Why is Israel attacking Gaza? Israel’s deadly attacks explained.

An Israeli attack killed dozens of people seeking shelter in the city of Rafah on Sunday evening. The attack hit an area that Israel had declared a security zone. The attack came just two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel on Friday to “immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah.”

More than seven months after Israel launched its war on Gaza to crush Hamas and free the hostages captured in the group’s brazen Oct. 7 attack, all eyes are on the territory’s southernmost city, where more than a million Palestinians have fled to escape Israel’s ongoing offensive. If it wasn’t clear before, it is now undeniable that the more than a million people crammed into tents in Rafah, seeking shelter from death and injury, are far from safe.

Israel’s relentless offensive in the Gaza Strip has led to an increasingly tense dynamic in its relationship with one of its biggest allies.

Sunday’s attack also raises the question: Is this the red line that President Joe Biden warned Israel against crossing? And if not this deadly attack, what could be considered a red line?

The Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt makes the city a key strategic point for the flow of goods and aid, as well as an evacuation point for Gazans trapped in the area during Israel’s ongoing brutal attacks. The Rafah crossing has been closed to people and aid for months after Israel occupied and cut off the vital lifeline for Palestinians and aid workers. Doctors and aid workers, as well as people fleeing Israeli attacks, are now trapped.

Now, Israel’s relentless offensive in Gaza has created an increasingly tense dynamic with one of its biggest allies, the United States. Biden, once steadfast in his support of Israel and its right to self-defense, has expressed concern about the ongoing aggression and warned that the US would cut off aid and arms supplies to Israel if it launched a ground offensive on Rafah.

There are other signs that Israel has lost another slice of American goodwill. More than 50 members of Congress rejected a financial aid package for Israel, and some are now openly calling on Biden to stop supplying Israel with all offensive weapons of the kind used against Palestinians in Gaza. Meanwhile, the United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to grant Palestine more rights and privileges.

If Israel ignores Biden’s call not to capture Rafah or launch a large-scale attack on it, it could weaken America’s standing on the world stage. A full-scale military invasion of the city would be the clearest sign yet that the US has lost control of its client state in the region.

And if Israel’s full-scale military invasion of other areas of Gaza is any indication, Sunday’s attack could be the beginning of even more violence. In Gaza City, for example, Israel’s ground invasion culminated in an attack on Shifa Hospital, where Hamas is believed to have its command and control center. To gain access to the hospital, located in a densely populated neighborhood, Israel razed buildings and entire blocks to clear the way for its troops, leading to unimaginable carnage and a staggering death toll.

As Palestinians, aid workers and UN officials have been saying for months, there is no safe place to go anymore. The so-called humanitarian zone where Israel has ordered Palestinians to be sent is literally open, barren land with no sewage, shelter, hospitals, infrastructure, aid or food.

Outrage continues to grow over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire that would allow the hostages to be released. The longer this war goes on, the longer Netanyahu will stay in office. When the war ends, it is widely expected that his term will end too.

On Israel’s orders, Palestinians in Gaza are running from one part of the besieged strip to another with no mercy or end in sight. Those who have managed to survive are doing so under unimaginable circumstances, waiting for the world to finally intervene and save them from this onslaught.

While the US has publicly stated that it opposes an attack on Rafah, Israel continues to expand its operations. Biden is caught between Republicans who claim his red lines are a betrayal of America’s commitment to Israel’s security and who reject his promise to punish Israel if it does indeed attack. Not to be outflanked by Republicans on this issue, Biden recently indicated he would approve another $1 billion worth of arms sales to Israel, although he threatened to cut off aid if Rafah was invaded. Such conflicting messages and actions by the administration once again demonstrate the disarray of the Biden administration’s Gaza policy. And it continues to prolong the war.

And regardless of what happens on a geopolitical level, it matters little to the Palestinians who are still suffering and dying every day. Israel is attacking Rafah. Whether this meets Biden’s definition of a “large-scale attack” is irrelevant to the families of the innocent people who are being killed.