What to know about the situation in the Middle East this week
ABC News
Violence has continued this week in the Gaza Strip as well as across the broader Middle East
Violence has continued this week in the Gaza Strip, as well as across the broader Middle East. The U.S. administration has been pushing for a prolonged cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, but so far has not succeeded. Here's what you need to know:
Israel said Friday it would continue with its invasion of the Gaza Strip and push into the southern town of Rafah to uproot Hamas. More than half of the territory’s 2.3 million people are packed into this city on the border with Egypt, and it’s unclear where they can go. Egypt will not accept displacement of Palestinians on its territory, while much of the rest of the Gaza Strip is already under evacuation orders and is the scene of intense battles between Israel and Hamas.
The situation in Rafah is catastrophic: the town is packed, many people are living in tents, there is not enough food, electricity or water, and Israeli airstrikes kill people almost every day. Twenty-eight people died early Saturday. Close to 28,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict erupted, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Israel’s push for Rafah has widened the gap between it and the United States. The U.S. wants Israel to negotiate a cease-fire with Hamas, which would allow the remaining Israeli hostages to return home and help protect Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, snubbed Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, who visited Jerusalem with this message early this week; afterwards, Netanyahu called a press conference and said there would be no cease-fire and Israel would fight on until “total victory”.
President Joe Biden on Thursday called Israel’s approach to the war “over the top” and said that the suffering of civilians has “got to stop.” Since the start of the war, these were perhaps the strongest words of criticism by Biden, who has broadly been supportive of the Israeli effort to destroy Hamas.
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