Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Rafah inferno
DAWN
Published May 29, 2024


THE level of barbarity witnessed in Sunday’s Israeli air strike targeting a refugee camp in Rafah is shocking even by the Zionist state’s standards. Eyewitness accounts of survivors reported by media outlets make for highly disturbing reading, pointing to the fact that a war crime against defenceless civilians — not the first in this conflict — has been committed by the ‘world’s most moral’ army. If anything, Israel’s conduct in Gaza since the Oct 7 attacks has been the epitome of amorality. Tel Aviv has had no regrets about the civilians it has murdered, the children it has orphaned, the mass graves it has left, and the forced starvation it has used as a weapon in the Gaza hellscape. At least 45 people were killed in the latest atrocity, with several victims charred. Israel says it struck the camp while pursuing Hamas fighters. Yet the ferocity of the assault can be gauged from the fact that a number of victims — including children — were left dismembered after the attack. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed the Rafah outrage was a “tragic accident”; but these words are meaningless as Tel Aviv’s war machine has continued to pound Gaza even after the refugee camp tragedy.

Condemnation of this monstrous attack has been pouring in from around the world, including the UN and EU. US officials, meanwhile, have highlighted the need to “assess what happened”, while timidly asking Israel to “protect civilians”. ‘What happened’ is abundantly clear; Israel has unleashed a genocidal war in Gaza in the name of going after Hamas, and in many instances, has used American money and weapons to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian people. Therefore, those supporting Israel’s abominable war should shed the use of euphemism, as this fools no one. Moreover, the time for strong critiques of Israeli barbarism has long passed. If the world is serious about stopping the butchery in Palestine, solid action is needed. Both the brave states that initiated legal action against Israel, as well as the courageous voices in the West condemning their governments for complicity in genocidal violence, must focus their energies on isolating Tel Aviv internationally. People of conscience in the East and West must unite to economically and militarily boycott Israel for its shameless spilling of Palestinian blood. If concrete steps are not taken, then we must await the next atrocity.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2024

US presses for probe, says ground operation in Rafah not warranted

DAWN
Published May 29, 2024

WASHINGTON: Urging Israel to conduct a thorough investigation into a tent city bombing and uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law, the US on Tuesday said it didn’t believe a major ground operation in Rafah was warranted.

White House spokesperson John Kirby maintained that the Israeli strike that killed dozens of Palestinians in Rafah did not cross a “red line” set by President Joe Biden.

“We still don’t believe that a major ground operation in Rafah is warranted. We still don’t want to see the Israelis, as we say, smash into Rafah with large units over large pieces of territory. We still believe that and we haven’t seen that at this point,” he told reporters at a White House briefing.

“As a result of this strike on Sunday I have no policy changes to speak to,” he added. “It just happened. The Israelis are going to investigate it. We’re going to be taking great interest in what they find in that investigation. And we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Kirby told reporters Tuesday that there was a real danger that Israel could become further isolated from the international community with the manner in which it is conducting operations.

“So this is of concern, clearly, because it’s not in Israel’s best interest,” Kirby said. “And it’s not in our best interest for Israel to become increasingly isolated on the world stage.”

Meanwhile, in his first official briefing since the Rafah attack and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that called on Israel to halt its offensive in the area, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller faced a barrage of questions concerning both issues.

Some reporters referred to the charred bodies discovered in the Palestinian encampment in Rafah. Miller, however, insisted on waiting for the results of a comprehensive investigation before offering further comments.

“Those images were heartbreaking, and I know the pain those families are suffering through must be unimaginable, especially for those who lost children and family members for a repeated number of times.”

Miller then reiterated the US position that “Israel has a right to go after the Hamas terrorists responsible for the cold-blooded murder of civilians”, but also reminded Israel of its “obligation to do everything possible to minimize civilian harm as it carries out its operations.”

He said that as soon as the US saw the reports of the Rafah incident, “we reached out to the government of Israel to express our deep concern over what happened, asked for more information and urged them to undertake a full investigation.”

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2024

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