In Gaza, the Rafah crossing has been reopened. The previous closure was announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, commenting on previously released news about the arrival of humanitarian aid. Hundreds of trucks were already lined up on site, ready to deliver essential goods to the millions of besieged Palestinians. "For the moment there is no ceasefire nor the entry of aid into Gaza in exchange for the departure of foreign citizens," the statement read.
President Joe Biden's considerations also come from America on a possible Israeli occupation of Gaza which " would be a serious mistake ". He stated this during an intervention on the television program "60 Minutes", underlining that "Hamas does not represent all Palestinians". Biden reiterates that Hamas must be completely eliminated , but that there must also be a path towards a Palestinian state even if – he continues – «I do not, however, think that Israel will pursue this path at this time but I believe that "the Jewish State" understands that a significant part of the Palestinian people does not share the opinions of Hamas and Hezbollah." According to the US president, the Hamas attack was "barbarism as serious as the Holocaust" and Israel has the right to respond to totally eliminate the Islamist group.
Instead, the Israeli Defense Minister - following the firefights that occurred in recent days - made the decision to evacuate the population living close to the border with Lebanon at a distance of less than 2 kilometres. A statement from the ministry specifies that these are 28 locations in total, including the town of Metulla. Yesterday attacks coming from Lebanon caused the death of two Israelis, a soldier and a civilian, in that area. Also yesterday, the military authorities banned entry into a four kilometer deep strip along the entire border with Lebanon.
(Unioneonline/vf)
