The Israeli ambassador to the UN reacted, Thursday, May 9, to Joe Biden’s threat to stop the delivery of certain weapons to Israel in the event of a large-scale offensive in Rafah, which he considers “difficult to hear and very disappointing”. “It is quite clear that any pressure on Israel, any restrictions imposed on it, even from close allies concerned about our interests, is interpreted by our enemies” And “gives them hope”said Gilad Erdan on Israeli public radio. Follow our live stream.
For the first time, Joe Biden conditions his aid to Israel. The American president warned that he “would not deliver” certain weapons to Israel in the event of a major offensive against the city of Rafah, during an interview on CNN. Asked about the suspension of a first delivery last week, Joe Biden admitted that “Civilians were killed in Gaza because of these bombs. (…) It’s bad.”
Rafah bombed and evacuated. Since Monday, the Israeli army has been carrying out massive bombings and incursions into the eastern neighborhoods of the city. She ordered the many Palestinians there, including a large number of internally displaced people in the Gaza Strip, to evacuate to a coastal area further north. “Life has completely stopped in the city center, (…) the streets are empty, the markets are at a standstill”testifies a Gazan, Marwan al-Masri, to AFP.
Negotiations underway in Cairo. Indirect negotiations have resumed since Wednesday to try to reach a compromise on a truce and avoid an assault in Rafah. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, also met in Jerusalem with the director of the CIA, William Burns, to discuss a possible “break” in military operations in the south of the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of hostages, according to an Israeli official.
Catastrophic humanitarian crisis. The closure of the Rafah crossing point and military operations in the same city are leading to a worsening of living conditions in the Gaza Strip. The UN has said it only has one day’s supply of fuel oil left for its humanitarian operations. A British emergency doctor on mission in the south of the enclave, James Smith, describes a health situation to AFP “catastrophic” and a smell of sewage “omnipresent” in the hospital.