Rafah is in Israel's sights. Even with Egypt and the United States seeking to revive ceasefire dialogue, Beniamin Netanyahu's government appears determined to impose its ground invasion on the last corner of Gaza.
Neither widespread international condemnation nor warnings from humanitarian organizations about the “catastrophe” that an attack on an area of 64 square kilometers would entail, in which 1.5 million Palestinians are crowded together, most of them forcibly displaced several times, are not stopping him. times due to the Israeli offensive.
According to Hebrew media, the army is now ready to undertake the campaign and the war cabinet would be close to giving the green light. In what is interpreted as a preliminary step, Israel has intensified the bombing and the Israeli forces plan to set up a coastal area with precarious tents, to once again relocate civilians, fearful of heading to areas in the south and center devastated by Israel and still under attack.
On the other side of the wall, Netanyahu called for “unity” from Israeli citizens in his message for the ongoing Jewish Passover, and noted the “challenges to come.” What has been read as a message not only with a view to Rafah, but a greater escalation on the northern border with Hizbullah, which in recent days has expanded the range of its launches from Lebanon.
However, the prime minister's speech collides with reality: his disapproval rating ranges between 60% and 75%; The majority of Israelis are calling for early elections (71%, according to a survey by the Israel Democracy Institute), and disbelief is increasing about the possibilities of achieving the “absolute victory” that Netanyahu defends, despite the fact that it is not culturally right. seen betraying those types of guidelines.
On the streets, the main demand continues to be “the return of all the hostages.” The most progressive protests every Saturday continue, but at the same time there are unusual spontaneous protests, such as the mobilization to Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem after the release of the video of the Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin or the Friday rally in front of to the home of war cabinet minister Benny Gantz.
Despite a certain consensus regarding the kidnapped people, there is also no unanimity on how to recover them (whether through an agreement with Hamas, a definitive ceasefire or military pressure) and the nuances of public opinion vary depending on their ideology.
The same goes for other divisive issues such as the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox Jews or who should control Gaza when the Israeli invasion ends. And given the perception that the Government delays decision-making for political interests, antagonistic positions arise.
An example of this occurred on Thursday on the border of the Palestinian enclave. There, separated by a few kilometers, two marches converged with opposite slogans: one, led by groups of settlers, in favor of the reoccupation of the strip; another, led by the Israeli-Palestinian movement Standing Together, against that proposal and the war.
In the first case, the police prevented the handful of far-right militants from fulfilling their desire to set up an outpost inside Gaza. However, their ideals are far from being marginal and are represented in the Government: several ministers and parliamentarians from the most radical wing of the Executive defend the return of the settlements.
The second group, on the other hand, is a minority in Israel, but that does not stop them from “representing the other way,” as Alon-Lee Green, co-director of Standing Together, describes. “Only peace will bring security, and end the war in Gaza and the military occupation in the West Bank,” he says. “That is the way to achieve a normal and safe life, in which we are all equal and free.”
Defying 41 degrees, and surrounded by a police cordon, dozens of protesters of different generations stood at a crossroads near Sderot and the kibbutz attacked by Hamas and other groups on October 7, despite some honking, insults and a shout of “I love Bibi” from passing vehicles.
Naomi Ben Bassat of the group The Other Voice is used to it: “We stop at intersections to talk about Gaza, the lack of electricity and other basic supplies.” She defends that “today we have to do it more than ever,” although she admits some discomfort because “the world is very angry with us” and “sometimes they omit the catastrophic events of October 7 or the kidnapping of children and adults.”
Next to her, a woman from the female pacifist group Women Wage Peace adds that “the world thinks that we are all extreme right-wing fanatics like the Government and that is not true, many of us want peace.” And so, in a divided Israel without a moral compass, she raises a common fear in sectors that oppose the extremist drift: “If we continue down this path, there will no longer be Israel.”
