Since the Gaza war broke out following the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas, Israel has prevented international journalists from entering Gaza on their own.
When Israel launched its offensive in Rafah in May, despite the fact that 1.4 million Palestinians were estimated to be there at the time fleeing bombardment in the rest of the Gaza Strip, no outside media was there to witness or scrutinize the warfare.
Great destruction
Now, two months later, a handful of international reporters are allowed in to be driven around the city in military vehicles in the company of Israel’s military. It is largely deserted, very few civilians are left, AP’s dispatcher reports. From the roads, it is possible to see right into the bedrooms and kitchens of the blown-up apartment buildings.
The journalists’ articles have been read and approved by the military before publication.
According to the UN, approximately 50,000 people are in Rafah, which before the war had approximately 275,000 inhabitants. Most of them have been displaced to an area that Israel has declared a “humanitarian zone”. There they live in miserable tent camps along the beach, with minimal access to clean water, food, toilets and care, AP writes.
Israel’s military did not bring us here to witness the destruction, but to tell us why the offensive was carried out and to say what they have discovered and achieved, CNN’s reporter writes about the tour.
Shows a tunnel
The offensive in Rafah has resulted in a large number of casualties – among them many women and children killed in airstrikes and ground operations.
Israel’s military says it was necessary to strike with such intensity against the border town because Hamas had turned civilian areas into traps.
The spokesperson accompanying the journalists, Daniel Hagari, shows an entrance that leads to a tunnel underground.
Hamas built everything in a civilian area, among houses, among mosques, among the population, to create its ecosystem of terror, he says.