The Israel Defense Forces’ claim that it has achieved full control over Gaza’s Rafah has garnered fierce criticism from several hard-right members of the powerful Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Some of the MPs have openly called the IDF's claim a blatant lie while others have sought answers from the army about how Hamas was retaking the areas that are cleared by the IDF.
The IDF has said that at least 2,308 of the Rafah Brigade’s fighters had been killed and over 13 kilometers (8 miles) of tunnels destroyed. Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen, the general in charge of the offensive, had declared that the Hamas formation there had “been defeated.” But Since then Hamas has carried out fresh operations which have led to deaths of Israeli soldiers.