Netanyahu rejected humanitarian pauses in Rafah that the Israeli Army just announced

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, rejected this Sunday, June 16, 2024, establishing pauses in the fighting in Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, to allow the entry of more humanitarian aid that could alleviate the desperation of a hungry Gazan population, while another week of protests began in Israel to demand the calling of early elections.

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“To achieve the elimination of Hamas, I have made decisions that are not always accepted by the military level,” Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed this Sunday in an interview with Israeli channel 13, after calling in a first statement “unacceptable” the “tactical pauses” announced by its Army hours before in the south of the Strip to allow the entry of humanitarian aid.

The statement from the Israeli forces came early this Sunday in which they reported the establishment of a “tactical pause” of military activity from the Kerem Shalom crossing (one of the few in operation) and the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, also to the south, through the Salah al Din road.

The military note indicated that these pauses, also established in the north of the Strip during the first months of the war, would take place “from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. every day until further notice,” with the aim of allow the entry of more humanitarian aid.

After the disavowal of the Israeli president, came the usual criticism from two of the most radical ministers of the coalition government: the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, and the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, who oppose agreeing with Hamas on a new agreement. truce for the exchange of hostages for prisoners.

“Whoever made this tactical pause decision is a fool who should abandon his position.“he wrote on his X Ben Gvir account.

Smotrich, for his part, assured, also on this social network, that aid is already being allowed to enter through that channel and that such a decision only strengthens Hamas and “helps it maintain civilian control of the Strip.”

Human rights organizations denounce that the humanitarian situation in the southern city of Rafah has worsened after the start of the Israeli ground invasion, since the Rafah crossing remains closed and the aid that enters through the other crossing, that of Kerem Shalom, It is not enough to meet the needs of Gazans in this area.

In addition, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) reported last Saturday that more than 50,000 children need treatment for “acute malnutrition” due to constant “Israeli restrictions on humanitarian access.”

Netanyahu’s government faces another week of protests

Netanyahu’s government faces another week of protests called by the Israeli civil movement demanding early elections before the anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7.

This Sunday the first demonstrations began with the blocking of several highways and roads, and will continue tomorrow with a massive march in the afternoon before the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) in Jerusalem.

The goal of the groups is to attract at least one million people.

Their demands also include equal military service, after Israeli lawmakers agreed last week to pass a bill to shore up the traditional military exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jewish students.

Another 24 hours of Israeli fire

Israeli fire killed 41 Palestinians and injured 102 others in the last day in the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-controlled enclave’s Ministry of Health announced in its daily bulletin.

Since the war began, 37,337 Gazans have lost their lives, while 85,299 have been injuredand some 12,000, according to Ministry estimates, remain under the rubble without ambulances or rescue teams being able to access them.

Negotiations for a truce remain stalled while this Sunday the Israeli broadcaster Kan said that Hezbollah advised Hamas to be more “flexible” in its response to US President Joe Biden’s ceasefire proposal.

The Palestinian group asked last week to include some of its demands in Biden’s proposal, such as the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Strip or a definitive ceasefire, something that Israel does not accept.

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