As Palestinians prepare for a catastrophic ground invasion of Rafah, the U.S. Senate votes to send an additional $14 billion to Israel. Amnesty International warns Palestinians in southern Gaza are “facing the real and imminent risk of genocide.”
Casualties:
- 28,473+ killed* and at least 68,146 wounded in the Gaza Strip.
- 380+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
- Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,147.
- 569 Israeli soldiers killed since October 7, and at least 3,221 injured.**
*This figure was confirmed by Gaza’s Ministry of Health on Telegram channel. Some rights groups put the death toll number at more than 35,000 when accounting for those presumed dead.
** This figure is released by the Israeli military, showing the soldiers whose names “were allowed to be published.”
Key Developments:
- Palestinian PM: Israel wants to reshape demographic balance by killing Palestinians.
- Israeli Ministers ban UN special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories from Israel and occupied Palestinian territories.
- Gaza Ministry of Health: Israeli forces killed 133 Palestinians and injured 162 in 24 hours.
- Hamas: Three more Israeli captives die of wounds from Israeli air raids on Rafah.
- Countries and international organizations express alarm over anticipated Israeli assault on Rafah, where Israeli forces previously told hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to seek shelter.
- After meeting Jordan’s King Abdullah, U.S. President Joe Biden acknowledges Palestinian suffering but says Washington shares Israel’s goal of defeating Hamas.
- Israeli settlers shoot two Palestinians, including child, burn car, and throw Molotov cocktails south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank,
- Palestinian man killed by Israeli soldiers after being shot in chest, shoulders, and head in the occupied West Bank city of Qalqilya, according to Palestinian Health Ministry.
- U.S. Senate votes to send additional $14 billion to Israel as America continues bankrolling Israel’s genocidal war despite allegations of Israeli war crimes in Gaza
Panic and apprehension fill Rafah
Peace is a dream for Gaza’s population, who have been living under the constant threat of Israeli attacks for over four months, leaving over 28,000 dead and almost 70,000 wounded.
Israel’s Genocide War in Gaza Continues
The Israeli military has not yet presented its plan to the government for evacuating civilians from Rafah, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said today. “The government has instructed the IDF to devise a plan to achieve our goals, our war goals, in the area of Rafah,” IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said. “The plan that you’re asking for has still yet to be presented, of course, to the government.” Alex Stambaugh reports for CNN.
More than 12,300 children have died in Gaza since the start of the war, the Hamas-run health ministry said today. It added the total death toll since Oct. 7 had risen to 28,340. Mithil Aggarwal reports for NBC News.
REGIONAL RESPONSE
Egypt has fortified its border with Gaza and deployed more troops in North Sinai as a “precautionary measure” ahead of an expected Israeli ground operation in Rafah, two security officials told CNN.
BAGHDAD CAUGHT IN U.S.-IRAN CROSSFIRE. Bottom Line Up Front:
* Recent U.S. retaliatory strikes on Iran-aligned militia forces in Iraq have fueled pro-Iranian political and militia leaders to accelerate their efforts to force a U.S. withdrawal.
* The government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is working to reflect public opposition to U.S. strikes on Iraqi territory while remaining engaged with both the United States and Iran.
* U.S. leaders view a continued U.S. military mission in Iraq as crucial to preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State and containing Iran’s regional influence.
* An end to the war in Gaza would not cause Iran-aligned groups to stop attacking U.S. forces or resolve the U.S.-Iranian struggle to wield preponderant influence in Iraq.
INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Israel should “stop and think seriously before it takes any further action” in Rafah, British foreign secretary David Cameron said yesterday. When asked about the situation in Rafah and whether Israel’s actions had gone beyond international law, Cameron said, “We think it is impossible to see how you can fight a war amongst these people. There’s nowhere for them to go … what we want is an immediate pause in the fighting and we want that pause to lead to a ceasefire.” Reuters reports.
Netherlands court orders halt to transfers of F-35 parts to Israel A Dutch appeals court ordered the government to block the transfer of jet parts to Israel over concerns the deliveries contribute to violations of international law in Gaza. A Dutch appeals court has ordered the government in The Hague to suspend the exportation of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns that the Israeli air force was violating international law during its Gaza offensive.
Britain imposed sanctions on four Israeli nationals yesterday, saying they were extremist settlers who had violently attacked Palestinians in the West Bank. “Extremist Israeli settlers are threatening Palestinians, often at gunpoint, and forcing them off land that is rightfully theirs,” Cameron said. “This behavior is illegal and unacceptable. Israel must also take stronger action and put a stop to settler violence. Too often, we see commitments made and undertakings given, but not followed through.” Reuters reports.
