Israel-Gaza war – live: Biden warns Netanyahu he will stop some weapon supplies if Rafah assault goes ahead
LIVE – Updated at 06:49
US president Joe Biden for the first time publicly vowed to withhold weapons from Israel if its forces make a ground offensive into Rafah in southern Gaza.
“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah …, I’m not supplying the weapons,” Mr Biden, whose administration has repeatedly asked Israel for its plan to protect civilians in Rafah, said in an interview with CNN.
Mr Biden acknowledged that US bombs provided to Israel have killed Gaza civilians in the seven-month offensive aimed at annihilating Hamas. He said the US would continue providing defensive weapons to Israel, including for its Iron Dome air defence system, to respond to attacks from across the Middle East.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on Mr Biden’s remarks, but Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed the Rafah operation will go ahead, saying it must hit Rafah to defeat Hamas fighters there.
The Israeli Defence Forces continued tank and aerial strikes on southern Gaza after moving in via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, cutting off a vital aid route.
Key Points
- Biden says US won’t supply weapons for Israel to attack Rafah
- Civilians in Gaza killed from US bombs, acknowledges Biden
- No more concessions to Israel in truce talks, says Hamas
- Unicef concerned for 600,000 displaced Palestinian children
Biden faces domestic pressure over decision to halt military aid to Israel
06:49 , Namita Singh
Joe Biden is facing pressure from some the left to rein in Israel and condemnation from critics on the right who say he has moderated his support for a key Mideast ally.
“If we stop weapons necessary to destroy the enemies of the state of Israel at a time of great peril, we will pay a price,” said Republican senator Lindsey Graham, his voice rising in anger during an exchange with defence secretary Lloyd Austin.
“This is obscene. It is absurd. Give Israel what they need to fight the war they can’t afford to lose.”Independent senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a Biden ally, said in a statement the pause on big bombs must be a “first step”.
US president Joe Biden steps off Air Force One upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on 8 May 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)
“Our leverage is clear,” Mr Sanders said. “Over the years, the United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Israel. We can no longer be complicit in Netanyahu’s horrific war against the Palestinian people.”
Defence secretary Lloyd Austin, meanwhile, told lawmakers that “it’s about having the right kinds of weapons for the task at hand”.
“A small diameter bomb, which is a precision weapon, that’s very useful in a dense, built-up environment,” he said, “but maybe not so much a 2,000-pound bomb that could create a lot of collateral damage”. He said the US wants to see Israel do “more precise” operations.
Has US withheld military aid from Israel before?
06:32 , Namita Singh
This is not the first time that military aid to Israel has been paused. In 1982, president Ronald Reagan imposed a six-year ban on cluster weapons sales to Israel after a Congressional investigation found that Israel had used them in populated areas during its 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
Israel’s use of American cluster bombs was also reviewed under president George W Bush over concerns that they were used during a 2006 war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.
Were the bombs legal for Israel to use in Gaza?
06:27 , Namita Singh
The use of large bombs like 2,000-pound bombs is a matter of heated debate.
International humanitarian law does not explicitly ban aerial bombing in densely populated areas, however, civilians cannot be targets and a specific military aim must be proportionate to possible civilian casualties or damage.
The statute of the International Criminal Court, which is investigating Israel’s war on Gaza lists as a war crime intentionally launching an attack when it is known that civilian death or damage will be “clearly excessive” compared to any direct military advantage.
How has Israel responded to US weapon supply pause?
06:25 , Namita Singh
Israel has denied targeting Palestinian civilians, claiming its sole aim was to annihilate Hamas and that it took all precautions to avoid unnecessary deaths.
After the news broke on Tuesday, a senior Israeli official declined to confirm the report.
Men and a boy inspect the site of a building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on 8 May 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)
“If we have to fight with our fingernails, then we’ll do what we have to do,” the official said.
A military spokesperson said any disagreements with the US were resolved in private.
Scale of damage from 2,000-pound bombs
06:23 , Namita Singh
A 2,000-pound bomb impacts a wide area. “The pressure from the explosion can rupture lungs, burst sinus cavities and tear off limbs hundreds of meters from the blast site,” according to the United Nations.
The International Commission for the Red Cross in a 2022 report stated that the use of wide-area explosives in a densely populated area “is very likely to have indiscriminate effects or violate the principle of proportionality”.
