Israeli Officials Cast Doubt on Efficiency of Rafah Invasion

Israeli media reported the presence of doubts among former officials regarding the Israeli strategy and efficiency of the potential Rafah invasion in Gaza. 

Israel News 24 reported that former Israeli security officials expressed concerns and doubts regarding the military’s ability to achieve its objectives throughout an offensive in Rafah. 

The media outlet reported, citing former Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen, that all official announcements of the Rafah invasion may be an overstatement.

Cohen also emphasized that “ideal statements do not always reflect the operational or strategic reality,” noting that overthrowing Hamas’ authority from Gaza is unlikely as “purging the movement completely is unrealistic.”

In turn, the political affairs correspondent for the Israeli Channel 12, Amnon Abramovich, noted that “the absence of any alternative to Hamas, for five months and a half since the war began, confirms the difficulty in disintegrating the organizational foundation of Hamas.”

Israel Ziv, the former head of the IOF’s Operations Directorate, expressed opposition to any military offensive in Rafah amid the absence of a post-operation governance plan.

According to Israel News 24, concerns expressed by former security officials unveil the deep strategic crisis “Israel” is facing in Gaza and against Hamas, as tensions and escalations in the region remain on the rise. 

He claimed that Hamas was working on a strategic ambush for the IOF, which would constitute a “disaster for Israel,” adding that the Rafah invasion poses a high risk, one higher than everything the IOF did in Gaza, given the fact that Rafah is a very crowded place and difficult to fight in, as well as the US and Egypt’s sensitivity toward it.

The website noted the indirect negotiations for a ceasefire, saying they were still developing while new proposals are being considered to resume prisoner exchange talks. These moves were reported to have been taken at a time when “relations between the United States and Israel are witnessing tension, which strengthens Hamas’ position in the negotiations,” the outlet stated. 

Palestinian Resistance factions: Geared up for Rafah invasion scenario

Palestinian Resistance factions affirmed in a joint statement on April 25 that the Resistance is all geared up for any possible scenario in the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, including a ground invasion of Rafah, the southernmost city in the besieged territory. 

In its statement, the factions emphasized that they “will not sit idly by,” as “all options [for escalation] are on the table,” warning against the catastrophic and humanitarian consequences of any ground aggression on Rafah, which hosts more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians.

The Palestinian factions held US President Joe Biden’s administration and Western governments fully responsible for any Israeli invasion of Rafah, as Western backing to “Israel” is ongoing despite the occupation’s violation of multiple international conventions and laws.

In the same context, the factions called on the Palestinian masses in the cities of the West Bank to “rise vehemently” in protest against Israeli threats of invading Rafah.

“We call on our people to turn the West Bank into a fireball in the face of Israeli settlers and soldiers,” the statement urged. 

Furthermore, the Palestinian factions affirmed that the Israeli genocidal war would not restore the defeated military of the occupation.