Israeli forces have bombarded areas of the southern border town of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s internally displaced population are sheltering, as the United States warned that a military push into the town could be a ” disaster.”
Aid agencies have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if Israel follows through on its threat to enter Rafah, where people are in desperate need of shelter and it is one of the last areas in the Strip. of Gaza in which its troops have not moved.
“Conducting such an operation now without planning and without thought in an area” where a million people are sheltering “would be a disaster,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said Thursday.
He said Washington had “yet to see any evidence of serious planning for such an operation.”
Earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that more than a million civilians were trapped in the southern Gaza city.
“Half the population of Gaza is now crowded into Rafah. They have nowhere to go,” he said.
Palestinians in Gaza are desperately hoping that a ceasefire can come in time to ward off the threat of an Israeli assault on Rafah, located hard against Gaza’s southern border fence and now home to more than a million people , many of whom live in makeshift tents.
Israeli planes bombed parts of the town Thursday morning, residents said, killing at least 14 people in attacks on two homes. Tanks also shelled parts of eastern Rafah, reinforcing residents’ fears of an imminent ground attack.
Diplomatic efforts
The warnings come as diplomats sought to salvage ceasefire talks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a Hamas proposal.
In a sign that diplomacy is not over, a Hamas delegation led by senior official Khalil Al-Hayya arrived in Cairo on Thursday for ceasefire negotiations with the main mediators, Egypt and Qatar.
Netanyahu said Wednesday that Hamas’ proposed terms for a ceasefire were “illusory” and vowed to continue the fight, saying victory was within reach and just months away.
Despite Israel’s rejection of Hamas’ proposal, further talks are planned. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met with mediators this week on his fifth trip to the region since the war began, said he still saw room for negotiation.
Blinken also said the civilian death toll was too high and reiterated that the Israeli operation should prioritize civilians.
“And this is particularly true in the case of Rafah, where between 1.2 and 1.4 million people live, many of whom are displaced from other areas of Gaza,” he said.
He said he had suggested ways to minimize damage during negotiations with Israeli leaders, but gave no details. Blinken left to return to the United States on Thursday afternoon.
The Hamas delegation in Egypt is expected to meet officials including Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, Egyptian security sources said.
Hamas proposed a four-and-a-half month ceasefire, during which all hostages would be released, Israel would withdraw its troops and an agreement would be reached on ending the Israeli offensive. The offer was a response to a proposal developed by US and Israeli intelligence chiefs with Qatar and Egypt, and delivered to Hamas last week.
Hamas said it would not accept any deal that did not include an end to the offensive and Israeli withdrawal. Israel says it will not withdraw or stop fighting until Hamas is eradicated.
Israel launched its full-scale military offensive after Hamas fighters killed 1,139 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on October 7, according to Israeli figures.
The Israeli military said Thursday that over the past day its troops had killed more than 20 fighters in Khan Younis, the main city in southern Gaza, now the site of some of the heaviest fighting in the war.
Gaza’s health ministry said at least 27,840 Palestinians had been killed and more than 67,000 injured since the start of the war.
Israeli bombardments continued in Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, killing Palestinian television journalist Nafez Abdel-Jawwad and his son.
At least 124 journalists and media representatives have been killed so far in the enclave, Gaza’s information ministry said.
Philippe Lazzarini, director of the main United Nations aid agency for the Palestinians, UNRWA, told X that the agency had not been allowed to bring food to areas where people are on the brink. of famine.
