Military operations in Gaza were concentrated in the Netzarim axis, which separates the north of the Strip from its center and south, in addition to the eastern region of the city of Rafah in the south, which extends from the border fence to a depth of 3 kilometers.
In this context, the military and strategic expert, Colonel Hatem Karim Al-Falahi, says that the battles in Rafah are still limited, as the attack is limited to a narrow front east of the border city with Egypt.
Al-Falahi believes that this operation aims to exert political pressure in the ceasefire negotiations and exchange of prisoners more than to achieve military goals. He explained that the occupation’s intense bombing of high-rise buildings in Rafah aims “to prevent the resistance from exploiting these buildings in monitoring, surveillance and sniping operations against the Israeli military crowds.”
He points out that the occupation is being cautious in its advance in the region, as it is trying to secure the adjacent areas between the cities of Khan Yunis and Rafah before deepening the operation, which he said includes fighting above and below the ground.
According to Al-Falahi, the resistance’s bombing of the areas surrounding Gaza targets military crowds that may be used in operations inside the Strip, before confirming that the Rafah operation “will not provide anything on the military and political levels, as the Israeli deterrence system was struck in a killing on October 7, 2023.”
The military expert also believes that the strategic objectives of the Israeli war have reached a real impasse after all the facts and evidence proved that the prisoners detained in Gaza “will not be released except through an exchange deal after the failure of the military option to liberate them.”
Regarding the Netzarim axis, Al-Falahi confirmed that the resistance factions intensified their bombing operations with mortar shells and short-range missiles on the military crowds in the region during the past three days in order to inflict on those crowds heavy losses and force them to withdraw.
American decision
Regarding the decision of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to suspend sending 3,500 bombs to Israel, the strategic expert ruled out that the decision would affect the conduct of the occupation operations in Rafah for several reasons, including that the targeted area is limited in size, and the destructive power of the occupation army is not based on these bombs.
He added that the occupation has artillery ammunition and military capabilities that enable it to destroy a large part of Rafah, noting that these bombs are not directed only at a house, but their destructive energy extends over a wide distance, is inaccurate, and causes great material and human damage.
He explained that the systematic destruction during the Gaza war was also carried out with guided bombs, in addition to the fact that the American decision falls within the context of suspension and not cancellation, which means the possibility of resuming shipments in the coming period.
During a session in the US Senate on Wednesday, Austin confirmed that Washington had suspended sending a shipment of highly explosive munitions to Israel, and that it was reviewing security aid to it in light of the current events in Rafah, noting that “Washington wants to see Israel carry out more precise operations in Gaza.”
