2024-05-12 00:25:43
The war in Gaza has become an undisputed global event, having imposed itself on the agendas of the United Nations, the Security Council, and the International Court of Justice. It has become an item on the agenda of bilateral and expanded meetings. There is hardly a political, economic, or cultural meeting without this war being part of its discussions. .
All this momentum that this war, which has been going on for seven months, has reached, was not enough to convince Benjamin Netanyahu‘s government that bombing and invasion are not the correct solution to the outstanding issue for 76 years in which wars have been present, but they have never led to a solution.
Despite warnings from humanitarian organizations of the dangers of expanding Israeli military action to include Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, and despite Washington’s threats to reduce arms supplies to Israel if it invades Rafah, and despite the boiling of world public opinion, and the spread of pro-Palestinian demonstrations to reach the most prestigious academies in America, all of this did not work. It was not enough to convince Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to restrain his army and avoid a devastating humanitarian crisis that would be caused by the Rafah invasion.
Israel is determined to invade Rafah
Indeed, the Arabic-language spokesman for the Israeli army said on the “X” platform that the army “issued orders on Saturday for residents in more areas of the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip to evacuate and go to what it called the expanded humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi.”
Israel is preparing for a large operation in Rafah, the only semi-safe place in the Gaza Strip, which received more than a million displaced people from the devastated northern and central areas of the Strip.
American warning without penalty
At this time, the United States renewed its warnings of an expanded attack on Rafah, while France called on Israel to stop its operation in Rafah without delay and return to the negotiating table, after a similar call from the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Antonio Guterres said, “Any military operation in Rafah will lead to a massive humanitarian catastrophe,” but the Israeli War Council, despite the warnings, decided to expand the ground operation in Rafah.
The War Council respects the red lines
The Israeli War Council unanimously approved the ground operation in Rafah, but it declared its commitment to what it called “American red lines,” based on the understanding that a major attack on Rafah would be seen as a challenge to the American president by Israel.
Israeli sources said on Saturday that the US President will soon have to reconsider the decision to stop an arms shipment to Israel, revealing that there was a dialogue with the Americans during which Israel expressed its willingness to pledge not to use the weapons referred to in the Rafah operation.
A US State Department report criticized Israel’s use of American weapons, but did not find sufficient evidence of violations of the suspension of shipments.
The Security Council requests an investigation into the massacres
In a related context, the UN Security Council called for an “independent” and “immediate” investigation after the discovery of mass graves in the vicinity of the Nasser and Al-Shifa hospitals, in which “hundreds” of bodies of women, children, and the elderly were buried.
The Colombian president called on the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant against Netanyahu, and suggested that “the (International) Security Council consider establishing a peacekeeping force in Gaza,” while the International Court of Justice received a South African request to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah.
In Jerusalem, the United Nations, the European Union and Germany condemned the “attacks” against UNRWA after Israeli demonstrators tried to burn its offices.
Hamas blames Israel for the truce
Israel’s threats to seek a truce went unheeded, rendering months of active diplomacy by Egypt and Qatar useless.
The Hamas movement said on Friday that Israel’s rejection of “the mediators’ proposal, through the amendments it made to it, brought things back to square one.”
The movement added in a statement that it would hold consultations with “the leaders of the Palestinian resistance factions in order to reconsider our negotiating strategy.”
Ethical vote in the General Assembly
Within this push and pull, the United Nations General Assembly voted, by a large majority, in support of Palestine’s request for membership in the United Nations, in a decision that carries a symbolic nature due to the American veto in the Security Council.
The resolution, which stipulates that the Palestinians must “join the organization” while granting them additional rights as an observer state, received the support of 143 members, while nine members objected and 25 abstained from voting.
The United Nations vote did not please Israel, as the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, on Friday, denounced the assembly’s vote that granted new rights to the Palestinians in the international organization.
“This matter is disgusting,” Erdan said from the podium of the international organization, accusing the General Assembly of “granting state rights to an entity that is mainly partially controlled by terrorists.”
Gaza without aid, closed crossings
Following the Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah, the Israeli army briefly closed the Kerem Shalom crossing and took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Last Tuesday, the Israeli army announced a limited ground operation in Rafah, which led to the closure of the crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which is one of the main crossing points for humanitarian aid.
According to UN data, the number of aid trucks entering Gaza reached its peak last week since October with a total of 1,674 aid trucks entering Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings, the main entry points for aid into the Strip.
But since Sunday, no aid trucks have entered Gaza from either entry point, even after Israel said it reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday, according to a New York Times report.
An irreparable human loss
The human loss remains the most influential on global public opinion, as the death rate in Gaza has become the highest in the world, and life has become nothing more than a miserable attempt to survive that may not succeed, in a small area of the earth receiving the largest amount of explosive materials since World War II.
The Gaza Ministry of Health said that at least 34,943 Palestinians were killed and 78,572 wounded in the Israeli military attack on the Strip since October 7.
Last updated: May 11, 2024 – 14:29
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2024-05-12 00:25:43