Sunday afternoon, Hamas began launching long-range rockets from the Gaza city of Rafah into Israel. Three of the eight rockets launched were disabled by the Iron Dome. However, five other rockets blasted civilians in Tel Aviv area neighborhoods, with one exploding near an elementary school in Kibbutz Sa’ad and another near a family home. Praise God, there were no deaths this time, but two Israeli civilians were injured.

The latest round of attacks gave credence to Israel’s claims that Hamas is hiding in Rafah, and likely have hostages with them. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly indicated Israel will not rest until Hamas is eradicated, and every single Israeli hostage is rescued or returned.

Sunday evening, Israeli Defense Forces targeted a Hamas compound 1 mile away from the humanitarian zone where Palestinians were taking shelter from the ongoing war. The IDF used highly specialized precision munitions designed to contain blasts to a small area, posing no threat at all to the civilian encampment 1 mile away.

In an official statement, the IDF announced that the strike was designed to killed two Hamas commanders, Yassin Rabia and Khaled Najjar, who oversaw attacks against Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Rabia “managed all of the military arrays of the West Bank headquarters,” according to the IDF, and “was involved in the transfer of funds for terror purposes and directed attacks by Hamas operatives” in Gaza.

The strike was successful; both terrorists were confirmed dead. But it came at a cost. Video footage shows massive explosions happening after the Israeli strike — explosions far too large to have been a result of the 37-pound warheads Israel used.

It turns out, unbeknownst to the IDF at the time of the strike, Hamas had been storing weapons near the tent city.

New evidence has come to light, including a recording of two Gazans discussing how Hamas bombs stored near the tent camp caused the massive explosion and fires that tore through the refugee camp.

Furthermore, satellite images have revealed that Hamas had, in fact, been storing rocket launchers near the tent city.

Perhaps if Hamas stopped using innocent civilians as human shields, the death counts in Gaza would go down.

“Humanitarian deaths and starvation are, for us, a tragedy,” said Prime Minister Netanyahu in a March 2024 interview. “For them [Hamas], it’s a strategy. They think that this will help them place more pressure on Israel to stop the war, leave them in place so they can repeat the October 7 massacre.”

Time and again, Hamas has been caught stealing aid from Palestinians at gunpoint, while hiding their terror operations centers, bombs, and munitions under civilian schools, hospitals, and now even tent camps.

Now that antisemitism is becoming more fashionable, the Israel-hating mainstream media and the anti-Israel Biden administration are using Hamas’ false claims to slander the Jewish state. And Joe Biden is considering whether to take further action against Israel — including continuing the arms embargo.

We cannot allow this administration to blindly bow to Hamas’ false claims or the blatant antisemitism Hamas and its Iranian handlers spew.

Please sign and fax our “NO EMBARGO! STAND WITH ISRAEL!” Demand Letter to Congress right away. I will be sending copies of this important demand letter, with a list of all signers’ names, to Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. and to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Christians in Defense of Israel works every day in the halls of Congress and around the world defending the world’s only Jewish state. But we cannot do this important work without your financial support. Please fund our work with a generous donation today.

Thank you for your friendship with Israel and for your support as a friend and partner of Christians in Defense of Israel!

Mat Staver
Chairman
Christians in Defense of Israel

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SOURCES:

Ben-David, Daniel. “IDF Says It Did Not Strike Tents in Rafah and Used Small Missile in Airstrike.” The Jewish Chronicle, May 28, 2024. Thejc.com/news/israel/idf-says-it-did-not-strike-tents-in-rafah-and-used-small-missile-in-airstrike-ixpbdogr.

‌Fabian, Emanuel. “IDF Says It Targeted Hamas as Palestinians Claim 45 Dead in Strike on Gaza’s Rafah.” The Times of Israel. MSN, May 27, 2024. Msn.com/en-us/news/other/palestinians-claim-35-dead-in-strike-on-gaza-s-rafah-as-idf-says-it-targeted-hamas/ar-BB1n6etP.

Fabian, Emanuel. “Rafah Rocket Volley Targets Tel Aviv Area, in First Such Attack in 4 Months.” The Times of Israel, May 26, 2024. Timesofisrael.com/rocket-volley-fired-from-rafah-targets-tel-aviv-area-in-first-such-attack-in-months/.

Ronzheimer, Paul, and Joe Stanley-Smith. “Netanyahu Denies Palestinians Are Starving.” Politico, March 10, 2024. Politico.eu/article/israel-pm-netanyahu-denies-palestinians-are-starving/.