International criticism of planned Israeli offensive in Rafah
Published: Sunday, Feb 11th 2024, 23:00
Updated At: Sunday, Feb 11th 2024, 23:00
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Israel's plans for a military offensive on the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons have sought refuge, have met with international criticism. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned of a "humanitarian catastrophe with an announcement". Her British counterpart David Cameron expressed his deep concern. The Swiss Foreign Ministry is calling for the rules of international humanitarian law to be respected under all circumstances
There are around 1.3 million people in Rafah who are trying to escape the fighting in the Gaza Strip, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) emphasized on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. The city on the border with Egypt is also crucial for aid supplies to reach the Palestinian territory. Before the war, Rafah only had around 300,000 inhabitants.
Cameron argued similarly. "More than half of Gaza's population seeks refuge in the area," he wrote on X.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Israeli armed forces on Friday to prepare a "plan to evacuate the population" in Rafah. He argued that Israel would not be able to achieve its war aims if Hamas positions remained in the city.
According to eyewitnesses, Israel has already attacked targets in the city from the air on several occasions. However, Israeli ground troops have not yet been deployed there.
"The people in Gaza cannot vanish into thin air"
Baerbock, meanwhile, warned that the hardship in Rafah is already unbelievable. "The people in Gaza cannot disappear into thin air," she wrote on X on Saturday.
The US government had already spoken out clearly against military action in Rafah before Netanyahu's announcement. President Joe Biden called for a convincing protection project for the civilian population.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres had warned of a further deterioration in the humanitarian situation and the consequences for the region. Egypt fears that a massive military operation in Rafah could lead to an influx of desperate Palestinians to the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.
"We are not reckless in this matter," assured the Israeli head of government in an interview with the US broadcaster ABC. The civilian population would be granted a "safe corridor so that they can leave the area". When asked where the Palestinians in Rafah should go, Netanyahu said that "a detailed plan" was being drawn up - without giving away any further information.
Palestinians: More than 20 dead in airstrikes in Rafah
Rafah's mayor Ahmed al-Sufi warned that a military operation in the city would lead to a massacre. More than 20 people are said to have been killed in air strikes on two houses on Saturday. The mayor confirmed the number of victims.
Israel has once again made serious accusations against the UN Palestinian Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military announced on Saturday evening that a tunnel had been discovered under its headquarters in the city of Gaza, which Hamas had used as a data center for the militia's military intelligence service.
The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini from Switzerland, explained that the aid organization's staff had already evacuated the headquarters on October 12 on the orders of the Israeli military. Whenever a suspicious cavity was found near or under the site in the past, letters of protest were immediately sent to the parties to the conflict.
Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz rejected this as "absurd" and called for the UNRWA chief to be replaced.
The UN aid organization has recently come under heavy criticism. Specifically, some employees were accused of being involved in the unprecedented Hamas massacre in southern Israel on October 7.
Relatives urge release of Gaza hostages
According to reports in the Israeli media, a delegation from the forum of the families of hostages still being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip plans to travel to the headquarters of the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Wednesday. By filing a lawsuit against the leaders of the militia, the relatives want to obtain arrest warrants against the Islamists. This should increase the pressure to obtain the release of the hostages.
Terrorists from Hamas and other groups killed 1,200 people and abducted a further 250 during their attack on Israel on October 7. Since then, Israel's military has launched massive air strikes and a ground offensive against Hamas and its allies in the Gaza Strip.
During a ceasefire in November, 105 hostages were released in return for 240 Palestinian prisoners. There are currently 136 people still held by Hamas, of whom Israel estimates that at least 30 are no longer alive. According to Palestinian figures, the number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip has risen to more than 28,000 since the start of the war.
Egypt, Qatar and the USA are once again trying to bring about a longer ceasefire. As part of an agreement, the hostages held in the Gaza Strip are to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Negotiations are making slow progress.
In the event of military action in Rafah, Hamas has now threatened to break off negotiations: any attack could destroy the negotiations, the Palestinian television station Al-Aksa, which is regarded as the mouthpiece of the Islamists, quoted an unnamed high-ranking Hamas member.
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