Israel Ziv, a retired general and former IDF operations chief, speaks out against a potential Israeli invasion of Rafah during Channel 12’s Friday night news panel.
Ziv asserts that the remaining Hamas battalions in the southernmost city of Gaza do not pose an existential threat to Israel, whereas the hostage deal Israel risks forgoing by entering Rafah would amount to an existential threat to the lives of the Israeli hostages.
Ziv argues that even in the best case scenario where Israel enters Rafah, manages to find and kill Hamas leader Sinwar and recover the hostages, there will be no “total victory,” as promised by Netanyahu.
On the other hand, such an invasion will be very bloody, further isolate Jerusalem diplomatically and leave Israel without anyone to turn over Gaza to once the operation is over, Ziv says.
Arguing that Netanyahu is beholden to far-right coalition partners who are demanding a Rafah offensive, Ziv laments that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on the verge of making the worst decision since the start of the war by launching the invasion.
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