Since the beginning of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, the number of Palestinian casualties has exceeded 28.6 thousand. Such data was released by the enclave's Ministry of Health.
“The number of victims of bombing and shelling by the Israeli army in various areas of the sector today is 28,663,” the TASS department reports.
In addition, during this period, 68.4 thousand people were injured in the Palestinian enclave. According to the Ministry of Health, over the past day alone, 87 people were killed in the Gaza Strip, and another 104 were injured.
Controversial Plan
Against the backdrop of the ongoing operation of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Gaza Strip and new civilian casualties, The Washington Post reported that the United States, along with a number of Middle Eastern countries, will allegedly soon be ready to present a settlement plan between the Israelis and Palestinians.
“The Biden administration and a small group of Middle Eastern partners are rushing to finalize a detailed, comprehensive plan for establishing long-term peace between Israel and the Palestinians, including a specific timeline for the creation of a Palestinian state, and could presumably announce this in the next few weeks,” states publication with reference to American officials.
Destruction in Rafah
AP
© Fatima Shbair
According to sources in The Washington Post, the first stage of this plan will be to establish a ceasefire for a period of six weeks, which will allow time for the peace initiative to be fully publicized and to gain widespread support for it. In addition, the plan allegedly provides for a clear time frame for the creation of an interim Palestinian government. The newspaper's sources also claim that as part of this initiative, the United States intends to recognize Palestine as a state.
At the same time, Washington officials fear that the expansion of the IDF operation in the southern Palestinian enclave of Rafah will aggravate the situation and make this peace initiative unviable.
Earlier, in early February, the Israeli authorities announced plans to bring the army into Rafah with the aim of destroying the Hamas battalions located there. Gaza authorities estimate that at least 1.3 million civilians remain in the city. On the night of February 12, Israeli aircraft carried out strikes on the city. According to Arab media, about 100 people were killed and more than 230 were injured.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 15, on his page on the social network X (formerly Twitter), announced that fighting in the Gaza Strip would continue until complete victory, including in Rafah.
At the same time, a number of countries, various international organizations and associations, including the UN and the EU, are opposed to the military operation in Rafah. They believe that an attack on the city will be accompanied by a large number of civilian casualties and will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.
In turn, Egypt, on whose border Rafah is located, threatened to suspend the peace agreement with Israel if the IDF entered the city. Egyptian authorities fear that the assault on the city will lead to an uncontrollable influx of refugees. Egyptian authorities sent additional military forces to the border with Israel, including about 40 tanks and armored personnel carriers.
The Washington Post notes that, in addition to the planned clearing of the city of Rafah, the peace plan being developed by the United States could jeopardize Israel's position on recognizing Palestinian statehood with its capital in East Jerusalem.
Let us remember that Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that he will not allow the creation of a Palestinian state. In January, the Israeli leader spoke about this again immediately after negotiations with US President Joe Biden, who had previously, in a conversation with reporters, admitted the possibility of realizing a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Subsequently, on February 10, Netanyahu again recalled his position on ABC News.
“Everyone who talks about a two-state solution... I want to ask: what do you mean by this? Should Palestinians have an army? Could they sign a military pact with Iran? Can they import missiles from North Korea and other deadly weapons? Should they continue to train their children for the purpose of terrorism and destruction? Of course not, I will answer you,” the Israeli prime minister emphasized.
Reports of a peace plan under the auspices of the United States were also met with skepticism in the Middle East. Thus, the former head of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and ex-Secretary General of the League of Arab States Amr Musa recalled that peace processes and plans on the Palestinian-Israeli issue were initiated earlier.
“The ‘peace process’ rhetoric was used for ten years in the 1990s and came to nothing. It was just a trick,” The Washington Post quoted an Egyptian diplomat as saying.
"Not the slightest chance of survival"
Military expert Ivan Konovalov, in a conversation with RT, expressed confidence that the number of Palestinian casualties will continue to grow as the IDF develops military activity on the approaches to the city of Rafah.
“The Israelis have been preparing for the assault for quite some time, and they have announced their intentions to enter this city. But even if they achieve their goals in Rafah, this will not mean the end of the conflict as a whole,” the expert believes.
Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip
AP
He also recalled the irreconcilable positions of both sides of this conflict, which complicates the organization of the negotiation process.
“Moreover, the position of the United States is quite confusing and only aggravates the situation. The only approach that can somehow atone for the terrible sacrifices of the conflict is recognition of a Palestinian state. But the Israeli side will categorically not agree to this, so it is hard to believe that an agreement containing such a clause can be presented. This must be some kind of very cunning paper, where everything is veiled,” the political scientist argues.
It is obvious that the United States and other participants in the process are betting on some kind of freezing of the conflict, but the Palestinian side will not agree to this, says Ivan Konovalov.
According to political observer and Arabist Vyacheslav Matuzov, the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was determined a long time ago, including at the level of the United Nations.
“This decision is not based on the abstract recognition of the Palestinians’ right to create their own state and the formation of some kind of transitional government, but on the real formation of a country on a specific territory. This is the territory of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Therefore, Washington’s initiative has no chance of implementation, since it is built on an unclear geographical contour,” the specialist explained.
From his point of view, the United States is taking on obligations that it is unable to fulfill.
“They are trying to resolve the Palestinian problem, pushing aside the world community and the UN. This project for a peace plan and solution to the Palestinian problem does not have the slightest chance of survival,” Matuzov believes.
The head of the department of political analysis and socio-psychological processes at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Andrei Koshkin, for his part, emphasized that the United States denies the obvious.
“The United States simply staged a kind of game on the field of world politics. Israel categorically does not want to hear about the creation of a Palestinian state. Therefore, Washington will present a plan that obviously cannot be implemented. Most likely, this is being done in order to relieve tension around the conflict and give Israel the opportunity to complete its operation, with which the IDF is experiencing certain difficulties,” the political scientist explained in a conversation with RT.
At the same time, throughout the conflict, Washington did not take any real steps to curb Israel’s indiscriminate actions against the Palestinians, which led to tens of thousands of victims, Koshkin recalled.
“No measures were taken by Washington to complete this murderous operation. Now, as this plan moves forward, the impression of some kind of fading of the conflict will be created, which will be promoted in the Western media. In reality, military operations to exterminate the Palestinians will continue there,” the expert concluded.