While discussions continue on the truce proposal presented by the US, the fighting has not stopped in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army announced that it had begun a new incursion into the central area of Rafahinside the Yabna camp.
According to what was reported by the IDF, the forces of Givati brigade they killed several terrorists who had opened fire on them and destroyed a rocket launch site. The Israeli soldiers also found numerous weapons, including anti-aircraft machine guns, ammunition, bulletproof vests and systems for remotely activating explosive charges. In a video published by the army on its profile In addition to Rafah, Israeli forces also struck “terrorists who posed a threat to soldiers, as well as a cell operating from a military facility” in the center of the Strip, and the aviation with the Star of David destroyed 30 objectives throughout the exclave, including “military facilities and weapons depots”.
However, operations remain limited and, according to what was reported by the Wall Street Journalis due to the fact that Israel changed its battle plans after the pressures of the United States. According to the American newspaper, which cited sources from the two countries, Tel Aviv had initially planned to to invade the city with two divisions, which would have resulted in intense fighting and many casualties. Given Washington’s insistence not to exceed the “Red line”, the authorities of the Jewish State have opted for more limited activity in the urban center and to concentrate their efforts along the Philadelphia corridor, on the border with Egypt.
On the diplomatic front, an Egyptian-American-Israeli meeting is expected to be held in Cairo to discuss the reopening of the Rafah crossing. The request of Al Sisi’s government would be complete withdraw of the IDF from the area. Regarding the US truce proposal, the president of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani expressed their favorable opinion.
Ophir Falk, foreign policy advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, instead declared that there are “still many details to work out”, such as the fact that there should not be a permanent ceasefire, and stressed that, although Israel accepted it, it “It’s not a good deal”.
