By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
SvennoJ on 09 February 2024
Edit Thread

Report: Israel has informed several countries of Rafah assault plans

Israeli broadcaster KANN says that the Israeli army has informed several countries in the region, and the US, that is preparing for a full-scale military operation in Gaza’s southernmost city. Top UN officials have sounded the alarm over a potential army assault on Rafah, citing the nearly two million displaced Palestinians sheltering there and Israel’s virtually indiscriminate bombing and shooting during past operations against Gaza’s other cities during the war.

Yesterday, a spokesperson for the US government said that it “would not” support an Israeli operation against Rafah without a clear strategy for civilian protection. Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the army to prepare a plan to evacuate civilians there.

Jeremy Corbyn says Israel’s assault on Rafah will be act of ‘ethnic cleansing’

The British political figure has condemned what he calls the “complicity” of the British government in Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza “Palestinians risked life & limb to reach Rafah, the last designated safe zone in Gaza,” Corbyn said in a social media post. “Now they are being told to leave. Where are they supposed to go? This is not an “evacuation.” This is ethnic cleansing — and our government is complicit by letting Israel act with impunity.”

EU foreign policy chief expresses alarm over planned Israeli assault on Rafah

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell Fontelles has said that reports of an anticipated Israeli assault on Rafah are “alarming”, as concern grows about high toll an Israeli incursion could take on civilians. “1.4 million Palestinians are currently in Rafah without safe place to go, facing starvation,” Borrell said in a social media post. “Reports of an Israeli military offensive on Rafah are alarming. It would have catastrophic consequences worsening the already dire humanitarian situation and the unbearable civilian toll.”

Amnesty International director says Palestinians in Gaza at ‘grave risk’ of genocide

Amnesty International’s Secretary-General Agnes Callamard has said that Palestinians in Gaza must be protected against potential acts of genocide as Israel prepares for an assault on Rafah, which is packed full with more than one million displaced people. “Evacuation?? BUT WHERE? There is nowhere to go to,” Callamard said in a social media post.

“Amnesty is reiterating that Palestinians in Gaza are at grave risk of genocide. The international community has an obligation to act to prevent genocide.”

PA President Abbas says Israel planning to force Palestinians out of Gaza with Rafah plan

President Mahmoud Abbas’s office has just released a statement calling Netanyahu’s comments on a planned assault on Rafah a “real threat” and part of an Israeli plan to forcibly remove Palestinians from their land. The statement added that the Israeli and US governments would be held fully responsible for the consequences of such a move, and called for the UN Security Council to act.

“It is now time for everyone to take responsibility in confronting the creation of another Nakba, which will push the whole region into endless wars,” the statement said.

Israeli military admits it killed captive in air strike, confirming Hamas claim

Israeli media outlets are reporting that the army has informed the family of Yossi Sharabi that their loved one, who was held captive in Gaza by Hamas, was killed by the military. Nearly one month ago, Hamas’s Qassam Brigades released a video showing Sharabi, along with two other captives, saying that he had been killed by Israeli bombs.

Israeli and Palestinian protest for ceasefire attacked by police, soldiers

“Palestinians and Israelis protesting for a ceasefire in the West Bank this morning were attacked by Israeli soldiers and police, who made arrests and confiscated banners,” Israeli journalist Haggai Matar said in a social media post. Videos of the event show Israeli forces putting a protester in a chokehold and ripping away posters.

Palestinian ambulance crew ‘detained’ while trying to help victims of Israeli West Bank shooting

Ahmed Jibril, the head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society’s emergency and ambulance department, said that a two-man ambulance crew were in Beita trying to remove the wounded when they were detained, and then used as “human shields”. Jibril added that PRCS teams had repeatedly tried to save the life of Muath Ashraf Faleh, but had failed. He said that three others had been injured, one after being shot, and another after falling from a height while running away from Israeli forces.

The acting governor of Nablus, Ghassan Daghlas, told Al Jazeera that the raid in Beita was continuing. “The killings have been continuous for two years around Nablus and there are more than seven checkpoints around the city,” Daghlas said. “The closures increase day after day, and have caused an economic paralysis.”