TEL AVIV— Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has affirmed that the
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) will conduct a
ground attack in Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians are gathered, regardless
of whether an agreement is reached to release the captives, Al-Mamlaka TV
reported.
اضافة اعلان
This sparked a wave of international calls,
including from the US, Israel's primary ally, urging to halt any
military operation in Rafah.
Netanyahu responded by stating, "Whoever
is telling us not to operate in Rafah is telling us to lose the war.”
Meanwhile, negotiations were held this week in
Cairo involving mediators from Egypt, the US, and Qatar to reach a ceasefire
agreement and
exchange Israeli detainees and Palestinian prisoners.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin
Abdulrahman Al Thani said at the Munich Security Conference (MSC), "I
believe we can reach an agreement very soon. However, the pace that prevailed
in the past few days has not been very promising." He added, "We will
always remain optimistic and continue to press forward."
However, Hamas threatened to suspend its
participation in the negotiations if the aid urgently needed in northern Gaza
was not delivered.
Ceasefire
dilemma
The head of Hamas's political bureau,
Ismail Haniyeh reiterated on Saturday that his movement insists on a ceasefire and the
withdrawal of the Israeli Defense Forces (IOF) from the Gaza Strip. However,
Israel has repeatedly rejected both demands, and its IOF has continued to
bombard the strip.
The Qatari Prime Minister addressed the
dilemma faced in reaching a ceasefire, stating, "This is the dilemma we
are in, and unfortunately, many countries have misused it. The gist of which is
that in order to reach a ceasefire, it is necessary to reach an agreement on
the captives. This should not be conditional."
Barely
functioning
For weeks, the IOF has focused its operations
in Khan Younis, where Nasser Hospital is situated. The hospital suffered a
power outage and generator failure after being raided, resulting in the killing
of six patients, including a child, as reported by the Ministry of Health in
Gaza. On Saturday, it was announced that 100 people were arrested in the
hospital.
Doctors described the unbearable situation in
the hospital, one of 11 hospitals still in service out of 36 hospitals in Gaza
before the war, as ‘barely functioning.’ Furthermore, the W
orld Health Organization (WHO) stated, "Further damage to the hospital means more loss
of life."
Doctors without Borders announced that its
staff "Were forced to flee, leaving patients behind." The
Organization's Secretary-General, Christopher Lockyear also said, "The
situation was chaotic and catastrophic."
In response, the UN Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (
OHCHR) condemned the raid, stating that it
appears to be ‘part of a pattern of attacks by Israeli forces on critical
civilian infrastructure in Gaza, especially hospitals.’
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