The USA is not the only one warning Israel about a major offensive in Rafah. Meanwhile, the UN is strengthening the rights of the Palestinians – to Israel’s great annoyance. The news at a glance.
As negotiations over a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of hostages reach another impasse, the Israeli military is pushing deeper into the outskirts of Rafah in the southern coastal area. “The situation in Rafah is on a knife edge,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
“A massive ground attack in Rafah would result in a humanitarian disaster of epic proportions and undermine our efforts to support people facing the threat of famine.” In another urgent application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, South Africa demanded that the court must persuade Israel to take further steps to prevent genocide against the Palestinians. Israel’s army must immediately withdraw from Rafah.
France calls for end to military operation in Rafah
Israel wants to destroy the last battalions of the Islamist Hamas in Rafah. However, the USA, Israel’s most important ally, is urgently warning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government against a major offensive in the city and has even threatened to restrict arms deliveries. France called on Israel to immediately end the operation in Rafah. The Foreign Ministry in Paris warned that there was a risk of a catastrophic situation for the civilian population in the city, which was overcrowded with refugees.
Large parts of the international community had recently supported the Palestinians. A resolution adopted by a large majority at the UN General Assembly in New York allows the observer state of Palestine to actively participate in the body’s meetings, but does not give it regular voting rights. Before the vote, Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan harshly accused the General Assembly of promoting “the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state.”
USA: Israel may have violated international law
The US government believes it is possible that Israel may have violated international humanitarian law with weapons provided by the US in the Gaza Strip. The situation in Gaza makes it difficult to assess individual incidents or make conclusive determinations, according to a US State Department report that was delayed and sent to the US Congress.
“However, there are enough reported incidents to raise serious concerns.” Israeli officials, however, have assured that Israel is complying with international humanitarian law. The TV channel CNN had previously reported, citing a US government representative, that there was disagreement in the US State Department as to whether Israel’s commitments should be accepted as “credible and reliable”.
Hezbollah shells northern Israeli city
Meanwhile, the northern Israeli town of Kiriat Shmona came under heavy artillery fire from southern Lebanon. The Israeli army said Israeli defenses intercepted 15 of around 35 rockets. The remaining projectiles struck the city or open areas, damaging buildings and vehicles.
No people were harmed. Some rockets caused bush and forest fires when they exploded. The Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attacks. Israel’s military said it responded with artillery and air strikes. The information could not initially be independently verified.
Devastating conditions in Rafah
Humanitarian aid workers are now reporting devastating conditions in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. Hospitals would have to suspend their services within 24 hours unless urgently needed new fuel was delivered. Of the more than a million Palestinians seeking protection in the border town, half are children, said UN chief Guterres. The Rafah border crossing into Egypt, through which aid deliveries have previously reached the coastal strip, remains closed since the Israeli army took control of the Palestinian side on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Hamas said it had repeatedly attacked the Kerem Shalom border crossing. Israel accused the Islamist organization of trying to prevent aid deliveries from reaching Gaza. The border crossing was only reopened on Wednesday after being closed for several days. Some of the fuel deliveries were made from there, but according to the UN, no food deliveries have been permitted since Sunday, the New York Times newspaper reported.
One reason for this is that Egypt, where most aid for the Gaza Strip is collected and loaded, is refusing to allow trucks to continue from the closed Rafah crossing to Kerem Shalom, the newspaper quoted American and Israeli officials as saying. They therefore believed that Egypt was trying to put pressure on Israel to withdraw its troops from Rafah.
USA: Negotiations at an impasse
The French Foreign Ministry said Israel should resume the negotiation process; this is the only way to an immediate release of the hostages and a permanent ceasefire. The fact that the latest round of negotiations in Cairo was unsuccessful was “deeply regrettable,” said US National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby. The talks were at an impasse. However, efforts are being made to persuade both sides to continue the discussions. “We still believe an agreement is possible,” Kirby said.
The Wall Street Journal quoted Egyptian officials as saying that negotiators plan to resume talks early next week in Cairo or the Qatari capital Doha. Hamas accused the Israeli leadership of using the negotiations as a “fig leaf” “to attack Rafah and the border crossings and to continue their war of annihilation against our people.”
Report: Hamas military leader not in Rafah
According to an Israeli media report, the military leader of Hamas in Gaza, Jihia al-Sinwar, is not hiding in Rafah, contrary to previous assumptions. Two Israeli officials could not tell the Times of Israel with certainty where Sinwar is currently staying.
According to the latest intelligence assessments, he is likely to be hiding in underground tunnels in the Khan Yunis area, around eight kilometers north of Rafah, the newspaper reported. Israel’s army withdrew from Khan Yunis a month ago.