The Israeli military withdrew its main infantry brigade stationed in the Gaza Strip to attack Rafah, the southernmost city in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, where Hamas is based. The Israeli military said in a statement on the 25th, “We have withdrawn the ‘Nahal Infantry Brigade’ to prepare for operations in Rafah and other areas.” Earlier, on the 7th, the Israeli army withdrew most of the troops deployed to the Gaza Strip, but left behind the Nahal Infantry Brigade to protect the ‘Netjarim Passage’, a road leading from the separation barrier in the east of the Gaza Strip to the western Mediterranean coast. The existing mission of this infantry brigade will be carried out by the Israeli Army’s 679th Armored Brigade and 2nd Infantry Brigade.
The Israeli Army’s Nahal Infantry Brigade was established in 1982 and is the main unit deployed in two Lebanon Wars and the 1st and 2nd Intifada (Palestine’s anti-Israel popular uprising). With the withdrawal of the Nahal Infantry Brigade from the Gaza Strip, speculation is growing that the Israeli army’s operation to enter Rafah, which was considered the last bastion of Hamas, is imminent. Recently, local media reported that Israel had built a large tent camp near Rafah to evacuate refugees, and that Israeli military leaders had discussed the issue of the Rafah attack in Egypt. The British Guardian reported, “Rafah is located on the Egyptian border, so large-scale ground operations will require cooperation with the Egyptian government.” AP reported, “Israeli forces are concentrating dozens of tanks and armored vehicles near Rafah,” and “this appears to be a sign of an attack on Rafah.”
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also recently said that the operation of its troops to enter Rafah is “being promoted.” The specific schedule was not disclosed. “The military can be put into operation immediately and is only waiting for Netanyahu’s approval,” an Israeli Defense Ministry official told Reuters. The Israeli government estimates that 129 of the 250 people kidnapped during Hamas’ airstrike on Israel on October 7 last year remain in the Gaza Strip, and claims that Hamas is using them as ‘human shields’ in Rafah. Accordingly, the position is that a ground operation in Rafa is necessary for the return of the hostages.
Meanwhile, on the 24th, Hamas released a video of Hershey Goldberg Pauline, a hostage with dual American and Israeli citizenship. On October 7 last year, he was kidnapped by Hamas while staying at Leim Kibbutz (collective farm) in southern Israel to participate in a music festival. In the video released that day, Goldberg Pauline appeared to have lost his left hand. He said, “I have been held captive for nearly 200 days,” and added, “I ask the Israeli government to return the living hostages.” With Israel’s operation to enter Rafah imminent, an analysis has emerged that Hamas is urging the international community, including the U.S. government, to put pressure on Israel. Israel’s allies, including the United States, have expressed opposition to the Israeli military’s operation to enter Rafah due to concerns that it may cause civilian casualties and disrupt the delivery of relief supplies to the Gaza Strip.
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