On April 24, 2024, Israel said the US Senate approval of the 13 billion in military aid sent a strong message to its enemies and with strikes pummelling Gaza in its war against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Fears are rising that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu will soon follow through on repeated threats to send troops into Rafah located in Southern Gaza, where 1.5 million people are sheltering in make shift tents and camps.
Israel says Rafah is the last major stronghold of Hamas, but aid groups warn any invasion by Israel will lead to an apocalyptic situation. Earlier on April 24, 2024, hospitals and security sources in Gaza reported Israeli strikes in Rafah as well as the central Nuseirat refugee camp.
“Everybody seems to be a countdown to war, across the displacement camp on Earth, which is Rafah. Norwegian Refugee Council chief Jan Egeland told an international media agency. Israel’s foreign minister on the same day thanked the US Senate for approving the military package hot on the heels of the House of Representatives.
“The Israel aid package that now passed both the houses of the US Congress is a clear testament to our strength of alliance and sends a strong message to the enemies of Israel, Katz told on social media site X.
The aid comes against a backdrop of growing protest against the Israel conduct of its war with Hamas which has turned the vast areas of the Gaza Strip to rubble and sparked fears of famine.
Hundreds of students have been arrested in recent days at pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the campus of leading universities of the US, Israel top military supplier. The United Nations say multiple obstacles continue to impede the delivery of urgently needed aid to civilians desperate of food, water and medicine along with shelter. But Netanyahu has pressed on with an offensive campaign on Rafah on the besieged border with Egypt.
Citing Egyptian officials briefed on Israel’s plans an American national newspaper said Israel was planning to move civilians to from Rafah to nearby Khan Younis over a period of two to three weeks. Satellite imageries showed by Maxar Technologies showed tent camps that has been recently put up in the area.
Another media reported that Israel would then send troops into Rafah gradually targeting areas where Hamas leaders are thought to be hiding in a military operation expected to last six weeks. The war began with an assault by Hamas on October 7, 2023 that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people according to figures from international media agencies.
In retaliation, Israel launched a military offensive that has killed at least 34,183 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
The Israeli army announced the death of a soldier in Gaza, raising its losses to 261 since the ground operation began. Israel estimates that 129 of the roughly 250 people abducted during the Hamas attack remain in Gaza, including 34 it says are presumed dead. Public pressure has mounted on Netanyahu’s government to strike a truce deal that would secure the release of the remaining hostages.
Israel has repeatedly targeted hospitals during the war, accusing Hamas of using them as command centres and to hold hostages abducted on October 7. Hamas denies the accusations. Gaza Civil Defence Agency said nearly 340 bodies were uncovered of people killed and buried by the IDF at the Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.
The Israeli army said claims it had buried Palestinian bodies were “baseless”, without directly addressing allegations that Israeli troops were behind the killings. The army said that “corpses buried by Palestinians” had been examined by Israeli troops searching for hostages and then “returned to their place”.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk called for an “independent” probe into the deaths at the Nasser Hospital and Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, noting the “special protection” awarded to medical facilities under international law. Images sent by international media from the scene showed numerous bodies under white shrouds in front of the bombed-out Nasser Hospital.
UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said some of the bodies found at the Nasser Hospital were allegedly “found with their hands tied and stripped of their clothes”, adding that efforts were underway to corroborate the reports.
The White House said it would discuss the matter with Israel. Obviously, scenes of mass graves are deeply concerned but I don’t have anything that can confirm the veracity of those, National Security spokesman John Kirby told reporters. Call to renew UN agency funding
The European Union’s humanitarian chief Janez Lenarcic called on donor governments to fund the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, which has been central to aid operations in Gaza.
His comment came after a much-awaited independent report found that “Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence” for its claim that UNRWA employs “terrorists”.
The report did find “neutrality-related issues”, such as agency staff sharing biased posts on social media.
After the report was released, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini called for an investigation into the “blatant disregard” for UN operations in Gaza, adding that 180 of the agency’s staff have been killed since the war began.
While some governments have renewed funding for the agency, the United States and Britain are among the holdouts. The White House would “have to see real progress” before it restores funding, Kirby said.
The Gaza war has triggered violence across the region, with deadly cross-border exchanges on Tuesday between the Israeli army and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, a Hamas ally.
