Western countries and Israel share the same values of settler-colonialism, racism, white supremacy and genocide – all of which are imperial tools to protect their interests
Archiv: Militäroffensiven / military offensives
West Bank attacks: To western leaders, there are no red lines for Israel‘s slaughter
War in the West Bank was planned before Hamas‘s attack on 7 October last year, a senior Fatah member with close links to security circles told me.
It was postponed by the Gaza war, but also refined and honed by it.
When Israel saw just how much Palestinian blood the US and Europe were prepared to tolerate in Gaza – how much destruction, how many millions would be continually displaced, and for how long – Israel felt emboldened to visit the same hell on its real target: the occupied West Bank.
CPI and Hadash Calls to Cease Deadly Military Operation in the Occupied West Bank
The Communist Party of Israel (CPI) and Hadash issued a common communique who said “The occupation’s attacks in the West Bank is a continuation of the campaign of destruction in Gaza.” They called for occupation forces to cease military operations in the West Bank.
According to Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, “The assault by the occupation forces on the West Bank has nothing to do with the security of Israel. It is just another layer in the total war that the Israeli government has been waging against the entire Palestinian people to annex their land and expel them from their homeland. Stop the war! End the occupation!”
MK Aida Touma-Sliman (Hadash) called it the “Gazafication of all Palestinian land” and part of a plan to “ethnically cleanse the West Bank.
King, in call with German chancellor, urges end to Israeli attacks in West Bank
His Majesty reaffirmed that Jordan will not allow for a regional war to unfold on its land, nor accept any actions that threaten its stability, the statement said.
The King also noted the importance of creating a political horizon to achieve just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution.
US largely silent on Israel‘s West Bank assault as ally Jordan gets rattled
A State Department spokesperson told MEE that Washington recognises „Israel’s very real security needs, which includes countering terrorist activity in the West Bank“.
„At the same time, we continue to insist that Israeli authorities take measures to protect all civilians from harm,“ the spokesperson said.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if it launches major invasion of Rafah
The president’s announcement that he was prepared to condition American weaponry on Israel’s actions amounts to a turning point in the seven-month conflict between Israel and Hamas. And his acknowledgement that American bombs had been used to kill civilians in Gaza was a stark recognition of the United States’ role in the war.
The president has come under extraordinary pressure, including from members of his own party, to limit shipments of arms amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Drohung von Präsident Biden: USA wollen keine Waffen für Großangriff auf Rafah liefern
In dem CNN-Interview wurde Biden gefragt, ob mit dem Typ an US-Bomben, deren Lieferung vorerst auf Eis liege, Zivilisten in Gaza getötet worden seien. Biden sagte dazu: „Zivilisten wurden im Gazastreifen infolge dieser Bomben und anderer Methoden, mit denen sie Bevölkerungszentren angreifen, getötet.“
Biden machte zugleich deutlich, die US-Regierung werde weiter sicherstellen, dass Israel ausreichend militärische Ausrüstung zur eigenen Verteidigung habe, etwa das Raketenabwehrsystems Iron Dome.
White House pauses shipment of some weapons to Israel
The White House last week paused a shipment of weapons to Israel, as Israeli leaders closed in on a decision to launch an operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a senior administration official said Tuesday.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Wednesday in testimony to Congress that „we paused one shipment of high payload munitions.„
Readout of President Joe Biden’s Call with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel
(06.05.2024)
President Biden updated the Prime Minister on efforts to secure a hostage deal, including through ongoing talks today in Doha, Qatar. The Prime Minister agreed to ensure the Kerem Shalom crossing is open for humanitarian assistance for those in need. The President reiterated his clear position on Rafah.
‚Humanitarian islands‘: how will Israel‘s plan for Rafah civilians work?
(14.03.2024)
Israel has not revealed when the offensive in Rafah will begin, nor when the evacuation will occur. Announcing the „humanitarian islands“ plan, Hagari said only that Israel wanted the timing to be right operationally and to be coordinated with neighbouring Egypt, which has said it does not want an influx of displaced Palestinians crossing its border.
Israel briefs US on plan to move Gazans ahead of Rafah invasion
(03.05.2024)
The Israeli military has informed aid groups and the Biden administration of a plan to begin removing Gazans from Rafah ahead of an invasion, according to a U.S. official and two other people familiar with the situation.
The Israel Defense Forces recently told the U.S. government and aid groups operating on the ground that they had developed a plan to move people out of Rafah, the main humanitarian hub in the enclave, to al-Mawasi, a small strip of land on the southern Gaza coast.
Israel Briefs US on Plan for ‚Ethnic Cleansing‘ of Rafah
(04.05.2024)
According to an unnamed U.S. official and two other people familiar with the plan, Israel would „move people out of Rafah, the main humanitarian hub in the enclave, to al-Mawasi, a small strip of land on the southern Gaza coast.“ Politico also obtained a copy of a map containing some details of the plan.
