RAFAH: Intense Combat and Bombardment Shake Gaza Strip's Rafah

 

Street skirmishes and Israeli bombardments reverberated through Rafah in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, as per accounts from residents and officials, a day following Israeli tanks' advance into the city's heart near the Egyptian frontier.

The Israeli military continued its mission to neutralize Hamas, persisting in the conflict that erupted on October 7, despite global condemnation that escalated after a devastating strike ignited a crowded camp on Sunday night.

Israel’s National Security Adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, indicated on Wednesday that the conflict could extend until the year's end. “We may have another seven months of fighting to consolidate our success and achieve what we have defined as the destruction of Hamas’s power and military capabilities,” Hanegbi stated.

However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the necessity for Israel to formulate a post-war strategy “as quickly as possible”. “In the absence of a plan for the day after, there won’t be a day after,” he asserted.

Hostilities have intensified in Rafah, where an AFP correspondent reported that an Israeli helicopter unleashed gunfire and missiles at central city targets. Hamas’s military faction declared it was launching rockets at Israeli forces.

AFPTV footage depicted Palestinians, with blood-streaked torsos and bandaged limbs from strikes near Khan Yunis, being transported on makeshift stretchers to the European Hospital, close to Rafah.

“The rockets fell directly on us. I was thrown three meters... I don’t know how I managed to stand up,” recounted one individual who chose to remain anonymous. The army reported three soldiers were killed in Rafah on Tuesday, increasing its casualties to 292 since the ground offensive commenced on October 27.

Rising Casualty Figures

A continuous flow of civilians is evacuating Rafah, the new epicenter of the relentless conflict, many burdened with their possessions on their shoulders, in vehicles, or on donkey-drawn carts. Gaza's civil defense official Mohammad al-Mughayyir reported 21 additional fatalities from a strike on Tuesday that “targeted the tents of displaced people” in western Rafah.

Three bodies were retrieved from a shelled house in Khan Yunis, the civil defense agency confirmed.

Erdogan Criticizes UN

In Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday criticized the United Nations and urged the “Islamic world” to respond to the latest fatal Israeli strikes in Gaza.

“The UN cannot even protect its own staff. What are you waiting for to act? The spirit of the United Nations is dead in Gaza,” Erdogan addressed lawmakers from his AKP party.

Erdogan’s remarks coincided with a UN Security Council meeting to discuss a deadly Israeli attack on a displacement camp west of Rafah on Tuesday, which reportedly killed 21 people, according to a civil defense official in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

The Turkish leader also chastised fellow Muslim-majority nations for not taking unified action regarding the Israeli assault. “I have some words for the Islamic world: what are you waiting for to take a common decision?” Erdogan, leading a predominantly Muslim nation of 85 million, told his party members.

“Israel is not just a threat to Gaza but to all of humanity,” he declared. “No state is safe as long as Israel does not adhere to international law and does not feel obligated by international law.”

‘Profoundly Distressed’

Simultaneously, President Xi Jinping conveyed to his Egyptian counterpart on Wednesday that China was “deeply pained” by the “extremely severe” situation in Gaza, as reported by state media.

China is hosting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi along with several other Arab leaders in Beijing this week, aiming to strengthen the consensus between Beijing and the Arab nations.

“The current Palestinian-Israeli conflict has resulted in numerous innocent Palestinian civilian casualties, and the humanitarian situation in Gaza is extremely severe. China is profoundly distressed,” Xi expressed.