ISRAEL said the US Senate’s approval of US$13 billion in military aid sent a “strong message” to its enemies, with attacks hitting Gaza in its war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Israel’s foreign minister thanked the US Senate for approving the military aid package after approval from the House of Representatives.
“The Israeli aid package now approved by both houses of Congress is a clear testament to the strength of our alliance and sends a strong message to all our enemies,” wrote Israel Katz on the social media site X.
Conditions in Rafah are quite tense. Concerns are rising after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon follow through on repeated threats to send troops to the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where 1.5 million people are taking shelter, many of them in makeshift encampments.
Israel says Rafah is Hamas’ last stronghold, but aid groups warn any invasion would create an “apocalyptic situation”.
Early Wednesday, hospital and security sources in Gaza reported Israeli airstrikes on Rafah, as well as the central refugee camp of Nuseirat.
Also read: UN warns of explosion in Gaza child deaths due to famine
“Everyone seems to be counting down to the war in the world’s largest refugee camp, Rafah,” Norwegian Refugee Council chairman Jan Egeland told AFP.
Protests on US campuses
The aid comes amid growing protests against Israel’s actions in the war against Hamas, which have reduced much of Gaza to rubble and sparked fears of famine.
Hundreds of students have been arrested in recent days in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the campuses of leading universities in the United States, Israel’s main ally and military supplier.
Also read: US wants a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, Hamas is reluctant
The UN said “numerous obstacles” continued to hamper the delivery of urgently needed aid to civilians in dire need of food, water, shelter and medicine.
But Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with a planned offensive on Rafah, on the besieged border region with Egypt.
Citing Egyptian officials’ explanation of Israel’s plans, the Wall Street Journal said Israel planned to move civilians from Rafah to nearby Khan Yunis within two to three weeks.
Also read: Fears of Attack Increase in Rafah after Israel Rescues 2 Hostages
Satellite images shared by Maxar Technologies show tent camps recently set up in the area.
The Journal reported that Israel will then send troops to Rafah in stages, targeting areas where Hamas leaders are thought to be hiding in a military operation expected to last six weeks.
The war began with an unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 that resulted in the deaths of around 1,170 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
In retaliation, Israel launched a military offensive that has killed at least 34,183 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
The Israeli army announced the death of a soldier in Gaza, raising the death toll to 261 since the ground operation began.
Israel estimates that 129 of the approximately 250 people kidnapped during the Hamas offensive are still in Gaza, including 34 people thought to have died.
Stuck in the sand
Public pressure is mounting on Netanyahu’s government to reach a ceasefire deal that would guarantee the release of the remaining hostages.
Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, said that “the enemy is still trapped in the sands of Gaza” and the hostages would “most likely” not return home soon.
On Tuesday, the UN human rights office said it was “horrified” by reports of mass graves discovered in two of the largest hospitals in the Gaza Strip following Israel’s siege and raid.
Israel has repeatedly targeted the hospital during the war, accusing Hamas of using the hospital as a command center and taking hostages on October 7. Hamas denies the accusations.
The Gaza Civil Defense Agency said nearly 340 bodies were recovered from people killed and buried by Israeli forces at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis.
The Israeli army said that its claims of burying the bodies of Palestinians were “baseless”, without directly addressing accusations that Israeli forces were behind the killings.
The army said that “bodies buried by Palestinians” had been inspected by Israeli forces for hostages and then “returned to their places”.
UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk called for an “independent” investigation into the deaths at Nasser Hospital and Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, stressing the “special protection” afforded to medical facilities under international law.
AFP images from the scene showed many bodies wearing white shrouds in front of the bombed Nasser Hospital.
UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said some of the bodies found at Nasser Hospital were allegedly “found with their hands tied and stripped of their clothes”, adding that efforts were being made to corroborate the report.
The White House said it would discuss the issue with Israel.
“Obviously the mass grave scene in general is deeply worrying but I don’t have anything to confirm the truth,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. (AFP/Z-3)
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