IDF orders evacuation of Rafah center to expand military operation

France asks Israel to stop “without delay” its military operation in Rafah, the United States considers it likely that Israel violated humanitarian law, the UN Security Council called for an investigation on Friday “independent” And “immediate” after the discovery of mass graves around hospitals in Gaza… Le Figaro takes stock of the fighting in the Gaza Strip. This conflict was caused by the deadly Hamas raid on October 7. Around a hundred hostages are still captive.

IDF orders evacuation of Rafah center to launch military operation

The Israeli army has asked residents of the center of the town of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, to evacuate to the secure humanitarian zone of Al-Mawasi, we can read on the social networks of its spokesperson in Arabic. More than 150,000 people have already fled the city since the start of the military operation on May 7.

“You are in a dangerous combat zone. Hamas is trying to rebuild its capabilities in the region and that is why the IDF will work with great force against terrorist organizations in the region in which you are present. Therefore, everyone in these areas places themselves and their families at risk,” it is written.

France calls on Israel to cease its operation in Rafah “without delay”

“We call on the Israeli authorities to cease this military operation without delay and to return to the path of negotiations, the only possible path to lead to the immediate release of the hostages and obtain a lasting ceasefire”indicated the Quai d’Orsay regarding the situation in Rafah. “Such an operation threatens to cause a catastrophic situation for the civilian populations of Gaza, already displaced on multiple occasions”continues the press release from French diplomacy.

In order to “to overcome” Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considers necessary an operation in Rafah, a town in the south of the Gaza Strip where the last battalions of the terrorist movement are entrenched, but where there are also 1.4 million Palestinians, the majority displaced . The army indicated on Friday that it was continuing its “precision counter-terrorism operation” in certain areas of eastern Rafah, and have “eliminated from terrorist cells”.

Washington considers it likely that Israel violated the law in Gaza

The United States considers it likely that Israel violated international humanitarian law in Gaza without being able to definitively conclude this, and will continue to deliver weapons to this country, according to a State Department report. The report, eagerly awaited and made public on Friday, indicates that it is “reasonable to estimate” that Israel has used weapons in a manner inconsistent with international humanitarian law and therefore American law, but that the United States has not been able to achieve at this point “conclusions” definitive, due to lack of sufficient information.

Read alsoHamas-Israel conflict: what does international humanitarian law provide?

This report was commissioned by President Joe Biden under pressure from elected Democrats denouncing the use of weapons provided by the Biden administration, at the risk of seeing the United States become “accomplices”. It comes shortly after the US president publicly threatened to suspend the delivery of certain categories of weapons to Israel, including artillery shells, if Israel launched a major offensive in the crowded southern town of Rafah. of Gaza, which he opposes.

“The nature of the conflict in Gaza makes it difficult to assess or draw conclusions about individual incidents”notes the report which was transmitted to Congress. “Nevertheless, given Israel’s significant reliance on U.S.-made defense articles, it is reasonable to estimate that the defense articles … were used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in cases incompatible with its obligations under international humanitarian law”the report continues.

UN Security Council calls for ‘immediate’ independent investigation

The UN Security Council on Friday called for an investigation “independent” And “immediate” after the discovery around hospitals in Gaza of mass graves where were buried “hundreds” of people. In a statement, the members of the Council express “their deep concern regarding reports of the discovery of mass graves, in and around the Nasser and al-Chifa hospitals in Gaza, where hundreds of bodies, including women, children and the elderly, were buried”.

They emphasize the need to “accountable” and call for investigators to have a “unhindered access to all locations of mass graves in Gaza, to conduct an immediate, independent, rigorous, comprehensive, transparent and impartial investigation to determine the circumstances behind the graves”. The Council does not specify who could lead this investigation. It also underlines the importance for families of “know the fate and location of their missing loved ones, in accordance with international humanitarian law”.

200,000 liters of fuel were transferred to international organizations on Friday

Despite the reopening on Wednesday of the Kerem Shalom crossing, neighboring Rafah, closed by Israel for three days after Hamas rocket attacks, the delivery of aid remains “extremely difficult”Andrea De Domenico, the head of the OCHA office in the Palestinian territories, told AFP.

Friday evening, Cogat, the body of the Israeli Ministry of Defense overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian Territories, nevertheless announced “the transfer of 200,000 liters of fuel to international organizations” via Kerem Shalom.

Washington observes Israeli operation in Rafah with “concern” but does not consider it “major”

United States “observe with concern” the ongoing Israeli military operation in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, but do not believe that it currently crosses the red lines drawn by Joe Biden, a House spokesperson said on Friday. White. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say that what we’ve seen in the last twenty-four hours signals a full-scale invasion or a major ground operation.”said John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council.

President Joe Biden has threatened to stop supplying certain weapons to Israel in the event of a large-scale offensive against this town near the Egyptian border, where more than a million Palestinians are refugees. John Kirby, also affirmed that the United States still judges “possible” an agreement on a truce in Gaza, while Hamas and Israel left talks taking place in Cairo without being able to reach an agreement.