• Netanyahu has given the green light for the offensive in Rafah, in which up to 1.5 million people reside and have nowhere to go
• The potential death toll is far greater then anything so far
After more than 31,000 killed, with babies dying out of starvation in hospitals, it was evident that the international community had become unable to prevent the ongoing genocide from getting any worse. The city of Rafah, located at the very bottom of the Gaza strip, is the last remaining area of land that has not yet been occupied at one point by the Israeli military. Before October 7, it hosted about 172,000 people, but after Israel’s genocide took a new phase, people from other parts of Gaza have sought refuge in Rafah from the hands of the IDF. Now the population stands at around 1.5million, with many more coming to the city regularly. Rafah is now, literally, the most densely populated city in the world.
Throughout Israel’s genocide in Gaza, it has said Rafah was a ‘safe zone’ from the bombing and even ordered Palestinians to evacuate there. Yet only last week, the biggest residential building in Rafah was bombed, causing major damage to the 14-story building. The current green light given by Netanyahu to the Israeli military will mean that what was once considered a safe zone may now end up becoming the bloodiest area of the entirety of Gaza. The people in Rafah do not have anywhere else to go; the border beneath them is blocked off, and the area around them is occupied by Israel. Israel claims that Rafah is the ‘next Hamas centre of gravity’ after the apparent dismantling of 18 of the 24 Hamas battalions, a claim not confirmed by any non-Israeli sources. Yet at the same time Israeli intel suggests Hamas will survive the war in Gaza anyway. The mass displacement Israel hopes to achieve by attacking Rafah is a displacement into nearby Egypt, something that would constitute ethnic cleansing and is uncertain in and of itself.
US President Joe Biden had called Rafah a ‘red line’ and yesterday, had even gone to the extent of backing Senate leader Chuck Schumer after he had called for new elections in Israel. The change in rhetoric in America is a result of Israel continuing to persist in its ambition to invade Rafah even after phone calls and warnings from Biden not to do it. It’s likely that if a land invasion of Rafah does happen in the end, it will lead to cataclysmic consequences and will heavily rupture Israel’s already damaged image on the international stage. The political international arena in which Israel tries to portray itself as the victim will be in its disfavour.
The head of the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, had called for new elections in Israel, with President Joe Biden showing support, outlining a stark change in US tone
An invasion of Rafah will be the bloodiest part of the genocide yet, with one bomb likely killing more people than any other bomb in this conflict so far because of the population density of Rafah. As mentioned, the people of Rafah now have nowhere to go, and so the number of dead will likely rise immeasurably. Israel has rejected the calls for a ceasefire many times and now risks even the killing of its own hostages in Rafah itself.
