Sensational turning point for Israel by Joe Biden, who in an exclusive interview with CNN said for the first time that he wants to influence military supplies, continuing with defensive ones but not offensive ones if he invades Rafah. His words come after the first suspension of the sending of thousands of US bombs to the ally. “We will continue to ensure that Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and its ability to respond to recent attacks from the Middle East,” the president explained. “But it’s simply wrong. We won’t do it, we won’t provide weapons and artillery shells,” he added, referring to the scenario of a large ground operation in Rafah. “I have made it clear that if they enter Rafah, but they have not yet entered, I will not provide weapons,” he added. “I made it clear to Bibi and the war cabinet: they will not get our support if they actually attack these population centers.” The president explained that for the moment, Israel’s actions have not crossed this red line, even if they have caused tension in the region. “They did not enter populated centers,” he underlined. Biden acknowledged that American bombs were used to kill civilians in Gaza in Israel’s offensive. “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a result of those bombs and other ways in which they attack population centers,” the president said, referring to the 2,000-pound bombs whose supply has been suspended.
The reaction from the Jewish state was immediate: “Very disappointing comments”, Israeli ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan defined Biden’s sentences. “Of course any pressure on Israel is interpreted by our enemies as something – Erdan said – that gives them hope. There are many American Jews who voted for the president and for the Democratic Party, and now they are hesitant.”
The Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera meanwhile states that four people died and 16 others were injured in an Israeli bombing which tonight hit a residential building in the city of Rafah, in the western neighborhood of Tal as-Sultan. Palestinian sources quoted by the Times of Israel reported “intense air raids and tank advances” in the northern Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City. Previously the IDF had announced that it had attacked Hamas “terrorist targets” in the center of the Strip. The Ynet website spoke of a “fairly large ground raid” in the Netzarim Corridor area.
Regarding the negotiations for a truce, Hamas maintains its position in favor of the proposalIzzat El-Reshiq of the political office of the Islamist movement in power in the Gaza Strip said today.
For further information Agenzia ANSA Gaza Authority: around 15,000 children killed after 7 October – News – Ansa.it ‘At least 30 deaths from malnutrition’ (ANSA)
IDF, ‘operation launched in Zeitun against Hamas targets’
The IDF announced that it had launched “an operation in the Zeitun area, in the central part of the Strip, to continue dismantling terrorist infrastructures and eliminating terrorist operatives in the area”. The operation – he explained – is conducted by the 99th Division and is based on intelligence information. So far – he added – “25 targets have been hit, including military structures, tunnels, observation posts, sniper nests”. The ground troops – he concluded – are now “securing the Zeitun area”.
Palestinian sources quoted by the Times of Israel reported “intense air raids and tank advances” in the northern Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City. Previously the IDF had made it known that it was carrying out attacks against Hamas targets in the central part of the Strip.
The US holds back its weapons on Israel, stalemate on the truce
However, the situation in Cairo is not resolved and indeed the talks seem to be taking a turn for the worse. According to a source from the Islamic faction, the confrontation “is over and Netanyahu is back to square one”, and even an Israeli official admitted that in the Egyptian capital “there was no turning point”. In this stalemate, the fighting in Rafah continued with intensity, after the IDF took control of the Palestinian part of the crossing with Egypt. The escalation in the area continues to be opposed by the United States, which has sent a strong signal to its ally: for the first time, it has confirmed that it has frozen a shipment of weapons aimed at the Jewish state and is “re-evaluating the sending of other short-term military shipments,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced.
While the door to negotiations for a ceasefire remains slightly ajar in Egypt, CIA director William Burns arrived in Jerusalem where he saw Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Mossad head David Barnea. The objective is to push as hard as possible to rekindle negotiations on the one hand and on the other to prevent the Rafah operation from continuing.
At the same time, the Israeli camp reiterates how unrealistic the prospect of a permanent stop to hostilities invoked by Hamas is. In the opinion of IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari, the most coherent forecast is that of a year of war: “We will not deceive public opinion. Even after we have taken care of Rafah – said Hagari – there will be terrorism. Hamas it will move north and regroup.” For this reason, he announced, the army has “presented a plan to the government for fighting in Gaza which should last a year”.
Meanwhile, in Rafah there were close clashes with Islamic militiamen in the eastern part of the city. The IDF announced that “the counter-terrorism operation to eliminate Hamas and dismantle its infrastructure in specific areas of eastern Rafah continues”. And the soldiers “have eliminated terrorists and discovered tunnel entrances”, while “targeted raids on the Gaza side of the crossing also continue”.
The operation in the southernmost city of the Strip – where one and a half million displaced people are crammed – led the US to suspend the delivery of a load of bombs last week. According to an anonymous source from the Biden administration, these are “1,800 910 kilo bombs and 1,700 225 kilo bombs”. Secretary Austin was even clearer. At the moment, he explained in a Senate hearing, “short-term security assistance is being reviewed in the context of the ongoing events in Rafah.”
Austin clarified that a final decision has not yet been reached, but an Israeli source said the American initiative had been met with “deep frustration”. The feeling, it was noted, is that Washington wants to promote the truce plan on which Hamas has agreed.
Hostilities between Hamas and Israel continued beyond Rafah. On the 215th day of the war, the IDF announced the killing in a raid of Ahmed Ali, the commander of the enemy’s naval force in Gaza City. The Palestinian faction instead announced that “a third mass grave was found inside the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City with 49 bodies recovered so far”, for a total of “seven mass graves inside the hospitals” of the Strip. Meanwhile, Israel has announced that it has reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing where aid passes to Gaza, as requested by the US and the UN.
In contrast, according to UNRWA, no aid has yet entered Gaza through that crossing.
The clash on the northern border of Israel also continues with Hezbollah rockets and response raids. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke of the possibility of “a hot summer” on that front.
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