The White House’s priority in the conflict between Israel and Hamas is currently focused on Rafah and the million refugees living on the brink of an imminent military occupation. And they do it, furthermore, on top of a real powder keg: the network of tunnels of the Islamist militia that the Defense Forces intend to completely demolish, as they have done in the rest of Gaza in a long destruction operation that has cost thousands of lives. civilians.
Washington has made a last-ditch effort and offered Tel Aviv sensitive intelligence systems to help locate the last Hamas leaders apparently hiding in this enclave, in exchange for not launching its battalions on the ground, as reported by ‘The Washington Post’. . White House analysts consider it completely unfeasible that the citizens sheltered in Rafah can complete a safe evacuation in months and other advisors go even further and affirm that the eviction is impossible, unless it involves taking the civilians to desolate places where Their survival would be as doubtful as if they remained in their current location.
The reason: there is no location in the entire Strip with facilities capable of suddenly housing 1.3 million people, much less with guarantees of health or receiving food. The most the evacuees can hope for is to settle in vacant areas or among the ruins of towns devastated by the bombings. But yes, without any type of health infrastructure. With children, a challenge that will significantly increase the “humanitarian catastrophe” that has already consumed 35,000 lives in the Strip. Since last May 6, 300,000 Palestinians have managed to leave Rafah and the majority have spread out into barely practicable areas.
Israeli soldiers in a tunnel search operation in Gaza City.
AFP
The Americans have made various offers to the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu in recent weeks to stop the invasion of Rafah, in parallel to talks in Cairo to organize a truce and the rescue of the hostages who remain in the hands of Hamas. None has convinced Israel. The White House now relies on the asset of offering highly specialized sensitive intelligence teams. He claims that with them it is possible to track the location of Hamas military leaders still operating in Gaza and discover all the tunnels still undamaged. The Americans have even collaborated with the Cairo authorities to block the passages leading from Gaza to Egypt in order to thwart any escape plan by the terrorist leaders.
The Hebrew army has a strong interest in uncovering Yahya Sinwar, the top militant leader in the Strip and the main commander of the attack that killed 1,200 Israelis on October 7. Some intelligence reports place him in Rafah, hiding with dozens of hostages that he could use as a human shield against the soldiers. However, other recent investigations suggest that Sinwar is actually hiding in the center of Gaza, in some underground that is still intact and that from there he organizes combats against the Defense Forces. Washington has specified that greater assistance in location would also allow troops to locate hidden passages.
![A Palestinian family leaves Rafah.](https://s3.ppllstatics.com/rc/www/multimedia/2024/05/11/Clipboard-0174.jpg)
A Palestinian family leaves Rafah.
AFP
The offer occurred at some point in the last seven weeks between the US delegation and that of Tel Aviv during the peace negotiations in Cairo. At the moment, there is no record of a response from Benjamin Netanyahu, although President Joe Biden has warned the prime minister that the death of civilians in Rafah would represent a red line in sending military aid to the Defense Forces. The White House has also conveyed the message that Hamas and its military leader, Yahya Sinwar, are the main stakeholders in a devastating battle in Rafah, with the aim of increasing the catastrophe in human lives and promoting a definitive wave of repudiation against Israel.
To a large extent, the United States is trying to buy time to mount a large-scale operation to rescue civilians refugees in the south of the Strip. It has explained to the Israeli authorities that it can provide thousands of tents and, above all, the necessary infrastructure to build sanitation networks, supply drinking water and distribute food and medicine in the locations chosen for relocation. But he has also made it clear that building temporary cities on the rubble of what once was Gaza will not be possible overnight. And even less so if the bombs continue to fall on the population of the last stronghold of the Strip.
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