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Israel’s seizure of Rafah forces Palestinians to ‘squeeze’ into Gaza
One-quarter of a million Palestinians who called Rafah home can no longer have access to it.
Strategically speaking, this also means the two main crossings connecting the Gaza Strip to the world – the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing for commercial goods and humanitarian assistance and the Rafah border with Egypt, which allows people to leave or enter the enclave – are now off limits.
They’re beyond Palestinians’ reach and that tightens the Israeli siege even more. It also means Palestinians, 2.1 million of them, are now squeezed into about one-third of Gaza.
The UN estimates about 66 percent of Gaza is already off limits to Palestinians. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has publicly stated the goal – since breaking the ceasefire with Hamas – is to apply pressure on the civilian population.
He basically gave the population an ultimatum: topple Hamas and deliver the Israeli captives. Katz said that’s the only way to end the war.
More than 4,000 homes using solar panels destroyed in Gaza
Israeli forces continue their large-scale assault on Gaza with renewed attacks on civilian infrastructure, Gaza’s Media Office says.
More than 4,000 houses and facilities using solar power have been targeted and destroyed, it said in a statement. The solar systems were a “vital artery” for operating medical equipment, powering hospitals, water wells, desalination plants and other services.
“This systematic targeting comes within the framework of repeated threats issued by officials and ministers in the Israeli occupation government, most notably the Israeli defence minister, who publicly vowed to target all energy sources in the Gaza Strip, including solar energy, in a clear effort to return the Strip to ‘primitive times’.”
The office noted, “this constitutes a full-fledged war crime under international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.”
Israeli army ‘systematically destroying all means of survival’
While air raids continue to cause civilian casualties and widespread destruction, they are also forcing people into repeated displacement across the Gaza Strip.
It will be extremely difficult for these communities to rebuild, let alone resume even a shadow of normal life, as the Israeli military and its occupying forces on the ground systematically destroy all means of survival.
This includes the complete devastation of the entire eastern part of Gaza, which represents 32 percent of the Palestinian territory.
Especially alarming now is the complete isolation of Rafah city from the remainder of Gaza. Strategically and geographically, Rafah is a very important location. It is not only the main lifeline connecting Palestinians to the outside world, but also the major entry point for humanitarian aid.
