Washington DC – The United States has downplayed Israel’s deadly attack on Rafah, saying the offensive appears “limited” despite concerns over the fate of the more than 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in the southern Gaza city.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters Tuesday that the United States remains opposed to a major Israeli offensive against Rafah.
Israel intensified its bombing of Rafah on Monday, killing dozens of people after ordering around 100,000 residents of its eastern areas to evacuate. Israeli troops also stormed the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, which serves as a major gateway for humanitarian aid.
“This military operation that they launched last night was only targeting the Rafah Gate,” Miller said Tuesday.
“This was not an operation in the civilian areas that they had ordered evacuated. We will therefore continue to clearly express our opposition to a major military operation in Rafah. »
Still, Miller acknowledged that the crossing attack “does feel like the prelude” to a broader offensive.
The Israeli attack closed the Rafah crossing, further straining the already insufficient flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Since October 9, Israel has intensified its existing blockade on the territory, bringing the Palestinian enclave to the brink of famine.
The Rafah crossing also serves as an entry point for aid workers traveling to Gaza, and seriously ill and injured people use it to leave the territory and seek treatment abroad.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said 120 patients who were due to cross the Gaza border into Egypt for treatment were not allowed to leave on Tuesday.
The closure of the crossing also blocked medical supplies and fuel needed to operate the remaining medical centers in the territory, the ministry said.
“The situation of patients in Gaza hospitals has been very difficult since the start of the war due to the loss of medical equipment and the total collapse of the health system,” the ministry said in a statement.
“We have travel lists for thousands of sick and injured people. And now they are being prevented from leaving.”
At the U.S. State Department, Miller called for the crossing to be reopened, but he also appeared to justify the Israeli attack that closed it.
“Hamas effectively controlled the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, and Hamas continued to receive revenue from the opening of that crossing,” he told reporters.
“So it is a legitimate objective to try to deprive Hamas of revenue, of money that it could use to continue financing its terrorist activities. That said, we want to see the passage open, and we will work to try to reopen it.
On Saturday, Israel also closed the Karem Abu Salem border crossing, also known as Kerem Shalom, barring aid trucks after Hamas launched a rocket attack on Israeli troops nearby, killing four soldiers .
On Tuesday, Miller falsely claimed that the crossing between Gaza and Israel had been “bombed” by Hamas when the crossing itself was not targeted.
Asked about his claim, Miller said: “One could argue that it was this strike at Kerem Shalom that precipitated its closure. »
“But having said that, you have to be very clear on our position: we want to see it open. We want it to be opened as quickly as possible. They said they would open it tomorrow. We will work to make this happen.
Earlier on Tuesday, the United Nations called on Israel to immediately reopen the two crossings.
Israel’s capture of the Rafah Gate came hours after Hamas said it had accepted a ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar that included the release of Israeli captives in Gaza in exchange for detained Palestinian prisoners. by Israel, as well as the eventual end of the conflict. war.
Israel rejected the deal but said it would engage in further negotiations.
US President Joe Biden’s administration has been heavily involved in the negotiations. On Tuesday, Miller declined to provide many details about the situation, but he denied that Hamas actually accepted the deal.
Instead, he said the Palestinian group responded to the proposal with suggestions as part of the negotiations process.
“We have continued to believe that it is possible to reach an agreement, and we are trying incredibly hard to get it across the line,” he said.