The Dutch government is lodging an appeal to the Dutch Supreme Court following the judgment of the Hague Court of Appeal that the Netherlands must cease exporting American F-35 parts to Israel. “The government believes it is up to the State to determine its foreign policy [sic] … in the meantime, the government will consult with international partners within the F-35 program very soon to secure the Netherlands’ role within the program,” the statement said.
International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said he was deeply concerned about reports of bombing and a potential ground incursion by Israeli forces into Rafah. In a post on X, Khan said the court was “actively investigating any crimes allegedly committed” in Gaza and that “those who are in breach of the law will be held accountable.” NBC News reports.
France has delivered a proposal to Beirut aimed at ending hostilities with Israel and settling the Lebanon-Israel border dispute, according to a document seen by Reuters. The document was delivered last week by French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne to top Lebanese state officials including Prime Minister Najib Mikati, four senior Lebanese and three French officials said.
The Kremlin said today that it was “ready to support any action that will lead to the release of the hostages and a ceasefire.” “But we believe that the actions should be constructive, aimed at a comprehensive solution of the problem within the framework of international law and previously adopted Security Council resolutions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added. Reuters reports.
E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has invited Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner of the U.N. agency for Palestine Refugees, to discuss matters as countries suspend funding to the aid agency while the U.N. investigates allegations of its staff members’ ties to Hamas. “It is not a secret that the Israeli government wants to get rid of UNRWA,” Borell said, “Not [just] now, for many years before, [they have] wanted to get rid of UNRWA because they believed that if they get rid of UNRWA, they get rid of the problem of the Palestinian refugees. No, it will make it still worse.” Doha Madani reports for NBC News.
U.S. RESPONSE
President Biden warned Israel yesterday against invading Rafah and insisted the United States would not support any operation that fails to account for the safety of Palestinians who fled there under Israeli orders. Speaking at a joint appearance with King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House, Biden said, “The major military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible plan for ensuring the safety and support of more than one million people sheltering there. They need to be protected.” He added, “We’ve also been clear from the start: We oppose any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.” Adam Cancryn reports for POLITICO.
The United States called on Israel to urgently investigate the death of a five-year-old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajib, who was found dead this weekend after being trapped in a car in Gaza with members of her family who were reportedly shot to death by Israeli forces. Rescue workers dispatched to find her were also reportedly shot and killed. State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said yesterday, “We have asked the Israeli authorities to investigate this incident on an urgent basis. We understand that they’re doing so. We expect to see those results [in] a timely fashion and they should include accountability measures as appropriate.” Jennifer Hansler reports for CNN.
The United States does not view the recent Israeli airstrike in Rafah as “the launch of a full-scale offensive,”State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said yesterday. Israel has “conducted airstrikes against Rafah really since going back to the original days of the campaign,” he said.
US senator accuses Israel of ‘textbook war crime’ in Gaza Strip. US Senator Chris Van Hollen (Democrat-Maryland) accuses Israel of war crimes in its operation in the Gaza Strip during comments on the Senate floor.
“Kids in Gaza are now dying from the deliberate withholding of food,” he says. “That is a war crime. It is a textbook war crime. And that makes those who orchestrate it, war criminals.” “So now the question is what will the United States do?” he continues. “What will we do? What will President Biden do? President Biden must take action in response to what is happening.”
Biden will deal with Netanyahu with ‘tough love,’ US official warns. On Sunday evening, following a conversation in which U.S. President Joe Biden asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to send an Israeli delegation to the ongoing hostage release talks in Cairo, a Biden administration official said the president is determined to achieve a deal between Israel and Hamas, saying failure is not an option, and adding that he will deal with Netanyahu with “tough love.”
CIA Director Burns in Egypt for hostage talks; Gazans look to flee Rafah. CIA Director William J. Burns and Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea are expected to meet Tuesday in Egypt to continue negotiations for a possible hostage-release deal. Many Gazans are attempting to flee Rafah, ahead of an expected full-scale Israeli military operation in the southern city where about 1.4 million people are sheltering. One resident there described the sense of fear in the city as “palpable,” particularly following strikes early Monday that killed at least 67 people.
