Abigail Shimniok

Israel launched a covert operation to rescue two Hamas-held hostages in Rafah on Feb. 12. The operation included a “wave of strikes” which have left over 100 Palestinian men, women and children dead according to reports from the Palestinian Red Cross Society.
This comes as part of the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel. More than 28,800 Palestinians have been killed and a further 68,600 have been injured as a result of Israeli attacks.
About a dozen homes and two mosques were bombed according to the Rafah municipal society. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) confirmed it launched strikes on key terror targets in the Shaboura area of Rafah which allowed for the rescue of two Israeli hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the planned evacuation of the population from Rafah after declaring plans for the IDF to go into the city. His call to action has sparked intense criticism with the United Nations voicing great concern for the wellbeing of civilians in Rafah. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said people “need to be protected.”
According to a Hamas leadership source, a raid on Rafah would mean the end of weeks-long negotiations. There was a wide range of responses from other countries’ leaders. Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry stated that there would be “very serious repercussions of storming and targeting” Rafah.
Qatar urged the UN Security Council to prevent Israel from committing genocide as it warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe in the city.” Egypt has voiced its opposition to any military operation in Rafah warning of “grave consequences” if there is a ground assault.
President Joe Biden said in a call with Netanyahu that they should not proceed with military operations in Rafah without a credible and executable plan to ensure the safety of civilians.
Netanyahu has shrugged off these criticisms saying that denying Israel’s operations in Rafah is the same as telling them to lose the war.
“Victory is within reach. We’re going to do it. We’re going to get the remaining Hamas terrorist battalions in Rafah, which is the last bastion, but we’re going to do it,” Netanyahu told ABC News in an interview Sunday.
With the present threat of ground invasion, nowhere appears to be safe for Palestinian refugees. Israel had previously allowed Palestinians to evacuate to southern Gaza, leading the city of Rafah to swell in population from about 250,000 people to more than 1.3 million refugees, which is over half the population of Gaza.
Now with the impending threat of an Israeli ground offensive, it is unclear where Palestinians can seek refuge. The Egyptian border has been closed for months and large areas within the rest of Gaza lie in ruins. The IDF continues to refuse to agree to a ceasefire.