Rafah bombings (Edited by Mumsnet)

[TwilightSkies]

Where the hell are all the Palestinians meant to go now?
They were TOLD to go to Rafah, that Rafah was a safe place.
It’s just open extermination at this point.

Well, there is quite a bit of evidence that the 'safe zones' might not actually be that safe. For example, the dead bodies from last night's bombing and the resulting fire. The missiles fired there were Israeli missiles. Fired at an area the Israeli forces had a) designated a humanitarian area and b) instructed displaced people to go to.

That is right. It was not the crossing.

The target was the army base:
Hamas' armed wing said it fired rockets at an Israeli army base by the crossing, but did not confirm where it fired them from. Hamas media quoted a source close to the group as saying the commercial crossing was not the target.

And more about that which I remembered after seeing the facts in Haaretz and posting about it 6th May:

“I was wondering if the Hamas attack at the Kerem Shalom crossing was intended as an attack on the humanitarian aid entrance, or just an attack to cause trouble, as both seemed odd. Now I have seen this in Haaretz which suggests Hamas were aiming at the Israeli military equipment there planned for use in the likely Israeli Rafah attack.”

“IDF Names Four Soldiers Killed in Rocket Barrage From GazaThe four soldiers, Tal Shavit, Ruben Marc Mordechai Assouline, Ido Testa, and Michael Ruzal were guarding equipment the army has deployed ahead of its planned operation in Rafah. Nine more soldiers were wounded in the attack by Hamas”
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-05-05/ty-article/.premium/idf-names-three-soldiers-killed-in-mortar-barrage-from-gaza/0000018f-4a7b-d91a-a5af-ebffec900000

This was a completely, tragic loss of those young Israeli soldiers lives, but unlike the civilians in Tel Aviv Hamas has targeted with rockets, here their target was IDF soldiers gathering and equipping to attack Rafah.

Reuters is more correct than most - Rafah, the Hams lot stopped the humanitarian aid by firing missiles, rockets, mortars etc at the IDF who were passing through humanitarian aid by checking it

Some bleat on about "lack of fuel" - where does hams get the thousands of gallings of fuel for these missiles??? Hamas again the other day fired a mass of long-range missiles aimed at cities in Israel - you'd need three tanker loads of fuel for those never mind the daily firing of smaller ones

There are many safe zones outside Rafah

Do you understand the concept that the story developed - the Reuters report was the first but then more information became available and other agencies published updated articles which were somewhat different, bud

Reuters is more correct than most - Rafah, the Hams lot stopped the humanitarian aid by firing missiles, rockets, mortars etc at the IDF who were passing through humanitarian aid by checking it

But that is not what Reuters said. They said:

“Hamas' armed wing said it fired rockets at an Israeli army base by the crossing, but did not confirm where it fired them from. Hamas media quoted a source close to the group as saying the commercial crossing was not the target.”

A base, by the crossing. Not soldiers in the middle of checking Humanitarian aid at the crossing like you said.

Haaretz said nothing about soldiers checking H aid vehicles at the crossing:

“IDF Names Four Soldiers Killed in Rocket Barrage From GazaThe four soldiers, Tal Shavit, Ruben Marc Mordechai Assouline, Ido Testa, and Michael Ruzal were guarding equipment the army has deployed ahead of its planned operation in Rafah. Nine more soldiers were wounded in the attack by Hamas”

so its ok to attack and kill the hand that feeds you, is it?????

Where does Hams get the tanker loads of fuel to fire short range and long range missiles whilst belathing "hospitals have little fuel left for generators"

What are you trying to prove??

The majority of missiles used by Hamas don't use the same fuel as people are needing to run hospitals, etc.

Qassam rockets, for example, use a solid fuel made from sugar and fertiliser.

They don't need tanker loads of diesel or similar to fire missiles.

Hospitals need it in order to function, though.

So you’re trying to justify the attacks on a safe zone then.
The outcome of last night’s attack was entirely foreseeable. Children burnt in tents. The nylon melting into their flesh. No hospital. No burns unit. A shortage painkillers.

Fair engough

Exactly one of the many reasons that Israel has to screen lorries full of aid as best as they can whilst under attack at humanitarian crossings, IE not just checking for arms. missile, mortar parts etc but bags labelled as flour/food but full of fertilizer and sugar that are used to first missiles at Israeli towns and cities as well as IDF that is checking humanitarian aid

@DistinguishedSocialCommentator
Reuters is more correct than most
About news in the US, but a lot less correct than The Jerusalem Post about news in Israel which I linked you to. So this below is complete BS:
Hams lot stopped the humanitarian aid by firing missiles, rockets, mortars etc at the IDF who were passing through humanitarian aid by checking it

Here is the report again, please take the time to read it
The rockets were fired from Eastern Rafah toward Kerem Shalom on 5 May prior to the IDF ground invasion of Rafah. It was done while Eastern Rafah was being pounded by artillery shelling and airstrikes and had been since 1 May- so a lot more rockets were going in the opposite direction.

The soldiers killed and injured were not at the crossing nor were they checking humanitarian aid. The IDF closed the crossing in response/retaliation.
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-799923

(btw, I do not deny October 7th or any other Hamas attack that happened.)

Some bleat on about "lack of fuel" - where does hams get the thousands of gallings of fuel for these missiles??? Hamas again the other day fired a mass of long-range missiles aimed at cities in Israel - you'd need three tanker loads of fuel for those never mind the daily firing of smaller ones
It’s already been pointed out that fuel for rockets doesn’t come in tankers and is not the diesel or petrol needed for ambulances and hospital generator, for desalination plants and water pumps, or for sewerage systems.

