Watan-The Lebanese newspaper “Al-Akhbar” reported that the Israeli occupation would inform Egypt in advance about the invasion of Rafah, hinting at the timing of the ground incursion, and would begin “qualitative” operations paving the way for it after Eid al-Fitr.
Although discussions about the attack on Rafah have largely receded in favor of talking about ceasefire details recently, the continued failure of the negotiations could open the door for Israel to use the attack as a pressure tactic on Hamas to accept the Israeli position.
The newspaper, closely affiliated with the Lebanese Hezbollah party, explained that the hours following the failure of the recent negotiations in Doha witnessed the arrival of numerous Israeli and American messages to Egypt and Qatar regarding the necessity of pressuring Hamas and Palestinian factions to agree to a ceasefire deal and exchange prisoners as soon as possible.
The newspaper quoted informed Egyptian sources and confirmations from Israeli military and security representatives to their Egyptian counterparts, stating that there would be no “new concessions” to achieve progress in the negotiations, indicating the possibility of carrying out an invasion of Rafah “after the Eid al-Fitr holiday, or at the beginning of next May at the latest.”
The invasion scenario
The invasion scenario would be preceded by “the implementation of qualitative operations in the coming days, which would pave the way for and facilitate the ground incursion” in case of continued failure to reach an agreement.
According to the information, Israeli representatives discussed in the negotiations several concepts for dealing with the comprehensive invasion of Rafah, which is expected to “take between 4 and 8 weeks at most” to achieve the goal of “eliminating Hamas and liberating all hostages,” as they expressed it.
Israeli concepts included “implementing mass deportations from Rafah towards the heart of the Strip” based on “specific routes and times announced to civilians in each area of Rafah, one or two days in advance, to evacuate the city gradually.”
Egyptian Warning
Egyptian officials warned against “the Israeli move to invade,” indicating that “the scenarios presented by the Israelis are extremely dangerous and lead to further escalation, not only in Gaza but also towards a significant regional escalation.”
These warnings were also discussed with American officials “to emphasize the seriousness of the situation, especially regarding the humanitarian situation in the Strip.”
Additionally, Egyptian officials expressed “grave concern about the situation on the border strip if the occupation proceeds with the invasion of Rafah,” noting that the operation “will be communicated to Cairo in advance to coordinate on the border strip, with the entry of Israeli forces and equipment into the Philadelphia Corridor area.”
Last week, after the start of the negotiations held recently in Doha, Israel requested direct communication between the office of the Prime Minister of the occupation, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, but the latter “reiterated his refusal to receive an official call under the current circumstances.”
This coincided with media escalation through exploiting the visit of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, to the Rafah crossing, and emphasizing holding Israel responsible for the humanitarian suffering.