Hamas launches war on Israel

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Biden says Israel must protect vulnerable in Rafah

US President Joe Biden has said civilians who are "packed" into Rafah in the Gaza Strip are "exposed and vulnerable" and must be protected.

Israel must make "credible" efforts to protect the more than one million Palestinians sheltering in the southern Gazan city, he said.

Rafah has come under heavy Israeli air strikes in recent days, with a number of casualties reported.

A Palestinian doctor told the BBC people in Rafah were living in fear.

Last week, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had ordered troops to prepare to expand its ground operation to Rafah. He vowed to defeat Hamas gunmen hiding in the city.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk said any assault would be "terrifying" and many civilians "will likely be killed".

More than half of the Gaza Strip's population of 2.3 million is now crammed into the city on the border with Egypt, which was home to only 250,000 people before the war between Israel and Hamas erupted in October.

Many of the displaced people are living in makeshift shelters or tents in squalid conditions, with scarce access to safe drinking water or food.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68281213

In an ideal world Israel would like everyone moved into Egypt but that is a non starter as far as the Egyptians are concerned.

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Ceasefire talks resume as Rafah under fire

Negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza have resumed in Cairo, Egyptian media say.

Senior officials from the US, Israel, Egypt and Qatar are meeting as Israel faces strong international pressure to stop its bombardment of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

About 1.5 million people are crammed into this small border town, amid fears of an Israeli ground offensive.

Israel's PM rejected as "delusional" ceasefire proposals by Hamas last week.

Benjamin Netanyahu said "total victory" was possible in Gaza within months.

He later ordered Israeli troops to prepare to expand their ground operation, and vowed to defeat Hamas gunmen hiding in Rafah.

But UN human rights chief Volker Türk said any assault on the city would be "terrifying" and many civilians "will likely be killed".

US President Joe Biden has called for civilians in the area to be protected.

Rafah has come under heavy Israeli air strikes in recent days, with deaths and injuries reported.

The discussions in Cairo are continuing despite Israel's rejection of Hamas's terms.

Mr Netanyahu has sent his intelligence chief, David Barnea, to the talks to try to make further progress - Israeli media said he did so under American pressure.

He is joined by the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency William Burns, Egyptian intelligence officials and Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.

There is a framework for a temporary truce on the table, involving releasing Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a period of calm.

Qatar and Egypt, with US support, have been going back and forth between Israel and Hamas to try to broker a deal.

Israel says 130 hostages are still unaccounted for out of the 253 taken by Hamas-led gunmen during the 7 October attacks on southern Israel. A number of hostages have been released - including most recently two male Israeli-Argentines - but some have died.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68284819

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UN warns of 'slaughter' if Israel launches ground assault on Rafah

A top UN official has warned an Israeli assault on Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, could lead to a "slaughter".

Humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said Palestinians in Gaza were already suffering an "assault that is unparalleled in its intensity, brutality and scope".

The consequences of an invasion of Rafah would be "catastrophic", he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to defeat Hamas gunmen he says are hiding in the city.

In an unusually strongly worded statement, Mr Griffiths said over a million people were "crammed in Rafah, staring death in the face". He said civilians in the city had little food or access to medicine and "nowhere safe to go".

An Israeli invasion of the city, he added, would "leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at death's door".

A spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the BBC's Newshour programme the UN had not received any Rafah evacuation plans from Israel and would not participate in any forced evacuation.

Stephane Dujarric said: "The United Nations will not be party to any forced displacement of people."

Rafah is a small city in the south of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt. Before the war it was home to around 250,000 people, but since Israel ordered civilians to evacuate south its population has swelled to an estimated 1.5 million.

Many are living in tents in desperate conditions and say they have nowhere to go.

Rafah has come under heavy Israeli air strikes in recent days, with at least 67 people killed there on Monday according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Mr Griffiths also said humanitarian workers working in Gaza had been "shot at, held at gunpoint, attacked and killed" because of the breakdown in law and order.

His statement came as negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza resumed in Cairo.

Senior officials from the US, Israel, Egypt and Qatar met on Tuesday, as pressure mounted on Israel from the international community not to invade Rafah.

Mr Guterres said that hoped the talks would be successful so as to avoid an Israeli attack on the city.

But subsequent statements following the meeting from the Egyptian State Information Service indicated there had been no breakthrough.

It said the meeting "confirmed the extreme danger of escalating operations in Rafah in southern Gaza and warned of the serious consequences of such an action", but made no announcement of progress towards peace.

