Parents of 900 soldiers call for Rafah attack to be cancelled
The parents of more than 900 Israeli soldiers deployed in Gaza have signed a letter urging the military to call off an offensive in Rafah, calling it a “deadly trap” for their children.
“It is evident to anyone with common sense that after months of warnings and announcements regarding an incursion into Rafah, there are forces on the other side actively preparing to strike our troops,” the letter says.
“Our sons are physically and mentally exhausted,” it adds. “And now, you intend to send them into this perilous situation? … This appears to be nothing short of recklessness.”
The letter, sent on 2 May and addressed to the defence minister, Yoav Gallant, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, was initially signed by the parents of about 600 soldiers but in recent days the parents of another 300 have added their names.
More than 350,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah in the past week after Israeli warnings to evacuate before an imminent military assault that will open a bloody new phase of the eightmonth conflict. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has rejected US pressure to hold off an attack on the city where about a million Palestinians sought shelter after fleeing fighting earlier in the conflict.
“Rafah is a death trap,” said Anat, the mother of an Israeli special forces soldier deployed in Gaza. “Hamas had a lot of time to prepare the place for the killing of our soldiers. We are very concerned and worried.”
Israel has portrayed the city as Hamas’s last stronghold, claiming it must invade Rafah to succeed in its goals of “complete victory” in Gaza, killing the Hamas leadership and returning scores of hostages.
The IDF has called up about 360,000 reservists for the battle against Hamas. It is not clear how many Israeli soldiers are stationed in Gaza.
Idit, the mother of an Israeli commander, said: “My son sent me a message on WhatsApp a few minutes ago. They are on the move to Rafah, he told me. And I’m terrified. We are not against the mission to fight Hamas, but entering Rafah does not justify this mission.”
She said her son did not want to enter Rafah, “but he will because he is loyal to the army”.
More than 34,500 Palestinians have died during the Israeli offensive, which has caused massive destruction of housing, hospitals, mosques and schools. The war began in October when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing an estimated 1,200 people, about a quarter of them soldiers. More than 600 Israeli soldiers have been killed.
The Israeli authorities did not respond to the letter from the soldiers’ parents. However, speaking at a Memorial Day ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Sunday, Halevi said he was responsible for providing answers to the families of troops who had been killed.
“I am the commander who sent your sons and daughters to the battle from which they did not return, and to the posts from which they were kidnapped,” Halevi said. “I carry with me every day the memory of the fallen, and I am responsible for answering the sharp questions that keep you awake.”
Support for the aims of the war in Israel remains strong, but there is growing anger at senior policymakers as the conflict goes on. There were widespread protests over the weekend, with thousands taking to the streets to call for Netanyahu’s resignation and immediate elections for a new government.
Other demonstrations called for Netanyahu to do more to secure the return of the hostages still held by Hamas. About 250 Israelis and other nationals were taken to Gaza on 7 October, and 80 were released in return for 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails during a short-lived truce in November.
Relatives of the hostages walked out of a speech by Netanyahu during the Memorial Day ceremony in Jerusalem, which commemorates Israel’s war dead and civilian victims of terrorism.