The eyes of the whole world including India and America are on the Israel and Hamas war. The war between Israel and Hamas has been going on for the last 7 months. Last Sunday, on 26 May, Hamas claimed a major rocket attack on Tel Aviv city of central Israel for the first time in about 4 months. At the same time, the Israeli army said that at least eight rockets were fired from the Rafah area of southern Gaza. Now the question is why the Israeli army is attacking the most in the Rafah city of Gaza. Today we will tell you the reason behind this.
How many people were killed in Gaza?
First of all, let us know how many people have been killed in Gaza in the war so far. According to The Guardian report, Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement on its Telegram channel last Sunday that it has launched a major missile attack on Tel Aviv in response to the Zionist massacre against civilians. At the same time, thousands of people have died in Gaza in the attack of the Israeli army.
According to the data, the death toll in Gaza has reached 35,984. The Gaza Health Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that at least 35,984 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, while 80,643 have been injured. According to the ministry, most of those who have died since October are women and children. However, many civilians are still missing.
Rafah
Let us tell you that the Israeli army is continuously attacking Gaza city to destroy Hamas. But in the meantime, the Israeli army has also attacked Rafah city. The reasoning behind this by the Israeli army is that there are camps of Hamas terrorists in Rafah. Which the Israeli army is destroying.
Why is the city of Rafah necessary?
It is worth noting that on March 20, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden that it is impossible to win against Hamas without Israeli troops entering Rafah. Now the special mention of Rafah by the Israeli Prime Minister shows how important this area is both geographically and strategically. According to the information, Rafah is the base of four Hamas fighter battalions.
The Israeli army has achieved success in the north and center of the Gaza Strip. You can understand it like this that the Gaza Strip is a narrow Palestinian area of 41 kilometers, which is located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is surrounded by Israel in the north and east. At the same time, it borders Egypt in the south. In simple language, the city of Rafah divides the Gaza Strip from Egypt. There are three main entry and exit points for the two million people living in Gaza. There is Erez Crossing in the north and Rafah or Rafah Crossing in the south.
There is also the Karim Abu Salem Mall crossing in the south of Gaza. Israel controls the Erez crossing. While Rafah is a vast area of mountains and deserts, it is controlled by Egypt. Israel does not have direct control over the city of Rafah. Apart from this, the third crossing Karim Abu Salem Point is at the junction between Gaza, Israel and Egypt. It is also under Israeli control, but it is exclusively for the movement of trade goods. Israel has a military base in Karim Abu Salem, through which it monitors all activities in southern Gaza.
Gaza’s lifeline
Rafah is also Gaza’s lifeline as goods and humanitarian aid have passed through Rafah since Israel imposed a land, sea and air blockade on the Gaza Strip in 2007. Rafah is the only place through which Gazans receive essential items such as fuel, cooking gas, medicines and construction materials from Egypt. In the early days of the war, Israeli air strikes devastated the crossing.
However, it was opened a month later and since then limited exits have been allowed following an agreement between Egypt, Israel and Hamas. Many NGO members and passport holders have escaped the war in the Gaza Strip through this crossing. This is the reason why the Israeli army wants full control over Rafah, which is why most attacks are taking place in Rafah.
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