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☆ Opinion: Israel could defeat Hamas in Gaza more quickly if the US didn’t hold it back, this military expert says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Hilary Krieger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

CNN: Do you think that Israel can defeat Hamas without conducting a ground invasion in Rafah? The fact is that Rafah’s where the hostages and remaining Hamas military power and leadership are believed to be, their rockets and weapons production and other capabilities, everything. CNN: Couldn’t Israel’s offensive still have the effect of creating more militants who are going to join Hamas and fight against Israel? But it’s also a very winnable war for Hamas at this point because wars are not determined just by military capability. The problem is that the international community pushed Israel into this framework of going slower, going methodically, evacuating every area beforehand.

Persons: CNN —, John Spencer, Spencer, John Spencer Spencer, He’s, ” Spencer, JACK GUEZ, they’ve, we’re, there’s, Couldn’t, David Petraeus, Petraeus, who’s, it’s, You’ve, Dawoud Abo, Israel, I’ve, Israel doesn’t, that’s, — we’re, they’re, would’ve Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, Modern, Institute, IDF, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Getty, Israel, Nazi, Spencer, Shiva, Dawoud Abo Alkas, ISIS, UN, Gaza, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Israel, Gaza, Iraq, West, Rafah, Spencer, Israeli, Hamas, Gaza City, AFP, Iran, Palestine, Northern Gaza, Afghanistan, United States, Egypt, Sinai, Anadolu, Qaida, Mosul, Panama, Tokyo

☆ Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, Rafah invasion looms as Israel battles Hamas in the north
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu/Getty ImagesThe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says that the operation in Rafah remains limited in scope, while it continues operating in two other parts of Gaza. The operation was aimed at locating tunnel shafts operated by Hamas and had recovered “ammunition of many types,” including anti-tank missiles. While a broader offensive has been long expected in Rafah, Israel is battling elsewhere in Gaza to prevent Hamas regrouping. Shoshani said operations were continuing in Jabalya, in northern Gaza, and in Zeitoun, in central Gaza. He said the deaths of five Israeli soldiers on Wednesday night in Jabalya – in Israeli tank fire - came amid fighting in a “dense, very complicated area.”

Persons: Mostafa Alkharouf, Nadav Shoshani, ” Shoshani, ”, Shoshani Organizations: Getty, Israel Defense Forces, IDF International, CNN, Hamas Locations: Gaza, Anadolu, Rafah, Israel, Jabalya, Zeitoun, Jabalya –

☆ How Israeli Extremists Won
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last October, an Israeli settler in the West Bank set a Palestinian home on fire. And last fall, a settler shot a Palestinian in the stomach in front of an Israeli soldier. Yet the authorities have not charged any of these settlers — or others who have attacked West Bank residents — with crimes. In it, they document how violent factions within the settler movement have repeatedly received protection from the Israeli government despite attacks against Palestinians — and even against Israeli officials who tried to challenge the settlers. An Israeli government report in 1982 documented the problem, to no effect.

Persons: —, Ronen Bergman, Mark Mazzetti, ” Ronen, Mark, “ Organizations: West Bank, Times Magazine Locations: “, of Israel

☆ Middle East Crisis Temporary Pier Is Anchored in Gaza to Deliver Aid, U.S. Military Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

U.S. officials had said last week that the floating pier and causeway had been completed, but that weather conditions had delayed their installation. An American ship loaded with humanitarian aid, the Sagamore, set off for Gaza from Cyprus last week, and the aid was loaded onto a smaller vessel that had been waiting for the pier to be installed. Aid groups say the devastation in Gaza after seven months of Israeli bombardment, strict Israeli inspections and restrictions on crossing points are limiting the amount of aid that can enter Gaza. The Pentagon has said that the pier could help deliver as many as two million meals a day. An aid group, World Central Kitchen, built a makeshift jetty in mid-March to deliver aid by sea to Gaza for the first time in nearly two decades.

