Feb 17, 2024 at 11:52 PM Update: 5 hours ago
NU.nl regularly gives you an overview of the situation in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. With this time: The United States continues to send weapons to Israel while it calls for a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Israel is busy bombing Rafah.
Developments in Israel and the Palestinian Territories are following each other in rapid succession. We therefore regularly list recent events. Subscribe to the tag ‘Gaza conflict update’ to receive a notification when we post another overview like this.
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Biden asks Netanyahu to postpone offensive
The American government has now delivered tens of millions worth of bombs to Israel. That writes The Wall Street Journal based on conversations with people in the US government. At the same time, President Joe Biden is asking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold a ceasefire in Gaza.
According to Biden, such a temporary pause in fighting could ensure that hostages can be released from the Gaza Strip. Biden also calls on Netanyahu to postpone a planned offensive in southern Gaza.
According to Israel, 136 hostages are still being held in Gaza. Hamas says those hostages are living in difficult conditions. They blame Israel’s military operations for this. These operations are precisely intended to free the hostages.
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How are the Israeli hostages doing? We know this
Israel bombs Rafah and continues hospital siege
Warplanes are bombing Rafah, a city in the south of the Gaza Strip. According to Hamas, Rafah was the last safe place for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. After an earlier bombardment of the same city, the Israeli army (IDF) reported that two hostages had been freed.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers continue to besiege Nasser Hospital in the town of Khan Younis. According to IDF, Hamas fighters are hiding in the hospital. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reports that five patients in intensive care were killed by the Israeli army attack. That number cannot be independently confirmed.
Netanyahu believes entering Rafah is necessary to win the war
Netanyahu has emphasized the importance of expanded military actions in Rafah. According to Netanyahu, leaving the region alone would be equivalent to losing the war against Hamas, he said in a speech on TV on Saturday evening. He reiterated his pledge to destroy Hamas completely because of the massacre that Hamas carried out in Israel on October 7.
Even releasing hostages will not change Netanyahu’s plans to enter Rafah. As mentioned earlier, Israel’s ally the United States is asking to postpone the offensive.
Plumes of smoke rise from Rafah.
‘Israel gets a chance’ to become part of the Middle Eastern community
Israel has an “extraordinary opportunity” to become part of the Middle Eastern community, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. According to Blinken, Arab countries are willing to establish ties with Israel. Saudi Arabia and Israel had started that process before the war in Gaza broke out. For the Saudis, recognition of an independent Palestinian state is a prerequisite for this.
Blinken also sees an important role for a recognized and independent Palestinian state. He believes the establishment of an independent state is “urgent” to ensure Israel’s security. This requires reforming the Palestinian Authority, according to the American minister. Arab countries are already working on this.
The Palestinian Authority currently controls the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Hamas rules the Gaza Strip. Several countries have suggested the idea of also placing the Gaza Strip under the rule of the Palestinian Authority.
Antony Blinken sees an important role for a recognized and independent Palestinian state. Photo: Getty Images
South African request to ban Israeli offensive rejected
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague has rejected South Africa’s request to ban the expected Israeli offensive in Rafah. The court does not think it is necessary to impose additional measures on Israel.
The United Nations court acknowledges that an attack would worsen the situation, but finds additional measures unnecessary.
The ICJ ruled last month that Israel must do everything it can to prevent a genocide in the Gaza Strip. The country must also protect citizens as much as possible during the war with Hamas.
Egypt is building a large refugee camp in the desert
Egypt is said to be building a large refugee camp surrounded by high concrete walls in the desert. Israel’s neighbor is said to fear a mass exodus from the Gaza Strip in the event of an Israeli ground offensive in the border town of Rafah.
Egyptian officials and security analysts say no The Wall Street Journal that more than 100,000 people are being housed in tents in the camp in the Sinai Desert, near the border with the Gaza Strip.
The alarm over the humanitarian disaster in Gaza has been sounded again and again
The proverbial alarm bell about a humanitarian disaster in Gaza is ringing again and again. “It is a catastrophe,” say aid organizations. But how long can you keep sounding the alarm? Does it still make sense? Read it in our NOW+ piece below.
The conflict explained
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2024-02-17 22:52:00
#sends #weapons #ceasefire #Israel #bombs #Rafah #War #Israel #Hamas
