United States – US President Joe Biden, in a phone call yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed his clear position regarding the possible Israeli military operation in Rafah, south of Gaza.
The White House added in a statement that Biden and Netanyahu also discussed increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza, including preparations to open new crossings in the northern Gaza Strip starting this week.
The US President stressed the need to sustain and strengthen this approach in full coordination with humanitarian organizations.
The White House explained to its Israeli counterparts that they want to see a clear and implementable plan on how to protect civilians in the city located in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that the phone call between Biden and Netanyahu took half an hour.
For its part, the Associated Press reported, citing a spokesman for the US National Security Council, that President Joe Biden repeated to Benjamin Netanyahu Washington’s concerns regarding the military operation in the city of Rafah.
She pointed out that the US President told Netanyahu that reaching a ceasefire with the factional movement is the best way to protect the lives of the Israeli hostages in Gaza.
According to Axios, the White House confirmed that Netanyahu had agreed to reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing, which was closed on Sunday following a faction movement attacked a nearby Israeli army site, killing four soldiers. The Kerem Shalom crossing is considered the main crossing between Israel and Gaza for aid trucks. .
In this context, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry warned of the dangers of a possible Israeli military operation in Rafah in southern Gaza, as this escalatory action entails severe humanitarian risks that threaten more than a million Palestinians.
France and the European Union also renewed their rejection of a possible Israeli attack on Rafah and the forced displacement of its residents.
Yesterday morning, Monday morning, the Israeli army ordered residents of the eastern areas of the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, to evacuate it in preparation for military operations that it will carry out in the area, which is crowded with tens of thousands of displaced people, and which includes a hospital and the Rafah land crossing between the Strip and Egypt.
The army said in a statement, “Based on the approval of the political level, the Israeli army calls on the civilian population to temporarily evacuate from the eastern neighborhoods of the Rafah area to the Al-Mawasi area.”
He added: “This process will move forward gradually based on the ongoing assessment of the situation that will take place throughout.”
Source: Agencies
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2024-05-08 03:16:38