Persons: Charles Q, Brown, “ It’ll, ”, “, that’s, Nadav Shoshani, Dan Dieckhaus, Rawan Sheikh Ahmad, Helene Cooper Organizations: U.S, Israel, U.S . Central Command, United Nations, Central Command, U.S ., Pentagon, Joint Chiefs, Staff, NATO, Israeli Navy, Division, Food, U.S . Agency for International Development Locations: Rafah, Israel, Gaza, An American, Cyprus, Brussels, Kerem

☆ The View Within Israel Turns Bleak - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Megan K. Stack | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

By Megan K. StackIt was the pictures of Palestinians swimming and sunning at a Gaza beach that rubbed Yehuda Shlezinger, an Israeli journalist, the wrong way. Stylish in round red glasses and a faint scruff of beard, Mr. Shlezinger unloaded his revulsion at the “disturbing” pictures while appearing on Israel’s Channel 12. “We should have seen a lot more revenge there,” Mr. Shlezinger unrepentantly added. “A lot more rivers of Gazans’ blood.”It would be nice to think that Mr. Shlezinger is a fringe figure, or that Israelis would be shocked by his bloody fantasies. Israel has hardened, and the signs of it are in plain view.

Persons: Megan K, Yehuda Shlezinger, Shlezinger, ”, ” Mr, Shlezinger unrepentantly, he’s, preening Organizations: Israel Hayom Locations: Gaza, Israeli, Israel

☆ American medics trapped in Gaza call on US government to help bring them home
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Jeremy Diamond | Muhammad Darwish | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

FAJR Scientific, the United States-based nonprofit organization that brought Kattan and 16 other physicians to Gaza, is now calling on the US government to help coordinate the team’s safe exit from Gaza. ‘This is what clean looks like in Gaza’The FAJR Scientific team recorded video diaries of their experiences and the conditions they face inside the European Hospital exclusively for CNN. Picking up a single vial of Propofol, she describes how the medics were able bring it in with them from the US. FAJR ScientificNo way outFAJR Scientific operates under the umbrella of WHO which, according to FAJR Scientific, has been attempting to coordinate an evacuation. Of the 19 members on the PAMA medical team, 10 are US citizens.

Persons: Ahlia Kattan, ” Kattan, “, ”, Mosab Nasser, Kattan, anesthesiologists, Laura Swoboda, ” Swoboda, We’re, Sameer Khan, “ It’s, they’re, I’ve Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, Gaza’s, CNN, WHO, World Health, FAJR, Hospital, “, FAJR Scientific, European Hospital, Palestine American Medical Association Locations: Jerusalem, California, Rafah, Kattan, Gaza, Egypt, FAJR, United States, Gaza ’, Wisconsin

☆ Yoav Gallant, Israel defense minister, says he would oppose ‘Israeli military rule’ in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jeremy Diamond | Tamar Michaelis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly rule out Israeli governance over Gaza and to lay out his post-war plans, warning that he opposes Israeli rule in the Palestinian enclave. Israeli military officials have quietly warned that the lack of a long-term strategy for post-war governance will result in this pattern repeating throughout Gaza. “I will not agree to the establishment of Israeli military rule in Gaza. Netanyahu also said that a complete routing of Hamas would be his prerequisite for a new civilian government in Gaza. The public clash between Gallant and Netanyahu follows repeated calls by the US for Israel to produce a clear plan for post-war Gaza.

Persons: CNN —, Yoav Gallant, Benjamin Netanyahu, ’, ” Gallant, “⁠, ”, Gallant’s, Antony Blinken, Israel, Netanyahu, “, CNN Netanyahu, “ I’m, Fatah, Benny Gantz, Gallant Organizations: CNN, CNN — Israel’s, Hamas, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian Locations: Gaza, Israel, ”, Kyiv, Ukraine

☆ Biden's move to send $1 billion in weapons to Israel could backfire
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewThe US plans to send more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel despite growing tensions between President Joe Biden and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Getting the weapons to Israel could be a lengthy process. AdvertisementBiden later warned he would withhold additional weaponry if Israel went ahead with a widespread ground assault on the city. Seth Binder, an expert on US weapons sales with the Middle East Democracy Center, told the Journal that Biden's apparent U-turn weakens his influence over Netanyahu. Analysts say that Biden's handling of the Gaza war is among the issues corroding his support among them.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden, Israel, Nathan Howard, Netanyahu —, Seth Binder, Netanyahu, Sen, Chris Van Hollen, BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, he's, Dave Harden Organizations: Service, Israel's, Officials, Street Journal, Business, CNN, White, Getty, Middle East Democracy Center, Washington Post, Pentagon, Israel, Gaza, US Agency for International Development, West Bank, BBC Locations: Israel, Gaza, Rafah, Washington , DC, Iran, Lebanon, Damascus, Syria

☆ Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, Rafah invasion looms, Gaza aid crisis worsens
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

A damaged United Nations vehicle is seen in front of a hospital after a UN employee was killed in an attack on a vehicle in Gaza, according to Israeli media. The White House believes an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah would be a mistake and is “urgently” working toward a ceasefire, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday. The Biden administration is urging Israel to connect their military operations to a “clear” end game for the war, Sullivan told reporters. Hamas treated in Turkey: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that "more than 1,000 Hamas members are currently under treatment" in Turkish hospitals. Aid ransacked: Israeli activists opposed to helping Palestinians in Gaza intercepted and ransacked an aid shipment.