WHO warnt vor „Blutbad“ in Rafah
Israels Regierungschef Benjamin Netanyahu hatte kürzlich erklärt, die israelische Armee werde ungeachtet der internationalen Kritik und unabhängig von einer möglichen Einigung auf ein Abkommen über eine Waffenruhe im Gazastreifen ihre Pläne für eine Bodenoffensive in Rafah umsetzen.
In photos: Aftermath of deadly Israeli strikes in Rafah
Israeli fighter jets have bombed two homes in Rafah in overnight strikes, killing a total of 10 people, including six children and women.
An Israeli airstrike in Gaza‘s south kills at least 9 Palestinians in Rafah, including 6 children
(today)
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
US approves Rafah op. in exchange for no Israeli counter-strikes on Iran – report
(18.04.2024)
The US has approved a potential Israeli Rafah operation in exchange for the Jewish state not conducting counterstrikes on Iran, according to a Thursday report from the Qatari newspaper The New Arab.
A senior official told The New Arab that „Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu managed to obtain American approval for a military operation in Rafah, in exchange for [Israel] refraining from carrying out a wide military operation against Iran in response to its recent attack.“
Gantz: ‚We will enter Rafah and go back to Khan Yunis‘
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz said during a press conference in Sderot on Wednesday that Hamas was militarily defeated following the IDF‘s operation in Gaza.
„From a military point of view – Hamas is defeated. Its fighters are eliminated or in hiding. Its abilities are cut off, and we will continue to strike what remains.
Gantz: Hamas has been defeated militarily but we’ll fight against remnants for years to come
However, “from a military point of view – Hamas is defeated. Its fighters are eliminated or in hiding” and its capabilities “crippled,” he continues, stating that “victory will come step by step” and that Israel “will not stop. We will enter Rafah. We will return to Khan Younis. And we will operate in Gaza. Wherever there are terrorist targets – the IDF will be there.”
US hasn‘t ruled out consequences for Israel over looming Rafah operation: What would that look like?
„It‘s very, very important,“ Ziv said of U.S. military aid to Israel. Placing conditions on it, he said, „creates a dangerous precedent for Israel because it just wasn‘t in the cards up until now.“ (…)
The U.S. could continue to abstain or even support United Nations resolutions that Israel finds unfavorable, as it did this week.
In reversal, Netanyahu sending delegation to White House for Rafah talks
(27.03.2024)
It‘s a sharp reversal by Netanyahu who on Monday canceled the same trip by the same people in protest over the U.S. not vetoing a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
The fallout over the canceled trip and a deadlock in hostage talks added to already spiraling relations between Netanyahu and the Biden administration.
With record of Gaza truce vetoes, US unveils new, ambiguous UN resolution
A copy of the new draft resolution, obtained by Al Jazeera, reads: “The Security Council determines the imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides, allow for the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance, and alleviate humanitarian suffering and towards that end unequivocally supports ongoing international diplomatic efforts to secure such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.” (…)
No vote has yet been scheduled on this text.
Blinken: U.S. submitted draft resolution to UN calling for Gaza ceasefire
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the U.S. has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council that calls „for an immediate ceasefire“ in Gaza that‘s „tied to the release“ of hostages held by Hamas.
Netanyahu says it ‘will take some time’ until IDF launches offensive in Rafah
(21.03.2024)
Two senior US officials told The Times of Israel on Tuesday that the US will present alternative plans for how Israel can continue pursuing Hamas without launching a major ground operation in Rafah during an upcoming meeting with a visiting Israeli delegation in Washington.
Israel to send team to D.C. to discuss Rafah; Blinken to return to Mideast
(19.03.2024)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted President Biden’s invitation to send a senior delegation to Washington, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, to “hear U.S. concerns” over Israel’s plans to invade Rafah, the city in southern Gaza where displaced Palestinians are concentrated.
Netanyahu says he made clear to Biden Rafah ground op crucial to destroying Hamas
“We have a disagreement with the Americans about the need to enter Rafah,” Netanyahu told the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. “Not about the need to eliminate Hamas — the need to enter Rafah. We do not see a way to eliminate Hamas militarily without destroying these remaining battalions. We are determined to do it. ”
“I made it clear to the president in our conversation, in the clearest way, that we are determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah,” said Netanyahu. “There is no way to do it, except by going in on the ground.”
Netanyahu makes it ‚supremely clear‘ to Biden that Rafah invasion necessary
Briefing lawmakers on Tuesday, Netanyahu said that he made it „supremely clear“ to US President Joe Biden „that we are determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah, and there‘s no way to do that except by going in on the ground“.
US would support limited, pinpoint IDF op against high-value targets in Rafah — report
Two Israeli officials told Politico that the Israel Defense Forces is still developing a plan for protecting the civilians.
But unnamed US officials told Politico that in private meetings, top administration officials have told the Israelis that the US would back a strategy for “counterterrorism operations” in Rafah rather than the full-scale war waged elsewhere in Gaza.
