Hamas continues its steadfastness and maintains great capabilities in the tunnels to carry out its operations (social media sites)
Russian writer Igor Subbotin reported that Israel's invasion of the southern Gaza Strip - Rafah - would become a trap for Tel Aviv by exposing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government's relations with the United States and Egypt to tension.
The writer pointed out, in a report published by the newspaper "Nezavisimaya", that Egypt threatened to sever its relations with Israel in the event of an influx of refugees and their entry into the Sinai Peninsula.
He said that Egypt opposes the implementation of the ground operation in Rafah for fear of exacerbating the humanitarian crisis along the border. Cairo fears that the attack, especially along the Philadelphia Corridor - a narrow buffer zone between Egypt and the Palestinian Strip - will lead to a large influx of refugees into Sinai.
Egypt threatened to sever relations
The Egyptian authorities had directly informed Israel that implementing such a scenario would force the Egyptian leadership to cut off bilateral contacts, even though it has traditionally played the role of mediator in negotiations with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) alongside the State of Qatar.
The writer stated that the battle to control Rafah requires strength. According to Israeli military commanders, the form of the operation in this area will follow the model of the war in Khan Yunis.
Therefore, the implementation of such plans is expected to exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe in Rafah, where approximately 1.3 million of Gaza's 2.2 million people live. A large portion of Palestinians arrived there from the northern regions.
Biden's distrust of Netanyahu may increase
The report quoted the American newspaper "Politico" as saying that this situation increases US President Joe Biden's lack of confidence in the Israeli Prime Minister.
In private conversations, Biden described Netanyahu as a “bad man,” expressing his fears that the Israeli Prime Minister’s struggle to save his political career will drag the United States into a large-scale conflict in the Middle East after the Pentagon has already taken exceptional measures, including the bombing of Yemen.
The report explained that one of the motives for Israel's expected campaign in the southern Gaza Strip is the desire to dismantle the Hamas tunnel network, after the occupation army took control of a large part of the strategic tunnel system in Khan Yunis, where the Israeli hostages and the senior leadership of the Palestinian resistance are located.
Sinwar is still at large
Meanwhile, the report says, the head of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is still at large, but according to the Israeli army leadership, he is isolated from full channels of communication with other senior Hamas leaders.
Under these circumstances, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant promised to expand military operations, saying that their army is acting decisively and precisely, “The ground operation is also progressing and achieving its goals while the Israeli army forces are deployed in most parts of the Gaza Strip. 18 Hamas battalions have been disbanded and are no longer operating.” As combat units.
The writer quoted the American Stratfor Analytical Center, which is close to the American intelligence community, as saying that Hamas fighters returned to parts of the northern Gaza Strip, which led to air strikes and Israeli military operations to suppress their activities.
Despite Israeli claims that up to half of Hamas fighters were killed, injured, or captured, the movement continues to hold out and maintains significant capabilities in underground tunnels to conduct its operations.
Source: Nezavismaya