No humanitarian crisis in Rafah, says Netanyahu

There is no humanitarian crisis in Rafah, although nearly 500,000 people have fled the city in recent days as the Israeli army gains ground in the southern Gaza city, the Israeli prime minister said on Wednesday. Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Biden administration and much of the world have repeatedly urged Israel to abandon plans for a major invasion of the city, fearing a worsening humanitarian crisis that has swept Gaza since the war began.

“The civilian population is being evacuated and (we are) fulfilling our obligation to meet their humanitarian needs,” Netanyahu said. “The humanitarian catastrophe that we talked about has not happened and it will not happen either.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking from Ukraine on Wednesday, said Israel’s self-declared “limited operation” in Rafah had had a “negative impact”. Blinken warned that Israel needed a clear plan for Gaza’s future or it would face chaos.

But Netanyahu countered that until Hamas is ousted from military control of Gaza, no one will take on the task of civilian management of Gaza out of fear for their lives.

“Therefore, all talk about ‘tomorrow,’ as long as Hamas remains intact, will remain mere words without content,” Netanyahu said. “There is an alternative to victory: defeat, military, diplomatic and national defeat. My government will not accept that.”

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Developments:

∎ Palestinians on Wednesday marked the 76th anniversary of Nakba Day, the Day of Disaster, when the Arab-Israeli war began and led to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes in what is Israel today.

∎ Netanyahu’s office announced that he would introduce a controversial bill aimed at conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the army. The issue has sparked protests from the ultra-Orthodox community, which makes up about 13 percent of Israel’s 10 million people.

∎ The head of diplomacy of the European Union urged Israel to immediately end its military operation in Rafah. Josep Borrell said Israel must “refrain from further aggravating the already dire humanitarian situation.”

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Drone video shows Hamas militants outside UN building

The Israeli army released Wednesday drone video appearing to show Hamas militants at a compound of the Palestinian UN humanitarian agency UNRWA in the Rafah region, accusing the UN itself of being a “terrorist entity”.

“Terrorists were identified in the central logistics complex of the UNRA agency alongside UN vehicles,” the Israeli army said in a statement. The building also had a large “UN” sign on its roof.

UNRWA, which said it was examining the footage, has repeatedly denied claims it was cooperating with Hamas. Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, told Reuters the men were there to protect the distribution of aid.

“The UN not only collaborates with terrorists, but its facilities in Gaza are terrorist complexes!” Gilan Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, wrote on social media. “Will Antonio Guterres, always so quick to condemn Israel, finally denounce the organization he leads? The UN has become a weapon in the hands of terrorists!”

Weapons for Israel:Biden moves forward with more than $1 billion in weapons to Israel

US to send another $1 billion in weapons to Israel

The Biden administration informed Congress intends to transfer more than $1 billion in weapons to Israel, a week after President Joe Biden said he was suspending the shipment of some heavy bombs to the country, a lawmaker close to the file to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity. The Biden administration has suspended the shipment of 3,500 bombs to Israel, fearing they could be used in a major military operation in Rafah, where more than a million refugees have sought shelter.

The latest weapons package includes the potential transfer of $700 million in tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar shells, according to the Wall Street Journal, which was first to report account of this development. The transfer will be subject to congressional review before being approved and sent. Learn more here.

− Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

Israeli ambassador accuses UN of becoming a ‘terrorist entity’

UNRWA was established to help Palestinian refugees displaced during the war that broke out around the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. The agency currently has approximately 13,000 employees in Gaza, the overwhelming majority of whom are Palestinians. The Israelis claim that hundreds of them function as “military agents” of Hamas.

Abu Zuhri described the activists at the UNRWA building as a “police force tasked with securing aid centers against acts of theft and looting.” But Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., speaking on Army Radio, said that “the U.N. has in part become a terrorist entity in itself because it cooperates with Hamas and the covers”.

Contributor: Reuters