Israeli operation in Rafah 'hoax': Ex-IOF Operations Division Chief
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According to Israel Ziv, if Rafah were this important, the IOF would have had to operate there from the start or middle of the war, labeling Rafah as a form of political necessity.
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Israeli occupation forces take position near Gaza, southern occupied Palestine, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (AP)
Israeli news website Walla! quoted the former head of the Operations Division in the Israeli Occupation Forces, Major General Israel Ziv as saying that the Rafah operation is a hoax that will cost "Israel" a lot.
In an interview with Israeli Radio 103FM on Sunday morning, Ziv said that he does not believe that the Israeli military operation in Rafah can benefit the occupation in a military sense in any significant way, emphasizing that the extent of political damage and involvement is in no way comparable to any military achievement.
According to Ziv, if Rafah were this important, the IOF would have had to operate there from the start or middle of the war, labeling Rafah as a form of political necessity.
He added that Rafah should have been under the "umbrella of war" criticizing what he labeled as a "special insistence" by attempting to reignite the war now after a long time and such complex data stressing that even though it has marginal importance, "we are paying the price for that."
Ziv emphasized that "Israel" is "bleeding" in the north and from the political sense it is collapsing and it has failed to bring back the Israeli captives.
"How can we explain to ourselves that we are hundreds of meters away from our forces, and we did not succeed in releasing the prisoners? What victory are you talking about?" he asked.
Exchange deal should have been concluded months ago
Addressing the applications for arrest warrants filed by the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Security Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Ziv believes that the problem goes back to its root as "Israel" has not put effort politically on the diplomatic level adding that the occupation's government backs its army and does nothing else.
Ziv said that there is no media nor operations to organize agreements between countries, adding that except for the IOF nothing has been utilized in this war.
In a similar context, Reserve Major General Yair Golan and former Israeli deputy chief of staff said that the captives' exchange deal should have been concluded four months ago when there were four divisions in Gaza.
He added that there would be no deal without a ceasefire, stressing, "Let us be realistic with ourselves and not listen to the poison machine coming from Jerusalem," referring to Netanyahu.
'Show me one thing we have succeeded in': Ben-Barak on war on Gaza
As statements and reports stating that the Israeli occupation is unable to win the war on Gaza continue to increase, and with the renewed heavy confrontations with Resistance groups in different regions of the Strip that the entity already claimed it had taken control of multiple times, Knesset member Ram Ben-Barak made darker comments than before on May 18 to describe the state of "Israel" today.
Talking to the Israeli Army Radio, Ben-Barak, who is the former deputy director of the Mossad and director general of the Ministry of Intelligence Services and the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, concluded that the "war in Gaza is aimless," and the entity is "clearly losing it."
"We are forced to return to fighting in the same areas, losing more soldiers, losing on the international stage, damaging relations with the United States, and causing the economy to collapse. Show me one thing we have succeeded in," he said.
His remarks came after the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, said its fighters killed 15 Israeli soldiers from point blank, east of Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah earlier on May 18.
