Israeli Tanks Enter Rafah and Take Control of Border Crossing

[brooklynite]

Source: New York Times

Israel’s military said on Tuesday that it had sent tanks into Rafah and established control over the Gaza side of the border crossing with Egypt in what it called a limited operation. The move halted the flow of aid into the enclave, drawing immediate condemnation from international officials.

The military said the incursion was aimed at destroying Hamas fighters and infrastructure in Rafah that were used in an attack that killed four Israeli soldiers over the weekend near the Kerem Shalom border crossing. It did not appear to be the long-promised full ground invasion of Rafah, which Israel’s allies have been working to avert by pushing for a cease-fire deal.

It came after a dizzying day that saw Israel’s order of people to evacuate parts of the city, a Hamas claims that it had accepted the terms of a cease-fire, followed by an announcement by Israel’s military that it was carrying out “targeted strikes” in eastern Rafah.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing pressure to agree to a cease-fire with Hamas that is backed by the United States and Arab nations and that would secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza. Analysts say Israel’s actions in Rafah could either ratchet up the pressure on Hamas to make a deal or sabotage the talks.


Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/07/world/israel-gaza-war-hamas-rafah/rafah-invasion-israel-hamas?smid=url-share

[maxsolomon]

1. IS the new ceasefire proposal "backed" by the US?

Israel wasn't at negotiations in Egypt when it was "accepted" by Hamas.

[Igel]

29. It's a thing I've noticed over the year.

There's one side, there's an ally, then there's the other side.

The one side and ally "negotiate" a deal. Now, there's a negotiated deal, a "compromise," which, when it hits the press, is rejected by one side.

"But it's negotiated! They reneged on the compromise!" Except that not all the "stakeholders" were included. In fact, one of the two most important stakeholders was excluded.

Just look at the press release and it's damning. Look at it old-school critically--examining the facts and logic--and it's damnable.

[IronLionZion]

2. Hamas wants to die. Israel wants to kill Hamas

I wish everyone else would be left out of the killing. Hamas and IDF should just find an empty space in the desert and finish this far away from civilians.

[Richard D]

3. Hamas wants . . .

. . . Israel to kill as many civilians as Hamas can arrange to be killed with their despicable human shield war crime.

[IronLionZion]

4. Many of those civilians don't want to die or be a part of any of this

and anyone under 18 wasn't yet born when they had the last election

[BuddhaGirl]

7. Poor Israel

Being completely controlled by Hamas and all...

[Richard D]

8. So true . . .

. . . they need to be good Jews and let Hamas attack them and kill their people at will.

[SoFlaBro]

16. I can't wait until Israel and IDF deal with these Hamas terrorist fucks in the best way.

[TeamProg]

19. Exactly.. thank you. nt

[lark]

5. That wouldn't happen because it would leave too many Palestinians alive.

Bibi wants them gone, every single one of them and the IDF is trying to make this happen - to their everlasting shame!

[IronLionZion]

10. Bibi and Hamas want Palestinians to die

They don't have enough influential people who want Palestinians to live. The people impacted don't have much choice in what happens to them.

[EX500rider]

12. Sure, sure

I guess they picked the slow way?

2 million Gazans, 30,000 dead according to Hamas in over half a year.. so what about 33+ years?

If the IDF was really trying to make this happen we would have been in the 100,000's of dead by now.

[Richard D]

17. If thd IDF wanted that . . .

. . . there would have been no Gaza by October 10th, if not sooner.

[Igel]

31. Every Israeli I've known

that wasn't embittered by a tragic loss in his/her family, would call this "projection."

Most just said, "Leave us the f**k alone, and we'll leave you alone."

[Aussie105]

35. Most just said, "Leave us the f**k alone, and we'll leave you alone."

Unfortunately the actual practical application of this idea is very much one sided - good for one side, bad for the other.

[Igel]

30. No, Hamas wants to genocide.

Or, barring complete extermination, go for complete oppression.

Dying in pursuit of that is commendable, but the goal isn't death but the goal. You get a gold star for trying.

Al-Fatah, Hamas, PIJ suicide bombers aren't suicidal. Some do it for money for their family or the promise of celebrity they'll never see; most do it to kill Jews. If one Palestinian dies and three Jews die, just scale that up--and the Palestinian "Hamas" collective wins for the ummah. There. The problem's finally solved.

That's why it's hard to find a solution.

"We want peace." "We want you dead." The compromise is complete subjugation, and don't you dare act "uppity".

The Negev self-negation option is mythical.

[IronLionZion]

32. Why give them what they want? That encourages more of it.

Hamas knew Oct 7 attack would provoke this type of response. It's what they want.

[Lonestarblue]

6. The first thing the IDF did was stop the flow of aid into Gaza.

So was the purpose of the arrack on Rafah to find Hamas fighters or to stop aid to continue starving Palestinians? I guess we’ll see if the allow food and water to resume quickly.

[Richard D]

9. For sure! Evil Israel!

Yeesh. I'm appalled at the level of ignorance here.

Of course anyone can do a quick search to see how much aid Israel provided to Gaza, but that would be werk!

One can also easily find how much of the aid that entered Gaza was snatched up by Hamas for their own use or to further abuse the Gazans by selling it at inflated prices on the black market. But that would be a lot of werk!

[BuddhaGirl]

11. What I'm appalled at is the level

of indifference at Israel's ethnic cleansing campaign. Shameful.

