The military correspondent for Yedioth Ahronoth presented four potential scenarios for an Israeli invasion of the Rafah area in southern Gaza today, Friday.
**Scenario One:** Complete evacuation of Palestinian refugees from Rafah to safe areas, followed by a strong, surprise attack simultaneously on the centers of gravity of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and taking control of the Palestinian side of the Philadelphia Corridor.
**Scenario Two:** Imposing a blockade on the Rafah area by creating a road that separates Rafah from the rest of the Gaza Strip, similar to the “Nitzarim Road” that separates the northern part of the Strip from the southern part. The goal of this scenario is to send a message to Hamas that it will be left with over a million displaced people in the isolated Rafah area until it surrenders and releases the captives.
**Scenario Three:** A phased operation in Rafah, neighborhood by neighborhood, allowing for gradual evacuations, clearing each neighborhood before invading it.
**Scenario Four:** Not invading Rafah and the camps in central Gaza, maintaining the current situation while emphasizing raids and focused airstrikes, concentrating on assassination operations to pressure Hamas leadership to surrender. This scenario is the preferred option for the United States.
