Last night, Kan 11 channel, affiliated with the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, quoted an unnamed informed Egyptian source as saying that the tough American position against Israel regarding Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, and the delay in arms shipments, is partly related to Egypt’s protest to the United States over Israel’s behavior in recent days regarding the military operation in the south of the Gaza Strip and control of the Rafah crossing. According to the Egyptian source, Cairo held Washington responsible for the results of Israeli actions. The Egyptians told the Americans, according to the same source: “You have to find a solution to the matter, because what happened in Rafah spoils the Egyptian mediation efforts to reach an agreement, and has negative consequences for Egyptian national security and unrest within Egyptian society.”

The Egyptian source considered that despite the Israeli statements that the Rafah operation is limited, the Egyptians have no real guarantee that it will not expand, and they hope that the American position will dissuade Israel from doing so. Egypt informed Israel, according to Hebrew Channel sources, that it would stop the operation of all trucks it allocated to bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, until Israel sets a date for reopening the Rafah crossing.

Meanwhile, yesterday evening, the Israeli War Cabinet (War Cabinet) discussed developments regarding Rafah and the threats of US President Joe Biden. Kan 11 reported that Israel began strategic discussions on the issue of the “day after” the war, and official bodies reviewed the future repercussions regarding Israeli moves after the Rafah operation. A political source, who was not named by the channel, said, “The operation in Rafah requires making strategic decisions about the way forward. Not only about who will control the Rafah crossing, but also about whether or not Israel will strengthen the role of local parties (in Gaza), or Whether to impose military rule.” No decisions were issued from the session, and another meeting is expected to be held today.

Israeli officials rule out the presence of four Hamas brigades in Rafah

Meanwhile, Israeli officials ruled out the presence of four Hamas battalions in Rafah in the far south of the Gaza Strip near the Egyptian border, contrary to the claims of occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who portrayed the Rafah invasion as an important turning point for eliminating Hamas and achieving “absolute victory.” The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Friday that despite Netanyahu's claim that there are four Hamas brigades in Rafah, and that it is the movement's last stronghold and must be operated militarily, his statements are inaccurate, to say the least.

The newspaper quoted three informed Israeli officials, whom it did not name, that “there are no longer four Hamas battalions in Rafah, as a large part of the fighting force left the city and its suburbs and moved to Khan Yunis, and perhaps also to the camps in the center. About two battalions remain west of the city, on the other hand.” What appears in the Tel al-Sultan area. The newspaper considered that this move by Hamas indicates the way in which the entire war is being managed, as “the organization has not yet tried to fight large and large-scale battles with the Israeli army. It realizes that it has no chance against a division of the Israeli army.” Accordingly, “(Yahya) Sinwar’s bet was and remains simple: Hamas will remain underground for a longer period than the Israeli army can remain above it.”

The newspaper cited as an example the Israeli occupation army’s announcement, yesterday, Thursday, of the initiation of a military operation in the Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza, which “the army appeared to have occupied about two months ago and then left,” indicating that Hamas forces are returning to the areas it left. The army does not continue to occupy it, adding that Netanyahu “did not agree in any way to introduce another force into the Strip. Not Majid Faraj’s Fatah men, according to a plan prepared by the Minister of Security and the Shin Bet, and certainly not the Palestinian Authority.”