A senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America has warned that taking back control of Rafah is key to destroying Hamas, amid their ongoing war with Israel.
Since the attacks on October 7, over one million people have been displaced to the Rafah crossing, where innocent civilians have been blocked from crossing into Egypt.
There are growing concerns that Israel would use the war to displace Palestinians of Gaza across the border into North Sinai, a scheme consistently rejected by the North African state.
A high-level security source has recently denied claims that the Egyptian authorities had fortified the walls and fences across Egypt's border to block any infiltration attempts into the North Sinai province.
John Hannah says Rafah is the 'lungs' of Hamas
Reuters / GB News
A security source told The New Arab: "The Egyptian border authorities have only been performing repairs on the concrete wall separating Egypt from Gaza and installing new barbed wires in damaged spots, adjusting the border with Gaza."
"The circulated clips and pictures dated back to earlier operations on the border after the Israeli offensive against Gaza first erupted in October last year."
In a discussion with GBN America, senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America John Hannah said that unless the authorities "take Rafah and eliminate Hamas control" of the Egypt Gaza border, they will "not succeed" in the mission of destroying Hamas.
Host Jacob Rees-Mogg claimed that Hamas "must be destroyed" and Rafah is the "crucial conduit" for arms coming in for smuggling, and Hamas has "been able and have the munitions it needs to attack Israel".
Over 1.5million Palestinians have been displaced to Rafah since the war began
Reuters
Jacob asked Hannah: "If Rafah were to be left alone, then Israel's security couldn't be guaranteed?"
Hannah replied: "You're absolutely right."
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Hannah told GBN America: "Rafah is the lung through which the Hamas army breathes. It's the critical node and smuggling point through which Iran has been able to provide Hamas with extraordinary military capabilities over the last 10 to 15 years.
"Unless Israel goes to Rafah, which is going to be admittedly a very, very difficult operation. It is important that the IDF prepare carefully for that.
"There are over now a million displaced Palestinians on that border that need to be moved away as much as possible."
Hannah discussed the "concerns" from Egypt about possible border crossings, and that their authorities "clearly don't want" Palestinians running into the Sinai."
John Hannah says that Egypt is 'concerned' for the Palestinians trying to cross the border
GBN America
Hannah stated: "That's a a different issue and discussion for another day, Egypt's role in all of this.
"But if you if you don't allow Israel to go to Rafah, you are essentially saying Hamas wins and Israel loses, with extraordinary implications and ramifications for not only Israel and the Middle East going forward, but I think for the the interests of the of the entire West and the entire civilised world."
