Israeli tanks have entered Rafah and appear to be pushing to capture the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing that connects to Egypt, several media outlets have reported.
Heavy airstrikes have been reported in the city as well, with some media reports describing it as a “carpet bombing,” although the scale of destruction and death toll is unclear at this time.
An Egyptian official told The Associated Press that the Israeli operation could be limited and that Israeli forces could soon withdraw. But Egypt is also preparing for the possibility of a major influx of Palestinian refugees entering its territory. According to Middle East Eye, Cairo estimates between 50,000 and 250,000 Palestinians could flee toward Sinai.
A source told Axios that Israel plans to take control of the Rafah border crossing and monitor all aid that enters Gaza, a sign that it’s seeking long-term control of the area. The military activity near the Rafah crossing will further disrupt aid shipments into the Strip as Palestinians in northern Gaza are facing a “full-blown famine,” according to the UN’s World Food Programme.
Israel’s move on Rafah comes after Hamas said it accepted an Egyptian and Qatari proposal for a ceasefire. Israeli officials quickly rejected the idea that there was a deal and said the proposal included terms Israel did not agree to.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the proposal didn’t meet its “core demands” and said Israel would go ahead with military operations in Rafah. “The War Cabinet unanimously decided this evening Israel will continue its operation in Rafah, in order to apply military pressure on Hamas so as to advance the release of our hostages and achieve the other objectives of the war,” the office said.
Early on Monday, Israel said it ordered the evacuation of about 100,000 Palestinians from eastern Rafah and warned that “extreme force” would be used in the area. Rafah is estimated to be packed with about 1.4 million Palestinian civilians, the majority of whom are displaced, as the city only had a pre-war population of about 275,000.
Aid groups have slammed the Israeli order since there’s nowhere for the Palestinian civilians to go. Israel suggested the Palestinians go to the al-Mawasi refugee camp on the coast, but the Norwegian Refugee Council said the camp didn’t have the resources to accept the evacuees. Oxfam America pointed to the fact that Israel has bombed so-called “safe zones” in Gaza throughout the past seven months.
US officials have claimed they’re opposed to Israel invading Rafah without a clear plan to protect civilians. But there’s no sign the Biden administration is putting any real pressure on Netanyahu as US weapons shipments to Israel continue to flow.
Hamas should have seen it coming… kill the vermin while you can, and make them incapable to rule over any piece of land again
That is rather harsh Christian, don’t you think?….
The best way to make peace is by showing others how to do it.
We are peace people here on antiwar.com and we make our best effort to show others how to do it.
Israel will do it easily because God, Christ and Mother Mary, can show them the way. No one needs to be killed. That would be un-Christ-like, wouldn’t it?…. Of course it would be.
Keep your religious views to yourself.
I respect people from every country, regardless of their beliefs. I only want for everyone to live in peace and how about kissing my ass, in peace of course.
Please explain the difference between the concept of the “chosen people” and the concept of the “master race.”
Arabs have conquered and held slaves, in the past. They’re not entirely better historically, just weaker today.
So everybody else. And who is the better one in your view!
No one is better. I just want the US out.
It’s self evidently evil to ethnically cleanse a people and starve them from their lands which they’ve held for hundreds or, in some cases, over a thousand years or more.
My secular mind tells me religion is being used to sell and cover up the real reason for wars. Wars are always fought for material reasons, land, resources and markets. That is true for the Israelis too. And of course the Palestinians don’t want to give up their land, home and livelihood either, race and religion are not the reason to go to war to bring freedom and democracy to other nations it is always for control of resources and markets.
Religion is great and profitable business, the Catholic church, at one time was the biggest landowner in Europe and all of us know of the great wealth the Vatican still controls. That was one reason why there was a reformation, it is why we have protestants.
No, sometimes a people can be in need or covetous or fearful, and a leader can fight for them. Nationalism and religion can matter. They aren’t always covers.
You’re a smart person, but you sound like Mr. Knapp here.
Elites run everything. They can be driven by many things. We each tend to believe in ideologies that serve our interests, but some people legitimately serve something.
I do agree with you, but l like to add, I believe that people need religion, religion offers hope and comfort, every culture has some type of religion. That is one side of the coin. But there are the people who take advantage of that need and weaponize religion to cover their crimes to make money. Christianity has a bloody history and so has Islam and Judaism. The fanatic orthodox believers are the problem. The other side of the coin.
Religion provides value and purpose where none otherwise exists. However, using that definition, even you are religious.
You can play with the definition, semantics, but I just want to make the argument, not declare I’m correct. I just think it’s an important concept.
Cult is the root of culture. Children are grown with it like how plants are grown with agriculture.
I consider myself a secular humanist, also a religion of some sort, you are right.
But yes, money and power are often the goals. Individuals want to imagine themselves superior, want to enjoy money and pass it down, etc.
If you have a vision for a better world, you might want the ability to fund that vision.
