Rafah offensive
The Rafah offensive was an Israeli military offensive in and around the city of Rafah, beginning on 6 May 2024 as part of Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war. The operation focused on the Rafah Governorate along the Egypt–Gaza border, with Israeli officials saying the goals were to defeat remaining Hamas forces in the area and to secure the border corridor and the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
The operation began as ceasefire negotiations brokered by Egypt and Qatar failed. Israeli forces carried out airstrikes, entered the outskirts of Rafah, and seized the Rafah crossing, later moving into populated neighbourhoods. Fighting and security concerns also led to temporary closures of the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
On 19 January 2025, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect, and the IDF withdrew from some parts of Rafah. On the night of 18 March 2025, Israel launched a surprise attack on the Gaza Strip, breaking the ceasefire. Israeli troops resumed ground operations in Rafah on 20 March 2025. In May 2025, the offensive formally ended, when Israel had established operational control over Rafah and the border zone.
Background
On 7 October 2023, Hamas and allied militants sparked the Gaza war by invading and attacking southern Israel, killing almost 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking more than 250 hostages. Following this, Israel retaliated by imposing a total blockade on Gaza, heavily bombing it, invading it, and conducting mass evacuations. Both Israel and Hamas were accused of war crimes.Since the start of the war, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip sought shelter in the southernmost area of Rafah, near the Egyptian border. With other cities in Gaza depopulated, Rafah became the most populous city in the Palestinian territories, with more than 1.4 million people. Due to the large number of children among those displaced peoples, UNICEF termed Rafah "a city of children".
While Israeli politicians like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the offensive had emphasized about Israel controlling the Egypt–Gaza border near Rafah in order to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons from Egypt through underground tunnels, others accused of him using it as a pretext to avoid reaching a permanent ceasefire deal in exchange for the Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas. Per Nadav Argaman, a former director of Shin Bet, the number of weapons smuggled through tunnels beneath the border was minuscule as Egypt had dismantled most of the tunnel network, and most of the smuggling at the border was done through the Rafah border crossing, an assessment former Israeli national security advisor Eyal Hulata agreed with. An investigation by The New York Times found that nearly all of the underground tunnels were destroyed by Egypt after 2013. Per a report by The Jerusalem Post, Hamas used the border area mainly for launching rockets on Israel rather than for smuggling.
Airstrikes on Rafah started on 8 October 2023, and continued throughout the war. Israel announced its intentions to invade Rafah in February 2024, which met backlash from the international community. The United States, Israel's largest military supplier, also opposed an offensive.
On 12 February, South Africa, as part of its genocide case against Israel, requested that the International Court of Justice impose additional measures on Israel to not invade Rafah. Israel Said it had a right to defend itself by entering Rafah to eliminate Hamas. The court rejected the measure, saying its provisional measures already prevented Israel from an invasion.
In advance of the offensive, the United States announced it had paused a weapons shipment, and that it wouldn't supply offensive weapons for Israel's assault. In response, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari stated, "The army has armaments for the missions it plans, and for the missions in Rafah too - we have what we need."
Ceasefire negotiations
Ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas had reached the closest to success in May. Hamas was expected to agree to a deal that resulted in the release of hostages and an end to the war. However, Israel and Hamas disagreed on the issue of ending the war completely after a hostage deal, with Israel saying it would "under no circumstances" accept a deal with such provisions. This led to the faltering of negotiations.On 5 May, more than 10 rockets were launched from the Rafah area toward Kerem Shalom, killing four Israeli soldiers and wounding 11. Hamas took responsibility for the attack. Negotiations collapsed, and Israel began to strike Rafah, killing five people. On 6 May, the IDF ordered the evacuation of civilians from eastern Rafah to parts of central Gaza and Khan Yunis. An offensive seemed imminent, and the evacuation was condemned by multiple countries. Later that day, Hamas accepted a ceasefire deal from Egypt and Qatar. The deal included a 6-week ceasefire and exchange of prisoners. However, Israel rejected this deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented that these terms were "far from Israel's basic requirements", while the Israeli war cabinet voted to invade Rafah. Israel said it would send a delegation to continue ceasefire negotiations, while also continuing its offensive in the meantime. Israel also Said that the United States was aware of, but did not tell Israel about, the deal negotiated between Hamas, Egypt and Qatar.
Timeline
2024
6 May to 13 May
On 6 May, before and during the offensive, Israel struck Rafah at least 50 times. Later that day, in a limited invasion, the IDF entered the outskirts of Rafah and approached the Rafah Border Crossing and the Egyptian border. 20 Hamas gunmen were killed in the operation, according to the IDF. In addition, it reported discovering three tunnels and destroying an explosive-laden car. On the morning of 7 May, the IDF captured the Rafah Crossing. Hamas continued to shell the Kerem Shalom Crossing from Rafah, launching six mortars and rockets. The Givati Brigade separately seized the portion of Salah al-Din Road in eastern Rafah in an overnight operation.Haaretz reported that administration of the Rafah Crossing would be handed over to a private firm, and that the operation was limited and intended to exert pressure on Hamas. John Kirby, the White House National Security Communications Advisor, similarly said that Israel had told the US that the operation was limited and intended to prevent smuggling of arms and money into the Gaza Strip, with negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages and a ceasefire resuming. Israel's Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, said that the operation would not stop unless Hamas was eliminated or Israeli hostages were released.