When did US decide to halt weapon supplies to Israel?
06:10 , Namita Singh
The decision to halt weapon supplies to Israel was made last week, US officials told Reuters. Joe Biden was directly involved. Mr Biden confirmed the pause personally in a CNN interview Wednesday.
People search with flashlights by an impact crater at the site of a building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on 7 May 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)
“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” he said when asked about 2,000-pound bombs sent to Israel.
Which weapons shipment to Israel has US blocked?
06:07 , Namita Singh
Washington has paused a shipment of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and another of 1,700 500-pound bombs, according to US officials.
Sources said the shipments, which have been delayed for at least two weeks, include Boeing-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions, which convert dumb bombs into precision-guided ones, as well as Small Diameter Bombs.
The latter is a precision-guided glide bomb that packs 250 pounds of explosives. They were part of an earlier approved shipment to Israel, not the recent $95bn supplemental aid package the US Congress passed in April.
Why the US is stopping some bomb shipments to Israel?
05:36 , Namita Singh
The United States has suspended a shipment of weapons to Israel, including heavy bombs the US ally used in its campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians.
The suspension comes as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues a military assault on the Palestinian city of Rafah, over the objections of US president Joe Biden.
The US is reviewing “near term security assistance,” defense secretary Lloyd Austin told a Senate hearing yesterday “in the context of unfolding events in Rafah”.
“We’ve been very clear…from the very beginning that Israel shouldn’t launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battlespace,” Mr Austin said. More than one million Palestinian civilians have sought shelter in Rafah, many previously displaced from other parts of Gaza following Israel’s orders to evacuate from there.
The US decision was taken due to concerns about the “end-use of the 2,000-pound bombs and the impact they could have in dense urban settings as we have seen in other parts of Gaza,” said a US official speaking on condition of anonymity. The US had carefully reviewed the delivery of weapons that might be used in Rafah, the official said.
Meanwhile, a US official told the Washington Post that the weapons shipment could still be delivered at White House’s discretion, adding that a “final” decision on how to proceed has not been made.
In any case, the official added, the Israeli military has enough weapons supplied by the US and other Western nations to conduct the Rafah operation if it chooses to cast aside the White House’s objections.
Unicef concerned for 600,000 displaced Palestinian children
05:08 , Namita Singh
Unicef has urged Israel’s government to agree a ceasefire deal as the UN agency expressed concern for displaced Palestinian children.
“There’s 600,000 children that are seeking shelter in Rafah and that many of them have been displaced multiple times already,” Unicef spokesperson Tess Ingram told The Intercept. “They’re exhausted, traumatised, sick, hungry, and their ability to safely evacuate is limited.”
Children stand by an impact crater at the site of a building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on 8 May 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)
“The area that they’re being directed to evacuate to is not safe. It’s not safe because there aren’t the services there to meet their basic needs, water, toilets, shelter,” she told the outlet. “But it’s also not safe because we know that that area has been subject to strikes despite being a so-called safe zone. So we’re really concerned about that impact of a ground offensive on one of the most densely populated areas in the world.”
Israel says it reopened a key Gaza crossing, UN says no aid entered
05:02 , Namita Singh
The Israeli military yesterday said it reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza after days of closure but the UN said no humanitarian aid entered and there was no one to receive it on the Palestinian side since workers had fled during the military’s incursion into the area.
The Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel was closed over the weekend after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers nearby. On Tuesday, an Israeli tank brigade seized the nearby Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, forcing its closure.
Israeli soldiers organize their equipment and a tank near the border with the Southern Gaza Strip on 5 May 2024 in Southern Israel, Israel (Getty Images)
The two crossings are the main terminals for entry of food, medicine and other supplies essential for the survival of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians.
The Israeli foray did not appear to be the start of the full-scale invasion of the city of Rafah that Israel has repeatedly threatened. But aid officials warned that the prolonged closure of the two crossings could cause the collapse of aid operations, worsening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the UN says a “full-blown famine” is already underway in the north.
A looming humanitarian catastrophe amid Israel’s Rafah assault
04:39 , Namita Singh
Hamas said its fighters yesterday were battling Israeli forces in Rafah’s east and Islamic Jihad’s fighters attacked Israeli soldiers and military vehicles with heavy artillery near the city’s long abandoned airport.Israeli tank shells landed in the middle of Rafah wounding at least 25 people, medics said. Residents said an Israeli air strike killed four people and wounded 16 others in western Rafah.
