On the 223rd day of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the Palestinian resistance carried out its qualitative operations and targeted the Israeli occupation army, which admitted new losses among its ranks, while the International Court of Justice began a session to consider South Africa’s request to take additional measures regarding the Israeli attack on Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), announced that it had lured an Israeli engineering force and detonated an explosive device, killing and wounding its members east of the city of Rafah.
It also announced a joint operation with the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, targeting an Israeli special force in Jabalia, and in a separate operation, its fighters blew up a Merkava tank with a stun device from scratch.
This development came as the Israeli army said that 11 of its soldiers were injured in the Gaza battles during the past 24 hours, while a soldier was killed in an ammunition explosion in the Gaza Strip today.
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Invasion of Rafah
In the latest developments in the campaign on Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the battle there “will decide many matters,” while Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant stated that more forces had been sent to Rafah.
In its repeated statements regarding Rafah, the US State Department stated that “a major military operation in Rafah would be a mistake,” noting that it was concerned about “the complete cessation of travel and fuel movement to Gaza through the Rafah crossing.”
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Urgent | Axios, according to American officials: The Biden administration is pressuring Israel, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority to find a solution to reopen the crossing #Rafah pic.twitter.com/zV1hsVa40D
– Tel Aviv Tribune Palestine (@AJA_Palestine) May 16, 2024
The US National Security Advisor is expected to arrive in Israel next Sunday, to discuss the occupation army’s operation in the city of Rafah. The Hebrew news website Ynet reported that Jake Sullivan will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and Minister in the War Council Benny Gantz.
According to the website, “Sullivan will arrive in Israel after a visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he will advance the issue of normalization.” Sullivan will discuss in Israel the occupation army’s operation in Rafah, and Tel Aviv has promised him that it will not launch a large-scale operation in Rafah before his arrival.
A session in the Court of Justice
In a related context, the International Court of Justice, at its headquarters in The Hague, began a two-day session to consider a request submitted by South Africa to take additional measures regarding the Israeli attack on Rafah.
The South African legal team called on the court to use its powers to stop Israeli crimes in Gaza and stop the military operation in Rafah, pointing to the increase in the number of Palestinian victims.
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Northern front
On the southern Lebanese border, Hezbollah announced that it had carried out 12 operations against Israeli military targets in different areas, and mourned two of its members who were killed in Israeli raids, while the occupation army announced that 3 soldiers were wounded in a bombing launched by a drone launched from Lebanon.
The party said that it carried out 10 operations in the occupied Golan and the Galilee, and attacked with marches industrial facilities north of Kiryat Shmona and hit the targets accurately. It bombed with more than 60 Katyusha missiles the Golan Division command in Nafah, the air defense barracks in Kila, and the artillery barracks in Yoav. It also attacked with a drone. Armed with missiles, the Metula site and its garrison.
For its part, the Israeli army announced that 3 soldiers were injured in a bombing launched by a march launched from Lebanon towards Metulla. Israeli media also confirmed that more than 120 missiles were launched from southern Lebanon.