It seems that “zero hour” has arrived for Rafah and the announced Israeli ground operation is only a matter of time, despite the international backlash.
The Israeli army intensified its shelling against two districts in Rafa, the residents of which he ordered this morning to leave their homes, the Palestinian civil defense service announced to AFP Gaza.
Hamas’ health ministry has announced a new death toll of 34,735 in the Gaza Strip since the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group began on October 7.
In the last 24 hours, at least 52 people have died, according to a press release from the ministry that spoke of 78,108 wounded during the nearly seven months of war.
Israeli shelling, from the air and from artillery, “has continued since last night and has intensified since this morning,” explained Ahmed Redwan, a spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defense, clarifying that two of the districts targeted, the Al Sukkah and the Al Salamare among those whose residents have been asked to leave by the Israeli army.
Israeli bombardment now in East Rafah pic.twitter.com/1bMtVAQpo1
— Mustafa Barghouti @Mustafa_Barghouti (@MustafaBarghou1) May 6, 2024
In the morning the Israeli armed forces began asking the civilian Palestinian residents of the eastern sector of the city to move to a nearby “humanitarian area”.
Palestinian families are forcibly fleeing eastern Rafah after the Israeli military threatened to use ‘extreme force’ there.
World leaders have repeatedly warned against a military offensive in the city, where more than 1.5 million displaced people are sheltering ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/AUjOTsZ0x3
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 6, 2024
Palestinian Authority calls on Washington to “prevent” the “slaughter”
The presidency of the Palestinian Authority called on the US to prevent the invasion of Rafah by the Israeli army, which this morning called on the residents of several districts of this city in the southern part of the Gaza Strip to evacuate them.
“We call on the American administration to intervene to prevent these massacres, for which we warn that there will be dangerous consequences,” the Palestinian presidency says, as reported by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, clarifying that the Palestinian Authority has intensified “intensive” talks with its international partners on this matter.
Earlier, Hamas said in a statement that any attack on Rafah would not amount to a “walk” for Israeli forces and indicated that it was fully prepared to defend Palestinians there.
For his part, Hamas official Izzat al-Rasiq said today that any Israeli military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah would jeopardize the truce negotiations.
Contact Biden-Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden spoke on the phone for about 30 minutes, according to the Axios website.
Also on the agenda were negotiations over the Palestinian hostage and prisoner exchange deal and Israel’s preparations for a ground invasion of Rafah, which Biden is reportedly urging Netanyahu not to proceed with. as stated by American and Israeli officials.
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