The IDF is moving “more deliberately” in Rafah, according to Israeli officers who recently left Rafah who spoke to the New York Times on May 25. The officers said that the IDF is using “less airpower and artillery, and fewer, smaller bombs,” which forces Israeli soldiers to clear urban areas on foot. An Israeli reserve soldier said that some Israeli forces are working near the border and others are moving into Rafah’s outskirts. This comment is largely consistent with CTP-ISW's current control of terrain assessment of reported Israeli clearing operations. The officers said that the four Hamas battalions in Rafah ”are not as well trained” as those in the northern Gaza Strip and “are not an urgent problem.” Israeli forces have described the ongoing fighting in the northern Gaza Strip around Jabalia are particularly intense.
The Qatari prime minister, along with US and Israeli intelligence chiefs, agreed to resume ceasefire negotiations during a meeting in Paris on May 25. Egypt did not have a representative at the meeting. An unspecified individual familiar with the talks said the meeting was “very successful” though there was no breakthrough. The source said that despite Egypt’s reported actions in modifying the deal during the previous round of negotiations, Cairo will participate in the next round. An Israeli media war correspondent said that Israel and the United States were disappointed with Egyptian mediators in the previous round of negotiations for unspecified reasons. Egypt has dismissed Western reports that an Egyptian intelligence official secretly modified the most recent ceasefire deal before sending it to Hamas. The correspondent observed that Egypt’s absence places the weight of negotiations on Qatar.
A US Army landing craft and part of the US-constructed pier in the Gaza Strip was swept away by waves to Ashdod, Israel. Ashdod’s Coastal Division assisted US forces on the scene. Israeli media reported that a US military vessel was sailing toward the Gaza Strip when it detached from the chain of the leading ship guiding to its destination. Israeli media reported that a separate piece of the pier drifted to Ashdod. The United States has spent $320 million on the pier and deployed 1,000 soldiers and sailors to operate the pier. The pier is facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Key Takeaways:
- Gaza Strip: The IDF is moving “more deliberately” in Rafah, according to Israeli officers who recently left Rafah who spoke to the New York Times on May 25.
- Humanitarian Aid in the Gaza Strip: A US Army landing craft and part of the US-constructed pier in the Gaza Strip was swept away by waves to Ashdod, Israel.
- Lebanon: Lebanese Hezbollah conducted at least nine attacks from southern Lebanon into northern Israel.
- West Bank: Israeli forces engaged Palestinian fighters in at least two locations in the West Bank on May 25.
- Iraq: The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed one drone attack targeting an unspecified “vital target” in Eilat, southern Israel.
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[ISW] 러시아 공세 캠페인 평가, 2024년 5월 25일
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