On 8 May, the IDF continued battles with Hamas in the outskirts of Rafah, killing multiple of the group's fighters. It claimed to have killed around 30 Hamas fighters since the operation began. Hamas meanwhile fired eight rockets at the Kerem Shalom crossing from Rafah, resulting in one soldier being wounded. Later that day, Joe Biden, the President of the United States, threatened to cut off supplies of bombs and artillery to Israel if it went through with a full invasion, already partially withholding aid.
On 9 May, Israel expressed disappointment with Biden's statements, saying they strengthened Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah, and that they could not defeat Hamas without invading Rafah. The IDF announced it had killed about 50 Hamas gunmen since the beginning of the operation. It also reported discovering ten tunnel shafts, including a booby-trapped one that injured three soldiers.
On 10 May, the Israeli war cabinet voted to expand the operation. Sources for Axios gave conflicting reports about whether or not the expansion would cross Biden's red line, but all said the cabinet also told the Israeli delegation to continue ceasefire negotiations. Kirby meanwhile stated that Israel's operation had not crossed the U.S.' "red line" yet, although it was watching with "concern" and urged Israel to open up the Rafah crossing for aid. Lebanese media reported that Israel was planning separate small-scale operations in different parts of Rafah so as to not upset the U.S. South Africa again requested that the ICJ impose additional measures on Israel to prevent a full offensive.
On 10 May, two soldiers belonging the 9th Battalion of the 401st Armored Brigade were "seriously injured" due to a Hamas attack, while 12 soldiers belonging to the Southern Battalion of the Gaza Division were injured due to wasp stings. The 401st brigade also advanced on the Salah al-Din Road, encircling the evacuation zone. The IDF said it discovered more tunnels in eastern Rafah, struck several sites launching rockets and mortars, and killed several Hamas gunmen throughout the day. Rockets from Rafah and central Gaza Strip were launched by Hamas towards Be'er Sheva, wounding a woman. The World Health Organization stated that an Israeli airstrike wounded a staff member and killed his niece. Ceasefire talks meanwhile broke down after Israel rejected the terms Hamas had agreed to.
On 11 May, Israel ordered evacuation of additional parts of eastern Rafah, in preparation for a further advance. However, the U.S. said it would offer intelligence to locate senior Hamas officials if Israel avoided a full-scale invasion. The offer was part of secret diplomatic talks that had been ongoing to stave off an invasion. The U.S. was concerned about the scale of an invasion, preferring a limited operation with a safer relocation process for civilians. The U.S. and Egypt meanwhile co-operated to find and destroy tunnels located beneath the Egypt–Gaza border. Egypt also refused to coordinate with the IDF at the Rafah crossing. Israel claimed to destroy Hamas tunnel shafts in eastern Rafah, and Hamas attacked soldiers near the Rafah crossing.
On 12 May, Israel claimed Hamas again struck Kerem Shalom with rockets. Hamas and PIJ claimed attacks on the IDF in Rafah, while Israeli tanks struck the area multiple times. Meanwhile, it was reported that Egypt threatened to suspend its peace treaty with Israel if it expanded the offensive, although the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry allayed concerns by saying that the treaty was a "strategic choice" and contained mechanisms for addressing violations. It also announced its support for the South African genocide case. The American secretary of state Antony Blinken stated that Israel had no "credible plan" for safeguarding civilians in Rafah and risked creating an insurgency, while the Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi said that Israel was taking the U.S.' concerns into account about the Rafah offensive after they were raised by his American counterpart Jake Sullivan.
On 13 May, Hamas stated that it had clashed with the IDF in a street to the east of Rafah. A UN staff member was killed when his vehicle was struck in Rafah while travelling to the Gaza European Hospital. The UN later alleged that it was due to an IDF tank. Per the Israeli investigation, the vehicle did not inform the IDF ground forces while traveling in a restricted area. It was then attacked along with its occupants, first by a tank and then by a drone, contrary to protocols, after ground forces noticed an armed individual inside. However, it stated that it was not clear as to whether the operators of the drone had noticed the UN markings on the vehicle.
Meanwhile, eight soldiers of the Yahalom engineering unit, two Israeli Defense Ministry employees and a contractor who later succumbed to his wounds, were injured when Hamas shelled the Rafah Crossing. Israel also proposed that the Palestinian Authority take part in operating the Rafah crossing. Sky News however reported that the request was rejected by the Palestinian Authority, which conditioned its cooperation on Israel accepting a plan for creation of a Palestinian state by allied Arab countries.