I just wonder where you are getting your evidently extremely poor information from such that you repeat some very wrong headed things.

The aid is inspected at checkpoints well outside the crossings, so they aren’t inspecting aid while under attack by Hamas. The only attacks, accidental or not, recorded thus far on humanitarian aid convoys by all international aid agencies are by the IDF and settlers.

If you're mistaken about fuel requirements, @DistinguishedSocialCommentator , it might be worth considering whether you might also be mistaken about issues such as 'humanitarian zones', who is responsible for the majority of attacking and impeding aid, and that when healthcare professionals are saying hospitals need fuel to function, that's not "bleating" but a statement of fact.

Most of Hamas’ current rockets are actually repurposed unexploded IDF bombs previously dropped on Gaza. They cut them open and use the explosives from the 10-15% of bombs that fail to explode.

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/hamas-is-using-unexploded-israeli-ordinance-but-the-new-york-times-frames-it-differently/

I was succeeding in proving that according to Reuters and to Haaretz what you said happened re Hamas targeting IDF soldiers at the Humanitarian Aid Crossing did not happen.

DistinguishedSocialCommentator ·Yesterday 11:23
MrsSkylerWhite · Yesterday 10:19

@DistinguishedSocialCommentator
You know they can go to the SAFE ZONES and that is a fact”
**
You do understand that the area of Rafah struck by the Israeli bombardment is within a designated humanitarian safe zone?

You do understand that that is where the soldiers from IDF were killed by rocket and mortar attacks by Hams on the "humanitarian crossing," - YES??

Yesterday, a massive number of long range rockets were fired from that area at Israel's cities, yes!!!

HTH”
**
Soldiers, yes. Personally, the idea of war is disgusting. If you sign up as a soldier, though, that’s the risk you knowingly take.
Upwards of 40 civilians were killed by Israel, in an area they had been told they would be safe.
What’s wrong with you?

It is indeed disgusting to learn that Hamas does not use "fuel" as delivered to hospitals for their rockets which Hamas has fired indiscriminately at Israeil towns and cities by the thousands and again the other day

As disgusting as above is that Hamas according to one of the regular posters on this threads uses "fertilizer and sugar to fuel rockets."

Fertilizer is supposed to used for gaming, and growing crops but Hamas steals this from their people to use as rocket fuel, rockets they aim at the people of Israel

Sugar that is supplied as food for the people of Gaza is stolen by Hamas to fuel their rockets which are fired at the epole of Israel like they did again the other day using "long rang rockets" that require dozens of large packs of sugar per rocket

Hamas uses its people as human shields, dresses in civilian clothing and then blames Israel for the deaths of ordinary people of Gaza inc some women and men they still hold hostage

All this would stop as soon as Hamas surrender
Hamas is a nasty, disgusting group of people that drove out, killed their own people of a opposition group when Israel took out settlers from Gaza many years ago. Hamas drove out Fatha just because this group of people from Gaza were leaning towards friendship with Israel

It is indeed disgusting to learn that Hamas does not use "fuel" as delivered to hospitals for their rockets which Hamas has fired indiscriminately at Israeil towns and cities by the thousands and again the other day

This doesn't even make sense

@DistinguishedSocialCommentator while I doubt many people would disagree with condemnation of Hamas, it's incorrect to assume that their surrender would lead to a cessation of hostilities in the absence of an agreed and enforceable ceasefire/peace agreement. The Israeli government, agencies and 'settlers' have made it clear that they intend to continue their actions, that surrender would not be sufficient, that release of hostages would not be sufficient.

But this is something which has been explained multiple times on multiple threads.

This thread is about the bombing of civilians, many of them displaced civilians who have already experienced significant trauma and injuries, in an area of high population density, by the same military force that drove them there.

If you can condemn the use of relatively low-tech missiles against a significantly more technologically well-resourced country, I would hope you would also condemn the use of significantly more powerful weaponry against other civilians, too.

And perhaps retract your previous slurs against people highlighting the need for hospitals to have fuel in order to try to save the lives of innocent people, including children, after they've been bombed and shot.

No. Which make the long wordy explanations on every topic under the sun even more bizarre.

Sorry to interrupt but, some news on Rafah

Israeli tanks reach centre of Rafah, say witnesses

Several Israeli tanks on Tuesday reached the centre of Rafah, witnesses told Reuters, three weeks into a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip city.

The tanks were spotted near Al-Awda mosque, a central Rafah landmark, the witnesses said. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on their account, saying it would issue a statement about the Rafah operation later.

Israel has been pounding the city with airstrikes and tank fire today, pressing its offensive despite international condemnation of an attack that sparked a blaze in a tent camp for the displaced, killing at least 45 people.

This is a bit shocking - thought that the only 4 remaining Hamas battalions are in Rafah

Three Hamas battalions defending Jabalia refugee camp: War monitors

Three Hamas battalions are fighting to defend the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza and not just one battalion that Israel’s military planners had believed was operating in the area, war monitors report.

Playing Whack-a-Mole with Hamas is not a sound military strategy.
Hamas get to hang out in those long, thin, interconnected bomb shelters (aka tunnels).
The people on the surface get killed.

The only way out of this is to sit down and work out how to make Hamas redundant.

@NerdWhoEatsMedlar it tends to fit with the US intelligence report that Hamas has recruited thousands more fighters in recent months which was ridiculed above

.