Persons: Ali Jadallah, Jake Sullivan, Biden, Sullivan, Recep Tayyip Erdogan Organizations: United Nations, UN, Getty, Israel, American, CNN, National, State Department, Hamas, enclave's Health Ministry, West Bank, Palestinian Authority . United Nations Locations: Gaza, Anadolu, Gaza's, Rafah, Israel, Palestinian, Turkey, Turkish, Jordan

☆ Behind the curtain of the global arms trade
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Momo Takahashi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In his new book, "Nothing Personal: The Back Office of War," photographer Nikita Teryoshin lifts the veil on the global arms trade, capturing defense exhibitions worldwide. Closed to the public, his series offers a rare inside look into the lucrative global arms industry. Guests, politicians, and traders watch a live demonstration of warfare at the International Defense Exhibition in Abu Dhabi. After the construction and the oil and gas sectors, the global arms trade is one of the most corruption-prone sectors in the world, according to Transparency International. By contrast, the international trade of bananas is more tightly regulated than the arms trade, according to the introductory note of the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.

Persons: Nikita Teryoshin, Teryoshin, Rafael, KAI, Lockheed Martin Organizations: Business, International Defense, Bofors, International Defense Industry, International Defense Exhibition, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, United Nations Arms, Black Eagles, Nikita, Kalashnikov, Lockheed Locations: East, Ukraine, France, Paris, United States, China, Abu Dhabi, Russia, India, Poland, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Peruvian, Lima , Peru, Korean, Seoul

☆ ‘We give birth only to lose them’: Injured Palestinian mothers grieve for babies killed in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Sarah Sirgany | Jomana Karadsheh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Hijazi tells her story in a faint voice lying in a hospital bed in Doha, Qatar’s capital. Hijazi was evacuated from Gaza for medical treatment a month after her injury. Doctors Hasan Abuhejleh and Ahmed AlSaadi inspect Gaza patients at the Hamad hospital in Doha, Qatar. Like many patients coming out of Gaza, she has a drug-resistant infection picked up in the territory’s struggling hospitals. Despite the different outcome of their pregnancies, Alqutati and Hijazi describe a similar despair that shackles them to the horrors of the war in Gaza.

Persons: Raneem Hijazi, Azzouz, ”, Khan Younis, “, Mariam, cesarian, Hijazi, ‘, ’ ” Hijazi, hasn’t, I’ve, Hasan Abuhejleh, Ahmed AlSaadi, Hamad, Sanjiv Talreja, Ola, Darren Bull, Shaimaa Al, Ghoul, Hothaifa, Mohamed, Abdullah, Shahed Alqutati, Ali, ‘ Ali, ’, ‘ Shahed, Sham, Alqutati, I’ll, ” Hijazi Organizations: Doha CNN, CNN, Hamad Hospital, United Nations, Shifa Locations: Qatar, Doha, Gaza, Qatar’s, Egypt, orthopedics, Israel, Rafah, Territories, Sabha, Al, Gaza City

☆ Young Palestinians with amputated and injured legs find care in US — but face uncertain future
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Aditi Sangal | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Celina OdehShe is one of three Palestinians who received PCRF’s help to come to the US for leg injury treatment. At least 1,000 children in Gaza have had one or both legs amputated, UNICEF reported in December. Doctors feared that she may have needed both legs amputated, but with adequate care and treatment, she has avoided that outcome. An anxious wait to return homeEvacuating to the United States is not the obvious answer for all injured children, Hailat said. “We’re trying to limit how many people we bring to the United States.

