Israel has to invade Rafah if it wants to destroy Hamas

When news broke that Israel planned to start an offensive in the city of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, it was faced with a barrage of warnings and condemnations, including from its allies.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron urged Israel to ‘think seriously’ before it launched a large-scale operation in the city. US President Biden called on Israel to halt the offensive. The EU representative for foreign affairs and security, Joseph Borrell, urged Israel’s allies to stop arming it, and Egypt threatened to suspend the peace deal over the planned offensive.

Rafah sits close to the border with Egypt. Originally home to about 250,000 people, it’s where 1.4 million Palestinian civilians have found refuge since the war between Israel and Hamas started last October. It is also where Hamas terrorists have escaped to. Four Hamas battalions are embedded within Rafah’s civilian population. The border between Gaza and Egypt, called the Philadelphi Corridor, is the location of many tunnels reaching into Egyptian territory.