(OPINION) An Israeli ground operation in Rafah is a “red line” for Hezbollah and Iran, and so once the IDF goes in the entire region could explode. Of course, if Israel intends to destroy Hamas, an operation in Rafah is necessary, because that it where Hamas is hiding.
Israeli officials have been telling us over and over again that there will be a ground operation in Rafah no matter what the Biden administration or anyone else thinks, and now we have a timeline.
The following is from a Times of Israel article entitled “Report: Israel preparing for Rafah ground operation in mid-April or early May”…
Following the failure of the latest round of negotiations in Qatar, Israel is not willing to make any further concessions to Hamas and is gearing up for an invasion of Rafah after Eid al-Fitr — the three-day holiday that follows Ramadan and ends around April 12 — or in early May at the latest, according to Egyptian sources who have been in contact with IDF officials, quoted by the pro-Hezbollah Al-Akhbar daily. That is very interesting timing.
If this report is accurate, we are likely to see a ground operation in Rafah shortly after the Great American Eclipse of 2024 on April 8th. According to that same Times of Israel article, the ground operation in Rafah “would last between four and eight weeks”…
The ground op inside the last bastion of Hamas in the Gaza Strip would last between four and eight weeks, the sources say, and would be accompanied by an evacuation of the civilian population sheltering in Rafah, which amounts to about 1.5 million people, toward the center of the Strip along specific routes and at specific times, announced to civilians in each area of Rafah in advance.
The mass evacuation would be monitored from the ground and the air to ensure that no Hamas fighters or Israeli hostages are hidden among the Gazan civilians, the Egyptian officials say.
Normally, in a military conflict you would never want to tell the enemy what you are going to do or when you are going to do it. But in this case the Israelis are trying to keep events from spiraling out of control.
Unfortunately, it won’t work. We are on the verge of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, and it certainly won’t take much to push things over the edge. On Tuesday, the IDF conducted their deepest strike into Lebanese territory so far…
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Tuesday another rare strike conducted deep into Lebanese territory. The strikes targeted “a military compound used by Hezbollah’s aerial unit” in the Baalbek District which is in the northeast of the country.
This marks the deepest Israeli strike inside Lebanon since the war began in the wake of the Oct.7 Hamas terror attack, at more than 110km from Israel’s border.
In response, Hezbollah fired a bunch of rockets into northern Israel on Wednesday… Hezbollah has fired a barrage of rockets into northern Israel, killing one person, in response to deadly Israeli strikes on a Lebanese village.
Lebanese sources said seven people were killed in the Israeli attack overnight on Habbariyeh, making it one of the deadliest in recent violence. Israel said militants were killed, including one involved in attacks on Israel. (CONTINUE)
