Before the Rafah offensive, Israel conducted airstrikes and threatened to invade the city as part of its invasion of the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war which began with the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. Intentions to invade were declared in February, meeting backlash from the international community because of the estimated 1.4 million refugees sheltering in the city.
Timeline Airstrikes on Rafah started on 8 October 2023, and continued throughout the war. On 31 December, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel's intention to capture the Philadelphi Corridor, a buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt. On 27 January 2024, Israel notified Egypt that it was planning to take control of the corridor, which Egypt was strongly opposed to. On 29 January, The Jerusalem Post reported that an invasion of Rafah 'would take time'. On 30 January, Israeli intelligence chiefs met with Egyptian officials in Cairo to discuss an offensive in Rafah.
February 2024 On 2 February, Israel announced that it would begin moving into Rafah, after declaring "victory" in Khan Younis.
On 3 February, Israeli attacks targeted eastern and central Rafah, reportedly killing at least twenty-eight people. At 4 February, The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 92 people had been killed by Israeli attacks on Rafah. At least two girls were killed on an attack at a kindergarten. The intensifying Israeli attacks were reportedly centered in eastern Rafah.
On 7 February, Axios reported that Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant stated to the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel would soon begin expanded ground operations in Rafah. In Rafah, an Israeli airstrike bombed a civilian car next to an entertainment event for displaced children, reportedly killing at least one person. Eleven people were killed in overnight airstrikes. Six Palestinian policemen were reportedly killed while clearing the road for an aid truck.
In February 2024, multiple countries and organizations expressed concerns about the offensive.
On 8 February, The U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stated, "Any major military operation in Rafah at this time... would be a disaster, and we would not support it". The U.S. requested Israel to create a plan and prioritise the safety of civilians which had increased due to refugees from other areas of Gaza. U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stated that they have not observed signs of an imminent Israeli offensive into Gaza.
Netanyahu ordered the IDF to prepare to invade Rafah. An intense bombing campaign in west Rafah was reported, reportedly indicating an expanding ground invasion. At least twelve people were killed in airstrikes in southern Rafah.
On 9 February, Netanyahu ordered the IDF to plan for the "evacuation of the population" from Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister's Office stated that elimination of Hamas remains impossible without the destruction of the four Hamas battalions in Rafah which is the last major population center in Gaza not occupied by the IDF. Doctors Without Borders issued a strong warning in response, stating, "Israel's declared ground offensive on Rafah would be catastrophic and must not proceed. Today’s announcement marks a dramatic escalation in this ongoing massacre." Egypt sent 40 tanks to the Rafah border. Eight people were killed and at least eighteen wounded in Israeli strikes on residential buildings in Rafah.
On 10 February, Haaretz and Channel 12 stated Israel's plans for the Rafah invasion were not yet finalized. Two Palestinians were killed after an Israeli strike on a police car in Rafah. An unnamed Israeli official stated Palestinians in Rafah would be evacuated back northward. At least 28 people were killed in Rafah by overnight Israeli attacks.
Egypt warned Israel that if it invaded Rafah, the Egypt–Israel peace treaty would be suspended. Egypt also stepped up security on its border with Israel and sent 40 tanks and armored personnel carriers to northeastern Sinai. Israel called up reservists for the operation. Israeli airstrikes in Rafah killed two Hamas policemen, three senior officers, and a senior commander in the Rafah district.
On 11 February, In a call with Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden stated Israel could invade Rafah with U.S. support when they had a "credible and executable plan" in place. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, stated reports of Israel's impending invasion were "extremely worrying". Satellite imagery indicated Egypt had strengthened the border, including building earthen berms and security checkpoints. At least 40 people were reported killed in east Rafah. Al Jazeera journalist Hani Mahmoud described Israel's attacks on Rafah police as an intentional attempt to create civil disorder.
Israel conducted a nighttime raid on Rafah and rescued two hostages. To divert attention during the operation, bombing increased, killing more than 67 people according to the Gaza Health Ministry. One survivor of Israel's bombing stated, "We heard the sound of explosions, like hell falling down on civilians". The event coincided with Super Bowl LVIII, allegedly to distract Americans.
Israeli airstrikes hit the area around the Kuwait Hospital. During a press brief with U.S. president Joe Biden, King Abdullah II of Jordan stated the world "cannot afford an Israeli attack on Rafah". Stéphane Dujarric criticized Israel's stated plan to evacuate people northward, stating, "You can't send people back to areas that are littered with unexploded ordnance, not to mention a lack of shelter". ICC prosecutor Karim Khan stated he was "deeply concerned" by Israel's bombardment of Rafah.