Persons: Ahed, “ Ahed, Bseso, ”, Tareq Hailat, Celina Odeh, Joe English, —, Israel —, Ahmed Damo, PCRF, PCRF Ayham, ’, Musalm, Hailat, Amber Alayyan, Alayyan, there’s, PCRF’s Hailat, “ We’re, malnourishment, worriedly, “ Organizations: CNN, Shriners Children’s, Palestine Children’s Relief, UNICEF, ”, Children’s Locations: Gaza, Greenville , South Carolina, United States, Israel, Chicago, Greenville

☆ US officials continue to warn against invasion of Rafah, even as Israel presses ahead
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Blinken and Sullivan both said Biden made the determination because he didn’t want American weapons used in what he estimates would be a bloody, ill-advised operation. At the same time, they sought to rebut claims from Republicans and pro-Israel Democrats that Biden was leaving Israel to fend for itself. Despite American warnings dating back months about the wisdom of a ground invasion into Rafah, Israel appears poised to continue advancing on the city and has issued evacuation orders for some of the 1.4 million civilians estimated to be sheltering there. That is partly why Biden determined that American weapons should not be used in a Rafah offensive. We treat Israel, one of our closest allies and partners, just as we would treat any other country,” Blinken said on NBC.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden, Blinken, Sullivan, Biden, didn’t, Israel, ” Blinken, “ Israel’s, ” Sullivan, ” “, doesn’t, “ We’ve, we’ve, ”, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, that’s Organizations: CNN, Top, White House, Israel Democrats, Hamas, CBS, Ministry, Health, Press, State Department, NBC, Israeli Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Israel

After Hamas attacked Israel in October, igniting the Gaza war, Israeli leaders described the group’s most senior official in the territory, Yahya Sinwar, as a “dead man walking.” Considering him an architect of the raid, Israel has portrayed Mr. Sinwar’s assassination as a major goal of its devastating counterattack. Seven months later, Mr. Sinwar’s survival is emblematic of the failures of Israel’s war, which has ravaged much of Gaza but left Hamas’s top leadership largely intact and failed to free most of the captives taken during the October attack. Even as Israeli officials seek his killing, they have been forced to negotiate with him, albeit indirectly, to free the remaining hostages. Mr. Sinwar has emerged not only as a strong-willed commander but as a shrewd negotiator who has staved off an Israeli battlefield victory while engaging Israeli envoys at the negotiating table, according to officials from Hamas, Israel and the United States. Some spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence assessments of Mr. Sinwar and diplomatic negotiations.

Persons: Yahya Sinwar, Sinwar’s, Sinwar, Sinwar — Locations: Israel, Gaza, United States, Egypt, Qatar

☆ Israeli guards strapped wounded Palestinian detainees to their beds wearing diapers and fed them through straws, report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewAn Israeli detention center is subjecting Palestinians to abuse, strapping detainees down to their beds, blindfolding them, and holding them in diapers, a new CNN report alleges. It has been the site of abusive conduct against some of the 70 Palestinian detainees, three Israeli whistleblowers told CNN. One whistleblower told CNN that beatings were "not done to gather intelligence. In a field hospital, wounded detainees were strapped to beds, dressed in diapers, and fed through straws, CNN reported. In November, Business Insider's Alia Shoaib reported on graphic videos appearing to show IDF soldiers abusing Palestinian detainees in the West Bank.

Persons: —, Mohammed Al, Insider's Alia Shoaib, Adnan Al Organizations: Service, CNN, Business, Medical, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, of Health, Guards, Shifa, Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Anadolu, Getty, West Bank, BBC, Military Locations: Israel, Gaza, Aqsa, Deir Al Balah, Negev, al

☆ US Marine officer claims 40% of drones the IDF has shot down were their own, report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A US Marine officer said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has been shooting down some of its own drones. The officer said the IDF had been taking out 40% of their own UAVs, per The War Zone. AdvertisementThe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been shooting down almost half of their own drones, a US Marine Corps officer has said. The Marine Corps told Business Insider that The War Zone report was accurately contextualized but declined to provide additional information. Reports have also emerged suggesting that the IDF had likely accidentally killed Israeli citizens during Hamas' attacks on October 7.

