The world calls on Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces to agree to a cessation of hostilities to protect civilians in Rafah. Israel says that this city on the border with Egypt is the last stronghold of Hamas.
Head of Diplomacy EU Josep Borrell called for preventing bloodshed in the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s announced offensive on the city of Rafahwrites Air Force. However, Israel does not intend to abandon the operation – in the morning the media reported attacks on its environs.
The US administration has already warned Israel that an invasion of Rafah as part of the Gaza offensive would be a “disaster”, and the EU and UN have expressed their concern. Late this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to prepare to evacuate the civilian population of Rafah ahead of a new operation against Hamas, despite loud objections from the United States and Muslim countries.
This morning, Israeli strikes were reported on the outskirts of Rafah, where, according to international organizations, 1.3 million refugees from across the Gaza Strip have taken refuge. writes euronews. At least 28 people were killed on Saturday as a result of Israeli army shelling of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Dozens of people were injured.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to journalists, outlined a short deadline for completing the operation in Rafah – until March 10. He believes that Hamas must be eliminated in this city as quickly as possible due to high international pressure.
Egypt has threatened to break the peace treaty with Israel if the IDF invades Rafah. According to an agreement from 1978, access to this city by the Israeli army is prohibited. Saudi Arabia also opposed Israeli plans to storm Rafah and called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. German Foreign Minister Berbock also spoke out against the military operation in Rafah.
The UN and other humanitarian organizations are doing everything they can to help Gaza civilians, but they will be helpless in the event of an Israeli ground offensive on the city of Rafah, said Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN Secretary-General. He warned that intense fighting in the city, which now houses nearly 1.5 million Palestinians, almost half of Gaza’s total population, would turn into a bloodbath. He declared:
“We’re trying to keep civilians fed. We’re trying to keep civilians clothed, to have medical care, to keep them dry and warm. But it’s almost impossible for us to protect them from tank fire, from artillery shells, and so on. And we We all see what’s happening now.”
Earlier on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to develop a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah before the offensive begins. UN experts note that Gazans have nowhere else to go. They ended up at the border with Egypt precisely because it was the safest place in the enclave.
Many Palestinians now living in Rafah say they will not leave their land even if attacked by Israel. To save their lives, all they can do is cross the border with Egypt. Egypt has already warned Israel that such a scenario is a “red line.”
Given the situation throughout the Gaza Strip, as well as potential disruptions in aid supplies through Rafah, widespread famine could hit the region as early as May.
Thus, Israel is on a stretch. Without storming and clearing Rafah, it is impossible to take control of the entire Gaza Strip and completely eliminate Hamas. And the assault on Rafah and the predicted huge civilian casualties could cause an unpredictably harsh reaction even from those Arab countries that have so far taken a relatively moderate position towards Israel (such as Egypt). In addition, this could sharply worsen Israel’s relations with its Western allies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDX7zbHhYSY
More Stories
Israel launched a missile attack on a facility in Iran, what is known at this hour
Collective West to Israel: “Repelling Iranian attacks is too expensive for us”
Iran attack on Israel