? Why do they ask the poor to fight for them while they and their kids enjoy lives in 5 star hotels?
Uh… Look at the land area inhabited by Palestinians now vs 1967. They’re having a Nakba in slow motion.
Oh those poor people must be suffering so much why don’t their billionaire and millionaire leaders who sit their asses in Qatar, Lebanon and Turkey do something for them?
Because Israel controls everything that goes in and out of Gaza and aren’t allowing aid?
Wtf, how Israel’s has already killed most of them likely, Israel gives two shits about getting hostages back or they would have traded them earlier for the children in Israel prisons
Israel traded hundreds of people for 1 soldier, they do care about their civilians that’s why they are fighting a war against the most evil regime on earth currently (right after Iran, Syrian Assad and Hezbollah), but you don’t reward hostage taking with negotiations because it will only encourage that behavior. Israel did it with Shalit, which encouraged Hamass to take even more hostages, knowing full well that that is Israel’s weakness. This time, Hamass gets fucked in the ass for taking hostages so bad they’re gonna squeel like a piggy, and don’t ever think about taking hostages again.
1967 war Declassified
West Bank Settlements begin in 1967
Israel Martial Law and Defence (Emergency) Regulations practiced in the occupied territories after 1967
Palestinians denied civil rights including Military Court
Palestinian Prisoners in Israel including Child abuse
Human Shields including Children (2013 Report)
