Israel’s military says its forces are in “operational control” of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, pressing their offensive into the southern city on Tuesday as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain precarious.
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Title: Israeli Forces Take Control of Rafah Border Crossing
- Date and Source: May 7, 2024, Associated Press
- Key Developments:
- Israeli Military Action: Israeli troops have established operational control over the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, amidst ongoing military offenses in the region.
- Strategic Significance: The Rafah crossing is crucial as it serves as the main entry point for humanitarian aid into Gaza and is a vital exit point into Egypt.
- Context and Impact:
- Humanitarian Concerns: The U.N. Secretary General has expressed concerns that a full-scale Israeli invasion of Rafah could lead to a humanitarian nightmare, especially given the high concentration of displaced civilians in the area.
- Diplomatic Efforts: Despite Hamas’s acceptance of a cease-fire mediated by Egypt and Qatar, Israel continues its military actions, stating that the cease-fire terms do not meet its core demands.
- International Reactions:
- Germany and Turkey: Both nations have issued warnings against a major offensive in Rafah, highlighting the potential for severe humanitarian consequences and global implications.
- U.N. Appeals: The United Nations has made urgent appeals for a cease-fire and the protection of civilians, emphasizing the dire humanitarian situation exacerbated by the conflict.
The Associated Press has the story:
Israeli troops have entered Rafah & control Gaza side of the border crossing
Israel’s military says its forces are in “operational control” of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, pressing their offensive into the southern city on Tuesday as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain precarious.
The assault came just hours after Hamas said it accepted a cease-fire proposal mediated by Egypt and Qatar. Israel insisted the deal did not meet its core demands.
Rafah is filled with more than a million displaced civilians huddling in tents and overcrowded apartments, and the border crossing is the main entry point for desperately needed aid. The United Nations secretary general warned that a full-scale Israeli invasion of Rafah would create “a humanitarian nightmare.”
Israel says Rafah is Hamas’ last stronghold, however the United States opposes a full-scale invasion of the city unless Israel provides a “credible” plan for protecting civilians there. A main hospital in Rafah was forced to evacuate Tuesday due to intense Israeli strikes in the area, a Health Ministry spokesperson said.
The war in Gaza has driven around 80% of the territory’s population of 2.3 million from their homes and caused vast destruction to apartments, hospitals, mosques and schools across several cities. The death toll in Gaza has soared to more than 34,500 people, according to local health officials.
The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
ISRAEL’S DEFENSE MINISTER VOWS TO ‘DEEPEN’ RAFAH OFFENSIVE IF TALKS ON HOSTAGE DEAL FAIL
JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister has vowed to “deepen” the military offensive in Rafah if a deal to bring home Israeli hostages held by Hamas does not make progress.
Israel sent troops into Rafah late Monday and seized the city’s strategic border crossing with Egypt after rebuffing a cease-fire proposal approved by Hamas. Israel said the proposal did not address its “core” demands but agreed to continue negotiations.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited troops in the Rafah area on Tuesday and said the operation would continue until Israel “eliminates” Hamas in Rafah and the rest of Gaza.
But he said Israel is willing to make “compromises” to bring home hostages. “If that option is removed, we will go on and ‘deepen’ the operation,” he said. “This will happen all over the strip — in the south, in the center and in the north.”
NETANYAHU SAYS CAPTURE OF RAFAH CROSSING WAS AN IMPORTANT STEP TOWARD DISMANTLING HAMAS
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the military’s capture of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing is an “important step” toward dismantling Hamas’ military and economic capabilities.
Tuesday’s capture of the crossing, which is one of the main conduits for humanitarian aid to the territory, puts Israel in full control of Gaza’s borders for the first time since it withdrew troops in 2005.
The U.N. has warned of a potential collapse of the flow of aid to Palestinians from the closure of Rafah and the other main crossing into Gaza, Kerem Shalom, at a time when officials say northern Gaza is experiencing “full-blown famine.”
GERMANY WARNS ISRAEL NOT TO LAUNCH A MAJOR OFFENSIVE ON RAFAH
BERLIN — German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday warned Israel of “a major offensive on Rafah.”
