what to remember from Tuesday, May 7

The UN announced that access from Egypt to the Rafah crossing point, the main entry point for humanitarian aid, vital for the population of Gaza, was prohibited by the Israeli army.

Israeli tanks are now in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, where they took control of the border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday May 7. The United States, the United Nations and the European Union have called on Israel not to carry out its threat to launch a ground offensive in the city to eliminate the last battalions of Hamas, fearing a bloodbath and a worsening of the humanitarian crisis.

Israeli tanks deployed in Rafah

The Israeli army deployed tanks in Rafah and took control of the border crossing with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip, cutting off access for humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory. This operation, carried out with ground troops, is carried out in “specific areas” from the east of the city, according to the army, which issued a call on Monday to evacuate tens of thousands of families from this same area, which according to the UN is home to 1.4 million Palestinians.

Images geolocated by AFP and broadcast on social networks show tanks deployed in Rafah and soldiers raising the Israeli flag. An armored unit “maneuvered in the area” while “special forces inspect the crossing point”added the army. “We had clues, including the shooting” rockets on Sunday, against the Kerem Shalom crossing point, which killed four Israeli soldiers, “that the Gazan part of the crossing point (…) was used by Hamas for terrorist purposes”affirms this source.

This evacuation was announced in anticipation of a ground offensive promised by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to eliminate the last battalions of Hamas. Israel assured the United States that its military operation in Rafah was “limited” in its scale and duration, according to the White House.

No progress in negotiations

In Cairo (Egypt), new discussions are being held the day after Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal submitted by Egypt and Qatar. “All the parts”including Israel, “agree to return to the negotiating table”, assured the Egyptian media Al-Qahera News, close to the intelligence services. This information has not been confirmed elsewhere.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has instructed the Israeli delegation to “continue to be firm on the conditions necessary for release” hostages, as well as on the conditions “essential” to guarantee the security of Israel. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that the army was ready to “intensify” its military operations “in the whole gang” of Gaza if there was no progress on the release of the hostages. A Hamas leader said the talks “could be the last chance to recover Israeli captives alive”.

Construction of temporary port completed

The US Army has completed construction of “two parts” of a temporary artificial port in Gaza to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday, May 7. It now remains to move this infrastructure to its final location, said Sabrina Singh, deputy spokesperson for the Pentagon, but “strong winds and strong swells” delayed this transfer. “The port and the military ships involved are still in the port of Ashdod”in Israel, she said.

The construction site was moved to Ashdod due to bad weather last week. When weather permits, the port will be connected to the Gaza shore by Israeli soldiers to avoid American troops on the ground. American President Joe Biden announced at the beginning of March the establishment of this temporary structure, in the face of Israel’s blockages to the delivery of aid by land. The cost of constructing the port is expected to be around $320 million.

The United States, moreover, judged “unacceptable” the closure by Israel of two important entry points for humanitarian aid into Gaza, those of Rafah and Kerem Shalom, a White House spokesperson said on Tuesday. “Closed crossing points must reopen, it is unacceptable that they are closed”declared Karine Jean-Pierre, specifying that the Kerem Shalom entry point should reopen on Wednesday.