More than 100 people were killed due to Israeli airstrikes targeting areas in Rafah and helicopters firing machine guns along the border areas. An Al Jazeera correspondent reporting on the ground stated, "Warplanes that covered the sky, dropping barrages in a fiery belt that crushed the bodies of the displaced in their tents." Hamas condemned the action as a "horrific massacre" by Israel against civilians in Rafah.
Displaced people in Rafah began fleeing to other parts of the Gaza Strip, including Khan Younis and Maghazi. Two Al Jazeera journalists were wounded by an Israeli drone missile while documenting living conditions in Rafah, with one reporter losing a leg. Four people were killed by an Israeli bomb in Rafah's Brazil neighborhood.
UNOCHA reported that displaced people were continuing to flee to Deir el-Balah, as well as to the Nuseirat refugee camp. Intensified Israeli strikes in eastern Rafah were reported, including in agricultural areas near the Egyptian border. Egypt continued on its construction of a concrete walled enclosure along its border with Gaza.
The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported that south of Rafah, Egypt was building a refugee camp surrounded by five-meter-high concrete walls for over 100,000 people.
During a press conference, U.S. president Joe Biden stated, "I anticipate, I’m hoping, that the Israelis will not make any massive land invasion [of Rafah] in the meantime. So, my expectation, that’s not gonna happen." Yoav Gallant stated the Israeli military was in the process of planning the Rafah offensive. When asked about Israel's plans for potential refugees fleeing Gaza during a military offensive, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated, "We will coordinate with Egypt". The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights stated that Egypt was building an enclosure with tents "in the case of a mass exodus", though North Sinai Governor Mohamed Shousha stated this was not true. Seven people were killed and more wounded in an Israeli bombing of the Nassr neighbourhood.
At least thirteen people were killed in two airstrikes on Rafah. A bombing from an Israeli fighter jet destroyed a residential building. Benjamin Netanyahu stated, "Whoever is telling us not to operate in Rafah is telling us to lose an ear". The U.S. began preparing to send Israel more weapons.
The North Sinai governor stated that Egyptian construction on the Rafah border was a "designated spaces for [humanitarian aid] trucks, storage units, administrative offices and places for the drivers to stay overnight". UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric stated, "In Rafah, humanitarian conditions have become increasingly severe with continued reports of people stopping aid trucks to take food". David M. Satterfield stated that the Israeli killing of Rafah police for truck convoys had made the safe distribution of aid "virtually impossible". ActionAid warned that if Israel proceeded with an offensive on Rafah, "Aid operations will grind to a complete halt, denying a lifeline to hundreds of thousands of people".
The Egyptian Foreign Minister admitted Egypt was preparing safe areas for Gaza refugees while reiterating that displacement of Palestinians into Egypt was unacceptable: "It is not our intention to provide any safe areas or facilities, but if this is necessary we will deal with the humanity that is necessary." Netanyahu stated Israeli ground soldiers would go into Rafah, stating, "Whoever tells us not to operate in Rafah, is telling us to lose the war."
Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz warned that a ground offensive would be launched in Rafah on 10 March unless Hamas has freed all hostages by then. Gantz added Israel would act in "a co-ordinated manner, facilitating the evacuation of civilians in dialogue with our American and Egyptian partners to minimise civilian casualties". President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stated his "categorical rejection of the displacement of Palestinians to Egypt in any shape or form".
On 19 February, the US proposed an alternative draft resolution for the United Nations Security Council calling for a temporary ceasefire and opposing a major Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, Reuters reported. The text "determines that under current circumstances a major ground offensive into Rafah would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement including potentially into neighboring countries." The resolution says such a move "would have serious implications for regional peace and security, and therefore underscores that such a major ground offensive should not proceed under current circumstances." Israel sets a deadline for the offensive, saying it will begin if the hostages aren't freed by Ramadan.
On 21 February, Israel bombed a residential building and wounded one person, leading journalist Tareq Abu Azzoum to state, "Right now Rafah has been a centre for Israeli attacks". An Israeli airstrike on the home of an attorney for the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights killed the woman, as well as seven family members, including her two-year-old child. On 22 February, bombing in Rafah destroyed a mosque and killed approximately 100 people. Israeli officials stated that they were determined to carry out an attack on Rafah, despite not having a precise strategy or knowing where people would be relocated to. On 23 February, an Israeli bombing killed a Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic. Eight additional people were reported killed in Israeli airstrikes. The International Monetary Fund stated it was in talks with Egyptian officials for a "very comprehensive support package" ahead of the "expected entry of refugees into Egypt from Gaza."