Anyway, I agree with you.
I do all I can to support that better world. My charity donations are mostly in support of health care for children and food banks. But I make it a point to speak out for human rights, a big factor to make it a better world.
I do believe there will be a big historical upheaval, big global change after all the decades of military destruction and trails of death and blood USA/NATO left behind after Ukraine and Gaza. It happened after both WW and before. It will happen again, it takes time, but big Global Change will come.
Pretty much every group held slaves in the past, even the Jains. Your “point” is pretty irrelevant.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Jains held slaves since Buddhists did. Jains I guess wanted to specialise in copying books. Historic slavery was partly about getting someone else to farm; most people in the economy had to farm.
But Arabs held them very recently, probably only ending it due to US pressure.
That was of the restrictions that Bush the Competent put in the Emir of Kuwait before giving him his country back at the end of the. Gulf War, that he free his slaves. Of course US conservatIves complained.
I didn’t know that. That’s very interesting. I guess it’s none of our business, but hopefully their lives improved.
Now they just enslave Filipino and Indonesian laborers by taking their passports and not giving them back at the end of their contracts.
I believe I did hear tales of that. I figured it wouldn’t be that easy.
In the US, illegals can be abused, and you need connections to get some free stuff, I’ve heard, like free housing.
no difference, same psychopaths, slightly different names.
i know and i love peace but peace is not possible without taking out the trash, like in Kiev
“I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” -Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi could also say that about his own religion. Nathuram Godse, a fellow Hindu murdered him.
well im jewish
Well, I hope if you really are, your name here is just your moniker.
hahaha
Christ means two types of knowledge, you appear to have neither.
You are disgusting. Get off this site.
i like peace but not for terror
for the Zionists OR Hamas
One side is perpetrating genocide.
both sides are just one cant anymore
Both sides are not. One side never did. Grow up.
no you Hamas clearly did
No Hamas did not commit genocide.
they did
leave ur ideological trap and look at the facts
I actually have an excellent grasp on facts. You, on the other hand, do not.
you definitely do not, sir. you probably think those murdered baby’s were prop
Lots of atrocity propaganda: look it up.
they did im pretty sure look it up
Look up the definition of genocide.
Israel killed hundreds of their own on Oct 7th, the Hannibal Directive, look that up too.
You are a waste of time.
When was Hamas even capable?
good point
Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Every single one of us… Jews Arabs and Christians and everyone else.
🙂
Give the same peace that you want to get Israel. Open your eyes and finally, truthfully see, the light of Christ because it is never too late at all. Try loving the Palestinians the same way we love you.
Settler colonies don’t want peace. At best they want ethnic cleansing. When indigenous people resist, settlers resort to genocide.
The settler colonists from Europe set the standard for other settler colonists to follow. Ethnic cleansing. Check. Genocide. Check. Germ warfare. Check. Starvation. Check. Bibi was right when he brought that up, as justification for what he planned for the Palestinians.
A lot of the settlers are Americans, apparently mostly from the New York area. You have to be a “special” kind of person to go join a group that you know is committing crimes against humanity.
Rafah is the major entry point for humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Not for long.
A dark day. Will no one stand up for the Palestinians? Biden what are you doing?
apparently, the Zionist have sway over anyone capable of stopping them, especially genocide joe. How anyone could consider him for another term is baffling, he’s brought us to the brink of ww3 and only seems to listen to aipac. sure, trump will be worse, but electing biden again sends a message that he’s doing the right thing. The worst president in my lifetime, selling out America any chance he gets.
Unless he is really stupid and senile how does he sleep at night?
I almost feel like this is an intentional hand off to Trump.
Another day and another list of war crimes and IDF atrocities. I wonder, are there war crimes or crimes against humanity, that Israel has not broken? seriously, they have destroyed all international humanitarian law, subverted the u.n., undermined and threatened the I.C.C. and the I.C.J., discredited aid organizations, censored and killed all the press… is god the only thing they supposedly listen to? Or perhaps satan? Poor Israel, everyone is learning to hate them and they don’t know why, they claim it’s organized antisemitism, but it’s very simple. It’s the concept of, ‘Never again’ applying to everyone, not just gods chosen ones. Stop Israel’s genocide!
First they came for the Palestinians……
Don’t worry the PTB will get around to us.
Then they came for the protesting students. (Check out the goon squad violence at UCLA as the cops did nothing to stop them).
There is no more Gaza strip left – it’s this tiny mile long enclave that is Rafah. Here comes Israel’s Final Solution – and yet, absolute crickets from Genocide Joe, the war parties in Congress, and our “freedom loving” western friends.
Gaza is 25 miles long, 5 miles wide. 2.3 million people were living there, UNDER OCCUPATION!. In a CONCENTRATION CAMP! Most of what we hear on the media is that to criticize the Israeli government is to be “anti-semitic”. To look cross eyed at Israel is to be “anti-semitic”. The evil in this world is my country, the U.S. of Atrocities, that has initiated coups the world over, killed perhaps 5 million in wars. Listen to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdxt23fKLIg
i hate how people get called anti-Semitic for criticizing the situation in Gaza…. how could you not?