US President Joe Biden has warned Israel that civilians must be protected. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has told Israel to "stop and think seriously" before attacking Rafah.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68287513

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The Israeli military says it is carrying out a "precise and limited mission" in Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

The Israel Defense Forces says it has "credible intelligence", including from released hostages, that Hamas held hostages at the hospital in southern Gaza.

It adds that it has apprehended a number of suspects, after earlier claiming that "terrorists appear to have been operating from within the hospital". Hamas has dismissed Israel's claims as "lies"

The IDF adds that it contacted the director of the hospital on Tuesday calling for the immediate end of "all Hamas terrorist activity" within the facility.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says Israel forced people to leave, as well as using a bulldozer to demolish a wall and turn the hospital into a barracks.

Footage shows medical staff working under gunfire, with Nasser hospital sources telling the BBC one patient has been killed.

Israel ordered civilians sheltering at the hospital to leave on Wednesday.

Doctors at the hospital say a number of people have been killed by Israeli sniper fire there in recent days.

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Special forces entered the hospital and began what Israel describes as a "precise and limited mission"

The IDF says the aim is to find and return bodies of hostages it believes are hidden inside the medical complex. This information, the IDF says, is based on its own “credible evidence”

Chaotic scenes are being reported from inside and around the hospital, where many displaced people are said to be sheltering.

Hamas rejects the IDF’s accusations, saying claims about hostages being held inside Nasser are "lies"

Intensive care patients are reportedly in “grave danger”, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. But the IDF says "there is no obligation for patients or staff to evacuate"

This morning’s raid comes amid warnings from heads of aid agencies, who made impassioned appeals to UN member states to do their utmost to prevent an Israeli ground operation in Rafah, the border city 7km (4.5 miles) from Nasser.

There are estimated to be more than 1.4 million people sheltering inside Rafah - prior to the 7 October attack it held a population of 250,000

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Satellite images show construction on Egypt's border

Satellite images appear to show extensive construction work in progress along Egypt's border with Gaza, which reports claim is being carried out in preparation for housing Palestinian refugees.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68317541

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Latest ceasefire talks not very promising - Qatar

Talks to agree a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza were "not very promising" in recent days, mediator Qatar has said.

Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he remained optimistic, but added "time is not in our favour".

It comes as Israel's prime minister said he would press ahead with plans for a Rafah ground invasion, despite growing international pressure.

Hamas has blamed Israel for a lack of progress in achieving a ceasefire deal.

Talks have been taking place in Cairo as senior officials from the US, Israel, Egypt and Qatar meet to try to broker a pause in fighting.

"The pattern in the last few days [is] not really very promising but, as I always repeat, we will always remain optimistic and will always remain pushing," said Sheik Mohammed, speaking at a meeting of world leaders at the Munich Security Conference.

"I believe in this agreement we are talking at a bigger scale and we still see some difficulties on the humanitarian part of these negotiations," he added.

But he said a truce should not be dependent on a deal to release the hostages held by Hamas.

"This is the dilemma that we've been in and unfortunately that's been misused by a lot of countries - that in order to get a ceasefire, it's conditional to have the hostage deal," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he sent negotiators following a request from US President Joe Biden, but added they did not return for further discussions because Hamas's demands were "delusional".

The group has laid out a series of demands, including the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, full withdrawal of Israel's forces and an end to the war after a 135-day pause in fighting, broken into three phases.

Israel launched its military offensive after Hamas-led gunmen killed at least 1,200 people and seized 253 hostages in a surprise attack on its territory on 7 October.

The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 28,800 people, mainly women and children - have been killed in Israel's campaign.

Speaking in Jerusalem on Saturday, Mr Netanyahu reiterated his aims of destroying Hamas and said his forces would fight until Israel achieved "total victory".

He said those urging against military action in Rafah, the southern-most Gazan city where some 1.5 million people have fled, were effectively telling the country to "lose the war", adding that his troops would enter even if a hostage deal was reached.

In the earlier days of the war, Israel had instructed Palestinians to seek refuge in Rafah as the Israeli military moved against the northern cities.

Israeli authorities this week said they wanted civilians to relocate to what they call a "humanitarian zone" - a thin strip of mainly agricultural land along the Mediterranean coast known as al-Mawasi.

President Biden has urged Israel not to launch an offensive in Rafah without a plan to keep civilians safe.

