King Abdullah's call for permanent ceasefire underscores divide with Biden over war in Gaza
Jordan's King Abdullah delivers remarks during a press conference with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Monday, February 12
Jordan’s King Abdullah II, the first Arab leader to visit the White House since the start of the war in Gaza in October, broke with his host President Joe Biden on key issues during a joint appearance Monday. Abdullah made a call for a “lasting ceasefire” in Gaza that would bring the current fighting to an end and said it was essential the main United Nations agency responsible for Gaza continue to receive funding after the US and other nations withdrew support last month.
Biden has stopped short of calling for a permanent ceasefire, and his administration pulled funding for the agency over allegations some of its staff were involved with Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel. The open rifts between Biden and Abdullah underscored the delicate diplomatic balance the president is facing as the war in Gaza enters its fifth month. Speaking from the White House Cross Hall, Abdullah said a ground operation in Rafah, which Israel has previewed in recent days, would amount to devastation.
“We cannot stand by and let this continue. We need a lasting ceasefire now. This war must end,” he said.
Starting to look more and more like a PR stunt
Israeli military releases footage apparently showing the moment hostages were rescued in Rafah
The Israeli military has released a pair of videos of what it says shows the moments two hostages were rescued from Rafah in an early morning raid Monday. One video primarily shows aerial footage in black and white thermal imaging. It starts with a group of people walking through the street, with the voice of an unknown person saying, "The hostages are in our hands," according to the English translation on screen.
It then appears to show an exchange of gunfire during the rescue. Moments later, a convoy of vehicles is seen moving along a road, with someone declaring, "The forces have started to move along the route. The forces are on their way. The forces are on their way." The video ends with more aerial footage showing a helicopter taking off as one voice is heard saying, "They’re good and healthy," and another voice responds: "Good. Keep going. We’re accompanying you."
The second video was shot with the cameras of Shayetet 13 soldiers, and shows the troops meeting with the hostages for the first time inside a vehicle before boarding a helicopter to Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said. The troops are seen chatting with both hostages, comforting them, and offering water and blankets. One soldier asks, "How are you feeling?" "Shocked, shocked, all right," one of the hostages responds, according to the English translation on screen.
Graphic images show devastation in Rafah after Israeli airstrikes
Graphic images from Gaza illustrate the toll airstrikes are taking on the city of Rafah, now home to more than half of the enclave's population. Israeli airstrikes killed at least 94 people overnight Monday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The Israel Defense Forces said it launched a mission against Hamas to extract two hostages, which was successful.
Two of the videos, which CNN obtained from social media groups used by Palestinian journalists, show hospitals in southern Gaza. One video shows a young boy hanging lifelessly from the side of a structure. Several men are trying to bring his body down.
A second image shows another boy, who appears to be a young teen, lying on a bed and clinging to a shroud-wrapped body. According to Gaza journalists, it's the body of his mother in the hospital mortuary. The woman's name is written on her shroud: Ghada Ahmad Yousef Abu al-Hanoud. Her name appears on a list of 74 victims identified and issued death certificates by the Abu Yousef Al-Najjar government hospital in Rafah.
In a third clip, a young girl wipes her eyes and cries but gathers herself to describe what she experienced, "I was going to the bathroom and the strikes were ongoing suddenly I found the fire in our house...(inaudible)...then I went to the bathroom and all the walls collapsed on me," the girl said.
Another video shows a woman holding a dead infant baby covered in a shroud. A young girl sits next to her with a pained expression. The woman says:"What do I do with the baby, tell me what to do, leave him?" She hugs the lifeless body of the child. CNN cannot independently verify when this video was filmed.
Since there was no evacuation order this time (which are BS anyway), it's no longer legally debatable whether these 'human shields' were fair targets. No loophole protecting the IDF, it's a war crime plain and simple.
UN special rapporteur ‘welcomes ICC prosecutor’s announcement’
We reported earlier that Karim Khan, prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC), had said he is “deeply concerned” by Israel’s bombardment of Rafah as well as reports of an anticipated Israeli ground offensive there.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, has welcomed his comments, saying: “May all perpetrators be brought to justice soon. Even more urgently, may a ceasefire be enforced (as Israel is killing Palestinians even in ‘safe zones’) and hostages released, along with the thousands of Palestinians arbitrarily detained.”
US calls on Israel to urgently investigate the death of 5-year-old Palestinian Hind Rajab
The US has called on the Israeli government to investigate the death of 5-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said on Monday "We have asked the Israeli authorities to investigate this incident on an urgent basis. We understand that they're doing so. We expect to see those results on a timely fashion and they should include accountability measures as appropriate," Miller said.
Rajab was found dead this weekend after being trapped in a car for Gaza City with members of her family who were reportedly shot to death by Israeli forces weeks ago. Rescue workers dispatched to find her were also reportedly shot and killed.
"We are devastated about reports of the death of Hind Rajab. I will tell you that I have a little girl that's about to turn six myself, and so it's just a devastating account, a heartbreaking account for this child," Miller said.
Miller found his heart, it only took over 11,000 children to die before Hind became a bit too public to ignore
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-02-04/ty-article-opinion/.premium/11-500-children-have-been-killed-in-gaza-horror-of-this-scale-has-no-explanation/0000018d-6fe9-d4f1-a18d-fff9c4010000
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/number-children-killed-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem-reaches-unprecedented
Killing of children continues unabated
Palestinian child killed in Israeli bombing in Rafah: Red Crescent