The Israeli military said its troops had discovered Hamas infrastructure in several places in eastern Rafah and were conducting targeted raids in Rafah and airstrikes across the Gaza Strip.
A boy stands before an impact crater at the site of a building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on 8 May 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)
The UN, Gaza residents and humanitarian groups say further Israeli incursion into Rafah will result in a humanitarian catastrophe.
A UN official said no fuel or aid had entered the Gaza Strip due to the military operation, a situation “disastrous for the humanitarian response” in Gaza where more than half the population is suffering catastrophic hunger.
Palestinians have crammed into tented camps and makeshift shelters, suffering from shortages of food, water and medicine.
“The streets of the city echo with the cries of innocent lives lost, families torn apart, and homes reduced to rubble,” Rafah mayor Ahmed Al-Sofi said, appealing to the international community to intervene.
No more concessions to Israel in truce talks, says Hamas
04:38 , Namita Singh
Palestinian militant group Hamas said yesterday it would make no more concessions to Israel in Gaza truce talks.
Delegations from Hamas, Israel, the US, Egypt and Qatar have been meeting in Cairo since Tuesday. Citing a source familiar with the matter, Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera TV reported early this morning that areas of disagreement were being resolved and there were signs that an agreement will be reached, without giving details.
But Izzat El-Reshiq, a member of Hamas’s political office in Qatar, said in a statement yesterday that the group would not go beyond a ceasefire proposal it accepted on Monday. It would also entail the release of some Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian women and children detained in Israel.
Children stand by an impact crater at the site of a building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on 8 May 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)
“Israel isn’t serious about reaching an agreement and it is using the negotiation as a cover to invade Rafah and occupy the crossing,” said Reshiq.
Israel on Monday declared that the three-phase truce proposal approved by Hamas was unacceptable because terms had been watered down. It did not respond immediately to the Hamas statement.
The US said on Tuesday that Hamas had revised its ceasefire proposal and the revision could overcome an impasse in negotiations. Just a few hours before Hamas’s latest statement, Washington continued to say the two sides were not far apart.
“We believe there is a pathway to a deal … The two sides are close enough they should do what they can to get to a deal,” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.
‘Very disappointing’ says Israel’s UN ambassador on US weapon halt
04:35 , Namita Singh
US officials yesterday confirmed that Washington paused delivery of a shipment of bombs to Israel because of the risk to civilians in Gaza.
Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, called that decision “very disappointing” but said he did not believe the US would stop supplying arms to Israel.
The United States is by far the biggest supplier of weapons to Israel, and it accelerated deliveries after the Hamas attacks on 7 October that triggered Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Men and a boy inspect the site of a building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on 8 May 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas (AFP via Getty Images)
However, Joe Biden has been under pressure from his fellow Democrats and growing campus protests to deter Israel from invading Rafah. His support of Israel has become a political liability as the president runs for re-election.
Civilians in Gaza killed from US-supplied bombs, acknowledges Biden
04:15 , Namita Singh
Joe Biden acknowledged that “civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of” US-supplied bombs.
Mr Biden’s comments, his starkest to date, increase the pressure on Israel to refrain from a full-scale assault on Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge after fleeing combat farther north in Gaza.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on his remarks, but Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the Rafah operation would go ahead. Israel says it must hit Rafah to defeat thousands of Hamas fighters it says are there.
Israel, meanwhile, continued tank and aerial strikes on southern Gaza after moving in via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, cutting off a vital aid route.
Biden says US won’t supply weapons for Israel to attack Rafah
04:14 , Namita Singh
President Joe Biden said that he would not supply offensive weapons that Israel could use to launch an all-out assault on Rafah — the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza — over concern for the well-being of the more than one million civilians sheltering there.
Mr Biden, in an interview with CNN, said the US was still committed to Israel’s defence and would supply Iron Dome rocket interceptors and other defensive arms, but that if Israel goes into Rafah, “we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used.”
