Rafah bombings (Edited by Mumsnet)

Rafah's main hospital al-Najjar is unable to admit patients as it is within the evacuated Israeli combat 'red zone' - meaning that the much smaller Kuwaiti hospital is becoming overwhelmed with casualties

The other hospital in Rafah - the Emirati is mainly a maternity unit

It is totally wrong to make an equivalence between the IDF/Israeli government and Hamas.

Hamas is a terrorist organisation with the unashamed aim of destroying all Jews.

‘This is evident in their founding charter, which cites the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion forgery as “proof” of a Zionist plot to control the world. It remains true after Hamas released a new charter in 2017, which essentially simply swapped the word “Jew” out and replaced it with “Zionist” while repeating antisemitic tropes.

Hamas abolished democracy in Gaza:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/24/gaza-election-hamas-2006-palestine-israel/

The above is a good article explaining why Hamas have always been a bad actor in Gaza.

The October attack wasn’t against a military target which incurred ‘collateral damage’, it was the purposeful planned raping, killing and hostage taking of civilians of all ages, many of whom were ‘peaceniks’.

As for Israel, they are a democratic nation and actually have Arab members of parliament. The idea of a Jewish politician within Hamas is just laughable.

Also, regardless of the background (Al Qaeda also thought they were fighting injustice on 9/11) no nation state on earth could have expected not to respond harshly to what happened on October 7th. You will also notice how quiet the Arab World was (ex Iran) in criticising Israel.

Finally, if Israel have a legitimate war aim of eliminating Hamas as a fighting force, they can’t just let them hang out in Rafah until such time as peace is agreed and then they can just reform and fight another day. It just isn’t realistic.

OTOH, I recognise Israel have some serious problems at the moment.

They have an illegitimate government and need elections as a matter of urgency. Also Netanyahu needs to face the criminal charges he is up against in a court.

They did, at least at the beginning of the war, use starvation and a denial of basic human rights (water and medical treatment) as a way of mass punishment, which is a war crime. However, they have recently toned this down (admittedly due to American pressure)

Israel is becoming increasingly a religious state and, with it, racism is increasing. The settlers are behaving disgracefully and the settlements should be dismantled.

Ultimately though, what Israel is these days will be decided after the fighting, not during it. If Netanyahu goes, they accept a two state solution and come to a compromise over the illegal settlements, then I will remain a Zionist (as much as believing the Jews have a right to a state and to be able to live safely within it). If not, I will have to distance myself and say ‘not in my name’.

But, right now, Hamas need to pay the price for their terrorist crime.

The facts are clear - Hamas attacked cicillian men, women, children and babies and the rest is history

No country in the world would have stood idly by until the culprits were captured or eradicated

❤️

And in the context of children we're talking INFANTS

And for the PP who said What Ceasfire re Oct 6th= Think About It. Think about actions and consequences, think about who you vote for, what you allow and what you stand for.

Think about who you are taught to hate from a young age.

I've unfortunately seen videos of some of the victims of the latest "operation" by Israel.

A toddler, burned head to toe and screaming in agony and fear. Absolutely fucking disgusting that this happened to them. There's no aid getting in so presumably they will not receive proper medical attention (not to mention that Israel has destroyed most of the hospitals in Gaza). And this has happened to tens of thousands of children in Gaza. Not to mention the 14000 or so who've been killed. This is what people are supporting. Anyone who supports this has no humanity. My heart is broken.

This.

I feel the same. There is ample evidence of what the Israeli government/IDF have been doing to the Palestinians since October. The truth is out there for people to see. To be called antisemitic because we dare to criticise their actions is ,frankly, the last resort for people who can't argue with facts.
I also agree that this "war" has served the antisemitic cause no end.
I don't think Israeli citizens feel safer now than before 07/10.

"War does not determine who is right – only who is left"

The people who should be ashamed of themselves are the perpetrators of these atrocities and the people who support and enable them, either through action or inaction.

And I am sick of those accusations of antisemitism and propaganda every time someone says the truth.

Those who criticised the war in Vietnam were not anti-american. Those who refused to close their eyes in the 1930s, and exposed what was happening in Europe were not anti-German, or anti-French (Vichy Government), those who exposed the Civil war under Franco were not anti-Spanish, those who fought against Mussolini's actions were not anti-Italian.

STOP shouting 'antisemitism' every time the truth is rtold about what is happening in Gaza. STOP, just STOP.

The antisemitic cause is served massively but those who stand by Netanyahu and the IDF in the current 'war'. This is not war- war has two sides. Genocide with intent, pure and simple. With every intention of taking over Gaza, and the West Bank, to finalise the illegal Israeli settlements and permanently exclude Palestinians from their own land. The world will NOT agree to this when this phony war ends.

Thanks @SummerFeverVenice for posting these UN updates detailing the appalling situation in Rafah without added 'evacuations', bombardment and a land invasion

From an AJ journalist in Rafah

''Within the past hour or so, many injured people have arrived at Kuwaiti hospital. They are from the vicinity of the Rafah crossing, as well as from areas that were heavily bombed in overnight attacks on the eastern part of the city.

