Families of 600 Israeli soldiers strongly oppose the Netanyahu government’s intention to invade Rafah

Residents of more than 600 regular soldiers in the Israeli army on Saturday opposed the intention of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to carry out a large-scale military operation in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.

According to the Israeli official Broadcasting Corporation, “families of more than 600 regular army officers and soldiers sent a letter to Prime Minister and Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in which they spoke of their opposition to a large-scale military operation in Rafah”.

“Our sons, after more than 6 months of heavy fighting, have become exhausted and very weak physically and mentally, and as a result, we have witnessed cases that ended in the loss of soldiers’ lives and very serious physical and mental injuries, and this is simply lawlessness,” the families of the soldiers wrote in the letter.

“Some of the events and incidents that took place during the battles that led to the death of military personnel and harmed their health aren’t dictated by reality, and at least some of them were caused by political and other considerations,” residents said.

The residents attacked the government, saying, “Unfortunately, you’re not dealing with the fighters with the responsibility required of you, we have entrusted our most precious asset to the state and you aren’t doing enough to protect them”.

At the beginning of May, the families of the soldiers submitted a petition to the War Cabinet and the expanded government for a political and strategic discussion prior to the operation in Rafah.

On Monday, Israel announced the start of a military operation in Rafah, which it claimed was limited in scope, and warned 100,000 Palestinians to forcibly emigrate east of the city.

Despite mounting international warnings about the expansion of military operations in Rafah, the Israeli army called on Saturday morning for the displacement of residents of neighborhoods in the heart of the city immediately, expanding its operations that began Monday, east of the city.