Jordan, Germany warn against Israeli ground attack on Rafah
Jordanian King Abdullah II held talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Red Sea port city of Aqaba
Amman, Jordan – Jordan and Germany warned on Sunday that an Israeli ground attack on Rafah city will worsen humanitarian conditions in the southern Gaza Strip.
Jordanian King Abdullah II held talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Red Sea port city of Aqaba to discuss developments in Gaza, the royal court said in a statement.
Abdullah underlined the need for the international community ‘to move urgently to reach an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip’, the statement said.
He called for doubling efforts to protect civilians and provide sufficient humanitarian aid by all possible means, it added.
The two leaders also warned that an Israeli ground attack on Rafah, where 1.4mn people have taken refuge from the ongoing Israeli war, ‘would exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza’.
Israeli delegation to visit Qatar
An Israeli delegation, which will participate in ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, will visit Qatar as the kingdom is serving as an intermediary, sources said on Saturday.
The Israeli War Cabinet will meet on Sunday, according to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN.
The delegation headed by Mossad President David Barnea will not go to Qatar before Monday, as the meeting will be held late on Sunday.
Following the Israeli Cabinet’s deliberation on a ceasefire proposal by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, Tel Aviv announced on Friday it will send a delegation to Doha to speak with officials as the kingdom is serving as an intermediary.
Late on Thursday, Hamas presented Qatari and Egyptian mediators with a comprehensive vision for a ceasefire and prisoner swap deal with Israel.
Qatar and Egypt, with the assistance of the US, are mediating between Israel and Hamas to reach a new ceasefire agreement in Gaza and facilitate a prisoner exchange.
Israel estimates that there are more than 125 hostages in Gaza, while it holds at least 8,800 Palestinians in its prisons, according to official sources from both sides.
A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel prevailed for one week from November 24 to December 1, 2023, during which there was a cessation of hostilities, prisoner exchanges and limited humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza, mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US.
‘Catastrophic’
The Gaza Strip is ‘catastrophic’ according to a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) nurse working in the region. “The current situation in Gaza is catastrophic and words can’t describe it,” MSF wrote on X, citing Loay Harb who is working in northern Gaza. Harb said the group has no electricity, water, flour or internet connection, which has created instability for residents.
“We are going through very difficult times due to the siege, poverty, and starvation,” he added.
Harb is one of four remaining MSF staffers in Gaza City. He said the medical situation of patients is very complex and there are not enough beds and spaces.