Since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war, every new phase in the Israeli onslaught has inflicted more suffering, pain and death on the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.

A vast number of Palestinians, who have been displaced many times over, are currently in “safe” Rafah. Sadly, safety has eluded Rafah as Netanyahu has announced a planned invasion into the city.

If this planned offensive takes place, one thing is sure to happen: a high death toll. This death toll will not only consist of Palestinians but captives that Israel is set on freeing.

Hamas has come out to say, more than once, that Israeli strikes killed some captives. With this in mind, Israel may burn the “wheat with the tares,” so to speak.

Opposition to Israel’s planned assault on Rafah has grown over the days. One of the UK’s top Rabbis currently lent his voice to this.

Jonathan Wittenberg, who leads the UK’s Masorti movement, opined in a statement that an offensive in Rafah is unlikely to secure the release of Hamas’s captives.

“I write out of dread at the future hatred this is likely to engender, and out of fear that these actions may haunt us, and the good name of Israel and the Jewish people, for generations,” he said.

He said that while there is no doubt about Hamas’s “calculated barbarity and strategic cruelty”, he cannot remain silent about the potential consequences of Israel’s actions.

“It suits them, and Iran, cynically to provoke Israel in the most appalling ways, then blame it for the awful consequences,” he noted.

“But over a million Palestinian civilians, many already in flight from the north of Gaza, are now trapped with nowhere to go. In countless references, Judaism has, throughout its history, stressed our duty to refugees and the helpless. How can we be unmoved by their grief and unbearable suffering?”
Jonathan Wittenberg

Pressure Builds On Israel To Halt Rafah Offensive

The pressure on Israel to avoid a ground offensive is coming from almost all quarters, including allies such as the US, UK, France, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Western leaders hope that a round of meetings at a security conference in Munich will put overwhelming pressure on Israel not to press ahead with a ground offensive in Rafah.

Almost all the key figures, except the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, will be present in Munich on Friday, February 16, 2024, including Foreign Ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan.

The Israeli President, Isaac Herzog, and Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, will also attend along with three freed hostages, Raz Ben Ami, Adi Shoham and Aviva Siegel.

U.S Vice President, Kamala Harris is set to meet with the Israeli President, Isaac Herzog at the Munich Security Conference.

Harris will also meet with Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani at the annual conference held in Germany, where world leaders gather to discuss global security issues.

Hamas is no longer holding out for a permanent ceasefire but wants a six-week humanitarian pause leading to a ceasefire.

Israel is opposed to handing security to a third party in Gaza, as well as to a two-state solution.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said that a peace deal between Israel and Hamas will only be reached “through direct negotiations between the parties.”

“Israel outright rejects international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians,” he wrote on X.

He added that Israel will “continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.”

“Such recognition in the wake of the October 7 massacre would give a huge reward to unprecedented terrorism and prevent any future peace settlement,” he wrote.

For the second time in less than a week, U.S President, Joe Biden warned Netanyahu in a phone call against launching a military campaign in Rafah without a plan to protect civilians.

The White House disclosed that in the call, Biden “reiterated his view that a military operation should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the civilians in Rafah.”