Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured Sunday that the Palestinians crowded into Rafah would be evacuated before any military operation against this city in the south of the besieged Gaza Strip. In the last 24 hours, more than 90 Palestinians, including twelve members of the same family, were killed in Israeli air raids which hit several areas of the Gaza Strip including Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinians are massed, said Hamas.
Such an operation will not be carried out “by leaving the population locked in place”
More than five months after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, triggered by a bloody attack by this movement, the human toll continues to rise in the Palestinian territory threatened by famine, with 31,645 dead since October 7 , according to Hamas. While reaffirming his determination to launch a ground offensive in Rafah, “the last bastion of Hamas” according to Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu assured Sunday, alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, that such an operation will not be carried out “by leaving the population locked in place.”
But the international community fears the prospect of such an assault. The pressure comes mainly from the United States, Israel’s main allies, which reiterates its opposition to any offensive in Rafah which would endanger the civilians who are refugees there. “A large number of victims in such an offensive would make any prospect of peace in the region very difficult,” Olaf Scholz told journalists during a stopover in Jordan.
“No international pressure will prevent us from achieving all the objectives of our war (…) We will act in Rafah, it will take a few weeks but it will happen,” Mr. Netanyahu said during a meeting of his government, according to its services. On Friday, he approved “the action plans” for this offensive, involving an “evacuation of the population”.
“What do they want from us?”
Most of the 1.7 million displaced by the war according to the UN have found refuge in the town of Rafah located on Egypt’s closed border and bombarded daily by the Israeli army. Before dawn, raids were intense in Deir al-Balah in the center, Gaza City in the north and Khan Younes and Rafah in the south, according to witnesses. Fighting took place between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters in several sectors.
At least 92 Palestinians were killed, the majority civilians, Hamas said. Among them, 12 members of the Thabet family whose home was destroyed at dawn by bombs in Deir al-Balah, according to the same source. Leen Thabet says through tears that her cousin was killed in the strike. “She is dead. All that remains is her dress,” said the little girl, pointing to a white dress taken from the rubble. “What do they want from us? There are no more children in Gaza.” The Israeli army claimed to have killed “18 terrorists” in central Gaza since Saturday.
On October 7, Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza carried out an unprecedented attack in southern Israel, during which at least 1,160 people were killed, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on sources. official. According to Israel, around 250 people have been kidnapped and 130 of them are still being held in Gaza, of whom 33 are believed to have died, including a 22-year-old soldier whose death was announced by the Israeli army on Sunday.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007 and which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union. He launched a massive air campaign, followed 20 days later by a ground offensive that allowed his soldiers to advance from the north to the south of the Palestinian territory approximately 40 km long and 10 wide. The Israeli government decided on Sunday to establish a national day of remembrance to mark each year “the catastrophe” of October 7.
German Chancellor calls for ‘hostage agreement and lasting ceasefire’
Faced with the devastating war, the mediating countries – United States, Qatar, Egypt – are trying to reach a new truce after that of a week at the end of November. The security cabinet was to determine on Sunday evening the “mandate” of the Israeli delegation which must go to Doha for new discussions. The German Chancellor called for a “hostage agreement and a lasting ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip, following a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu.
The latter indicated, however, that he would not accept an agreement “that makes Israel weak and incapable of defending itself.” Hamas said it was ready, in a new proposal, for a six-week truce, during which 42 hostages – women, children, the elderly and the sick – would be released in exchange for 20 to 50 Palestinian prisoners for each hostage released. . It also demands “the withdrawal of the army from towns and populated areas”, the “return of the displaced” and the entry of 500 aid trucks per day into Gaza, according to one of its executives.
Israel controls the entry of land aid into Gaza, which remains very insufficient given the immense needs of the 2.4 million inhabitants, the vast majority of whom are threatened with famine according to the UN. Leaving Cyprus, a boat from the Spanish NGO Open Arms carrying 200 tonnes of food from the organization World Central Kitchen arrived in the Gaza Strip on Friday and is to be followed by a second, on a date which is not known . In addition, several countries continue to airdrop food into Gaza. Despite these efforts, the UN believes that aid by land remains vital.