The Israeli army continues its operations in the north of the Gaza Strip and in certain areas of Rafah, a town in the south of the Gaza Strip threatened by a major Israeli offensive against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas which is “there to last” according to its boss.
Information to remember
⇒ Israeli army announces the death of five soldiers
⇒ Hamas puts pressure on Israel
⇒ An Arab League summit
Gaza: Israeli army announces the death of five soldiers
The Israeli army announced Thursday the death of five soldiers killed Wednesday during fighting in the north of the Gaza Strip, more than seven months after the start of the war against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
The soldiers were killed “in combat” on Wednesday, the army said in a statement, bringing to 278 the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on October 27.
Hamas puts pressure on Israel
On Wednesday, Hamas leader Ismaïl Haniyeh affirmed that the Islamist movement, which took power in Gaza in 2007 that Benjamin Netanyahu promised to annihilate, was “here to last” and that he would decide with other Palestinian factions of governance in Gaza after the war with Israel.
Ismail Haniyeh added that the outcome of the ceasefire talks was uncertain because Israel “insists on occupying the Rafah crossing and amplifying its aggression” in the Palestinian territory.
Netanyahu accepts his disagreement with Washington on Rafah
Benyamin Netanyahu believes that “the humanitarian catastrophe” in Rafah was avoided by Israel, affirming that “nearly half a million people had evacuated the combat zone” in this city where the Israeli army is carrying out operations military since May 7. “In the Gaza Strip, 600,000 people have fled Rafah since the intensification of military operations,” lamented the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
During an interview with the American channel CNBC, the Israeli Prime Minister acknowledged a “disagreement” with Washington on Rafah. “But we have to do what we have to do,” he said. The European Union, for its part, urged Israel to “immediately cease” its operation in Rafah, otherwise it would “strain” its relationship with the EU.
Yoav Gallant pleads for Israel not to control Gaza after war
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday opposed Israel exercising military or civilian “control” over the Gaza Strip once the war ends and called for a Palestinian alternative to Hamas to govern the territory. Palestinian. “I repeat clearly: I will not accept the establishment of an Israeli military administration in Gaza, Israel must not have civilian control over the Gaza Strip,” Yoav Gallant said during a press briefing.
“I call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to […] declare that Israel will not establish civilian control over the Gaza Strip […] “There is no military leadership in place in the Gaza Strip and that a government alternative to Hamas will be prepared immediately,” he added.
Four Palestinians killed
Four Palestinians were killed Thursday morning in an Israeli bombardment which targeted their home in the center of Rafah, said the hospital in this town located on the southern edge of the small Palestinian territory, where the last Hamas battalions are entrenched according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
An Arab League summit
Arab League leaders meet Thursday in Manama, Bahrain, for a summit dominated by the war in Gaza. They had already met in November in Saudi Arabia and condemned Israel’s offensive, while refraining from announcing punitive economic and political measures against it.
ICJ to study South Africa’s request
South Africa is to ask the UN’s highest court on Thursday to order Israel to stop its incursion into Rafah, an operation it called “genocidal” threatening the “very survival of the Palestinians” as a band. Israel, which rejects the South African accusations, will respond to them on Friday.
In a ruling in January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to do everything in its power to prevent any act of genocide and allow access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. But the court did not go so far as to order a ceasefire.
Help ready to go
“Hundreds of tons” of humanitarian aid are ready to be transported to Gaza once the United States opens its artificial port there, American officials said on Wednesday, also calling for the reopening of the essential land crossing point. from Rafah.
US President Joe Biden announced in March the establishment of this temporary structure in the face of severe restrictions on land aid deliveries imposed by Israel to the Palestinian territory besieged and devastated by more than seven months of war.