CNN Central News & Network–ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has escalated his pledge to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which is filled with around 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip.
“It will happen. There is a date,” Netanyahu said in a video statement Monday, without elaborating.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has said a ground operation into Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians. Netanyahu spoke as Israeli negotiators are in Cairo discussing international efforts to broker a cease-fire deal with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Israeli troops withdrew Sunday from Khan Younis, another city in southern Gaza, ending a key phase of the war. Defense officials say they’re regrouping ahead of a push into Rafah. Palestinians who visited Khan Younis on Monday said the city is now unlivable, offering them little immediate chance to return. Many have been sheltering in Rafah.
The Palestinian death toll from the war has passed 33,200, with nearly 76,000 wounded, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
An Israeli official confirms that Israel is purchasing 40,000 tents to prepare for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Israel says Rafah is Hamas’ last stronghold and is vowing to send ground troops into the city. But the international community, including the US, opposes the offensive, saying it would endanger Palestinian civilians.
More than 1 million Palestinians, over half of Gaza’s population, have fled to Rafah after being displaced by fighting elsewhere in the territory.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military says it has killed a commander of Hezbollah’s secretive Radwan Force in southern Lebanon.
Ali Ahmad Hussein is one of the most senior militants killed since Israel and Hezbollah began exchanging fire at the start of the war in Gaza. His killing comes as regional tensions soar after an apparent Israeli attack last week on Iran’s consulate in Syria, threatening to spark a wider conflagration.
The Israeli military said two other Hezbollah militants were also killed in the strike early Monday.
Hezbollah announced the death of Ali Ahmad Hussein but did not give any details on the circumstances or his role within the group, in line with how they announce the deaths of their members.
The Israeli military said he was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Sultaniyeh. It said in a statement that Hussein was responsible for carrying out attacks on northern Israel.
Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops have clashed along the tense Lebanon-Israel border since Oct 8. Hezbollah says it would stop firing rockets once a cease-fire is reached in the Gaza Strip that would end the Israel-Hamas war.
Israeli officials have been demanding that the Radwan Force withdraw from the border area in order to allow tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to return home.
Turkey restricts export to Israel
Turkey says it is restricting the export of dozens of products to Israel, including aluminium, steel, construction materials and chemical fertilizers over Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
The decision announced Tuesday came a day after Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara would impose measures against Israel for rejecting a request for Turkish military cargo planes to join an operation to airdrop aid to Gaza. He said Turkey would continue the measures until Israel declares a cease-fire and allows the uninterrupted flow of aid to Gaza.
