US aid to Israel ‘strong message’

R249BN: NETANYAHU VOWS TO PRESS ON WITH RAFAH STRIKE

‘Moving civilians out of area to tented camps’ before planned operation.

Israel said yesterday the US Senate approval of $13 billion (about R249 billion) in military aid sent a “strong message” to its enemies, with strikes pummelling Gaza in its war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Fears are rising that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon follow through on threats to send troops into the Gazan city of Rafah, where 1.5 million people are sheltering, many in makeshift encampments.

Israel says Rafah is the “last” major Hamas stronghold, but aid groups warn any invasion would create an “apocalyptic situation”.

Early yesterday, security sources in Gaza reported Israeli air strikes in Rafah, as well as the central Nuseirat refugee camp.

“Everybody seems to be on a countdown to war across the largest displacement camp on earth, Rafah,” Norwegian Refugee Council chief Jan Egeland said.

Israel’s foreign minister yesterday thanked the US Senate for approving the military aid package hot on the heels of the House of Representatives.

“The Israel aid package that now passed both houses of Congress is a clear testament to the strength of our alliance and sends a strong message to all our enemies,” Israel Katz posted on social media site X.

The aid comes against a backdrop of growing protests against Israel’s conduct of its war against Hamas, which has turned vast areas of Gaza to rubble and sparked fears of famine.

Hundreds of students have been arrested in recent days at pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the campuses of leading universities in the US, Israel’s top ally and military supplier.

The United Nations says “multiple obstacles” continue to impede the delivery of urgently needed aid to civilians desperate for food, water, shelter and medicine.

But Netanyahu has vowed to press on with a planned offensive on Rafah, on the besieged territory’s border with Egypt.

Citing Egyptian officials briefed on the Israeli plans, the Wall Street Journal said Israel was planning to move civilians from Rafah to nearby Khan Yunis over a period of two to three weeks.

Satellite images shared by Maxar Technologies showed tent camps that had recently been set up in that area.

The Journal reported Israel would then send troops into Rafah gradually, targeting areas where Hamas leaders are thought to be hiding in an operation expected to last six weeks. –