PM Netanyahu suggests a date has been set for a ground offensive in Rafah soon after Israeli troops withdraw from nearby Khan Younis.
Here’s how points stand on Tuesday, April 9, 2024:
Fighting and humanitarian disaster
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Monday that a date has been established for a ground offensive in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, where about 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.
- Israeli troops withdrew on Sunday from Khan Younis, a different city in the southern Gaza Strip, ending a critical phase of the war. Defence officials mentioned they are regrouping just before a push into Rafah.
- In reaction, Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zahry told Al Jazeera that the invasion menace “raises queries about the objective of resuming negotiations”.
- Al-Shifa Medical center in Gaza Town has been still left “completely non-functional” immediately after a fatal, weeks-extended Israeli siege, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) described in its latest update on Gaza.
- The Palestinian loss of life toll from the war has surpassed 33,200 with almost 76,000 people today wounded, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said on Monday. Women of all ages and young children make up two-thirds of the useless.
Diplomacy and geopolitical tensions
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France’s overseas minister claimed on Tuesday that force, and perhaps sanctions, should be imposed on Israel to open crossings to get humanitarian help to Palestinians in Gaza.
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“There should be levers of affect, and there are several levers, going up to sanctions, to enable humanitarian assist cross checkpoints,” Stephane Sejourne informed RFI radio and France 24 tv.
- Turkey restricted the export of 54 of its goods to Israel immediately after Israel rejected a Turkish ask for for its armed service cargo planes to be part of a humanitarian aid procedure for Gaza.
- Pope Francis fulfilled with relatives of captives taken by Hamas on October 7, marking the 6-month anniversary of the attacks in southern Israel with an hourlong audience.
- Germany is facing costs at the top rated United Nations court for allegedly “facilitating the fee of genocide” towards Palestinians in Gaza by offering its ally Israel with armed forces and political support.
- In Syria, Israeli warplanes qualified armed forces posts and infrastructure on Monday in the Mahaja place.
- Qatar’s embassy in Washington turned down a statement by James Comer, chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform in the United States Residence of Reps, that “inaccurately claims” Doha has paid out Hamas “$30m per month given that 2018”.
- Also in the US, former President Donald Trump mentioned any Jewish person who votes for the incumbent, Joe Biden, in November’s presidential election “does not appreciate Israel and frankly, must be spoken to”.
- US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin asked Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant about what the Israeli military is doing to examine the “tragic strike” that killed 7 aid staff in Gaza very last week, according to a US Protection Section readout.
- Disinformation is further compounding Gaza’s crisis, UN Secretary-Standard Antonio Guterres reported in a write-up on X, contacting for global journalists be permitted entry into the enclave.
An facts war has included to the trauma of the war in Gaza – obscuring facts and shifting blame.
Denying worldwide journalists entry into Gaza is allowing disinformation and false narratives to flourish.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 8, 2024
Violence in the occupied West Bank
- The Israeli military claimed its forces shot useless a Palestinian lady in the northern West Bank on Monday following she tried to stab a soldier at a checkpoint. The army stated the incident took put at the Tayasir checkpoint in close proximity to Tubas.
- Israeli forces arrested 10 Palestinians in raids throughout the occupied West Lender on Monday night time, the Palestinian news agency Wafa claimed.
- 3 younger gentlemen were arrested and a person was injured by Israeli gunfire in the Aqabat Jabr camp east of Jericho, Wafa mentioned. Seven folks were being also arrested all through huge Israeli raids in and close to Tulkarem, Wafa included.
