{"id":51434,"date":"2024-05-15T20:56:06","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T20:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/15\/blinken-warns-fighting-could-undo-aid-gains-in-gaza\/"},"modified":"2024-05-15T20:56:06","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T20:56:06","slug":"blinken-warns-fighting-could-undo-aid-gains-in-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/15\/blinken-warns-fighting-could-undo-aid-gains-in-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"Blinken Warns Fighting Could Undo Aid Gains in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"549\" src=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/15\/multimedia\/15Mideast-Crisis-Leadall-whjg\/15Mideast-Crisis-Leadall-whjg-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,549&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Blinken Warns Fighting Could Undo Aid Gains in Gaza\" title=\"Blinken Warns Fighting Could Undo Aid Gains in Gaza\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken warned on Wednesday that recent gains in getting desperately needed humanitarian aid to people in the Gaza Strip risked being undone by the fighting in southern Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The border crossing in the southern city of Rafah has been closed since Israel began what it describes as a limited military operation against Hamas fighters in the town, on the border with Egypt. The United Nations said on Wednesday that 600,000 people had fled Rafah since Israel\u2019s ground assault started there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAt the very time when Israel was taking important and much needed steps to improve the provision of humanitarian assistance,\u201d Mr. Blinken said to reporters in Kyiv, Ukraine, \u201cwe\u2019ve seen a negative impact on the fact that we have this active, very active conflict in the Rafah area.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Josep Borrell Fontelles, the European Union\u2019s top diplomat, said in a statement that Israel needed to end its Rafah operation \u201cimmediately,\u201d warning that extending it \u201cwould inevitably put a heavy strain on the E.U.\u2019s relationship with Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Israel had shut down another crossing \u2014 Kerem Shalom \u2014 after a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/05\/world\/middleeast\/hamas-rocket-kerem-shalom-israel.html\" title=\"\">Hamas rocket attack<\/a> nearby killed four Israeli soldiers. It has since reopened, but the aid getting through is still very limited. Egypt, where most of the aid for Gaza is collected and loaded, has resisted sending trucks toward Kerem Shalom, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/10\/world\/middleeast\/gaza-aid-rafah-israel-egypt.html\" title=\"\">according to multiple officials<\/a>. American and Israeli officials believe that Egypt is trying to put pressure on Israel to pull back from the Rafah operation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Israeli military\u2019s incursion into Rafah, which began on May 6, has created a continuing exodus of Palestinians northward, further deepening the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As Israeli troops also returned to northern Gaza, territory they seized in the war\u2019s first stages last year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far right government came under criticism for their failure to develop what Mr. Blinken called a \u201cclear concrete plan\u201d for postwar governance in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe cannot have Hamas controlling Gaza. We can\u2019t have chaos and anarchy in Gaza,\u201d Mr. Blinken added, saying that the United States was looking \u201cto Israel to come forward with its ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Netanyahu was also criticized on Wednesday by his own defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for failing to do enough postwar planning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Gallant said at a televised news conference Wednesday that he had suggested a blueprint for an alternative Gaza administration made up of Palestinians, but that he had \u201creceived no response.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He faulted the government\u2019s \u201cindecision\u201d and called on Mr. Netanyahu to rule out the establishment of an Israeli military government to oversee Palestinians in Gaza and to advance a \u201cgoverning alternative\u201d immediately.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Netanyahu defended the government, saying it was pointless to suggest any alternative governing systems until Hamas was defeated. \u201cAll the talk about \u2018the day after,\u2019 while Hamas stays intact,\u201d he said, \u201cwill remain mere words devoid of content.\u201d Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s far right-right coalition partners, some of whom have called for Israelis to resettle the Gaza Strip, immediately denounced Mr. Gallant\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As international criticism of the aid blockage has increased, Israel and Egypt have traded blame over the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/10\/world\/middleeast\/israel-egypt-gaza-aid.html\" title=\"\">closure<\/a> of the Rafah crossing, which the Israeli Army took over on the Palestinian side as bombardments and fighting picked up around Rafah last week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Hundreds of trucks in Egypt have been blocked from reaching Gaza. Wounded and ill people who need medical care outside the territory, as well as families trying to escape the war between Israel and Hamas, have been unable to leave.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Israel has accused Egypt of holding up the delivery of aid through the Rafah crossing, while Egypt has said Israel\u2019s continued presence in and around the crossing has been the primary obstacle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Israeli foreign minister, Israel Katz, said on Tuesday that he had spoken to European foreign ministers about the \u201cneed to persuade Egypt\u201d to allow the \u201ccontinued delivery of international humanitarian aid to Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe key to preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now in the hands of our Egyptian friends,\u201d he <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Israel_katz\/status\/1790390029061112108\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">wrote on X<\/a>, saying that Israel would not return the crossing to what he described as Hamas\u2019s control.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Sameh Shoukry, Egypt\u2019s foreign minister, quickly pushed back, arguing that the crossing was still closed because Israel\u2019s control over it, as well as its military operations in the area, was putting truck drivers and aid workers in danger.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Mr. Shoukry further rejected what he described as \u201cthe policy of twisting facts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Israel has escalated its military operations across the Gaza Strip in recent days, sending residents fleeing in multiple directions. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of civilians leaving Rafah, more than 100,000 have fled parts of northern Gaza following recent Israeli evacuation orders, the United Nations said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Israeli military said Wednesday that its forces were returning to northern areas that were the focus of the early stages of the war, as they have <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/14\/world\/middleeast\/israel-gaza-war-government.html\" title=\"\">repeatedly<\/a> during their war with Hamas. The need for such operations has prompted Israeli critics to say the government has failed to articulate an exit strategy, even as the death toll among Israeli soldiers continues to rise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Israeli forces were operating primarily in Jabaliya, according to the Israeli military and Palestinian residents. The city is a built-up urban area largely populated by Palestinians who fled or were expelled during the wars surrounding Israel\u2019s establishment in 1948, as well as their descendants. Palestinians marked that mass displacement \u2014 known in Arabic as the Nakba, or disaster \u2014 on Wednesday, on the 76th anniversary of Israel\u2019s founding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Israeli forces were advancing into Jabaliya under heavy airstrikes and shelling, said Raafat Nasr, a resident. Hamas\u2019s armed wing said on the Telegram social messaging app that its fighters were engaging Israeli troops in Jabaliya, firing on soldiers and armored vehicles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Nasr, 50, decided to remain in his home with his wife and two children amid \u201cterrifying explosions,\u201d he said. His family is scattered: Two of his children, along with his grandchildren, are trying to flee Rafah in the face of the Israeli military operations there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Nasr said is family was hunkering down and rationing what little food and water they had left.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cNowhere in Gaza is safe, and we don\u2019t have anywhere left to go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Farnaz Fassihi<!-- --> and <!-- -->Johnatan Reiss<!-- --> contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/15\/world\/middleeast\/israel-rafah-border-gallant-blinken.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken warned on Wednesday that recent gains in getting desperately needed humanitarian aid to people in the Gaza Strip risked being undone by the fighting in southern Gaza. The border crossing in the southern city of Rafah has been closed since Israel began what it describes as a limited military [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/15\/multimedia\/15Mideast-Crisis-Leadall-whjg\/15Mideast-Crisis-Leadall-whjg-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[41,7273,75,5484,43,51365,5219],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51434"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51434"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51436,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51434\/revisions\/51436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}