Since the IDF began its operations in and around the Gazan city of Rafah, at least five soldiers have been killed by explosive booby traps. Jonathan Schanzer examines the evidence that these deaths are the result of U.S. efforts to restrain Israel:
On the eve of the month-long Muslim holiday of Ramadan, in March, the White House warned Israel to halt its military advance on Rafah. The Israelis had removed Hamas from the vast majority of the Gaza Strip. The IDF was on the cusp of destroying the terrorist group, defying the predictions of most Middle East experts. The U.S. warned that war during Ramadan could lead to a multi-front conflict the Israelis wanted to avoid.
But when that month was over, and the Israelis readied for a renewal of the war, the White House moved the goal posts. The U.S. immediately began to warn of a potential humanitarian disaster in Gaza. The State Department went so far as to suggest that Israel could be guilty of war crimes in Rafah. The White House even threatened to halt the provision of ammunition to Israel, as a result of these purported fears. . . . Then, in mid-May, a major lawfare campaign against Israel kicked into high gear. . . .
The cumulative effect of all of this over the last three months has prompted the IDF to halt its advance in Rafah, and to move much more slowly than it originally anticipated. These three months of relative quiet afforded Hamas, and its terror masters in Tehran, the time and space to prepare the lethal booby traps and IEDs that are now killing the Israeli soldiers.
More about: Gaza War 2023, IDF, Joseph Biden, U.S.-Israel relationship