Offensive on Hamas stronghold
Israel is said to have bombed targets in Rafah – Baerbock fears “humanitarian catastrophe with announcement”
A young man inspects a house that is said to have been attacked by the Israeli army on Saturday
© Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
According to an eyewitness, Israel has begun attacking targets in the Hamas stronghold of Rafah. More than 20 people were killed in air strikes on two houses, it said. Foreign Minister Baerbock renewed her criticism of the military action.
According to eyewitnesses, Israel’s army has targets in the city despite international warnings Rafah in southern Gaza Strip attacked. Medical sources said more than 20 people were killed in aerial attacks on two houses on Saturday. The mayor of the city in the south of the coastal area, Mohammed al-Sufi, also confirmed the number of victims to the German Press Agency.
Israeli soldiers also bombed a Hamas vehicle, killing three people, including the Islamist organization’s head of police intelligence and his deputy, according to police sources and eyewitnesses on Saturday. None of the information could initially be independently verified. Israel’s military initially did not comment specifically. When asked, the army only said that it adheres to international law in its operations and takes precautions to keep the damage to the civilian population to a minimum.
They were not the first reports of attacks on targets in the city near the border with Egypt. According to eyewitnesses, the Israeli military has attacked Hamas members’ positions there more frequently in the past few weeks. According to information, the attacks on Saturday were the most intense so far. Rafah is the only place in the entire coastal strip where Hamas still exercises control.
Israel suspects four Hamas battalions in Rafah
There are currently no Israeli ground troops deployed in the city. Rafah’s mayor Al-Sufi warned of an army advance into the town. “Any military operation in the city, home to more than 1.4 million Palestinians, will result in a massacre and a bloodbath.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously ordered the army to prepare an offensive on Rafah. There are still four remaining Hamas battalions in the city. Accordingly, the military leadership should plan the evacuation of civilians in the area.
A military offensive in Rafah is considered highly problematic. The town, which had around 300,000 inhabitants before the war, is now said to be home to well over a million Palestinians. Most of them fled there from other parts of the Gaza Strip before the war, partly on orders from the Israeli military.
Baerbock: “Humanitarian catastrophe with announcement”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres had previously warned of a humanitarian catastrophe and consequences for the entire region. Half of the Gaza Strip’s population is crammed into Rafah and has nowhere else to go. The US government and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock have also spoken out clearly against military action in Rafah in recent days. On Saturday morning the minister followed up with X. The need in Rafah is already unbelievable, wrote Baerbock. An offensive by the Israeli army on the city “would be a humanitarian catastrophe,” said Baerbock, who also announced that she would travel to Israel next week to hold talks about a ceasefire. “Israel must defend itself against Hamas terror, but in the process alleviate the suffering of the civilian population as much as possible.”
According to an Israeli media report, Netanyahu assumes that Israel only has around a month to launch an offensive in Rafah due to international pressure. The operation must therefore be completed by March 10th. On this day, the fasting month of Ramadan begins for Muslims worldwide.
The Gaza war was triggered by the unprecedented massacre carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups in southern Israel on October 7th. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive.