{"id":2240444,"date":"2024-05-08T19:11:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T23:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/israel-downplays-significance-of-rafah-while-driving-hamas-from-egyptian-border\/"},"modified":"2024-05-08T19:13:39","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T23:13:39","slug":"israel-downplays-significance-of-rafah-while-driving-hamas-from-egyptian-border","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/israel-downplays-significance-of-rafah-while-driving-hamas-from-egyptian-border\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel minimizes the importance of Rafah while pushing Hamas away from the Egyptian border"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fisrael-downplays-significance-of-rafah-while-driving-hamas-from-egyptian-border%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2240444&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Israeli officials believe Rafah in southern Gaza is less\u200b crucial for\u200b Hamas than other areas \u2064targeted by \u2062IDF. \u2062This assessment challenges \u200bthe necessity of a\u2063 major operation in Rafah. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lego-embraces-drag-queen-marketing\/\" title=\"LEGO Embraces Drag Queen Marketing\">strategic move<\/a> to control \u2062the \u2062Egypt-Gaza border fuels tensions with \u2064Egypt. Meanwhile,\u200c ceasefire negotiations\u200c and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obama-official-doubles-down-on-bidens-6-billion-deal-blows-off-concerns-iran-could-take-more-hostages\/\" title=\"Obama official reaffirms support for Biden's B deal, dismisses concerns of Iran taking additional hostages.\">hostage release<\/a> \u2062discussions persist between\u2062 Israel and\u200d Hamas, amidst internal and international pressures.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/israel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Israeli<\/a> officials believe that the southern <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gaza\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Gaza<\/a> city of Rafah is \u201cnot as important\u201d for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hamas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Hamas\">Hamas<\/a> as other bastions where the Israel Defense Forces have conducted major ground operations, according to a top Israeli military spokesman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe took an operational plan for the war for approval by the political echelon,\u201d IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari <a href=\"https:\/\/www.israelnationalnews.com\/news\/389614\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> at a conference in Tel Aviv. \u201cWithin this plan, we mapped out the war, which was estimated to be about a year of fighting. Within this year, we saw that we would first of all deal with Hamas\u2019s greatest centers of power, which are mostly in northern Gaza and Khan Yunis.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Israeli Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/benjamin-netanyahu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s\">Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s<\/a> government has maintained, in recent months, that Israel cannot achieve the required victory over Hamas without a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hamas-releases-first-hostage-video-family-begs-world-to-intervene\/\" title=\"Hamas shares initial hostage video, pleads for global intervention.\">major ground operation<\/a> in Rafah. Yet Hagari\u2019s remarks may leave open the possibility for a more creative solution in the face of sustained U.S. opposition to a ground campaign.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will deal with Rafah in the way which is right for us,\u201d Hagari said. \u201cI want to tell the public so that they do not delude themselves: Even after we deal with Rafah, there will be terror. Hamas will move northwards and try to reconstitute itself, even in the next few days. In every place Hamas returns to, including in northern and central Gaza, we will return to operating.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Displaced Palestinians arrive in central Gaza after fleeing from the southern Gaza city of Rafah in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, May 7, 2024. The Israeli army has ordered tens of thousands of people to evacuate Rafah as it conducts a ground operation there. (AP Photo\/Abdel Kareem Hana)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That stated exercise in the management of public expectations coincides with a series of high-stakes military and diplomatic operations. Israeli forces moved on Tuesday to seize the Palestinian side of the Egypt-Gaza border near Rafah, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/idf-tanks-take-control-of-gazan-side-of-rafah-crossing-to-egypt-key-road-captured\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>citing<\/a> \u201cintelligence information that terrorists were using the crossing area for terror purposes\u201d \u2014 a justification that dovetails with the suspicions of analysts who see the area as a key supply route for terrorists to obtain weapons and supplies from abroad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe IDF was, however, operating around the Philadelphi corridor or the border area between Gaza and Egypt,\u201d Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said on a Wednesday broadcast. \u201cThe best interpretation is that Israel took the Philadelphi corridor so that Hamas loses its lifeline to Egypt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That maneuver drew an immediate objection from Cairo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis dangerous escalation threatens the lives of more than 1 million Palestinians who depend primarily on this crossing, as it is the main lifeline of the Gaza Strip, and the safe outlet for the wounded and sick to exit to receive treatment, and for the entry of humanitarian and relief aid to our Palestinian brothers in Gaza,\u201d\u00a0an Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.al-monitor.com\/originals\/2024\/05\/egypt-outraged-over-israeli-takeover-rafah-crossing-showing-restraint\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>That statement is part of a carefully managed response to the IDF, as \u201cauthorities on both sides of the border took steps to clear the area before the operation,\u201d according to an Egyptian media outlet called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.madamasr.com\/en\/2024\/05\/07\/news\/u\/israels-takeover-of-rafah-border-crossing-staff-evacuated-prior-aid-stopped-egypts-media-under-strict-coverage-guidelines-renewed-displacement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Mada Masr\"><em>Mada Masr<\/em><\/a>  that emphasized that \u201cinstructions were issued to media outlets\u201d by Egyptian authorities on how to describe the events.