This is a new phase in Israel’s military operation against Hamas, which brings new concerns. The situation in Rafah will be scrutinized on Thursday February 8, while the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared on Wednesday that he had ordered the army to “prepare” an offensive on the southernmost town of the Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt. There are 1.3 million Palestinians there, the vast majority of whom are people displaced by the clashes of recent months. Follow our live stream.
New strikes. During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, witnesses and hospital sources reported to AFP deadly strikes in the south of the Gaza Strip, particularly in Rafah. The Hamas government’s health ministry said 109 people were killed from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning.
Antony Blinken warns against any action that “exacerbates tensions”. The head of American diplomacy ends his tour of the Middle East on Thursday with an interview with the leader of the Israeli opposition, Yaïr Lapid. On Wednesday, he said he had warned Benjamin Netanyahu against any action that “exacerbates tensions”and called on Israel to take into account “First and foremost” civilians in the event of an operation in Rafah.
Hamas denounces an intention of “genocide”. Commenting on Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech, Osama Hamdane, a senior official of the Palestinian Islamist movement, declared during a press conference in Beirut that the objective of the Israeli Prime Minister was to commit a “genocide” against the Palestinians.
The UN Secretary General is alarmed by “incalculable regional consequences”. Antonio Guterres warned against “incalculable regional consequences” of a possible assault on Rafah which “would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare”.