The threat of an Israeli offensive persists this Sunday against Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip. An Israeli operation in this city where there are more than a million displaced Palestinians worries many abroad: the chief diplomat of the European Union Josep Borrell notably affirmed that it “would lead to an indescribable humanitarian catastrophe”. Even the United States, Israel’s main ally, said it did not support such a ground offensive, warning that if not properly planned, such an operation risked “disaster.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nevertheless reaffirmed the need for such an assault to defeat Hamas, assuring that the Israeli army will open “safe passage” for the civilian population.
Information to remember
⇒ The United States warns of a possible “disaster” in Rafah
⇒ Iran calls to exclude Israel from the UN
⇒ The situation in Gaza is “unjustifiable”, says the head of French diplomacy
Netanyahu promises Rafah civilians ‘safe’ evacuation
Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that the Israeli army will provide “safe passage” before the planned assault on the town of Rafah, in southern Gaza, during an interview with the American television channel ABC News which will be broadcast this Sunday. “Victory is within reach. We are going to do it. We are going to take the last terrorist battalions of Hamas and Rafah, which is the last bastion,” declared the Israeli Prime Minister. “We will do this while ensuring safe passage for the civilian population so that they can leave” the premises, he added, indicating that Israel was developing “a detailed system to achieve this” and would not did not approach this issue “casually”.
For his part, the head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell affirmed that an offensive on Rafah “would lead to an indescribable humanitarian catastrophe” while the United States warned of a “disaster” if the operation did not take place. was not properly planned. Hamas, finally, warned “against a catastrophe and a massacre which could result in tens of thousands” of deaths.
In his interview on American television, Benjamin Netanyahu also responded to these critics worrying about the fate of civilians in the event of an offensive on Rafah: “those who say that we absolutely must not enter Rafah are in reality to tell us that we must lose the war, and leave Hamas there.”
Iran calls to exclude Israel from UN
Iran’s president called on Sunday to exclude Israel from the UN, celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, marked with rallies in Tehran and major Iranian cities.
Support for the Palestinian cause, coupled with criticism against Western countries, led by the United States, was this year the main slogan of the traditional ceremonies marking the anniversary of the 1979 revolution. “We propose to exclude the Zionist entity of the United Nations,” declared President Ebrahim Raïssi, referring to Israel, a country that Iran does not recognize. Because “what is happening in Gaza today is a crime against humanity, and the supporters of this criminal regime are the United States and certain Western countries,” he added.
“Real trauma” for Israelis, but situation in Gaza “unjustifiable”, says Stéphane Séjourné
The head of French diplomacy, who visited the Middle East a week ago, underlined in an interview with the newspaper West France that France shared “the real trauma” of the Israelis but that it judges the situation in Gaza “unjustifiable”.
“We must understand that after October 7, Israeli society is no longer the same. Long-term. I only fully appreciated it by being there,” confides Stéphane Séjourné in this interview published on Saturday, estimating that “his duty” is to understand that “the trauma of the Israelis is real”. “And it also means that the situation in Gaza is unjustifiable,” underlines the minister. “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic today, and unacceptable in reality,” he added, while the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip lack everything and France has been urging a cease-fire for weeks. -sustainable fire.
Like his predecessor Catherine Colonna, Stéphane Séjourné also spoke during his trip of settler violence in the West Bank, “which has nothing to do with the situation in Gaza” and which must stop, while Paris is currently preparing sanctions against these extremist settlers.
Gaza tunnel: Israeli minister calls for UNRWA chief to resign
The Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs judged this Saturday “imperative” the immediate resignation of the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, after the discovery according to the army of the Hebrew state of a Hamas tunnel under the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza.
According to the Israeli army and the Shin Beth (internal security service), military operations in Gaza City in recent weeks led to the discovery of a “tunnel entrance” near a school run by the UN humanitarian agency. The UN agency, for its part, emphasized that it had not occupied its headquarters since October 12 – five days after the Hamas attack – and requested the opening of an independent investigation.