‘Israel has launched Rafah invasion quietly to avoid international reactions’
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Israel began its aggression on Rafah without announcing the move to avoid international reactions.
In a statement, the ministry condemned the escalating bombardment and systematic destruction carried out by the Israeli forces in Rafah, saying that by carrying out these attacks, Israel is purposely ignoring international warnings about the danger of invading the city.
The population of Rafah has swelled to about 1.5 million, which includes hundreds of thousands of displaced people from the centre and northern areas of the Gaza Strip.
The aftermath of Israeli strikes in Rafah
Israeli minister: No alternative to Rafah invasion
Israel’s Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter says the ground invasion of Rafah must go ahead if Israel wants to fully defeat Hamas. “There is no other way to do it,” Dichter told Israel’s Reshet Bet radio, adding that any other proposed plan is merely a “Hollywood” scenario.
President Biden has called for Israeli PM Netanyahu to reconsider his planned invasion of Rafah, where one million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, calling it a “mistake”. Netanyahu has agreed to send an Israeli delegation to Washington, DC to discuss “alternative approaches” to a Rafah ground invasion.
‘One doesn’t defeat Hamas by starving innocent civilians’
Caroline Gennez, Belgian minister of development cooperation, says Israel cannot defeat Hamas “by starving innocent civilians”. “Starvation threatens over a million people in Gaza,” she wrote on X. “Hunger should never be a weapon of war, and one doesn’t defeat Hamas by starving innocent civilians.
“Stop blocking humanitarian aid and open more border crossings.”
Starvation threatens over a million people in #Gaza.
Hunger should never be a weapon of war, and one doesn't defeat Hamas by starving innocent civilians.
Stop blocking humanitarian aid and open more border crossings.https://t.co/oAM2Ygz6wr
— Caroline Gennez (@carogennez) March 19, 2024
