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There have been some unsettling developments in the Gaza Strip this weekend, suggesting a situation that many analysts had previously warned us about. Israel has been portraying the assault on Rafah as essentially being the «last stand» for Hamas, where the IDF would take out the terrorist group’s four remaining battalions of fighters. But yesterday, fighting broke out in Jabaliya and Gaza City in the northern part of the Strip that Israel had cleared months ago. The IDF was attacked in multiple locations. Some of the attackers may have been Hamas fighters that were missed in the original clearing efforts while others were clearly new members to their ranks. In either case, this appears to be a clear demonstration that more work will remain to be done even after Israel cleans out Rafah. (Associated Press)
Israeli forces were battling Palestinian militants across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including in parts of the devastated north that the military said it had cleared months ago, where Hamas has exploited a security vacuum to regroup.
Israel has portrayed the southern Gaza city of Rafah as Hamas’ last stronghold, saying it must invade in order to succeed in its goals of dismantling the group and returning scores of hostages. A limited operation there has expanded in recent days, forcing some 300,000 people to flee.
But the rest of the war-ravaged territory seems to provide ample opportunities for Hamas. Israel has yet to offer a detailed plan for postwar governance in Gaza, saying only that it will maintain open-ended security control over the coastal enclave, which is home to some 2.
