Why Israel’s Rafah Operation Is So Worrying

Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, is now the center of the war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. Israeli forces began moving into the city in early May. Israel’s determination to launch a major assault on Rafah has drawn criticism from the US, Egypt and other countries because of concerns about civilians in and around what had been the enclave’s one remaining safe haven. The International Court of Justice issued an interim ruling May 24 ordering Israel to immediately halt its military operations in the Rafah region. Israel says its actions there are necessary in order to neutralize Hamas — the Iran-backed militant group behind the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 kidnapped.

Before the war, Rafah had a population of about 280,000 people. It lies near Gaza’s 12-kilometer long border with Egypt and is the location of the main crossing point to the North African nation. Egypt closed the border for people trying to flee combat zones at the start of the war and reopened it for humanitarian aid during a pause in fighting in November. However, the flow of aid through Rafah stopped after the crossing was taken over in early May by the Israeli military, which said it acted on intelligence indicating the crossing was “being used for terrorist purposes.” Assistance is still flowing in from other crossings, but aid groups say it’s nowhere near enough.