History will not be kind. Israel is not getting the pass from the world it is accustomed to.

[EX500rider]

13. "Israel's ethnic cleansing campaign."

Really, so how many Gazan's have been forced out of Gaza so far?

I don't think moving gazan's around for their safety while the IDF clears out hamas quite counts as "ethnic cleansing"

[AZLD4Candidate]

15. Shhh. . .don't spoil the narrative that Israel is the most evil country on the planet.

[BuddhaGirl]

23. Shhh...nobody here is actually saying that

[AZLD4Candidate]

24. You haven't read threads here using Hamas provided statistics to prove Israel is committing genocide

Using Hamas statistics is like using Nazi press releases in the 1940s showing that Jews were treated fantastically at Auschwitz.

[AZLD4Candidate]

14. More talk of this. Any evidence of this? Please provide.

[SoFlaBro]

22. History will not be kind to anyone siding with fuckstain Hamas using rape as a weapon.

[AZLD4Candidate]

25. Shhh. . .that's an Israeli false flag designed to justify their genocidal warlike ways.

[SoFlaBro]

33. During #MeToo it was "believe her" now because it is Israel, they are all fucking lies?!?

[AZLD4Candidate]

34. Yes. . .look how non Jews have treated us for centuries. You think it's going to change?

Any excuse people can make.

Israel is just an easy way to mask it in nice political language and not speak the unspoken things.

[SoFlaBro]

37. Racism and anti Semitism is very fucking much alive in the US despite claims to the fucking contrary.

I've fucking heard anti-Semitism from young people in their early 20s. Very fucking casual like. Casual to the point where I don't think the goddamn person knew they were being a fucking bigot.

[TexasDem69]

28. What ethnic cleansing has Israel engaged in?

Are you sure you’re not confusing Hamas with Israel?

[SoFlaBro]

21. Missiles still flying from Gaza into Israel and Israel allows aid into the area the missiles come from should be fucking

applauded not condemned.

[Richard D]

18. Approximately

20K food trucks have entered Gaza since Oct 7.

But, of course, that doesn't fit the narrative.

I wonder how much of that was appropriated by Hamas? Considering how fast they stole the last convoy's food, probably most of it.

[underpants]

26. Cutting off the last escape. Now the starvation begins.

[TeamProg]

20. A.P.: The UN says there's 'full-blown famine' in northern Gaza.

Updated 10:01 AM PDT, May 6, 2024

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The head of the United Nations World Food Program says northern Gaza has entered “full-blown famine” after nearly seven months of war between Israel and Hamas. But a formal, and highly sensitive, famine declaration faces the complications of politics and of confirming how many people have died.

Cindy McCain in an NBC interview broadcast Sunday said severe Israeli restrictions on humanitarian deliveries to the territory that has long relied on outside food assistance have pushed civilians in the most isolated, devastated part of Gaza over the brink. Famine was now moving south in Gaza, she said.

A WFP spokesman later told The Associated Press that one of the three benchmarks for a formal famine declaration has already been met in northern Gaza and another is nearly met — important details on how far the effort to document deadly hunger has progressed.

Israel faces mounting pressure from top ally the United States and others to let more aid into Gaza, notably by opening more land crossings for the most efficient delivery by truck. Aid groups say deliveries by air and sea by the United States and other countries cannot meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, a growing number of them reaching the stage of malnutrition where a child’s growth is stunted and deaths occur.


THE CAUSES OF CATASTROPHIC HUNGER

Shortly after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, Israel sealed its borders with Gaza and for weeks prevented aid from entering. Aid groups have said assistance since then has been restricted to a trickle far below the 500 trucks of aid that entered before the war. Since March, as Israel has pointed to progress, an average of 171 trucks per day have entered Gaza, according to the U.S.-established Famine Early Warning Systems Network.

Once inside Gaza, food and other aid doesn’t always reach the most vulnerable. Aid groups say access is limited, particularly in the north, due to ongoing fighting and a chaotic security situation.

Northern Gaza, including Gaza City, was the first target of Israel’s invasion and became the epicenter of the hunger crisis, with many residents reduced to eating animal feed and foraging for weeds. The IPC report in March said around 210,000 people in the north were in catastrophic levels of hunger.

The very young, the very old and those with health problems are the most affected. On Sunday, a 6-year-old from northern Gaza with cystic fibrosis was taken to the United States on a humanitarian flight after his mother made a video pleading for help. Fadi Al-Zant’s jutting ribs and thin arms showed advanced malnutrition.


https://apnews.com/article/gaza-famine-world-food-program-israel-hamas-war-476941bf2dc259f85a706408b2a665ff

[underpants]

27. Now they've cut off the southern end

As bad as it’s been it’s going to get worse.

[Aussie105]

36. Essentially, and cutting through all the words, and judging people by actions rather than words . . .

Bibi has declared war on all Palestinians and wants to drive them into a corner where they can be watched and controlled.

This strategy is out of a very old playbook, Bibi didn't invent the process. But he is obviously a very good student of history.

Somewhere amongst the dead lies the next Picasso, Einstein, word class Opera singer, athlete, doctor, surgeon.
And those who weren't fated for greatness, just wanted to do what we all want, to live their lives in a peaceful, productive manner.

Therein lies the human tragedy.

I'm not on any side. I just mourn the waste of human lives.

(Any Yeah but . . . , Biblical entitlement, mention of the Holocaust type of responses will be ignored.)