US president Joe Biden steps off Marine One upon arrival at Soldier Field Landing Zone in Chicago, Illinois, on 8 May 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)
Killing of man in Egypt ‘linked to Gaza’
02:00 , Jane Dalton
A Canadian man “of Jewish Israeli descent” has been shot dead in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in a suspected criminal case, a security source said, while a previously unknown militant group said it carried out the attack in reaction to the war in Gaza.
The Egyptian security source said the man had been killed “with the motive of robbery” and made no link between the shooting and the victim’s ethnic background.
But a message on Telegram by a previously unknown group called “Vanguards of Liberation” claimed responsibility for the attack as a reaction to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and its move to seize control of the Rafah crossing on Egypt’s border with the enclave. It named the victim as Ziv Kipper, accusing him of working for Israeli intelligence.
Rafah residents face ‘the fire of hell’
Thursday 9 May 2024 00:10 , Jane Dalton
Recap: United Nations officials have warned that vital aid is being “choked off” after Israeli forces and tanks seized control of the main aid crossing in Rafah:
Rafah residents face ‘the fire of hell’ as Israeli tanks seize border crossing
Palestinians ‘awaiting execution’ as pressure grows on Israel to agree ceasefire
Wednesday 8 May 2024 22:15 , Jane Dalton
Palestinian civilians fleeing Israel’s assault on east Rafah have said they have been “sentenced to death”. Bel Trew reports, with Nedal Hamdouna in Rafah:
Palestinians in Rafah ‘awaiting execution’ as pressure grows over ceasefire
Opinion: I witnessed hell on earth in Gaza
Wednesday 8 May 2024 21:15 , Jane Dalton
I’ve been on the ground in Rafah – what I saw there horrified me
Irish students win anti-Israeli fight with university
Wednesday 8 May 2024 20:14 , Jane Dalton
A student encampment protest at Trinity College Dublin is to end after management agreed to the demands of protesters wanting the university to cut all ties with Israel.
Visitors have been unable to access the historic Book of Kells since action began on Friday evening when the activists set up tents inside the campus of the prestigious institution.
University management met student representatives on Wednesday to discuss the situation.
In a statement, Trinity said it would complete a divestment from investments in Israeli companies that have activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and appear on the UN blacklist in this regard.
This process is expected to be completed by June.
It said it would “endeavour” to divest in other Israeli companies, noting that its supplier list contains just one Israeli company which will remain until March 2025 for contractual reasons.
Suspension of US bombs shipment disappointing, says Israel
Wednesday 8 May 2024 18:56 , Jane Dalton
Israel’s ambassador to the UN called has called Washington’s decision to delay a shipment of powerful bombs to Israel “very disappointing”.
But Gilad Erdan said he did not believe the US would stop supplying arms to Israel.
Washington said it had held up the shipment to prevent Palestinian civilian casualties.
A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington had carefully reviewed the delivery of weapons that might be used in Rafah and as a result suspended a shipment of 1,800 2,000lb (907kg) bombs and 1,700 500lb bombs.
This would be the first such delay since the Biden administration offered its “ironclad” support to Israel after Hamas’ October attack.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the decision was taken in the context of Israel’s plan to invade Rafah, which Washington opposes without civilian safeguards.
Police clearing Pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University, dozens arrested
Wednesday 8 May 2024 17:00 , Tom Watling
Police began to clear a Pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University early Wednesday, hours after dozens of protesters left the site and marched to President Ellen Granberg’s home.
“Officers gave their third and final warning to demonstrators to move at about 3:30 a.m., saying all who remained in U-Yard and the stretch of H Street in front of the plaza would be arrested,” according to GW Hatchet, the university’s independent student-run newspaper.
Police clearing Pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University, dozens arrested
Main maternity hospital in Rafah stops admitting patients
Wednesday 8 May 2024 16:30 , Tom Watling
The main maternity hospital in the Gaza Strip’s crowded southern city of Rafah has stopped admitting patients, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has reported.
The UNFPA told Reuters that the hospital, Emirati Maternity Hospital, had been handling some 85 out of a daily total of 180 births in Gaza prior to an escalation of fighting between Hamas and Israeli troops on Rafah’s outskirts.
Around half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been crowded into Rafah after fleeing other parts of the enclave during seven months of war.
Emirati Hospital has only five delivery beds. But following the mass influx of people into Rafah that began in December due to Israeli airstrikes and fighting further north, the hospital became the main place for women to give birth in Rafah, Dominic Allen, the UN’s top official for the occupied Palestinian territories.
