"On Wednesday, the saying was once again trending, this time through what appears to be an #AI -generated image showing a field of refugee tents spelling out "All Eyes On #Rafah". One version of the graphic has been shared more than 38 million times on #Instagram."
#Rafah / Gaza aid deliveries drop by two-thirds since Israel's move into Rafah, UN says
[…] "The amount of food and other aid entering Gaza, already insufficient to meet the soaring needs, has further shrunk since 7 May," the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (#OCHA) said.
The International Court of Justice will announce a decision today on potential orders against Israel regarding its ongoing attack on Gaza, specifically in Rafah. Israel fears the court will order a halt to the to the war, or at least the Rafah operation, due to worsening humanitarian conditions. Such an order would put Israel in a difficult position - defying it could lead to international sanctions, though the U.S. would likely support regardless of the legality of its actions in Gaza, as it did so far.
#Maariv is reporting that according to the assessment of "diplomatic officials," the likelihood that the court will accept South Africa's request and order a halt to the war in Gaza tomorrow, is not very high, but nonetheless, this time it is "realistic and certainly not negligible."
If this scenario materializes - Israel will be dependent on the U.S. vetoing the order. But according to assessments in Israel, in the current situation the American veto is not guaranteed, and it is possible that Washington will condition it on Israel taking one action or another. For example, in exchange for Israeli agreement to the Saudi initiative.
#Gaza / The IDF's "limited operation" in #Rafah looks a lot like the #domicide occurring throughout the rest of Gaza
Satellite images show that after capturing the Rafah crossing, the IDF advanced northward along the "Philadelphi route", towards the center of the city.
#Palestine / Norway, along with Ireland and Spain, to recognize Palestinian state (to be followed by Slovenia and Malta)
With over 140 UN member states now recognizing Palestine, the wave of European support signals growing impatience with the stalled peace process and a willingness to challenge U.S.-backed insistence on direct negotiations favoring Israel's position.
[...] "In the middle of a war, with tens of thousands of dead and injured, we must keep alive the only thing that can provide a safe home for both Israelis and Palestinians: two states that can live in peace with each other," --- Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere (#Norway)
Israel swiftly condemned the move, recalling its ambassadors from Norway and Ireland, and warning of "dire consequences" if Spain follows through. The Israeli Foreign Minister accused the countries of "undercutting Israel's sovereignty and endangering its security."
[cont'd] Ben Gvir in a genocidal rant on Haram al-Sharif this morning:
"We will not allow even a declaration of a Palestinian state. And I'll say one more thing: In order to destroy Hamas, we need to enter Rafah to the very end, to perform a root canal treatment. To get our captives back, we need to stop the fuel, to stipulate that humanitarian aid is only in exchange for humanitarian aid. And to control this place, the most important place."
He also inadvertently admitted the war in Gaza and the Hamas is about maintaining the occupation.
"From the holiest place for the people of Israel and which belongs only to the State of Israel, I say - this evening we will receive further evidence of why Hamas must be completely and totally destroyed."
[cont'd] Israeli forces move deeper into Rafah in night of heavy battle
[...] Residents and militants said tanks had taken up new positions on Wednesday further west than before along the southern border fence with Egypt, and were now stationed on the edge of the Yibna neighbourhood at the centre of Rafah. They had not yet entered the district as fighting had been intense.
Again, about 800,000 people, half of #Rafah's population, are forced to flee due to the Israeli invasion.
The claim that civilians in Gaza can go to safe areas is false
Humanitarian organizations no longer have resources such as food and essential items to prepare
The time has come to agree on a ceasefire and any further escalation will cause more suffering to civilians.
Doctors Without Borders said that the intensification of the onslaught by Israeli forces on #Rafah has forced it to stop providing lifesaving care at Rafah Indonesian Field hospital as of 12 May.
US Ambassador Jacob Lew says that the US is continuing to generously send more weapons to Israel.
In an interview with Israel's channel 12, #US#Ambassador Jacob Lew said that the occupation state has not crossed the red line in #Rafah and that there will be no interruption in US aid to Israel.
He added that "it is wrong to believe that anything has fundamentally changed in the relationship between Washington and Tel Aviv."
"As everyone is focusing on the decision to delay one set of ammunition, everything else keeps flowing."
Thousands of truck/trailers are stuck on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing since last week because of the Israeli occupation of the border. Most of the fresh products in the trucks have gone bad and there is a risk of other items to be destroyed if #Israel does not allow the help to get in.
Over 1 million Palestinians, most of the women, elderly and children are stuck in western #Rafah without access to food, medicine and water. The situation is getting worse every day as Israel keep bombing them and pushing forward with 100s of tanks and armored vehicles.
With a greenlight from Biden to continue the its invasion into #Rafah, despite evidence of war crimes https://kolektiva.social/@oatmeal/112421478297802310, #IDF is now calling residents of eastern #Rafah to evacuate to the “humanitarian zone” in the coastal al-Mawasi region in southern #Gaza. Similarly IDF called residents of Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya, two neighborhoods in northern Gaza, to evacuate to western Gaza City.
[cont’d] Israeli operations in #Rafah have closed a main crossing point for aid; 360,000 fled
[…] #UNRWA, the main U.N. aid agency in Gaza, estimated that about 360,000 people had fled the southern city since the Israeli military gave its first evacuation order a week ago […] They are moving to empty tracts of land, including Al-Mawasi, a small strip along the coast, designated as an expanded humanitarian area by Israel.
[…] But Shaina Low of the Norwegian Refugee Council aid agency said it was not set up to receive uprooted families. There was "no space to install latrines or water points. There are huge piles of solid waste. My colleague spoke about seeing donkey carcasses on top of trash, so there are all sorts of health concerns," Low said.
[cont’d] #ICJ to hold hearings over Israel's Rafah attacks
[…] South Africa will address the court on Thursday after it asked the ICJ, also known as the World Court, last week to order Israel to cease its Rafah offensive and allow unimpeded access to Gaza for U.N. officials, organisations providing humanitarian aid, and journalists and investigators.
[cont’d] EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell's office: Israel’s continued military operation in Rafah will strain its relationship with the EU
[…] “The European Union is calling on Israel to refrain from further exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and reopen the crossing point of Rafah. Should Israel continue its military operation in Rafah, it would inevitably put a heavy strain on the EU’s relationship with Israel,” the bloc warned.
[cont’d] reminder: the #ICJ will convene at 3 PM for an urgent discussion scheduled to last two hours at the request of South Africa to issue new orders relating to the war in Gaza and its cessation, as well as the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip, following the IDF activities in #Rafah.
South Africa will present its arguments, and tomorrow the Israeli delegation will do so between 10 AM and 12:00 PM.
Israeli media is estimating that there is a possibility that the Court will respond to South Africa's request and issue a #ceasefire order. However, the prevailing view is that Israel will not obey such an order.
[…] The hearings on May 16 and 17 will only focus on issuing emergency measures, to keep the dispute from escalating. It will likely take years before the court can rule on the merits of the case.