The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, pledged yesterday to “ensure that the Kerem Shalom crossing – in the west of Israel and on the border with southern Gaza – is open for humanitarian aid” , the White House said in a statement, after Joe Biden’s brief call to the Israeli leader from the White House. “The president has reiterated his clear position on Rafah,” Washington said, recalling his warnings for Israel not to invade this city in southern Gaza.
Defying its repeated warnings in recent months, Israel’s war cabinet warned Palestinians to evacuate Rafah, warning them of an imminent attack and that last night it decided to go ahead with launching a possible invasion The president already told him in April that invading this city would be a “mistake”, since more than a million Palestinian civilians have found refuge there fleeing the bombings from the north.
The Biden administration has repeatedly warned Netanyahu that its support for Gaza will depend on the protection of civilians and aid workers. Despite this, the bombings on the civilian population have not stopped and the multibillion-dollar assistance – of 3.8 billion dollars a year – continues to be unquestioned. Last month, in fact, Congress approved an additional $26 billion in military assistance.
As Gaza protests continue on campuses across the country, the White House is stepping up its efforts to secure a ceasefire. The president invited the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, to the White House yesterday, in a meeting closed to the press that focused on the cessation of hostilities in Gaza. The meeting came after a round of failed negotiations this weekend in Cairo, between representatives of Hamas, the director of the CIA (William Burns) and mediators from Egypt and Qatar, to which no one was presented Israeli delegation.
Israel’s warning in Rafah came in response to a missile attack that killed four Israeli soldiers on Sunday, which Tel Aviv’s war cabinet blamed on Hamas militants.
On Monday, the international community expressed its rejection of the incursion. “Israel’s evacuation orders to the civilians of Rafah portend the worst: more war and famine. It is unacceptable”, tweeted the head of the European Union’s foreign policy, Josep Borrell, urging Israel to “give up” the offensive. The Foreign Ministries of Egypt and Qatar spoke in the same vein, describing the warning as an “escalating action” in the Middle East.
