Nearly 40% of Rafah Buildings Damaged Or Destroyed

 

by Kyle Anzalone | Jun 2, 2024

Satellite imagery shows that 40% of the buildings in the southern region of the Gaza Strip have now been damaged or destroyed by the Israeli onslaught. Before Israel began its assault on the city, Rafah had served as a refuge for over one million Palestinians. 

According to a satellite image analyzed by Planet Labs and published in the Financial Times, 40% of the buildings in Rafah have been damaged or destroyed. Since the invasion started in early May, Israel has bombarded the city and used tanks in a ground invasion to reduce swaths of the city to rubble. 

After October 7, Israeli forces invaded northern Gaza, and Tel Aviv instructed Palestinians that they would find refuge if they moved south. Over the first several months of the war, more than one million Palestinians moved to Rafah, with many living in tents. 

After Israeli forces destroyed the other population centers in Gaza, Tel Aviv started to plan an assault on Rafah. President Joe Biden warned Israel that he would curtail some military assistance to Tel Aviv if Israeli forces attacked Rafah. 

The Israeli invasion of Rafah has been ongoing for weeks, and Biden has failed to invoke his redline and cut aid to Israel. An American bomb was used in an attack on a tent camp, and the White House still refused to act. 

Along with destroying a significant portion of the remaining infrastructure in Gaza, the attack on Rafah has shuttered the nearby border crossing. The Rafah Crossing served as a critical lifeline for aid into the besieged enclave. The lack of aid pushed the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza closer to famine.

https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/nearly-40-of-rafah-buildings-were-damaged-or-destroyed/