Israeli Army Radio said on Wednesday morning that 10 army brigades are currently fighting in the Gaza Strip, which is the largest number of brigades since the beginning of this year, after the Nahal Brigade was pushed south to Rafah last night, becoming the fifth brigade operating there.
In this context, the military and strategic expert, Colonel Hatem Karim Al-Falahi, revealed that last night was very violent and bloody in Rafah and included various areas in conjunction with intense air and artillery bombardment.
Al-Falahi added, during his analysis of the military scene in the Gaza Strip, that the occupation army expanded its military operations in the border city with Egypt, while confronting the resistance factions in an attempt to prevent its advance towards the depth of Rafah, citing its destruction of a number of Israeli tanks and bulldozers.
He pointed out that there are indications that the Rafah operation has begun to expand, after the deployment of the Nahal Brigade (one of the elite brigades), which means that the United States has given the green light to Israel to expand its military operation there on the condition that it is different from the previous invasions of the cities of Gaza and Khan Yunis, and at a calmer pace. With fewer civilian casualties.
But the Israeli bombing last night confirms that talk is different from reality, according to Al-Falahi, who said that the issue of the occupation expanding its advance towards western Rafah depends on the plan it developed.
He asked: “Will the Israeli army carry out a complete encirclement of Rafah, or will it continue to advance from the eastern regions towards the depth and head west?”, before stressing the necessity of knowing the main axes of progress in order to know the Israelis’ plan in this regard.
On May 6, Tel Aviv announced the start of a military operation in Rafah, claiming that it was “limited in scope,” before the Israeli army announced its occupation of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which connects the Gaza Strip to Egypt.
Two days ago, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informed US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan that Israel intends to expand its ground attack in the city of Rafah, while the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that the Israeli attack on Rafah caused the displacement of 810,000 Palestinians.