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMada Masr reviewed a copy of the guidelines, which included a ban on using the word \u2018Rafah\u2019 without specifying it as \u2018Palestinian\u2019 and emphasized that outlets should say that \u2018evacuating the city of Rafah of its residents could lead to serious consequences,\u2019\u201d the report reads. \u201cThe directives also said that outlets should highlight the ongoing functionality of the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side, stressing that the crossing is operating normally with continued entry of individuals and aid.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment in Rafah, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP Photo\/Ismael Abu Dayyah)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In parallel, Israel and Hamas are exchanging proposals about the terms of a deal for a ceasefire and hostage release, a pact that has proven elusive as Hamas is using the hostages as leverage to demand an end to the war and a full withdrawal from Gaza, while Netanyahu faces pressure from his hard-right coalition allies to prioritize the military campaign against Hamas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we want the hostages back, and we do, I see no chance of getting that total victory without them,\u201d former IDF chief of staff Aviv Kochavi was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/israel-news\/2024-05-08\/ty-article-live\/u-s-israel-agrees-to-open-kerem-shalom-crossing-for-aid-into-gaza-on-wednesday\/0000018f-5600-d0ec-a9cf-de1fb30d0000?liveBlogItemId=2048774854&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=button&#038;utm_campaign=live_blog_item#2048774854\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>quoted<\/a> as saying by <em>Haaretz<\/em> on Wednesday in a report that emphasized his doubt that \u201cthere\u2019s a way to bring back the hostages without stopping the war, for now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Israeli officials have said previously that ending the war without a Rafah operation would amount to a failure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[There was] a difference of opinion of going in on the ground from the get-go, and I asked the IDF chief of staff and the war cabinet just one question: Can we achieve our objective of dismantling Hamas has military capabilities without going in on a ground operation? And the answer was no,\u201d Israeli strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=x8CTWDeT3wE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> during a March interview with Dan Senor. \u201cAnd the answer now when you say, \u2018Can we destroy and dismantle Hamas military capabilities without going in an operation and Rafah?\u2019 The answer is no.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hagari said Israel delayed the Rafah operation in recent months because \u201cthe operational conditions necessary to carry it out did not exist.\u201d U.S. officials, while urging Netanyahu not to undertake such a campaign for fear of unacceptable civilian casualties, allowed for a distinction between the seizure of the border areas and the full-scale Rafah campaign.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis appears to be a limited operation, but of course, much of that depends on what comes next,\u201d State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday. \u201cThey have said, I think, quite clearly, it\u2019s no secret that they want to conduct a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-democracies-perish\/\" title=\"How Democracies Perish\">major military operation<\/a> there.\u00a0We have made clear that we oppose such an operation.\u00a0And separately, but of course, it\u2019s related, we are trying to achieve an agreement that would bring an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hagari suggested that \u201cGaza is perhaps one of the most difficult battlefields in the world, in terms of its population density and the tunnels which Hamas dug underground.\u201d For Schanzer, \u201cthe main event\u201d is located on the border, where the IDF may be poised to interdict major tunnel corridors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo all eyes now on the IDF engineers: If they start digging for tunnels, the Israelis will be one step closer to destroying the terrorist group that launched the attacks of [Oct. 7, 2023], not to mention the regional war that Israel has little choice but to finish now for your headlines,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Israeli officials downplay the strategic significance of Rafah in southern Gaza for Hamas compared to other strongholds targeted by the IDF in major ground operations. IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari mentioned presenting an operational plan to the political leadership for approval, emphasizing the assessment of Rafah&#8217;s importance in the conflict<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2743,"featured_media":2240445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Palestinia-IDPs-1024x683.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2240444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Palestinia-IDPs-1024x683.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2240444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2743"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2240444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2240444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2240445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2240444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2240444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2240444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}