War in the Middle East: Gaza, at least 11 dead in Israel's raid on Rafah

Benyamin Netanyahu challenges the US and orders the evacuation of Rafah in view of the Israeli military offensive against Hamas in the southern city of the Strip where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are crammed. The Israeli prime minister therefore continues in the face of the obvious intolerance if not the open opposition of American President Joe Biden, who defined Israel's response to the October 7 attacks as “exaggerated”. Netanyahu informed the ministers of the political cabinet of the imminent “massive operation” in the last city of the Strip before Egypt, the starting point of which could be nearby Khan Yunis, where fighting continues.

“It is not possible – explained the head of the Israeli government – to achieve the objective of eliminating Hamas and at the same time leave four of its battalions in Rafah”. Then he added that it is “clear that a massive operation in Rafah forces the eviction of civilians from the combat zones.” The prime minister spoke of a “double plan”: one for the elimination of the Hamas battalions, the other for the evacuation of the civilian population. For this reason he ordered the defense apparatus to prepare measures to evacuate the hundreds of thousands of civilians in Rafah, in whose governorate, according to Unicef, “there are 600 thousand children”.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant briefed his US counterpart Lloyd Austin last night. A choice dictated by the initial reactions of Washington, which had declared that it knew nothing of the decision, however defining it as a harbinger of “a humanitarian disaster”. Gallant reiterated to Austin his desire to achieve “the objectives of the war, the destruction of Hamas, the release of the hostages” and illustrated to him “the developments of the war”. He resists the reaction of the head of the White House, who branded Israel's military conduct as “an exaggerated response”. Biden explained that he pushed «to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. I convinced Netanyahu, I put strong pressure” but “there are still many innocent people dying of hunger, innocent women and children who desperately need help”.

However, American pressure does not seem to have an effect on the Israeli government, as does the vehement condemnation of Abu Mazen's Palestinian National Authority of the intention to attack Rafah: «It is a dangerous prelude to the implementation of the Israeli policy aimed at displacing the Palestinian people from his land”, accused the Ramallah presidency. «The news of an Israeli military offensive on Rafah is alarming – EU High Representative Josep Borrell also tweeted -. It would have catastrophic consequences, worsening the already disastrous humanitarian situation and the unbearable toll on civilians.”

Biden's reaction was instead welcomed with satisfaction by Egypt, which is on the other side of Rafah and which made it known that it had strengthened security measures at the crossing with the Strip. For some time now, however, Cairo – where talks for a new ceasefire proposal continue – has increased protection along the entire border with Israel with the aim of preventing the passage of Palestinian refugees fleeing the war into the Sinai. On the 126th day of conflict, the army continued to pound Rafah from the sky: Al Jazeera reported “at least 8 people killed and 18 others injured in raids on two houses” in the city. Among the victims, according to the Palestinian agency Wafa, “at least three children”. While in the increasingly bitter clash between Israel and the UN, Knesset Speaker Ami Ohana announced that he had canceled a meeting in New York with Secretary General Antonio Guterres. «I wanted to try to persuade him but yesterday – Ohana said – he again appealed to Israel to stop the fighting and criticized it. There are lost causes and red lines.”

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