Gaza enters Ramadan amid Israeli strikes, siege
Israel has continued it‘s bombardment of Gaza on the first day of Ramadan, as hunger persists in the besieged enclave.
Israeli strikes against the Sabra neighbourhood in Gaza city has killed 16 people, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. Strikes were also reported in Gaza‘s southern city of Rafah.
The strike comes amid low aid flows into the territory, with the situation in north Gaza putting hundreds of thousands on the brink of famine, at least 20 already having died from starvation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has doubled down on Israel‘s war effort, saying that he intends to press ahead with an invasion of Rafah following Biden‘s comments that such an invasion would be a „red line“.
Israel‘s war on Gaza, which has been ongoing since 7 October, has killed 31,112 Palestinians, injuring a further 72,760.
Biden makes contradictory comments on Gaza ‚red line‘ in MSNBC interview
Biden and his aides have urged Netanyahu in strong terms not to launch a major offensive in Rafah until Israel crafts a plan for mass evacuation of civilians from the last area of Gaza it has not yet invaded with ground forces. More than half of Gaza‘s 2.3 million people are sheltering in the Rafah area.
“There‘s other ways to deal, to get to, to deal with … the trauma caused by Hamas,” Biden said, referring to the Islamist group’s Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed.
Israel could still assault Rafah even if Gaza ceasefire agreed with Hamas: Netanyahu
Israel is still planning an offensive of Rafah, now home to around 1.5 million Palestinians, even if a ceasefire is agreed, PM Netahyahu has said.
UPDATE #Israel #Palestine Death toll in Gaza climbs to 28,775 including more than 12,300 children and 8,400 women. The latest toll includes 112 people killed over the past 24 hours.
(16.02.2024)
Profoundly disappointing. @CIJ_ICJ affirms the severity of the harm endured by Palestinians & its promise 2 worsen but fails to add provisional measures. It simply doubles down on its measures ordered on 1/26. The sames ones that Israel has flagrantly violated for 2 weeks #Gaza
ICJ rejects South African request for urgent measures to limit Israeli action in Rafah
On Thursday, Israel urged the court to reject what it called South Africa’s “highly peculiar and improper” request.
Israel says it does all it can to spare civilians and is only targeting Hamas terrorists. It says Hamas’s tactic of embedding in civilian areas makes it difficult to avoid civilian casualties.
Increased airstrikes in #Rafah where nearly 1.5 million people are sheltering Intense fighting in/around Khan Younis – Nasser Hospital continues to be besieged by Israeli tanks. Reportedly 10,000 people within the hospital, including 300 medical staff
U.S., Arab nations plan for postwar Gaza, timeline for Palestinian state
(14.02.2024)
“The key is the hostage deal,” said one U.S. official among several American and Arab diplomats who discussed the subject on the condition of anonymity to avoid derailing the plan before it is completed.
War on Gaza: Why Egypt fears Israel‘s Rafah attack and what it means for their peace treaty
“The back-and-forth statements in the media are for public consumption. What matters is what’s happening behind closed doors, in intelligence coordination meetings in Cairo and other capitals.”
Likewise, Joost Hiltermann, an analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, said suspension of the treaty “won’t happen”.
“Relations between Israel and Egypt remain strong, despite what is taking place in Gaza.”
Gaza: Israel storms Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, intensifies Rafah strikes
Israeli forces have stormed the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, saying that the raid was conducted because the military had information Hamas fighters were hiding Israeli hostages in the facility, although it did not provide evidence for the claim.
The storming comes following a siege of the hospital through this week, with The New Arab‘s Arabic service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reporting that a Palestinian was killed and 14 others were injured during Israeli shelling of the orthopaedic department at the hospital this morning.
South Africa’s request to ICJ to prevent an unprecedented massacre in Rafah is welcomed by Euro-Med Monitor
In its report on 10 February, Euro-Med Monitor stressed that 15 days after the ICJ ordered Israel to take all possible measures to prevent the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has maintained its rate of killing civilians, depriving them of their most basic human rights, besieging them, and starving them.
The human rights group reported that the Israeli army has killed over 1,864 Palestinians—including 690 children and 441 women—and injured over 2,933 more since the ICJ ruling, bringing the death toll of Israel’s genocidal war against the Gaza Strip, ongoing since 7 October 2023, to 35,880, including 13,880 children and 7,910 women.
Israel’s military has continued to bomb and destroy houses even after its military operations in the southern Gaza Strip were supposedly terminated a few weeks ago, stated the rights group. The Israeli army has blown up at least 43 residential squares since the ICJ ruling, with each square containing between 20 to 50 houses, mainly in the Strip’s southern area of Khan Yunis.
War on Gaza: Palestinians in Rafah run out of shelters as Israel threatens assault
A few hundred metres from the Rafah border fence with Egypt, dozens of Palestinian families set up tents as a „last resort“ as they sought refuge from the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip after having to move multiple times from their homes and previous shelters.
But many are now considering yet another displacement as Israel threatens a military operation in the border town Rafah, which is now sheltering more than half of Gaza‘s two million residents.