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Post by Admin on May 5, 2024 19:18:09 GMT
Last week, American media reported that the United States had stopped shipping ammunition to Israel.
On the 5th, the American news site Axios reported, citing Israeli government officials, that the United States stopped shipping ammunition to Israel last week.
This is the first time that the United States has suspended the shipment of arms and ammunition to Israel since the fighting with Hamas began in October last year, and this has caused serious concerns within the Israeli government.
The Biden administration has faced strong criticism in the United States for providing military aid to Israel, and in February of this year it announced that it would be required to comply with international law to reduce the risk of harm to civilians when Israel uses weapons in the Gaza Strip.
Israel's Netanyahu administration remains poised to invade Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip in order to annihilate Hamas, regardless of the success or failure of negotiations with Hamas over a cessation of hostilities, but the Biden administration is We strongly oppose the invasion of Rafah, which would inevitably lead to casualties.
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Post by Admin on May 6, 2024 10:44:00 GMT
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.
The announcement complicates last-ditch efforts by international mediators, including the director of the CIA, to broker a cease-fire. The militant Hamas group and Qatar, a key mediator, have warned that invading Rafah — along the border with Egypt — could derail the talks, and the United States has repeatedly urged Israel against the invasion.
However, Israel has described Rafah as the last significant Hamas stronghold after seven months of war, and its leaders have repeatedly said the invasion is necessary to defeat the Islamic militant group.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesman, said some 100,000 people were being ordered to move to a nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasi. He said Israel was preparing a “limited scope operation” and would not say whether this was the beginning of a broader invasion of the city. But after Oct. 7 and the unprecedented attack on southern Israel by Hamas, Israel did not formally announce the launch of a ground invasion that continues to this day.
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Post by Admin on May 8, 2024 15:11:41 GMT
The United States is the one country that has real leverage over Israel. And yet, throughout the war in Gaza, Israel has chosen to ignore much of the advice of its closest ally.
The US government says its support for the war against Hamas is "ironclad", but it has repeatedly raised concerns about the failure of the Israeli army to protect civilians and the lack of humanitarian access afforded to the people of Gaza.
For seven long months, the US has gradually stepped up pressure on Israel. It has advised privately. It has warned publicly. It has stopped vetoing condemnatory resolutions at the United Nations. It has sanctioned Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
In a particularly robust telephone call a month ago, President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he would reduce US support if Israel did not allow fleets of aid lorries to cross the border into Gaza.
And yet, much of this counsel and cajoling has fallen on deaf ears. So now the US is beginning to wield its biggest stick.
The US is by far Israel's biggest source of weapons and ammunition. By law, it provides Israel with $3.8bn (£3bn) of military aid each year, designed to give the country an advantage over neighbouring countries. The US Congress last month passed a bill providing a further $14bn of military support.
Now the Biden administration has for the first time delayed a shipment of munitions to Israel. A senior administration official confirmed to the BBC that the delivery of thousands of 2000lb and other bombs has been paused.
The official said they were also reviewing other weapons sales, including equipment that helps convert free-falling bombs into precision-guided munitions.
So why is the US finally reaching for perhaps its biggest lever of influence over Israel? A first answer is the proposed military operation against Hamas in Rafah. The US and many Western countries fear this would lead to mass civilian casualties and a humanitarian catastrophe.
US officials say the bombs they have delayed are the kind that might be used in Rafah and would have devastating consequences in dense urban settings. The US does not want Israel to attack Rafah and this is another way of reinforcing that message. One US official told the Washington Post this was a "shot across the bow" to show Israel the seriousness of US concerns.
A second answer is the US government's desire to maintain pressure on Israel's cabinet to support a ceasefire deal with Hamas. Negotiations continue in Cairo and Washington may want to increase the costs that Israel may face for failing to agree a compromise.
A third reason is surely domestic US politics. President Biden is coming under huge pressure from Democratic supporters to temper his support for Israel.
It is election year in the US and opinion pollsters are suggesting that some Democrats - especially younger people - may be reluctant to come out and vote for Mr Biden in November because of the US role in the war in Gaza. Low turnout could hit him hard in his battle with Donald Trump.
Any decision to withhold military support for Israel comes with risks for the US. Israel could once again simply ignore what its ally was saying and doing. It could effectively call Washington's bluff and trust that US military support would continue in the long term.
That would be a very public demonstration of diminishing US influence in the world. But equally, Israel might be loath to risk an historic rift with its biggest ally, one upon whom it relied utterly for the air defences that protected it from a mass Iranian drone and missile attack just a few weeks ago.
A big test will come when the US State Department decides whether the Israel Defense Forces are using US weapons to commit human rights abuses. A statement about an inquiry is expected soon.
Finally, the US is not Israel's only ally. And if the US delays arms sales to Israel, then pressure will grow on other countries to do the same, including the UK. Such restrictions would be more symbolic than actual. But they would contribute to Israel's diplomatic isolation.
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Post by Admin on May 9, 2024 11:14:16 GMT
Israel’s attack in the southern Gaza city of Rafah has expanded from airstrikes to ground operations, new satellite images obtained by CNN from Planet Labs show. The images, which bear a striking resemblance to the early stages of Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza last year, show the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are active outside of the immediate border crossing area between Egypt and Gaza, which Israel took control of on Monday evening. The images, which span from May 5 to 7, suggest some buildings have been bulldozed and show what appear to be mustering areas for IDF vehicles. Some of the IDF forces have penetrated more than a mile inside the Palestinian enclave from the Rafah crossing gate, the images also show. The build-up comes despite intense international pressure on Israel not to move in on Rafah. On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden for the first time said he would halt some shipments of American weapons should Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu order a major invasion of the city. These Israeli ground operations follow a series of airstrikes on Rafah that have completely destroyed several buildings in the past 24 hours, and killed at least four people, according to a local hospital. Satellite images suggest these strikes are continuing, with one picture showing smoke still rising from one location.
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Post by Admin on May 10, 2024 0:36:25 GMT
(CNN) Israel's Defense Minister Gallant warned on the 9th that the Israeli military, which is attacking the Gaza Strip, warned that the country's military "will not yield." The remarks came just after US President Biden announced on CNN that he would suspend some arms deliveries to Israel if it launches a full-scale ground operation in Rafah, southern Gaza.
"I want to say to the enemies and friends of Israel: The state of Israel, the Israeli military, and the defense establishment will not bow down," Gallant said at a commemoration ceremony held on the same day.
He also reiterated his stance to attack the Islamic group Hamas and the Shiite Islamic group Hezbollah, and vowed to ``ensure our own national security.'' He also emphasized the need to do everything possible to protect ourselves and eliminate threats.
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