Other hospitals in the city, like Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital, have for months been admitting war wounded and directing women in labour to Emirati.
Palestinian babies born preterm amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas receive care at the Emirati hospital in Rafah (AFP via Getty Images)
Only three days of fuel for health services in south of Gaza, says WHO
Wednesday 8 May 2024 16:00 , Tom Watling
There is only enough fuel to run health services in the south of Gaza for three more days, the World Health Organization has said.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge in the south of Gaza from combat further north in the Palestinian enclave. Israel has threatened a major assault on the southern city of Rafah to defeat thousands of Hamas fighters it says are holed up there, and its troops are now battling the Islamist group on Rafah’s outskirts.
The WHO said a delivery of fuel to the area had been denied on Wednesday. It also said that Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah was already no longer functional, one of three hospitals in the city. Some of its equipment has been moved to field hospitals, WHO said.
“WHO has pre-positioned some supplies in warehouses and hospitals, but without more aid flowing into Gaza, we cannot sustain our life-saving support to hospitals,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding that WHO would remain in the area to provide health services.
A Palestinian child drinks juice inside the Khirbat al-Ada tent camp in Gaza (Anadolu via Getty Images)
How far will Netanyahu go in Rafah to appease his hardline coalition?
Wednesday 8 May 2024 15:30 , Tom Watling
Having expected Hamas to reject – not accept – a ceasefire deal, the Israeli prime minister was primed to launch his long-planned offensive on Rafah. Will he now bow to pressure from the US and the families of Israeli hostages and hold off the assault? Kim Sengupta reports
How far will Netanyahu go in Rafah to keep his hardline coalition partners onside?
CIA director meets with Netanyahu to discuss ceasefire
Wednesday 8 May 2024 15:00 , Tom Watling
CIA Director Bill Burns has met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss ceasefire and hostage negotiations, an Israeli official has said.
The Israeli war cabinet, made up of Mr Netanyahu, defence minister Yoav Gallant and former chief of the General Staff, Benny Gantz, are set to meet at 7.30pm local time today to discuss the state of those negotiations.
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency William Burns testifies at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats to American security in March (REUTERS)
Here are the latest photos from Rafah
Wednesday 8 May 2024 14:35 , Tom Watling
Below are the latest photos from Rafah as Israel prepares to conduct a ground offensive in the region.
Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid shortages of aid supplies, after Israeli forces launched a ground and air operation in the eastern part of Rafah (REUTERS)
A woman mourns Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in Rafah (REUTERS)
A Palestinian man inspects the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah (REUTERS)
Israel government spokesman: nothing to add to reports of US halting some weapons
Wednesday 8 May 2024 14:15 , Tom Watling
Israel has nothing to add to reports that the United States has halted the supply of some munitions, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday.
He said he had heard the reports but added “I personally and the Israeli government do not have anything to add on these reports”.
Report into whether Israel broke international law in Gaza ‘indefinitely delayed’ by Biden administration
Wednesday 8 May 2024 14:00 , Tom Watling
President Joe Biden’s administration has indefinitely delayed a report investigating potential Israeli war crimes in Gaza, according to a Politico report that cites four sources with insider knowledge.
The development comes after the US State Department was expected to release the report on Wednesday.
Report on potential Israeli war crimes in Gaza ‘indefinitely delayed’ by Biden admin
UK should have been ‘ahead of the US’ in suspending arms sales to Israel, ex-national security adviser says
Wednesday 8 May 2024 13:30 , Tom Watling
A former UK national security adviser has criticised Rishi Sunak for failing to suspend arms sales to Israel after the US paused a shipment of bombs overnight.
Lord Ricketts said it was a pity Britain had not taken a stand and should have been “ahead of the US” on the decision.
UK should have been ‘ahead of US’ in suspending arms sales to Israel
UAE strongly condemns Israel’s takeover of Rafah border crossing
Wednesday 8 May 2024 13:00 , Tom Watling
The United Arab Emirates has said it strongly condemns Israel‘s takeover of the Rafah border crossing on the Palestinian side and warned of the consequences of military escalation.
It comes after the speaker of UAE Federal National Council met with the ambassador of Qatar, a neighbouring country in the Gulf that has also been critical of Israel’s imminent offensive in Rafah.
