International pressure is growing for a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas. China called on Israel on Tuesday February 13 to stop its military operation in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip. This city is the last refuge for more than a million people living in the landlocked territory.
“China closely follows developments in the Rafah region, opposes and condemns actions that harm civilians and violate international lawsaid a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry in a statement. China calls on Israel to end its military operation as soon as possible, do everything possible to avoid innocent civilian casualties, so as to prevent an even more serious humanitarian catastrophe in the Rafah region. »
During a joint speech at the White House, King Abdullah II called for a “sustainable ceasefire immediately” in Gaza in front of Joe Biden, who preferred to evoke a break “at least six weeks” as part of an agreement, which remains to be reached, on the release of the hostages still held in the enclave. Israel estimates that around 130 hostages are still being held in Gaza, 29 of whom are believed to have died, out of around 250 people kidnapped in Israel on October 7.
Offensive in preparation
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently ordered the army to prepare an offensive on Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians are massed according to the UN, or more than half of the territory’s total population. He reiterated on Monday his determination to continue “military pressure until complete victory” against Hamas, of which Rafah is the “last bastion”To free “all our hostages”.
A few hours earlier, Israel had released two of its hostages, two Israeli-Argentinians, in Rafah. This nighttime commando operation was accompanied by bombings which left around a hundred dead, according to the Hamas authorities, in power in Gaza since 2007. The Israeli offensive left 28,340 dead in the Gaza Strip, the vast majority civilians. , according to the health ministry in the Hamas-administered Gaza Strip.