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Destruction following an Israeli airstrike in Rafah on the night of February 9, 2024

Photo: Ahmad Hasaballah / Getty Images

The Israeli army has increased its attacks on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. In addition to the air strikes that began on Thursday night, tanks are shelling the east of the city. The UN, the USA and France expressed concern about the increased Israeli attacks and warned of a “catastrophe”.

»Half the population of the Gaza Strip is now crammed into Rafah with nowhere else to go. Reports that the Israeli military wants to attack Rafah next are alarming," wrote UN Secretary General António Guterres on the news platform X, formerly Twitter. "Such an action would further exacerbate the humanitarian nightmare and could have unimagined consequences for the entire region."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered an expansion of military operations in the southern Gaza Strip the day before. The Israeli armed forces had been instructed to "prepare" for an operation in Rafah and two refugee camps, he said in a televised speech.

According to UN figures, there are now more than 1.3 million Palestinian internal refugees in the city, which once had a population of 200,000. According to Netanyahu, the area contains the “last remaining bastions of Hamas.” Egypt fears that a massive military operation in Rafah could lead to a rush of desperate Palestinians to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

Air raids and tank shelling

According to a report in The Times of Israel newspaper, the armed forces carried out air strikes on Rafah on Thursday. Tanks also attacked the east of the city. Given the large number of refugees, the US government also warned of a massive offensive. "We believe that a military operation at this time would be a catastrophe for these people," said National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby. "We wouldn't support that."

US President Joe Biden sharpened his tone towards Israel and generally described the actions in Gaza as “excessive”. There are many innocent people who are starving, in need or even dying. "That has to stop."

The day before, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had struck a noticeably critical tone during a visit to Israel and urged the Israeli leadership to do more to protect civilians in the Gaza war. The dehumanization that Israel experienced in the Hamas massacre in October cannot be "a license" to dehumanize others, Blinken said. The daily sacrifices that the military operations demanded of the innocent civilian population are “still too high.”

The French government was also “very concerned” about the ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip and particularly near the Rafah border crossing. "Rafah is an important place for the transport of aid to the Gaza Strip," said French Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine. It is a violation of international law to prevent civilians from receiving humanitarian aid.

The war between Israel and Hamas has now lasted four months. On October 7th, fighters from Hamas, which the EU and the USA classify as a terrorist organization, and other militant Palestinian groups attacked Israel and carried out numerous massacres. According to Israeli reports, they killed around 1,160 people, including many civilians. Around 250 people were also kidnapped as hostages in the Gaza Strip.

In response to the attack, Israel launched a massive military operation in the Palestinian territory with the stated aim of destroying Hamas. According to Hamas' latest figures, which cannot be independently verified, more than 27,800 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the Israeli offensive began.

Netanyahu under pressure

In an effort to achieve a new ceasefire, a new round of talks was scheduled to start on Thursday in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt appeals to "both sides to achieve the necessary flexibility" for an agreement on "calm" in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages and detainees, a Cairo representative told the AFP news agency.

Meanwhile, in Israel, a number of people demonstrated for and against a possible hostage agreement with Hamas. In Jerusalem, thousands protested against negotiations with Israel's enemies and for a continuation of the Gaza war, several Israeli media reported. At the same time, hundreds of people in Tel Aviv protested for a deal to secure the release of the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip. Israel's war cabinet met on Thursday evening to discuss a possible deal with Hamas. Demonstrators accused Netanyahu of placing his political survival above the fate of the hostages. Netanyahu's right-wing extremist coalition members are now threatening to collapse the government coalition if the prime minister makes concessions to Hamas as part of a hostage deal.

col/dpa/AFP