Israel is setting up 'complex network' of checkpoints to prevent 'military age' men from fleeing Rafah assault, senior western official tells MEE

Israel is setting up a complex system of checkpoints that will prevent men of “military age” from fleeing Rafah in preparation for its offensive on the southern Gaza border city, a senior western official familiar with Israel’s plans has told Middle East Eye on condition of anonymity.

The creation of gender-based checkpoints around Rafah would put a spotlight back on Israel’s practice of stripping and forcibly detaining male Palestinian men and children, as it faces rising scrutiny in the West of its conduct in the war.

        • NoneOfUrBusiness
          18•7 months ago

          Uh… You do realize Northern Gaza is in famine and Israel intends to attack Rafah where 1.4 million people are taking shelter right? The Holocaust was also a multi-year project.

          Today, Gaza’s entire population, about 2.2 million people, is classified in IPC 3 (Crisis), IPC 4 (Emergency), or IPC 5 (Catastrophe/Famine). This represents, according to IPC, “the highest share of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity that the IPC initiative has ever classified for any given area or country.” As early as December 2023, according to the IPC, data showed that nearly all households were skipping meals every day. People went entire days and nights without eating in four out of five households in the northern governorates and among displaced populations in the southern governorates.

          The crisis in Gaza is also exceptional for the number of people in IPC 5 levels of food insecurity. From February 15 to March 15, the IPC classified 677,000 people in IPC 5, and from March 16 to July 15, 2024, the IPC projects 1,107,000 people, a full half of the Gazan population, to be in IPC 5 (Catastrophe/Famine). At the time of declaration of famine in Somalia in 2011, approximately 490,000 people were classified in IPC 5, while 80,000 people were classified in IPC 5 when famine was declared in South Sudan.

          Source: https://www.csis.org/analysis/famine-gaza

          • VoxClamans
            -8•7 months ago

            @NoneOfUrBusiness @Linkerbaan @Woozythebear

            Seriously, Israel could reduce to famine (the real one, not the restrictions that make you fat western puppies faint) the entire Gaza strip in one day. Doesn’t do it. Prepares to attack Rafah? THAT’S WAR, and a war launched by a terrorist movement which killed all its Palestinian opponents (PLO/Fatah) when it SEIZED power, and machiavellianly (or by stupidity, who knows) attacked Israel without any consideration about the inevitable consequences.

            • NoneOfUrBusiness
              6•7 months ago

              If you have a problem the definition of famine used here, take it up with the IPC (preferably after actually reading what it is).

              Israel could reduce to famine (the real one, not the restrictions that make you fat western puppies faint) the entire Gaza strip in one day.

              They actually did. There’s a reason only Northern Gaza is at stage 5.

        • @Visstix
          18•7 months ago

          What do you think of that mass grave the Israelis put at a hospital and won’t let anyone investigate?

          • VoxClamans
            -7•7 months ago

            @Visstix
            beware of info from the Middle East, I’ve seen a lot of fakes and disinformation (as much as by putinists about the war in Ukraine, or trumpists about their Führer … and his opponents).
            Now let’s suppose there is a mass grave. Only one? In a reduced war zone, overpopulated? Man, if they didn’t want what a war means (hint: it’s always atrocious), WHY they did attack Israel, committed hundreds of assassinations, took hostages and killed some?! Did they really believe they could get free?

            • @OneOrTheOtherDontAskMe
              4•7 months ago

              The reporters, women, children, and noncombatants, the thousands, didn’t do anything on October 7th.

              Regardless of whatever pain and hurt you’re carrying, are innocent lives worth the cost to you? The Israelis attacked on October 7th were innocent civilians (they live under the rule of a terrorist, just as much as Gazans do with Hamas), do you believe they would want this bloodshed and violence?

        • @Nutteman
          15•7 months ago

          “But Israel doesn’t.” You’re right. They slaughter thousands instead. To the tune of around 32k.

          • VoxClamans
            -3•7 months ago

            @Nutteman
            who’s to blame, the attacker or the counter-attacker? Israel could wipe out the entire population of Gaza, as muslim countries wanted to exterminate all the Jews in re-born Israel in 1948 (still the official position for PLO, Hamas, Iran, etc.). Only some tens of thousands deads? In a small urbanised battlezone? I call that restraint!
            Israel would never have attacked the Gaza strip. Hamas was stupid enough to launch a war it is losing miserably … still keeping hostages in captivity.

            • @Nutteman
              4•7 months ago

              Going full clown mode today, eh?

            • @Sandman89
              3•7 months ago

              At this point, Israel is statistically far more of a threat to those hostages than Hamas is.

        • NoIWontPickAName
          10•7 months ago

          See that’s the difference between us.

          You think that would justify it and I don’t think that justifies killing 10,s of thousands of people that had nothing to do with it.

          It is unjustifiable, the same as what hummus did

        • @filister
          5•7 months ago

          Oh well, who’s radicalized now?

          Damn, I hope one day you realise how wrong it is to generalise people.

          How would you feel if someone says that you are a scumbag just because your neighbour is a scumbag?

          Now question yourself if you want to be that type of person.

    • @[email protected]
      19•7 months ago

      Those half-naked men made another face on October 7th

      You do know that only 3k dudes attacked Israel on the 7th, right? The people responsible for the attack are almost assured to be part of the 13k “militants” already killed in action.

      there are still hostages in captivity.

      You mean the people who’s family are literally begging the Israeli government to negotiate a safe return for? The people Benny has been ignoring to satiate his lust for Palestinian blood?