Persons: —, Michael Pruden, it's, Pruden, Efrat Katz Organizations: US, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, Service, US Marine Corps, Marine Corps, Royal United Services Institute, Haaretz, Israel Air Force Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ How the Israeli Air Force once destroyed over 60 enemy jets and dozens of Soviet missile systems in battle without losing a single fighter
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Israeli Air Force achieved an unmatched air combat victory in the 1982 Lebanon War. The battle, known as Operation Mole Cricket 19, saw over 60 enemy aircraft eliminated without a single Israeli loss. The fourth-generation Israeli jets were also made much more lethal by the AIM-9L Sidewinder missile that could be fired from any angle. This allowed Israeli jets, with targeting assistance from UAVs, to destroy the SAMs using anti-radiation missiles. A picture taken on June 28, 2016 shows an Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter jet preparing to take off at the Ramat David Air Force Base located in the Jezreel Valley, southeast of the Israeli port city of Haifa JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty ImagesAdditionally, Israel had superior Command, Control, and Communications (C3) capabilities.

Persons: —, SAMs, Haifa JACK GUEZ, hadn't, Israel, Organizations: Israeli Air Force, Mole, Service, Palestinian Liberation Organization, Soviet Union, Soviet, Syrian Air Force, IAF, AIM, 9L, Ramat David Air Force Base, Getty, Syrian SAM, Kippur, Command, Communications, Grumman, RAND Corporation Locations: Lebanon, Beqaa, Israel, Syria, Soviet, Vietnam, Jezreel, Haifa, AFP, Syrian

☆ Anti-government protests demand release of Gaza hostages ahead of Israel’s Memorial Day
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Eugenia Yosef | Mohammed Tawfeeq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Protesters took to the streets of several cities across Israel on Saturday, demanding the release of all hostages held in Gaza ahead of Israel’s Memorial Day. Families of hostages held in Gaza also took part in anti-government protests, including in Tel Aviv, Caesarea, Rehovot, and Haifa. Many waved Israeli flags and held up signs with images of the Israeli hostages, calling on the government to bring them home alive. Israeli mounted police deploy during a rally calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza outside the defense ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on May 11, 2024. “The UK government has been working with partners across the region to secure the release of hostages, including British nationals.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Yael Adar, Tamir Adar, Tamir, ” Adar, Jack Guez, Hagit Chen, Itay Chen, “, ” Chen, Abu Obaida, Popplewell, ” Obaida, Kibbutz, Channah Peri, brother Roi Organizations: CNN — Protesters, Israel Defense Forces, Getty, Al, Brigades, Minister’s, CNN, United Locations: Israel, Gaza, Israel’s, Tel Aviv, Caesarea, Rehovot, Haifa, AFP, Kibbutz Nirim, Israeli

Just a few weeks ago, Israel, under extraordinary international pressure to respond to warnings of imminent famine in the Gaza Strip, announced new steps to increase humanitarian aid. But after an Israeli military incursion into the southern city of Rafah this week, the flow of aid has come to a near-total stop, first closed off by Israel and then further restricted, officials say, by Egypt. Aid officials warned that essentials like food and medicine were running dangerously low, threatening to worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis.

Organizations: Aid Locations: Israel, Gaza, Rafah, Egypt

CNN spoke to three Israeli whistleblowers who worked at the Sde Teiman desert camp, which holds Palestinians detained during Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Reports of abuse at Sde Teiman have already surfaced in Israeli and Arab media after an outcry from Israeli and Palestinian rights groups over conditions there. CNN has requested permission from the Israeli military to access the Sde Teiman base. The account tallied with details of a letter authored by a doctor working at Sde Teiman published by Ha’aretz in April. The structure, which resembles an animal pen, is located in the central area of the Sde Teiman compound.

Persons: Sde Teiman, ”, “, –, Ofer, Patrick Gallagher, Adnan al, Bursh –, Mohammed al, Ran, ” Dr, Mohammed Al, Shawish, abasement, “ You’d, Teiman, Ha’aretz, Israel, Ray, Tal Steiner, ” Steiner, – Ofer, West Bank –, Ibrahim Yassine, Abu Salah, Al, Barbara Arvanitidis, Tamara Qiblawi, Matthew Chance OSINT, Allegra Goodwin, Alex Platt, Abeer Salman, Ami Kaufman, Kareem Khadder, Mohammad Al Sawalhi, Carlotta Dotto, Lou Robinson, Mark Oliver, Tom James, Sarah Tilotta, Mark Baron, Julie Zink, Augusta Anthony Motion, Yukari Schrickel, Laura Smith, Eliza Mackintosh, Dan Wright, Matt Wells Editor’s, Matthew Chance, Al Hilou Organizations: Israel CNN —, CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Military, IDF, West Bank, Bosnian, Ahli Baptist Hospital, Social Media, CNN Al, “, Ha’aretz, for Human Rights, Nasser Hospital, Planet Labs PBC Planet, Planet Labs, Palestinian Red Crescent Society Locations: Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Al, Ahli, Israel’s, “, London, Sde, Jerusalem

