“However, the State Department has received reports from several credible UN and non-governmental sources of possible human rights abuses by Israeli forces. Because of Israel’s heavy reliance on US defense equipment, the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel was “contrary to its obligations under international humanitarian law or A plausible assessment is that the Israeli military used them in “inappropriate” cases. Best Practices for Reducing Civilian Vulnerability.”
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of a major invasion of the border town given the Israeli army’s advances east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. “The situation in Rafah is on a knife edge,” Guterres told a news conference in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Friday.
“A major ground offensive in Rafah would cause a humanitarian disaster of epic proportions and undermine our efforts to support people in the face of impending famine.” Humanitarian aid workers in the border town reported dire conditions. Hospitals must suspend their services within 24 hours unless urgently needed fresh fuel is supplied.
Israeli armed forces advanced with ground troops on the eastern outskirts of Rafah on Tuesday night. According to UN figures on Friday, 110,000 people have fled the overflowing Egyptian border town. The military move is fueling fears that it could be the start of a major assault on the city. The United States, Israel’s most important ally, has strongly warned the country against such a move. The German government has also criticized it. The Gaza war was sparked by a massacre in Israel on October 7 by terrorists from the Islamist Hamas and other groups that left around 1,200 dead.
France has called on Israel to immediately end its military operations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. The military operation since the beginning of the week threatens to create a catastrophic situation for civilians in Gaza, who have already been displaced several times, and there are no safe zones in Gaza, according to the Foreign Ministry. Paris announced on Friday evening. Israel must restart the negotiation process as this is the only way to secure the immediate release of the hostages and a permanent ceasefire.
France reiterated its call on Israel to do everything possible to ensure civilian safety and the importation of humanitarian aid, in accordance with international law and the demands of the International Court of Justice. As the Foreign Ministry in Paris also announced, Israel must immediately reopen the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, which is essential for civilians to access humanitarian aid and the evacuation of the most vulnerable people from the Gaza Strip.
France condemned attacks by Israeli settlers on a Jordanian aid convoy and called on Israeli authorities to end settler violence. France condemns Hamas attack on Kerem Shalom border
The US also reiterated fears of an Israeli attack on Rafah – but so far has seen no large-scale attack on the city in the southern Gaza Strip. “Certainly we view this with concern,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in Washington on Friday. “But I wouldn’t go so far as to say that what we’ve seen here in the last 24 hours represents a broad, major (or) major ground operation,” Kirby said. US President Joe Biden threatened Israel with cutting off some weapons supplies in the event of a major attack.
“We reiterate our call to the Israelis to immediately open the border crossing for humanitarian aid. This help is urgently needed,” Kirby continued. The U.S. reiterated its call on Israel to “act as carefully, accurately, and differently as possible so that innocent lives are not at risk any more than they already are.”
Despite strong international criticism, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been threatening a ground offensive in Rafah for months. Israel sees Rafah as the last bastion of Hamas militants. More than a million people have fled fighting on the Egyptian border. According to the United Nations, 110,000 people have left the east of the city since Israel called for the evacuation.