“I strongly caution against conducting a major offensive on Rafah,” the minister wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“One million people cannot vanish into thin air. They need protection. They urgently need further humanitarian assistance,” she added, demanding that ”the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border crossings must be reopened immediately.”
Germany has for decades been a staunch supporter of Israel. Berlin, however, has gradually shifted its tone as civilian casualties in Gaza have soared, becoming increasingly critical of the humanitarian situation in Gaza. In recent weeks, Baerbock has repeatedly spoken out against a ground offensive in Rafah.
TURKEY CALLS ON ISRAEL TO WITHDRAW FORCES FROM RAFAH BORDER CROSSING
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey called on Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza’s Rafah border crossing and warned that any military action in the southern city would have global implications.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “was not acting in good faith” when he escalated attacks on Rafah just as the Hamas militant group accepted a cease-fire proposal, said Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oncu Keceli in a statement Tuesday.
“An operation targeting Rafah will affect not only the region but the whole world,” Keceli said. “It is essential that Israel immediately withdraw from the Gaza section of the Rafah border crossing that it has occupied. There must be an immediate return to the status quo in Rafah and the border crossing.”
A MAIN HOSPITAL IN RAFAH IS EVACUATED BECAUSE OF INTENSE ISRAELI STRIKES, HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS
CAIRO — The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said Tuesday that one of the main hospitals in the southernmost city of Rafah was evacuated due to intense Israeli strikes in the area.
Medhat Abbas, a spokesman for the ministry, said the evacuation of all the patients of Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital began late Monday and finished Tuesday. All have been transferred to other medical facilities and makeshift hospitals nearby, he said, without elaborating. It remains unclear if there has been any damage to the facility.
The ministry’s announcement comes hours after Israel began a ground assault on Rafah and ordered the evacuation of eastern areas of the city. The hospital does not fall within the Israeli-designated evacuation zone.
Dialysis patients were some of the last remaining in Abu Youssef al-Najjar according to the hospital’s manager, Marwan al-Husm, who spoke with The Associated Press earlier Tuesday.
The hospital is one of the largest medical facilities in southern Gaza, and is the latest to be forced to halt operations since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7.
U.N. CHIEF APPEALS TO ISRAEL AND HAMAS TO SHOW COURAGE AND REACH A DEAL
UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations chief is appealing to Israel and Hamas to show “political courage and spare no effort” to reach a cease-fire agreement now, warning that this is a decisive moment for Palestinians and Israelis “and for the fate of the entire region.”
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Tuesday that he is “disturbed and distressed” by the Israeli Defense Forces’ renewed military activity in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, where some 1.3 million Palestinians had fled seeking safety.
“An assault on Rafah would be a strategic mistake, a political calamity, and a humanitarian nightmare,” he said. ”Make no mistake — a full-scale assault on Rafah would be a human catastrophe.”
Guterres said Palestinians will be forced to flee again, with “nowhere safe to go” in Gaza, and there will be “countless more civilian casualties.”
The secretary-general stressed that Rafah is the center of U.N. and global humanitarian operations in Gaza and “the closure of both the Rafah and Karem Shalom crossings is especially damaging to an already dire humanitarian situation.”
“They must be reopened immediately,” he said.
Guterres appealed to “all those with influence over Israel to do everything in their power to help avert even more tragedy” – and promote a humanitarian cease-fire, the unconditional release of all hostages, and the delivery of life-saving aid.
HEZBOLLAH CLAIMS A DRONE ATTACK ON NORTHERN ISRAEL
BEIRUT— A Hezbollah-claimed drone attack targeted an Israeli kibbutz near the Lebanese border on Tuesday, sparking a fire at one location, authorities said.
The Lebanese militant group said its attack targeted “enemy officers and soldiers” around Yiftah.
The Israeli military said its air defenses intercepted one target around Yiftah, while another fell and “a fire broke out at the scene.” Two other objects fell in an open area, while the rest “fell and caused light damage,” the Israeli military said.
The military acknowledged no casualties and declined to identify the objects as drones.
Hezbollah has been supplied with Iranian bomb-carrying drones and has previously used them to attack Israel.
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