Israel against Italian UN official
Israel has decided to deny entry into the country to Francesca Albanese, envoy of the UN human rights council. The decision, the Foreign and Interior Ministries said, is linked “to her outrageous claims that 'the victims of the October 7 massacre were not killed for their Jewishness but in response to Israeli oppression'”.
Replying two days ago to a post from Le Monde, Albanese wrote: “The 'largest anti-Semitic massacre of our century'? No, Mr. Emmanuel Macron. The victims of 7/10 were not killed because of their Judaism, but in response to Israel's oppression. France and the international community did nothing to prevent it. My respects to the victims.”
London raises its tone: “Enough is enough, Israel stops”
The UK is “very concerned” about the situation of Palestinian civilians in Rafah, who “have nowhere left to go”. The British Foreign Minister, David Cameron, said this, raising his tone towards the Israeli government in the wake of the USA. “It is impossible to see how a war can be fought between people”, Cameron added, referring to the civilians of the Gaza Strip and urging Israel to “stop and reflect very seriously before any further military action: we want an immediate pause in the fighting leading to a sustainable truce without resumption of hostilities”. Israel releases 2 hostages. And in the meantime it bombs Rafah. Frost between Biden and Netanyahu
Israel heavily bombs the Rafah area, in preparation for the ground operation. Biden and Netanyahu are at loggerheads. But in the meantime, another action by the Israeli army allowed the release of two hostages, who are in good condition: a night blitz conducted right in the city in the south of the enclave. Fernando Simon Marman (60 years old) and Norberto Louis Har (70 years old) were rescued thanks to a joint operation carried out by the army, the Shin Bet and the Israeli police; they had been abducted from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on October 7, the second such operation since then.
The (growing) tensions between Washington and Tel Aviv
Meanwhile, Biden and Netanyahu appear at loggerheads. The US president judges the military campaign in Gaza to be “exaggerated” and puts pressure on the prime minister who is preparing to invade Rafah, to “protect civilians”. However, Israel does not stop, despite the fact that thousands of Palestinians fleeing the fighting in the rest of the enclave have found refuge in the city area, a small plot of land. The bombings during the night caused the death – according to Palestinian sources – of at least fifty people.
Biden and Netanyahu, who had not spoken to each other for more than three weeks, were on the phone for three-quarters of an hour. It wasn't an easy conversation. The White House is increasingly alarmed by Israel's plans and much of the 45-minute conversation focused on the proposal for an extended humanitarian pause that would allow the release of hostages still held.
Biden asks for the protection of the Palestinians, but it is not clear, as the White House itself has admitted, how civilians – 1.3 million, crowded into makeshift shelters, kept alive by an increasingly scarce trickle of aid – could be spared . The president and prime minister had a rather tense back-and-forth, Biden telling Netanyahu that the US would not support such an operation unless Israel had a plan for civilians “that was actually planned, prepared and implementable.” .
The position of Egypt
Meanwhile, Egypt has threatened to suspend its peace treaty with Israel if it sends troops to Rafah. The threat to suspend the Camp David agreements, a cornerstone of regional stability for almost half a century, came after Netanyahu said that sending troops to Rafah was essential, it was the key to defeating Hamas, which would still have four battalions. Hamas has also threatened to “break up” the talks in the event of an invasion. Hope hangs precisely on the talks which could resume on Tuesday in Cairo with the arrival of William Burns, the director of the CIA. Burns is Biden's point person in efforts to secure a deal: Sending him to Cairo puts pressure on mediators in Qatar and Egypt to convince Hamas and the Islamist movement to sign a deal that Israel can consider acceptable.
An Israeli delegation is also expected to arrive in Cairo on Tuesday: the head of the Mossad David Barnea, the director of the Shin Bet Ronen Bar and General Nitzan Alon, the military leader in charge of the defense who is entrusted with the negotiations. The Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, and the Egyptian spy chief Abbas Kamel are also expected to participate.
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