Hamas ‘preserves’ fighting force in Rafah, does not see battle as ‘decisive’: Monitors
Hamas fighters are remaining in combat tunnel networks in Rafah, while remotely detonating buildings in the city that were “rigged to explode prior to the arrival of Israeli forces”, the US-based think tanks report in their latest battlefield update.
“The use of prepared explosively rigged buildings and tunnels suggests that Hamas’ units in Rafah prepared to preserve their strength by avoiding direct engagements,” the ISW/CTP say in their joint report.
Hamas fighters also launched an attack drone towards an Israeli town near the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, and rockets were fired from Gaza targeting Israel’s Askhelon and another town bordering the north of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, according to the report.
NEW | Hamas is preserving its forces in Rafah rather than engaging the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), likely because Hamas does not believe Israel’s Rafah operation will be decisive. pic.twitter.com/nZJdb09j3c
— Critical Threats (@criticalthreats) June 20, 2024