MILITARY CONFLICT WITH HOUTHIS
The Greek-owned commercial vessel targeted yesterday by the Houthis in the Red Sea was carrying corn from Brazil to Iran, according to the U.S. Central Command and the State Department. The attack appears to be the first time the Houthis have targeted a ship bound for Iran, which provides support for the rebel group. CNN reports.
Biden’s calls for Israel to mind the laws appear feeble, and ignored. The Israeli government is preparing to launch a ground assault on Rafah in southern Gaza as their devastating military campaign enters its fifth month. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was adamant that the assault would happen: “We’re going to do it.”
Media downplays lack of evidence in UNRWA employee scandal. Momentum in Washington to cut or eliminate U.S. funding for a United Nations agency that aids Palestinians is moving forward almost entirely unchecked. But it’s based on unproven allegations — largely uncritically amplified by U.S. media — that the agency’s staff had links to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
In Gaza, hope is a fantasy. Biden et al may claim, at least publicly, to ask Israel to stop the looming carnage. Netanyahu will not be deterred by their empty ‘warnings’.
Finally, a cocksure Netanyahu understands the value of patience. Biden looks and sounds like an old man who is poised to become yesterday’s man – gone, inconsequential, and forgotten.
The November presidential election approaches just on the horizon. Another doddering old man, Donald Trump, has a better-than-even chance of returning to the Oval Office.
If that happens, Trump will enshrine Israel’s license to commit genocide without his predecessor’s meaningless rhetorical “reservations”.
Either way, America has morphed, in effect, into Israel’s proxy. The dynamic has shifted.. Israel will decide what will happen in Gaza today and tomorrow, and America will salute in approval and help pay for the pleasure of doing its captain’s bidding – happily, willingly, and enthusiastically.
Change Gaza policy or lose presidency— Dearborn mayor to Biden. The Mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, Abdullah Hammoud, has warned President Joe Biden that continued support for Israel could cost him the Arab American vote in the upcoming 2024 election. Hammoud and others in Michigan are advocating for voters to select ‘uncommitted’ in the state’s Democratic primary as a form of protest against US policies regarding Israel’s actions in Gaza. Despite Biden’s acknowledgment of Israel’s conduct, his administration has not halted support for Israel’s offensive, leading to discontent among Arab and Muslim Americans. Hammoud’s ‘Vote Uncommitted’ campaign has drawn criticism but highlights the importance of the Arab American vote in swing states like Michigan. Concerns about hatred towards Muslims and Arabs have also surfaced, particularly after a derogatory opinion piece labeling Dearborn as a ‘jihad capital.’ Hammoud has denounced such rhetoric and increased security measures in response to potential attacks. Despite past attempts to engage with Biden on Palestinian issues, Hammoud has not received a direct response, emphasizing the continuous importance of the Palestinian cause to his community.
CIA, Mossad Leaders Hold Hostage, Cease-Fir Talks in Egypt. “The war has caught Israel at perhaps its most divided moment in history,” Haaretz’s Aluf Benn writes for Foreign Affairs.“The fight over Netanyahu’s political survival will become even more intense than it was before October 7, making it hard for the country to pursue peace.”
The directors of the U.S. and Israeli intelligence services and Qatar’s prime minister are in Cairo today (AFP, Times of Israel) for a meeting about a potential hostage release and cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip, Egyptian media reported. The talks come after U.S. President Joe Biden said yesterday that he would do “everything possible” (FT) to seek a six-week cease-fire deal that would also see the release of hostages held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a permanent cease-fire proposal from Hamas last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was still “space for agreement to be reached.”
An independent Palestinian state must be truly independent.
Daoud KuttabUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken was very quick to answer a question posed to him during his Feb. 7 press conference in Jerusalem after meeting Israeli officials. Asked if he could see any role for Hamas in the postwar period, Blinken answered promptly with an emphatic “no.”
At the same time, Blinken repeatedly suggested that, for permanent regional peace to be achieved, an independent Palestinian state was needed. He said this having come from Saudi Arabia, where the issue of an irreversible path to an independent Palestinian state was made abundantly clear as a prerequisite for normalization between the Saudis and the Israelis. Read the full text here
Is Netanyahu betting on Donald Trump’s return card to the White House?
Antoine Shalhat
Many Israeli analysts, especially those who specialize in dissecting Israeli-American relations, found in some recent incidents signs of a divergence in the positions of the two countries regarding the war of genocide and mass destruction in the Gaza Strip, which entered its fifth month less than a week ago. This disparity relates, mainly, to the conduct of the war and its expected trends on the one hand, and the path related to what is described as the “day after” of the war on the other. Read the full text here