'Israel' has no 'Intl' credit' to invade Rafah: Ex-Israeli General

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
30 Apr 2024 11:05

The senior Israeli military official warns that there is no strategic advantage to attacking Rafah in Gaza.

Tents of Palestinians forcibly displaced by the Israeli occupation in Rafah, Gaza in February 2024 (AFP)

A top Israeli military official dismissed claims that an invasion of Rafah is not a priority to win the war against the Resistance in Gaza, Maariv newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Israel Ziv, the former head of operations in the General Staff of the Israeli occupation army was quoted by the outlet as saying that an attack on Rafah serves no strategic value, joining a growing amount of voices warning against the offensive and its consequences.

Talking to 103 radio station, Ziv said that the problem lies in not entering Rafah in a single sequence of fighting – as part of the entire ongoing war – and carrying out a special operation after the fighting ceased [ceasefire], with full international awareness of the presence of many displaced people there.

According to him, as the world has its eyes on Rafah, while the occupation army itself admits to the massive displaced population in the city, "if there are 100 civilian casualties, Israel will be judged legally, as if they were 1,000 or even 100,000, in terms of severity."

'No strategic advantage'

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would exit the government in case an invasion of Rafah was canceled.

Ziv said that Smotrich is "not an expert in war or international law or anything," and that "Netanyahu only thinks about his personal [political interests]," adding, "It's very bad... This is not the way to wage war."

"There is a very difficult problem that needs to be understood: Israel has no international credit, not only does it not have credit, but it is explicitly threatened. The Egyptians put the peace agreement [with "Israel"] on the table and are not afraid to threaten with it."

"So what's next? ... You can't stay there because you occupy their [Gaza's] only international crossing... So you will leave as in Khan Younis and hand over the keys to Hamas, so what did you accomplish? Did you kill another 400 fighters? That means nothing, there is no strategic advantage in that."

Strategic ambush

The former operations chief had warned last week that the Resistance in Gaza is preparing a strategic ambush for the occupation army, which would constitute a "disaster for Israel."

The Rafah invasion, he then said, poses a high risk, even higher than everything the IOF did in Gaza, given the fact that the city is a densely populated place and difficult to fight in, as well as the US and Egypt's sensitivity toward it.

He also warned through Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 in a separate statement that Israeli captives will likely not survive an invasion of Rafah.

A ground offensive against the city would "last for months," Ziv added, explaining that Israeli captives held by the Palestinian Resistance would be subject to harsher circumstances imposed on them by their military.