There’s a sense of chaos as people don’t have much trust in the Israeli narrative. They’re taking matters into their own hands. They’re going to areas that they think may provide some safety for them and their family members, but they realise there is no safe place in the entire Gaza Strip

@SummerFeverVenice thank you for sharing

There is ‘nowhere safe to go’ for the 600,000 children of Rafah, warns UNICEF
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/there-nowhere-safe-go-600000-children-rafah-warns-unicef

UN Women’s survey data sheds light on the devastating reality of life for women and girls in Rafah:

1. Rafah now hosts 700,000 women and girls who have nowhere else to go. 93 per cent of women respondents express feeling unsafe within their own homes or displaced locations.
2. Over 80 per cent of women report feelings of depression, 66 per cent are not able to sleep, and over 70 per cent have heightened anxiety and nightmares.
3. More than half of women surveyed (51 per cent) have a medical condition requiring urgent medical attention since the start of the war, with 62 per cent unable to pay for necessary medical care.
4. More than 6 out of 10 of the interviewed women who are currently pregnant or have been pregnant since October 7th reported complications, including 95 per cent reporting urinary tract infections; 80 per cent anemia; 30 per cent pre-term labor, and 50 per cent hypertensive disorders. In households with nursing mothers, 72 per cent reported that there are challenges in breastfeeding and in meeting the nutritional needs of babies.
5. Women in Rafah struggle to protect the physical and mental well-being of their children, while also bearing increased burdens of caregiving and domestic responsibilities particularly in tents and overcrowded households. 8 out of 10 (79 per cent) of female and male respondents stated that mothers are taking on more responsibility than men to provide emotional support for adult family members and children alike.

UN Women
https://x.com/UN_Women/status/1787621551866601521

Intensified military operations in #Rafah will bring more death and despair for 700,000 women and girls.

We demand an immediate ceasefire in #Gaza, the release of all hostages, and safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid.

Our press release: http://unwo.men/HA0b50Ry2bF

UN OCHA
“The two main arteries for getting aid into Gaza are currently choked off,” Jens Laerk says, adding that UN agencies have very low stocks inside the Gaza Strip since humanitarian supplies are consumed immediately.
“If no fuel comes in for a prolonged period of time, it would be a very effective way of putting the humanitarian operation in its grave,” he said.

https://x.com/UN_News_Centre/status/1787784218363166951

It is just so sick.

That was meant to say full on...

Ful on the news now. Israel has taken control of the Rafah crossing.
So, how are palestinians meant to pop in next door?
Can you please show some mercy here?
Of course the world condemns what happened October 7th to the israeli population. But this further nassacre is not going to pave the way to avoid that day repeating again.
The peace talks will. Put your energy in advocating for peace, not on revenge. Revenge will give you nothing. Peace is what everyone needs, what will allow for healing.

Yup. And are we supposed to pretend that the West Bank doesn't exist and the attacks by Israelis on villages there and on ordinary residents don't happen? It would seem that only ordinary Israelis matter to some.

Honestly there's no point, these po-israel lot only care about human rights, rape or murder when it relates to Pro-Israeli Jewish people, other than that, they're really not fussed

Statement from James Elder UNICEF on Gaza's children - half of whom are in Rafah

''Every warning. Every image of children killed and injured. Every heartbreaking story of bloodshed and despair. Every mind-boggling piece of data of the sheer number of children and mothers killed. Of family homes and hospitals destroyed. It’s all been ignored. Our worst fears, Gaza’s nightmare, appears to be a reality.

This past weekend’s events in Gaza, the continued killing of children, more attacks from the warring parties, and now evacuation orders, yet again expose how parties to this conflict continue to utterly disregard the lives and protection of civilians and of children.

This has to change and this is the last moment for that to change. Aid must flow. Hostages must be freed. Rafah must not be invaded. And children must stop being killed. We’ve pleaded, we have implored, countless times, and we do so once more. For the children of Rafah we need a ceasefire now.''

Seven UN special rapporteurs have issued a statement condemning “unacceptable” violence by the Israeli army against women and children during the war on Gaza, particularly sexual violence and enforced disappearances.

“We are appalled that women are being targeted by Israel with such vicious, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, seemingly sparing no means to destroy their lives and deny them their fundamental human rights,” they said

The statement pointed to “continued reports of sexual assault and violence against women and girls, including against those detained by Israeli occupation forces”. It also cited UN reports saying women and girls in Gaza were victims of enforced disappearances.

https://www.nationaltribune.com.au/un-experts-onslaught-of-violence-against-women-and-children-in-gaza-unacceptable/

Easy peasy, just hobble down all the sniper alleys, dodging the artillery shells, the drones with missiles shooting anything that moves, and the airstrikes, and then walk past three IDF tanks all armed with machine guns and dozens of individual soldiers…only next door. Tom Cruise can do it in Hollywood, so why not a one legged Palestinian child?

Egypt is not in Gaza.

It therefore cannot be a safe zone in Gaza.

The legal, political and moral debates about whether refugees should be able to evacuate to Egypt and what that would mean for the status of Gaza as a Palestinian Territory are an entirely separate debate.