Gaza health ministry issues update on death toll
Wednesday 8 May 2024 12:30 , Tom Watling
At least 34,844 Palestinians were killed and 78,404 injured in Israel‘s military offensive in Gaza since 7 October, Gaza’s health ministry have said in a statement.
People and first responders carry away a rescued victim from the site of a building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Rafah overnight (AFP via Getty Images)
What weapons has the US paused sending to Israel – and what else do they supply?
Wednesday 8 May 2024 12:00 , Tom Watling
The US paused a shipment of thousands of bombs to Israel last week, US officials have revealed, over concerns about on assault on the Gaza border city of Rafah.
It was the first time in the seven months of Israel’s war on Hamas in the enclave that the US has suspended weapons shipments. The two countries, since Israel’s founding in 1948, have been close military partners.
What weapons has the US paused sending to Israel – and what else do they supply?
Rafah residents face ‘the fire of hell’ as Israeli tanks seize border crossing
Wednesday 8 May 2024 11:27 , Tom Watling
Gaza has entered ‘darkest days of seven-month nightmare’ as aid is ‘choked off,’ the UN warns as Palestinians call for US to intervene as ceasefire talks continue, writes Bel Trew, with Nedal Hamdouna in Rafah
Rafah residents face ‘the fire of hell’ as Israeli tanks seize border crossing
If Israel mounts an assault on Rafah, we will witness the desperate consequences of this terrible war
Wednesday 8 May 2024 10:58 , Tom Watling
Editorial: More than a million civilians are crowded into makeshift camps in and around the city in southern Gaza. In the absence of a ceasefire, human disaster on a massive scale looks impossible to avoid
Editorial: If Israel mounts an assault on Rafah, we will see desperate consequences
Israeli military ‘struck over 100 targets’ over last 24 hours after Rafah incursion
Wednesday 8 May 2024 10:19 , Tom Watling
The Israeli military says they have “struck over 100 targets” across the Gaza Strip as they continue their offensive operation in the southern city of Rafah.
In their latest update, the Israeli military wrote: “The [Israeli military] is conducting a precise counterterrorism operation in specific areas of eastern Rafah. Terrorists were eliminated and underground shafts and infrastructure were located in different areas
“During several encounters over the past day, troops eliminated terrorists and uncovered terrorist infrastructure, as well as underground shafts in several locations in the eastern Rafah area. The troops have started the process of dismantling the terrorist infrastructure and underground shafts.
“In one incident, troops identified and eliminated a terrorist armed with an RPG.
“Simultaneously, based on intelligence about terrorists operating in the area, troops are conducting targeted raids on the Gazan side of the Rafah Crossing in the eastern part of Rafah.
“Throughout the past day, fighter jets and aircraft struck over 100 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including military structures, observation posts, launch posts and additional military infrastructure.”
Israeli military personnel are seen in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, in an image handed out by the Israeli armed forces (Israeli Defence Forces)
Russia says it sees no prospect so far for peace settlement in Gaza
Wednesday 8 May 2024 10:01 , Tom Watling
Russia has said that it saw no prospect so far for a peace settlement in Gaza or the wider Middle East, and said Israel‘s operation in Rafah was escalating the conflict.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the conflict had caused a “humanitarian catastrophe”.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov holds annual press conference in Moscow (REUTERS)
Israeli military appears to play down US arms shipment hold-up
Wednesday 8 May 2024 09:38 , Tom Watling
The Israeli military has appeared to play down an arms shipment hold-up by a US administration troubled at this week’s operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, saying the allies resolve any disagreements “behind closed doors”.
Speaking at a conference hosted by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper as the Gaza war entered its eighth month, chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari described coordination between Israel and the United States as reaching “a scope without precedent, I think, in history”.
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari speaks to the media as Israel’s military displays what they say is an Iranian ballistic missile (REUTERS)
Israeli military claims 20 Hamas terrorists ‘eliminated’ and several terror tunnels located in Rafah offensive update
Wednesday 8 May 2024 09:20 , Tom Watling
Israeli military claims to have “eliminated” 20 Hamas terrorists and located several terror tunnel shafts during a Rafah offensive.
