As of: February 11, 2024, 7:04 p.m
By: Yekaterina Jalunina
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing a military offensive on the city of Rafah.
Criticism of Israel's plans is numerous.
Update from Saturday, February 10th, 2:33 p.m.:
According to an Israeli media report, Netanyahu assumes that Israel only has around a month to launch an offensive in Rafah due to international pressure.
The operation must therefore be completed by March 10th.
On this day, the fasting month of Ramadan begins for Muslims worldwide.
The Israeli military did not comment specifically on the reports and eyewitness information about a serious air strike in which 20 people died in Rafah on Saturday.
When asked, the army only stated that it adheres to international law in its operations and takes precautions to keep the damage to the civilian population to a minimum.
Israel launches attack on Rafah – Baerbock warns of “imminent catastrophe” in the Gaza Strip
Update from Saturday, February 10th, 12:55 p.m.:
Foreign Minister Annalena Baebock has again urgently warned against an Israeli military offensive in the south of the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war and at the same time announced another trip to Israel.
“An offensive by the Israeli army on Rafah would be a humanitarian catastrophe,” the Green politician wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday.
“The people in Gaza cannot disappear into thin air.” Baerbock pointed out that the need in Rafah was already unbelievable and that 1.3 million people there were seeking protection from the fighting in the Gaza Strip in a very small space.
However, according to eyewitnesses, the Israeli army has already begun attacking targets in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, despite international warnings.
Medical sources said more than 20 people were killed in aerial attacks on two houses on Saturday.
The mayor of the city in the south of the coastal area, Mohammed al-Sufi, also confirmed the number of victims to the German Press Agency.
Rafah in southern Gaza in the focus of the Israel war: Netanyahu and army launch offensive
First report:
Tel Aviv/Gaza – The Israeli armed forces are targeting Rafah.
Following an order from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to develop an evacuation plan for the city's civilian population, the Israeli army continued its bombing of targets around the southern Gaza Strip.
The German Press Agency
reported attacks in the area around the city on Saturday morning, citing eyewitnesses.
New attacks in Gaza – Netanyahu orders plans to evacuate Rafah
Already on Friday, Netanyahu called on the Israeli armed forces to submit to the government a “combined plan to evacuate the population and destroy the battalions” of the radical Islamist Hamas in Rafah.
“It is impossible to achieve the war goal of eliminating Hamas if four Hamas battalions remain in Rafah,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Before that, however, the civilians in the city on the border with Egypt should be brought to safety.
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The city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip lies on the border with Egypt.
© Mohammed Talatene/dpa
Offensive on Rafah imminent – Human Rights Watch fears “catastrophic consequences”
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) sharply criticized Netanyahu's plans.
HRW representative Nadia Hardman said it was illegal to force the more than one million Palestinian refugees in Rafah to undergo a new evacuation without having a safe place to go.
This move could have “catastrophic consequences.”
Hardman called on the international community to act to prevent further atrocities.
Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, has also condemned Israeli plans to attack Rafah.
His office said on his behalf that these plans were aimed at expelling the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip.
Abbas belongs to Fatah, which is based in the West Bank.
Rafah offensive: UN Secretary-General Guterres warns of humanitarian emergency
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned of serious consequences for the entire region.
He emphasizes that half of the Gaza Strip's population is trapped in Rafah and has no possibility of escape.
On the news platform
X
(formerly Twitter), his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric wrote that mass expulsions must be avoided at all costs.
In addition, according to media reports, both the US government and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock have clearly expressed their rejection of military action in Rafah in recent days.
Middle East war between Israel and Hamas – attack on Israel on October 7th
On October 7th, Hamas triggered the war with its attack on Israel.
Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU and the USA, entered Israeli towns that day and carried out massacres of civilians.
According to Israeli figures, around 1,160 people were killed, including many civilians.
In addition, around 250 people were taken hostage into the Gaza Strip.
In response to the attack, Israel launched a massive military operation in the Gaza Strip.
According to Hamas' latest figures, more than 27,940 people have been killed since then.
However, this information cannot be independently verified.
(
dpa/jek
)