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Waiting for the IDF Offensive in Rafah
(Times of Israel) David Horovitz - The Israeli public has not shifted to the political center since Oct. 7. Hamas' monstrous massacre, the support for that attack among Gaza and West Bank Palestinians, the widespread refusal in the Arab world to denounce the barbarism, the anti-Israel protests worldwide, and the assiduous misrepresentation, negation and rapid airbrushing from history of what actually took place on Oct. 7 - all this and more has left Israelis unprecedentedly wary of compromise with and relinquishing land to the Palestinians. Nearing six months into the war, the IDF has intelligence of a whole different order on Hamas' remaining fighting forces, above and below ground - retrieved from the interrogation of captive Hamas gunmen and from captured computer and other data. It also has six months of experience in combat with Hamas, and a deeper grasp of how Hamas fights. For the time being, the Rafah operation is on hold - awaiting both the coordination that the U.S. is demanding and the results of the resumed negotiations on a hostage deal. But when it comes, the signs are that the IDF ground offensive in Rafah will be a phased campaign, area by area, utilizing the intelligence and experience the IDF has amassed.