Mr Netanyahu is also facing pressure domestically to bring home the hostages who remain in Gaza.

Thousands of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday calling for early elections, which are not scheduled until 2026. Israel's prime minister dismissed similar calls from within his own ruling Likud party for an election immediately after the conflict with Gaza had ended, saying it would "immediately divide us".

Meanwhile, Hamas has blamed Israel for a lack of progress in achieving a ceasefire deal and threatened to suspend its involvement unless relief supplies are brought into the north of Gaza. Aid agencies say they are increasingly concerned about the lack of food, water and medicine in the territory.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68326788

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WHO says Gaza's Nasser hospital not functional after Israel raids

The World Health Organization has said Gaza's Nasser hospital has ceased to function following an Israeli raid.

Israel Defense Force (IDF) troops entered the complex on Thursday, saying intelligence indicated hostages taken by Hamas were being held there.

The WHO said it had not been allowed to enter the site to assess the situation.

The IDF has described its operation in Nasser as "precise and limited" and accused Hamas of "cynically using hospitals for terror".

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "Nasser hospital in Gaza is not functional anymore, after a week-long siege followed by the ongoing raid."

"Both yesterday and the day before, the WHO team was not permitted to enter the hospital to assess the conditions of the patients and critical medical needs, despite reaching the hospital compound to deliver fuel alongside partners," he said.

"There are still about 200 patients in the hospital. At least 20 need to be urgently referred to other hospitals to receive health care; medical referral is every patient's right."

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says only four medical staff were left in the hospital trying to care for the remaining patients.

One source inside the hospital, who did not want to be named, told BBC News that 11 patients had died due to interruptions in the supply of electricity and oxygen, and that several doctors had been arrested.

Yesterday, the Israeli military said its troops had been told to keep the hospital running and that food and water had been delivered. Asked about the state of the hospital this morning, an army spokesman said only that they were checking.

Fighting has raged around the Nasser site for weeks. Israel has repeatedly claimed Hamas is using hospitals, along with schools, as operational bases.

The Israeli military says it has killed about 20 Hamas fighters and seized numerous weapons in the area of the hospital.

"Over the past day, dozens of terrorists were eliminated and large quantities of weapons were seized," the IDF said.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68330579

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The drone warfare in Ukraine serves as a precedence.


https://abcnews.go.com/International...y?id=107343473

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US calls for temporary ceasefire in UN text

The US has proposed a draft resolution at the UN Security Council which calls for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza.

It has also warned Israel against invading the overcrowded city of Rafah.

The US has previously avoided the word "ceasefire" during UN votes on the war, but President Joe Biden has made similar comments.

However, the US plans to veto another draft resolution - from Algeria - which calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

More than a million displaced Palestinians, who represent about half of Gaza's population, are crammed into Rafah after being forced to seek shelter there.

The southern city, which borders Egypt, was home to only 250,000 people before the war.

Many of the displaced are living in makeshift shelters or tents in squalid conditions, with scarce access to safe drinking water or food.

The UN has issued its own warning that a planned Israeli offensive in the city could lead to a "slaughter".

Israel launched its operations in Gaza following an attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 others taken hostage.

The Israeli military campaign has killed 29,000 people in the Palestinian territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there.

Washington has come under immense international pressure to use its leverage to rein in Israel's devastating operations, having spent much of the war emphasising its ally's right to self-defence.

While it has vowed to block the Algerian draft, its rival text does register opposition to Israel's plans.

Talks will begin on the US draft this week, but it is not clear when or if the proposal might be put to a vote. Under the UN charter, members "agree to accept and carry out" decisions made by the Security Council - in contrast with decisions made at the General Assembly, which are non-binding.

It is the first time the US has called for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza at the UN, having vetoed previous resolutions using the word.

The US draft also states that a major ground offensive in Rafah would result in more harm to civilians and their further displacement, including potentially into neighbouring countries - a reference to Egypt.

It also says such a move would have serious implications for regional peace and security.

The draft resolution calls for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable, echoing remarks by President Joe Biden in his conversations with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.

Mr Netanyahu has so far resisted international pressure to reconsider the plan - vowing to rescue remaining hostages and defeat Hamas throughout Gaza.

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has warned the manoeuvre will be launched unless Hamas frees all its hostages by 10 March. The date marks the start of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

The Arab group of nations says the Security Council cannot turn a deaf ear to the pleas of the international community demanding a ceasefire.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68346027