The daily Beirut-based tabloid Al Akhbar on Wednesday reported that Israel is preparing for a major operation in Rafah, on the Gaza strip’s southern border with Egypt’s Sinai, expecting Hamas to transfer the hostages out of Gaza.
“Although the Egyptians assured Israel as well as the Americans that it had no indication of the presence of Hamas activity on the Egyptian side of the border, Egyptian intelligence expressed its willingness to cooperate in examining any available information,” according to Al Akhbar. “However, the crisis of confidence seemed to deepen in recent days, which strengthened the Egyptians’ desire to close the Rafah crossing, and to use the crossing as a pressure card against the Americans and the Israelis.”
“But what is noteworthy is that Israel responded by announcing its initial approval of a Cypriot plan sponsored by Britain, to establish a humanitarian sea corridor linking from the coast of the island to the port of Gaza, with the British army undertaking the establishment of floating platforms that would allow the docking of ships coming from Cyprus that the Gaza port cannot receive,” Al Akhbar’s report continued, noting: “This crossing should be adopted as an alternative to all land crossings pertaining to Egypt or the occupied territories.”
According to the Al Akhbar report, the return of residents of northern Gaza from the south is in the works, despite the near-total ruin of what used to be Gaza City and its environs. The newspaper is convinced that “Within the next two weeks, temporary tents will be provided, allowing residents to stay in homes that are not completely destroyed, with an aid program for about 800,000 displaced people returning from the center and south, within a program that includes restarting bakeries and water pumps.
“Medical centers were arranged in the form of dispensaries, while work in the Al-Shifa Complex was limited to a logistical headquarters, before it was reactivated medically.
“On the other hand, Egypt informed a number of major merchants from the Gaza Strip that Israel did not agree to allow them to transport new goods to stores in the Strip, and that the IDF considers this a service to the Hamas, which would receive the proceeds of this trade to reestablish its authority within Gaza,” Al Akhbar’s report concludes.
