Why Rafah matters to Israel militarilyPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has anointed Israel’s military operation into Rafah as a solution to both returning the remaining hostages held in Gaza and finally wiping out Hamas. “The entrance to Rafah serves two main war goals: the return of our hostages and the elimination of Hamas,” Netanyahu said in a video Tuesday, saying that the Israeli military began operations overnight. It did not happen.”There are an estimated 133 Israeli hostages still in Gaza, but it’s unknown how many are alive or in Hamas control. Hamas wants such a pause to eventually end the war, while Israel looks to only stop its fighting long enough to obtain the hostages before eliminating Hamas from Gaza. A compounding humanitarian crisisAhead of a full-scale military invasion into Rafah, Israel ordered some 100,000 civilians living in parts of eastern Rafah to immediately evacuate to the coastal town of Al-Mawasi.