Despite pleas from its closest allies to hold off, Israel moved its tanks into east Rafah and captured the border crossing overnight on Tuesday, in what it called a “limited” operation meant to kill fighters and dismantle infrastructure used by Hamas militant.
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Nadav Shoshani gave an update in a recorded video message on Tuesday evening (7 May).
He claimed: “In the first hours of the operation, IDF troops eliminated 20 terrorists in the area, as well as an explosive vehicle threatening our troops and located several terror tunnel shafts.”
IDF claim 20 Hamas terrorists ‘eliminated’ and terror tunnels located in Rafah update
Here are some of the latest photos from Rafah
Wednesday 8 May 2024 09:02 , Tom Watling
Good morning.
As Israel prepares for its ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, below are some of the latest pictures from overnight Israeli airstrikes in the area.
People gather around a building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Rafah (AFP via Getty Images)
Palestinian civil defence and local residents evacuate a wounded man from the destroyed al-Qadri house which was struck by Israeli bombardment in Rafah (AFP via Getty Images)
Palestinian family members gather around a wounded relative (not pictured) in Rafah (AFP via Getty Images)
Qatar condemns Israel’s Rafah incursion
Wednesday 8 May 2024 08:33 , Holly Evans
Qatar’s Ministry of foreign affairs said on Wednesday that it strongly condemns Israel’s Rafah incursion and called for international intervention to prevent the city from being invaded.
The Gulf state has frequently acted as a mediator in negotiating ceasefire deals between Hamas and Israel.
CIA director to hold talks with Netanyahu today
Wednesday 8 May 2024 08:08 , Holly Evans
The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency is due to meet with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu today.
Bill Burns is also due to hold talks with other top officials, in the wake of the news that the US has paused a shipment of bombs over concerns of a full-scale assault on Rafah.
On Monday, the IDF told civillians in Gaza to move to a “humanitarian zone” north-west of the city to avoid being harmed in an imminent attack.
Mapped: Where is Rafah and why is Israel invading it?
Wednesday 8 May 2024 07:39 , Holly Evans
Israel has ordered the evacuation of more than 100,000 people from the city of Rafah in Gaza, as fears of a ground invasion become urgent.
About 1.4 million Palestinians — more than half of Gaza‘s population — are packed into the city and its surroundings, living in densely packed tent camps, shelters or overcrowded apartments after fleeing to Rafah in hope of escaping Israel‘s attacks.
On Monday, people received flyers in Arabic ordering people to move to nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasi. The flyers detailed which neighborhood blocks needed to leave and where humanitarian zones had expanded to.
Read the full article here:
Mapped: Where is Rafah, the city Israel is set to invade?
Israel says it is reopening Kerem Shalom aid crossing into Gaza
Wednesday 8 May 2024 07:22 , Holly Evans
Israel was reopening Kerem Shalom crossing on its border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, a statement from the Israeli agency in charge of it said,
It added that aid trucks routed through from Egypt were already undergoing security inspections there.
Israel had closed Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday after a Palestinian shelling attack nearby killed four soldiers.
US paused bomb shipment to Israel over concerns of Rafah assault, official reveals
Wednesday 8 May 2024 07:20 , Namita Singh
US president Joe Biden’s administration halted a shipment of bombs to Israel amid concerns that Israeli forces were going to launch a major ground offensive in Rafah, an official from the Biden administration revealed.
Israel was set to receive 1,800 bombs weighing around 2,000lbs (907kg) and 1,700 bombs weighing 500lbs (227kg) last week, the White House administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Officials in Israel have not “fully addressed” the concerns of humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah as flagged by Washington, the official said.
More in this report:
US paused bomb shipment to Israel over concerns of Rafah assault, official reveals
Comment: I’ve been on the ground in Rafah – what I saw there horrified me
Wednesday 8 May 2024 07:14 , Namita Singh
When I was in Gaza last month, I witnessed hell on earth, writes Melanie Ward. A ground invasion of Rafah will cause mass human suffering and a further healthcare catastrophe. A ceasefire cannot come soon enough.
I’ve been on the ground in Rafah – what I saw there horrified me
What does Israel’s control of Rafah crossing mean for sheltering Palestinians?
Wednesday 8 May 2024 06:31 , Namita Singh
The Israeli tanks that entered the periphery of Rafah early yesterday stoked global fears that an offensive on Gaza’s southernmost city could endanger the more than a million Palestinian civilians sheltering there.
