There is no humanitarian crisis in Rafah although almost 500,000 have fled the city in recent days as Isael’s military gains traction in the southern Gaza city, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.
The Biden administration and much of the world has repeatedly urged Israel to abandon plans for a major invasion of the city, fearing a worsening of the humanitarian crisis that has swept across Gaza since the war began.
“The civilian population is being evacuated and (we are) fulfilling our obligation to its humanitarian needs,” Netanyahu said. “The humanitarian catastrophe that has been spoken of has not been realized, nor will it.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, spreaking Wednesday from Ukraine, said Israel’s self-proclaimed “limited operation” in Rafah has had a “negative impact.” Blinken warned that Israel needs a clear plan for the future of Gaza or face chaos. So did Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who on Wednesday accused his own government of avoiding the discussion of a post-war Palestinian administration in Gaza.
But Netanyahu countered that until Hamas is driven from military control of Gaza, no one will take on the task of civil management of Gaza out of fear for their lives.
“Therefore, all the talk about ‘the day after,’ while Hamas remains intact, will remain mere words devoid of content,” Netanyahu said. “There is one alternative to victory – defeat, military, diplomatic and national defeat. My government will not agree to this.”
Egypt rips Israel:Says Israel trying to deflect blame for Gaza crisis
Developments:
∎ Palestinians on Wednesday marked the 76th anniversary of Nakba Day− the Day of Catastrophe − when the Arab-Israeli war began that led to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians being driven from their homes in what is now Israel.
∎ Netanyahu’s office said he will present a controversial bill that seeks to conscript ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military. The issue has drawn protests from the ultra-Orthodox community, about 13% of Israel’s 10 million people.
∎ The European Union’s chief diplomat urged Israel to end its military operation in Rafah immediately. Josep Borrell said Israel must “refrain from further exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation.”
Israel’s 75th anniversary:Israelis ask: Is this still a democracy?
Drone video shows Hamas militants at UN building
The Israeli military on Wednesday released drone video appearing to show Hamas militants at a Rafah-area compound of the U.N. Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, drawing an accusation that the U.N. is itself a “terrorist entity.”
“Terrorists were identified in the central logistics complex of the UNRA agency next to U.N. vehicles,” the Israeli military said in a statement. The building also had a large “U.N.” sign on its roof.
UNRWA, which said it was examining the footage, has repeatedly denied claims it cooperates with Hamas. Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the men were there to protect aid distribution.
“The U.N. not only collaborates with terrorists, but its facilities in Gaza are terror compounds!” Gilan Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., wrote on social media. “Will Antonio Guterres, who is always so quick to condemn Israel, finally call out the organization he leads? The UN has become a weapon in the hands of terrorists!”
Arms for Israel:Biden goes ahead with more than $1B in weapons to Israel
US to send another $1 billion in weapons to Israel
The Biden administration has informed Congress it intends to transfer more than $1 billion in weapons to Israel, a week after President Joe Biden said he was pausing the shipment of some heavy bombs to the country, a lawmaker familiar with the matter confirmed to USA TODAY on the condition of anonymity. The Biden administration paused the shipment of 3,500 bombs to Israel over concerns they could be used in a major military operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million refugees have been sheltering.
The latest weapons package includes the potential transfer of $700 million in tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the development. The transfer will undergo congressional review before they are approved and sent. Read more here.
− Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
Israeli ambassador accuses UN of becoming a ‘terrorist entity’
The UNRWA was set up to help Palestinian refugees displaced during the war that broke out around the time of the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The agency currently has about 13,000 staffers in Gaza, the overwhelming majority of them Palestinian. The Israelis claim that hundreds of them function as “military operatives” for Hamas.
Abu Zuhri described the militants at the UNRWA building as a “police force tasked with securing aid centers against acts of theft and looting.” But Erdan, Israel’s U.N. ambassador speaking on Army Radio, said “the U.N. has in part become a terrorist entity in itself because it cooperates with Hamas and covers for it.”
Contributing: Reuters
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