Israel begins military operation in Gaza
Israeli forces are currently striking targets in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah after military action was approved by Israeli leaders, according to an announcement made by officials on Monday.
The action was taken just hours after Hamas declared it had agreed to a cease-fire plan from Qatar and Egypt that may put an end to the seven months of fighting in Gaza.
Leaked footage purports to show an Israeli tank on the Gazan side of Rafah Crossing this morning. #OpSecIsForLosers pic.twitter.com/63wLMk9y1O
— POWER CORRIDORS (@power_corridors) May 7, 2024
According to the Wafa news agency, the Israeli military has killed multiple Palestinians in various airstrikes around Gaza. According to Wafa, an Israeli bomb hit a home in the administrative district of central Rafah, killing one person and wounding several others.
Earlier it was reported that at least 12 people had died in three different strikes on the city as the Israeli military is intensifying its attacks on Rafah, which is located in southern Gaza.
Additionally, according to Wafa, an Israeli bombing of a house in the al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City killed one person and an Israeli airstrike on a house in the al-Sabra neighborhood south of Gaza City killed three.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that although the proposal was “far from Israel’s essential demands,” negotiations on a cease-fire agreement would nonetheless go forward.
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A proposed resolution by the UN General Assembly that would recognize Palestine as eligible to become a full member of the UN has been criticized by Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, for being in violation of the organization’s basic charter.
“If it is approved, I expect the United States to completely stop funding the UN and its institutions, in accordance with American law,” Erdan said.
According to US law, Washington is prohibited from providing funding to any UN organization that fully admits any group that does not possess the “internationally recognized attributes” of statehood.
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Israel orders Gaza residents to evacuate part of Rafah
100,000 people are being told to go to Khan Younis and al-Mawasi, which is a “extended humanitarian area.”
Israel claims that it is necessary to take Rafah to overcome Hamas following a seven-month conflict.
However, the United Nations and the United States of America caution that an attack on the city, where over a million Palestinian refugees are seeking shelter, might have disastrous effects.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a top Hamas leader, described the Israeli order as “a dangerous escalation that will have consequences” to the Reuters news agency.