The Israeli Occupation Penetrates Rafah Amidst Ceasefire Proposals: Thirst for More Bloodshed

After 214 days of aggression, the Israeli occupation has not achieved any of its declared or undeclared goals in the war on the Gaza Strip, despite the massive destruction and horrific crimes and violations that have been committed throughout this period.

While all countries of the world, including Israelis themselves, support the cessation of this criminal and absurd war, the government of this entity has not yet agreed to any proposal put forward by mediators. The Palestinian resistance’s announcement of agreement to the proposals to end the aggression came as a surprise to this government.

Just hours after Hamas announced its agreement to a ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal, and as the world awaits the Israeli government’s response to the proposal, it announced on Tuesday morning that it had taken full control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, ignoring all warnings about the danger of any military operation in Rafah.

The Israeli military spokesperson stated that “the Israeli army is conducting extensive combing operations in the area.” The operation was preceded with a night of intense bombing targeting the vicinity of the crossing and the eastern areas of the city crowded with displaced people.

The spokesperson claimed that “the vast majority of the population in the area of military operations, east of Rafah, have been evacuated,” adding that “the army forces are operating in a specific area in east Rafah.”

The Israeli forces completely closed the Rafah crossing, prevented the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and prevented the movement of cancer patients and victims of the ongoing aggression through the border crossing with Egyptian territories.

The Israeli warplanes continued to bomb Palestinian homes in various areas of Rafah, where 24 martyrs were killed as a result of this bombing. For the second time, the Israeli army dropped leaflets asking the Palestinians to evacuate the southern and eastern areas of Rafah, causing the Palestinians to once again head towards the city of Al-Nawasi west of Rafah city and Khan Yunis city.

Observers believe that the invasion of Rafah is not a strategic event, but a tactical event aimed at serving a strategic purpose, which has not yet been defined at the political level. This is the big farce; if there was any benefit from occupying Rafah or pressuring it, it would have happened before the 214th day of the war, but it seems to be a special strategy to appease “Ben Gvir and Smotrich” and maintain the government that is now at stake.

According to observers, Hamas’ response was serious and it now seems to be left to “Israel” to decide whether it will agree or not, but it is likely that the Israeli aggressors will reject some of the definitions, such as “sustainable calm” mentioned in the proposal that Hamas agreed to. It is expected that Netanyahu will oppose the definition of sustainable calm in the proposal.

Although the negotiators agreed to define sustainable calm after “Israel” opposed a permanent cessation of fighting, perhaps the recent Israeli strikes east of Rafah, appear as part of a smaller operation and not a prelude to a larger attack, and therefore the occupation deliberately exacerbates the situation by preventing the entry of aid and closing the crossings of Rafah and Kerem Shalom, and targets hospitals and schools with its aggression east of Rafah, which the American administration, thewriting international community, and the occupation bear full responsibility for this aggression.

The Israeli refusal was preceded by a statement by the Israeli Finance Minister “Bezalel Smotrich”, who said that “security must be restored to the residents of the south through the occupation of Rafah, and the seizure of the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah border crossing with Egypt”, ignoring all agreements and understandings, including the settlement treaty between Egypt and the entity in 1979.

The process of the occupation forces’ invasion of “Rafah crossing” and its closure formed a dangerous turning point in the course of the unresolved negotiations, and despite the warning of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, that any military attack on Rafah in the southern sector will have catastrophic repercussions and will be a strategic mistake, and called on everyone who has influence on “Israel” to work to dissuade it.

In this context, the American network “CNN” quoted an informed source as saying: “The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns is heading to Cairo on Tuesday, to conduct more talks on negotiations for a swap deal, amid news of the direction of the Israeli delegation to the Egyptian capital as well.”

For its part, the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said: “An Israeli delegation consisting of members of the foreign intelligence service (Mossad) and the internal security service (Shabak) and the army arrived in Cairo to negotiate the conclusion of a new exchange deal”, after the resistance agreed to the draft Qatari-Egyptian proposal for the agreement.

Therefore, according to observers, “Netanyahu” and his allies in the government, including the war council, intend to abandon the detainees, and they seem to prefer to prolong the war; because the occupation of Rafah and the closure of its crossing, will move the negotiations in the wrong direction.