☆ Middle East Crisis White House Aide Warns Israel Against ‘Smashing Into Rafah’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Erica L. Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

John F. Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said President Biden is concerned that an Israeli assault on Rafah would strengthen Hamas. Smashing into Rafah, in his view, will not advance that objective, will not get to that sustainable, enduring defeat of Hamas. But Mr. Biden has grown increasingly wary of a major assault in the densely populated city of Rafah in southern Gaza. Credit... Abir Sultan/EPA, via ShutterstockMr. Kirby also tried to assuage concerns that the United States was breaking with its closest ally in the Middle East. Mr. Biden’s decision to pause certain weapons shipments to Israel underscored brewing frustrations between Mr. Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

Persons: John F, Kirby, Biden, Israel “, ” Mr, Israel —, Israel, Mr, CNN’s Erin Burnett, Abir, Biden’s, “, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, God’s, ” Organizations: White House, ., American, Congress Locations: Rafah, Israel, Gaza, United States, “, I’m, Israeli, Abir Sultan, Egypt

Israeli leaders declared on Thursday that they would not be deterred by President Biden’s threat to withhold more arms shipments if the military launched a major assault on densely populated areas of Rafah in southern Gaza. Defiant and at times disdainful of the Biden administration’s stance, their comments made clear the widening rift between Israel and the United States over the war and the prospect of a full-scale invasion of Rafah, where about a million Palestinians are sheltering. And they came as high-level negotiations aimed at reaching a cease-fire and hostage deal were derailed — at least for the moment — amid anger by some of the participants over a military incursion into Rafah by Israeli forces earlier this week. After that incursion, Mr. Biden said the United States, Israel’s closest ally, would not ship more weapons that could be fired into crowded sections of Rafah. On Thursday, an Israeli military spokesman said his nation had enough munitions on hand to proceed with its plans.

Persons: Biden’s, Biden Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Israel, United States

☆ Biden says U.S. won’t supply weapons for Israel to attack Rafah, in warning to ally
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Biden has said that Israel needs to do far more to protect the lives of civilians in Gaza. "We're going to continue to do what's necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself," Austin said. "But that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah." A decision against Israel would further add to pressure on Biden to curb the flow of weapons and money to Israel's military. "Over the years, the United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Israel.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin Lamarque, Biden, Israel, we're, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Ali Jadallah, Lloyd Austin, Austin, Menahem Kahana, Gilad Erdan, Mike Johnson, Mitch McConnell, Sen, Lindsey Graham, Bernie Sanders of, Sanders, Netanyahu, Hatem Khaled, Itamar Yaar Organizations: Gateway Technical College, Reuters, Hamas, CNN, Israel, Anadolu, Getty Images, Biden, White House National Security, Palestinian Hamas, Afp, Getty, United Nations, Congress, Republican, Republicans, Austin, Reuters Privately, The State Department, Israel's National Security Council, Islamic State Locations: Sturtevant , Wisconsin, U.S, Israel, Rafah, Gaza, I'm, Palestinian, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, United States, Egypt

An Israeli tank near the border with Gaza. The United States paused an arms shipment to Israel last week out of concern that the weapons might be used in a threatened assault on Rafah, Gaza, officials said. Credit... Tsafrir Abayov/Associated Press

Persons: Tsafrir Organizations: United, Associated Locations: Gaza, United States, Israel, Rafah

☆ Israeli forces take control of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

An Israeli tank brigade seized control Tuesday of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, authorities said, moving forward with an offensive in the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife's edge. The Israeli 401st Brigade entered the Rafah crossing early Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said, taking "operational control" of the crucial crossing. Footage released by the Israeli military showed a tank entering the crossing. The Israeli military claimed it seized the crossing after receiving intelligence it was "being used for terrorist purposes." Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, acknowledged Israeli forces had seized the crossing and had closed the facility for the time being.

Persons: brinkmanship, Wael Abu Omar, Israel that's Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, Israeli 401st Brigade, Palestinian Crossings Authority, Egyptian Foreign Ministry Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Israel, Israeli, Egypt, Kerem, Wael, United States

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