Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had withdrawn the elite The 933rd “Nahal” Brigade from the Gaza Strip for it to prepare with the rest of the 162nd Division “Ha-Plada” for future operations, including an attack on the city of Rafah, Hebrew media said on April 25.
For the past three months, Nahal had operated in a 6.8 kilometers-long corridor that stretches from the Be’eri area in southern Israel to Gaza’s coast, splitting the Strip in half.
The brigade will be replaced by the 679th “Yiftach” Armor Brigade and the 2nd “Carmeli” Infantry Brigade, Israeli Army Radio reported.
The elite brigade will be given time for rest, recuperation and training before a planned ground operation in Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than a million Palestinians have taken refuge from Israel’s ongoing war against the Hamas Movement and other armed factions in the Strip.
On April 23, the Israeli public broadcaster Israel’s Kan 11 said that the IDF was planning to invade Rafah very soon, in an operation that includes evacuating thousands of people from the city.
And on April 24, a senior Israeli defense official told Reuters that the IDF has completed all necessary preparations to attack Rafah.
The IDF could capture Rafah. However, it will take heavy losses. Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza after the October 7 Hamas-led surprise attack on Israel, the IDF has lost 606 troops. At least 3,305 others have been wounded. 261 were killed and 1,584 others were wounded during ground operations inside Gaza.
And while an Israeli attack on the city will be catastrophic for Palestinian civilians, it will not mean the end of Hamas in any way.
So far, the Israeli war has claimed the lives of 34,305 Palestinians and left more than 77,293 others wounded, according to the latest update by the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
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