The Israeli Army will launch a broad incursion into Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, next month if the hostages remaining in the hands of Hamas are not freed, War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz warned. The full-fledged offensive in the town that houses most of the population would coincide with Ramadan, a sacred date for Muslims. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) began hearings on Monday, February 19, on the Israeli occupation of lands claimed for an eventual Palestinian state.
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The Israeli Government issues an ultimatum to the Hamas group. The Islamist movement frees the more than 100 kidnapped people who remain in its possession or the IDF They will launch a broad offensive in Rafah next month, coinciding with the holy date of Ramadan. This was warned by the war cabinet minister, Benny Gantz.
While the town in southern Gaza – where around 1.7 million of the 2.3 million Gazans are trapped – is already under attack by Israeli troops, this would be a full-fledged ground incursion.
“The world should know, and Hamas leaders should know: if our hostages are not home by Ramadan, fighting will continue everywhere, including the Rafah area,” Gantz said during a conference of Jewish-American leaders. on Sunday, February 18.
Gantz, a retired chief of staff of the Israeli Army, said that An offensive would be carried out in a “coordinated” manner and in conversation with the governments of the United States and Egypt.two of the mediators of the conflict along with Qatar, to facilitate the evacuation of the inhabitants in that area of the enclave and “minimize civilian victims as much as possible.”
That has been precisely the reason outlined by Washington in recent weeks to ensure that it does not support an armed operation in Rafah. An apparent reversal in his strong support for the Israeli response to the Hamas attack in Gaza last October.
However, the enclave is devastated and Rafah, in the far south, near the border with Egypt, is the last corner where the Gazans found relative shelter.. Without the option to leave their territory, it is unclear where they would be evacuated to.
In recent days, security sources cited by the Reuters news agency indicated that Egypt is preparing an area in the border area that could house Palestinians, as a contingency measure before the imminent incursion into Rafah.
However, Cairo has not confirmed this and satellite images, analyzed by the AP news agency, show the construction of a wall and the leveling of land near the border that, on the contrary, could contain a possible escape in mass of Palestinians.
Fears over the magnitude of lives at risk have led some governments and aid organizations to repeatedly urge Israel not to enter Rafah, the last major city not to be overrun by ground troops during the more than four-month war. in progress.
But even with international pressure, including a direct call from President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that his offensive cannot be completed without attacking Rafah, where he claims the last strongholds of Hamas militants are.
ICJ begins hearings on “Israel policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory”
Hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) continue this Monday on “an advisory procedure on the legal consequences arising from Israel's policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.”
The process is carried out at the request of the UN General Assembly. This is the second time that this body has asked the high court based in The Hague for an advisory opinion related to the territories controlled by Israel, which Palestinians demand the formation of their eventual state. Actions that they claim have increased since the escalation of the conflict in Gaza began.
Likewise, the Assembly asked the panel of 15 judges to advise on how these situations “affect the legal status of the occupation” and what legal consequences arise from that situation for all countries and the United Nations.
However, there has been no progress so far. In July 2004, the ICJ ruled that Israel's separation wall in the West Bank violated international law. and was to be dismantled, but that fence still stands to this day.
“Palestine was not a land without a people. There was life on this land.”
Palestinian FM Riyad al-Maliki gave the first submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at a landmark hearing on Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/3p2TBn46Bs
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 19, 2024
Now, the UN asks judges to review the “occupation, settlement and annexation (…) Including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and its adoption of discriminatory legislation and measures related”.
A total of 51 countries and two international organizations will participate in the hearings. Also the Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki, who this Monday accused Israel of subjecting the Palestinians to decades of discrimination and apartheid. Allegations that Israel rejects.
“The only solution consistent with International Law is for this illegal occupation to come to an immediate, unconditional and total end,” al-Maliki said.
The justices are expected to deliberate for several months before issuing their opinion on this case.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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