The ground assault dimmed hopes of an immediate ceasefire deal that the US, Egypt and Qatar have spent months pushing for. In the hours before the attack began, Hamas agreed to a ceasefire proposal that the Israeli government swiftly rejected.
About 1.3 million Palestinians — more than half of Gaza’s population — are jammed into Rafah and face the prospect of having to evacuate with no good plan for where to find adequate shelter.
Here’s what we know so far about the operation and evacuation plan:
Israeli tanks have rolled into Rafah. What does this mean for the Palestinians sheltering there?
Israeli forces take control of Gaza side of Rafah crossing with Egypt
Wednesday 8 May 2024 06:16 , Namita Singh
Israeli troops seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing yesterday in what the White House described as a limited operation, as fears mount of a full-scale invasion of the southern city and ceasefire talks with Hamas remain on a knife’s edge.
The UN warned of a potential collapse of the flow of aid to Palestinians from the closure of Rafah and the other main crossing into Gaza, Kerem Shalom, at a time when officials say northern Gaza is experiencing “full-blown famine”.
The move comes after hours of whiplash in the Israel-Hamas war, with the militant group on Monday saying it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari mediated ceasefire proposal.Israel, meanwhile, insisted the deal did not meet its core demands.
An Israeli soldier prays near an army vehicle near the border with the southern Gaza Strip on 7 May 2024 in Southern Israel (Getty Images)
By capturing Rafah, Israel gained full control over the entry and exit of people and goods for the first time since it withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005, though it has long maintained a blockade of the coastal enclave in cooperation with Egypt.
The incursion appeared to be short of the full-fledged offensive into Rafah that Israel has planned and might have been a pressure tactic in the ceasefire talks.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it an “important step” toward dismantling Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, and defence minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would “deepen” the Rafah operation if the talks on the hostage deal failed.
Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official based in Beirut, said the militant group would not respond to military pressure or threats and would not accept any “occupying force” at the Rafah crossing.
Has Israel followed international law in war on Gaza? US to render first-of-its-kind verdict
Wednesday 8 May 2024 06:08 , Namita Singh
Facing heat over its military support for Israel’s war, the Joe Biden administration is due to deliver a first-of-its-kind formal verdict this week on whether the airstrikes on Gaza and restrictions on delivery of aid violated international and US laws designed to save civilians from the worst horrors of war.
A decision against Israel would add to pressure on Mr Biden to curb the flow of weapons and money to Israel’s military.
The administration agreed in February, at the insistence of the Democrats in Congress, to look at whether Israel has used US weapons and other military assistance in a lawful manner.
An Israeli soldier walks near an armored personnel carrier near the border with the southern Gaza Strip on 7 May 2024 in Southern Israel, Israel (Getty Images)
Additionally, under the same agreement, it must tell Congress whether it deems Israel has acted to “arbitrarily deny, restrict, or otherwise impede, directly or indirectly” delivery of any US-supported humanitarian aid into Gaza for starving civilians there.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters yesterday that the department was trying to meet today’s deadline for completing the review but “it’s possible it slips just a little bit”.
The Biden administration is compelled to make a decision just as Israel’s assault on the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah — which is opposed by the US — risks undermining ceasefire negotiations and changing the course of the war and Americans’ support for it.
Israel’s Rafah assault causes uncertainty over truce deal
Wednesday 8 May 2024 04:56 , Namita Singh
Hamas official Osama Hamda warned that if Israel’s military aggression in Rafah continued, there would be no truce agreement.
Israel’s military said it was conducting a limited operation in Rafah to kill fighters and dismantle infrastructure used by Hamas, which runs Gaza. It told civilians, many displaced from elsewhere in Gaza earlier in the conflict, to go to an “expanded humanitarian zone” some 20 km away.
An injured Palestinian boy awaits treatment at the Kuwaiti hospital following Israeli strikes in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on 7 May 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas (AFP via Getty Images)
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres appealed to Israel and Hamas to spare no effort in coming to a truce agreement. “Make no mistake, a full-scale assault on Rafah would be a human catastrophe,” Mr Guterres said.
In Geneva, UN humanitarian office spokesperson Jens Laerke said “panic and despair” were gripping the people in Rafah.