Leaders of the world press Israel to forgo the “catastrophic” Rafah operation

A swelling chorus of international outrage greeted Israel’s decision to go forward with a “powerful” operation in Gaza’s Rafah on Thursday, with officials admonishing the 1.5 million Palestinians who are besieged there of disastrous repercussions.

In a rare united statement, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand urged Israel “not to go down this path” in an effort to stop further widespread civilian deaths.
“An expanded military operation would be devastating,” they said. “There is simply nowhere else for civilians to go.”

Israel’s continuous military assault has forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into Gaza’s southernmost city, where they are taking refuge in an expansive improvised camp close to the Egyptian border.

Israel is certain that it must advance into Rafah and destroy Hamas forces in spite of opposition from international countries and humanitarian organizations.
“We will fight until complete victory, and this includes a powerful action also in Rafah after we allow the civilian population to leave the battle zones,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Wednesday.

His claims of an impending invasion coincide with efforts by mediators to bring an end to the four-month conflict, which has destroyed large portions of Gaza, driven out the majority of the inhabitants, and driven many to the verge of hunger.
The likelihood of crimes is “serious, real, and high” should the Israeli attack on Rafah proceed, according to Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the UN special advisor on the prevention of genocide, who made this statement on Wednesday.

“Irrational requests”
US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators are working in Cairo to mediate a cease-fire that would free the approximately 130 hostages still held in Gaza in return for Israeli-held Palestinian inmates.
Netanyahu’s office released a statement saying, “Israel did not receive in Cairo any new proposal of Hamas on the release of our hostages,” in response to claims in Israeli media that the team was instructed not to reenter discussions unless Hamas softened its position.

Netanyahu said, “I insist that Hamas drop their delusional demands, and when they drop these demands we can move forward,” without explicitly addressing the claims.
While a Hamas team was in Cairo on Wednesday, CIA director William Burns held discussions with Israel’s Mossad chief intelligence officer, David Barnea, on Tuesday.
Mahmud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, which rules the Israeli-occupied West Bank, urged Hamas to “rapidly” accept a ceasefire in order to prevent further suffering for Palestinians.

Meanwhile, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation said that Christopher Wray, the agency’s director, had unexpectedly traveled to Israel to speak with the intelligence and law enforcement organizations there.
Wray also had a meeting with FBI personnel stationed in Tel Aviv, the agency said.
‘Besieged’ hospitals
As the third day of ceasefire talks approaches, Israel’s military has continued to attack Gaza.
According to the health ministry administered by Hamas, 107 people were murdered in nighttime assaults, “mostly women and children,” on Thursday.
It also said that the shelling of the orthopaedics department of Nasser Hospital resulted in one fatality and several injuries.
The biggest hospital in southern Gaza, the medical institution has been the scene of intense combat for weeks.
The Israeli military’s order to remove thousands of patients, employees, and displaced residents from the hospital has been denounced by Doctors Without Borders.
According to the organization, patients are still being treated there “in near impossible conditions” by its personnel.
The hospital has been “besieged” for a month, according to nurse Mohammed al-Astal, and there is no more food or drink available.
“At night, tanks opened heavy fire on the hospital and snipers on the roofs of buildings surrounding Nasser Hospital opened fire and killed three displaced people,” according to him.
Although its Palestine representative said that the majority of the organization’s mission requests have been turned down since January, the World Health Organization has claimed it was refused entry to the hospital and that it has lost communication with its employees there.
Rik Peeperkorn remarked that Gaza’s hospitals were “completely overwhelmed” when speaking from Rafah.
According to him, patients were routinely having limbs amputated that should not have been done in the first place.
In Gaza, where the most recent toll from the health ministry indicates that over 68,200 people have been injured, the United Nations reported a week ago that there were no longer any fully operational facilities.
According to the ministry, since October 7, Israel has attacked Palestinian land, resulting in the deaths of at least 28,576 individuals, the majority of whom were women and children.
An AFP calculation based on official Israeli numbers indicates that 1,160 people, largely civilians, died in Israel as a consequence of the Hamas strike that started the conflict.

“Northern War”
High regional tensions resulted in the Israeli army declaring on Wednesday that one Israeli soldier was killed by rocket fire from Lebanon, while Lebanese media reported that nine people had been killed by Israeli attacks, seven of them civilians.

Hezbollah and Israeli military have engaged in almost daily gunfire since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides.
However, concerns of a wider battle between Israel and the terrorist organization Hezbollah were stoked by the highest number of civilian deaths in Lebanon in a single day since October.
Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said that Israel is “now focused on being ready for war in the north” during a meeting with commanders close to the Lebanese border.