Sachs, although not always innocent of working for empire, has become a national treasure. And kudos to Judge Nap for hosting him, Crooke, Mate and Blumenthal, etc.
U.S. Regime Has Killed 20-30 Million People since World War II
https://www.transcend.org/tms/2018/03/u-s-regime-has-killed-20-30-million-people-since-world-war-ii/
More hand-wringing from Sachs. He’s almost as bad as Blinken in that regard. The only difference is Sachs probably does believe Israel’s actions are incorrect while Blinken is just lying outright.
Sachs doesn’t understand that the only viable solution is for Hezbollah and Iran and the other members of the Axis of Resistance to bury Israel. There’s no such thing as a “peaceful” solution to this conflict. This is Human Nature 101.
They are going to do it. JFC! Listen to this interview of Professor Jeffrey Sachs by Judge Napolitano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdxt23fKLIg
The ground offensive and the bombing may kill off the remaining hostages. The IDF killed of perhaps 400 of their own citizens on 7Oct, and according to released hostages, the IDF has killed a substantial number of the hostages, the worst case being the three hostages that escaped, only to be gunned down by the IDF ad the three hostages waved white flags. Bibi knew the plan for the incursion on 7Oct, allowed it to happen, used it as the trigger for the “final solution”. Quite an animal willing to kill his own people in order to kill or remove Palestinians from lands that belong to the Palestinians in the first place, also ignoring the internation laws governing occupying states. One vicious animal. Ben-Gvir is even more evil. When he said that Palestinians women and children should be shot in the head……………
Oct 7 has significantly delayed the Netanyahu’s bribery and corruption trial [from memory that’s both of them]
The wrong people have been called animals.
”Gaza death toll from ongoing Israeli aggression surpasses 34,789”
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1c0aea57fdddc58fccfd52896ed69ef618aa94749ce55090610cbe5b65985b18.jpg
Those are only the numbers of people treated and declared dead in the few remaining medical facilities still functioning in Gaza. Anyone who dies outside a hospital is not being recorded, which is why we’ve seen the supposed death toll plateau in the last few weeks. There are just so few facilities still functioning, and not all of them are even filing the reports. The actual death toll is likely three times higher, or more.
It makes one proud to be an American{sic}
More like {sick}
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c73c30e45a46b6b30225bd491081aac8a692be24256c219e5773642434139dd0.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b357cc4384c4e4c9224fed346d5e57a580d2917b5ff7a0d35aed7a5f9918d551.jpg
The Netanyahu Israeli government is a criminal organization in violation of the UN Charter and of other conventions against war crimes and genocide.
It is a scandal of high proportions that the US Biden administration is collaborating with a government opposed to basic human rights. It’s a shame.
There is no shame in the US government. It’s questionable if psychopaths have the ability to experience shame.
Not only is Israel committing war crimes but the US is involved up to their shitty necks.
A horrible human tragedy is about to get worse. Joe Biden could stop it but he believes with his whole rotten heart that Zionism is a good thing.
It’s a real good thing when the Zionists donate to campaign funds. Now it’s payback time. All the blood spilled is just collateral damage–sorry ’bout that.
Max Blumenthal@MaxBlumenthal
The Biden-Blinken admin has insisted it opposes a “major” Rafah offensive. Which means it’s fine with this, and all the atrocities that preceded it.
8h
@HossamShabat
11h
The Palestinians being pulled from the rubble in Rafah are being pulled piece by piece. The bombing is so intensely that it’s crushing people into pieces.
Cutting Off Lifeline for Starving Gazans, Israel Seizes Control of Rafah Crossing
https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-rafah-border-crossing
This will bring in the end of the American experiment in representative democracy.
“Imperialism is a faith as well as a business”–Strachey
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-799885
US Marines official: Nearly half of drones IDF shoots down are its own
Since the IDF has one of the world’s most advanced integrated air defense systems, if this is an issue for Israel’s military, it is likely to be an issue for other militaries worldwide.
https://twitter.com/sahouraxo/status/178745648776309970
Why is UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres not proposing to hold an emergency vote to expel the fascist Israeli Netanyahu regime from the United Nations General Assembly? How many proofs does he need that this is an uncivilized regime bent on ethnic cleansing and genocidal killings, after tens of thousands of killings of men, women and children in Gaza? In not acting, Guterres is demonstrating UN’s utter weakness and uselessness and he is doing a disservice to the UN mandate for peace.
Article 6 of the UN Charter allows for the expulsion from the United Nations a member state who has persistently violated the principles of the United Nations Charter.
Can’t wait to see how that billion dollar laser Wash. to give Israel will be used. Didn’t someone in Wash. say something about ‘Jewish space lasers? /s