Gaza cease-fire talks end sans breakthrough
Rafah braces for Israeli bombardment as humanitarian situation deteriorates
CAIRO/JERUSALEM/GAZA — Talks involving several parties on the Gaza truce ended without a breakthrough on Tuesday as calls grew for Israel to hold back on a planned assault on the southern end of the enclave, crammed with over a million displaced people.
The city of Rafah, whose pre-conflict population was about 300,000, is teeming with homeless people living in tent camps and makeshift shelters. They had fled there from Israeli bombardments in areas of Gaza farther north during more than four months of conflict.
Israel says it wants to flush out Hamas militants from hideouts in Rafah and free Israeli hostages being held there. Its military is making plans to evacuate Palestinian civilians. But no plan has been forthcoming and aid agencies say the displaced have nowhere else to go in the shattered territory.
With Palestinians in Rafah “staring death in the face”, United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said an Israeli ground invasion there would make humanitarian relief nearly impossible.
“Military operations in Rafah could lead to a slaughter in Gaza. They could also leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at death’s door,” Griffiths said in a statement.
Israeli tanks shelled the eastern sector of Rafah overnight, causing waves of panic, residents said.
They said displaced people — dozens so far — had begun to leave Rafah after Israeli shelling and airstrikes in recent days.
“Last night in Rafah was very tough. We’re going back to Al-Maghazi out of fear — displaced from one area to another,” said Nahla Jarwan, referring to the coastal refugee camp from which she fled earlier in the conflict. “Wherever we go, there is no safety.”
Rafah neighbors Egypt, but Cairo has made clear it will not allow a refugee exodus over the border.
Gaza health officials announced 133 new Palestinian deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 28,473 killed and 68,146 wounded since Oct 7, when 1,200 people were killed in a Hamas rampage across the border into Israel, triggering the conflict.
About half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are now squeezed into Rafah.
“Since Israel said they are invading Rafah soon …, we read our last prayers every night. Every night we say farewell to one another and to relatives outside Rafah,” said Aya, 30, who is living in a tent with her mother, grandmother and five siblings.
In Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi held talks with CIA Director William Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani aimed at agreeing a Gaza truce, protecting civilians and delivering more aid into the enclave, Egypt’s state information service said.
The Egyptian statement made no mention of Israel. The Israeli delegation left Cairo for home, Reuters reported. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Hamas source told Agence France-Presse that a delegation was headed to the Egyptian capital to meet Egyptian and Qatari mediators after Israeli negotiators held talks with the mediators on Tuesday.
Israel has vowed to fight on, for many months if necessary, until it eradicates Hamas.
Plea to UN court
Meanwhile, South Africa asked the International Court of Justice on Tuesday to consider whether Israel’s plan to extend its offensive into Rafah required additional emergency measures to safeguard the rights of Palestinians.
In a case brought by South Africa, the UN court last month ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel denied it was committing genocide and asked the court to reject the case outright.
A Dutch court on Monday ordered the government to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns they were being used to violate international law during the conflict.