Israeli tanks have rolled into Rafah. What does this mean for the Palestinians sheltering there?

A senior White House administration official has said that the United States halted the shipment of bombs last week due to fears of a major ground operation by Israel in the Rafah region of southern Gaza. The bomb shipment included 1,800 2,000-pound (970 kg) bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs.

 A senior U.S. administration official said Israel had not ‘fully addressed’ U.S. concerns over the humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah. On the other hand, Israel has not yet commented on this news. According to a White House administration official, the U.S. has been adamant that Israel should not launch a major ground operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million people currently have no shelter. 

It should be noted that Rafah is the only way out of the Gaza Strip, where people started to seek refuge since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas. According to the U.S. official, in discussions between Israel and the U.S. administration, when it became clear that Israeli leaders were close to a decision on the Rafah operation, ‘we reconsidered proposals for the transfer of specific weapons that could be used in Rafah. 

 According to the official, the United States intercepted a weapons shipment last week consisting of 1,800 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds and 1,700 bombs weighing 500 pounds. “We are focusing on the use and impact of the 2,000-pound bombs in a densely populated urban area, and a final decision has not yet been made on what will happen to this shipment.

 It should be noted that the Israeli army on Tuesday claimed to have operational control over a specific part of the Rafah crossing of Palestine on the border with Egypt. During the attacks of the Israeli army, the flames continued to touch the sky throughout the night, and during this time, the sounds of Israeli bombardment were also continuously heard. 

It is still a minimal and cautious operation, and not yet the massive ground attack on the Rafah crossing that world powers have warned about. The Palestinian city of Rafah has been a haven for civilians and an entry point for humanitarian aid since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.

Covering an area of ​​about 55 square kilometres in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, it is considered to represent the last access point to Gaza and, due to the lack of Israeli control, has been for decades a transit point for the sick and the transportation of passengers. 

The mass displacement caused by Israel’s counterattack on the Gaza Strip has increased Rafah’s population from 280,000 to nearly 1.4 million people, which is why it has been called the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland. 

These concerns were further entrenched when the IDF began distributing leaflets with instructions to the approximately 100,000 people in Rafah to evacuate an area east of the city and head towards Khan Yunis and al-Mawasi. However, Rafah and the events there have a special significance beyond local operations.