Netanyahu vows to widen assault; over 100K flee Rafah
Heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah has left crucial nearby aid crossings inaccessible and caused over 100,000 people to flee north, a United Nations official said Friday.
Israel’s plans for a full-scale invasion of Rafah appear to be on hold for now, with the United States deeply opposed and stepping up pressure by threatening to withhold arms. But even the more limited incursion launched earlier this week threatens to worsen Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe.
Heavy fighting was also underway in northern Gaza, where Hamas appeared to have once again regrouped in an area where Israel has already launched punishing assaults.
Over a million Palestinians had fled to Rafah to escape fighting elsewhere, with many packed into Un-run shelters or squalid tent camps. The city on the border with Egypt is also a crucial hub for bringing in food, medicine, fuel and other goods. The UN’S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA, said about 110,000 people have fled Rafah and that food and fuel supplies in the city are critically low.
‘Will fight alone even without US help’
Amid the heavy assault, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a defiant tone against President Joe Biden after the US withheld a shipment of bombs as a warning to its top West Asia ally not to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
In a first, punchy clip on the social media site X, Netanyahu said: “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone” and “fight tooth and nail.”