Rafah bombings (Edited by Mumsnet)

[TwilightSkies]

Where the hell are all the Palestinians meant to go now?
They were TOLD to go to Rafah, that Rafah was a safe place.
It’s just open extermination at this point.

What an absolute cretin.

All terrible news. Very upsetting.

The hatred runs so deep

This is happening right now, people are dying needlessly. I am so afraid for the people in Rafah right now.

Rafah right now, a child died in the most horrific way.

Trigger warning
https://www.instagram.com/p/C6uAr-yr7-a/?igsh=aTR0ZXE2dnN2bWVl

SMH

Israel says US halting weapons shipment could jeopardise captives talks: Report

Senior Israeli officials have warned their US counterparts that the Biden administration’s decision to pause a weapons shipment to Israel could jeopardise negotiations on their captives, US news outlet Axios reports.

So they’ll create one for the Palestinians instead? Nice.

They think they can just threaten and bully everyone and if that doesn't work call them antisemitic.

That’s sounds to me like an opinion piece being presented as fact. There is a clear bias in what isn’t being said.

Also, somebody with that background may because of their previous experience find it necessary to rationalise death and destruction as a mental health, self defence mechanism.

Eh? How does that work, I wonder.

Really upsetting news about the maternity hospital in Rafah not admitting any more people.

Is it because they are full? Or their staff have left for another area? Or because the mothers and babies won’t be safe?

How will these heavily pregnant women travel! Where will they give birth?

How can people justify this as something that needs to happen. How is this making the world a better or safer place.

If they have no empathy or care for anyone other than themselves, then can they at least grasp the idea, that if it’s OK to dispose of normal people in this way then one day that person could be them! It isn’t only cruel to condone this behaviour, it is illogical.

I was wondering the same
First it was, if the ICC issues arrest warrants against us then it will harm negotiations.
Now it is, if you stop sending us weapons it will harm negotiations.

Playing with people's lives. Threatening countries, who aren't even part of the ceasefire negotiations, with harming the negotiations. Yeah sure it's all about the hostages.

@Parkingt111 I suppose the idea is to get Hamas into the weakest position possible by striking Rafah heavily. Then Israel can negotiate from the strongest position possible. But heavy strikes in Rafah may harm the hostages they are trying to release. It seems more likely the hostages will be released alive with a ceasefire.

I agree with Biden's administration. Netanyahu should listen to him and focus on the negotiations.
If their strategy were going to work it would have already yielded something. They would have found more than 2 hostages and two bodies by now.
Flattening Gaza is only costing civilians lives. It is not working to bring hostages back and I do not see possible for them to differenciate between Hamas fighters and others on the ground.
US and other allies keep reiterating that this is not the way, yet Israel's government does not listen at all.
I really do not get it.

Matthew Miller has responded to this

Responding to the comments, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller calls them “absolutely deplorable,” adding that senior members of the Israeli government should refrain from making them.

Yes I think that sounds about right. I don't think a ceasefire works in Netanyahus favour though right now. He's trying to stretch the war out for as long as possible

It looks that way @Parkingt111

@PeasfullPerson there was only the brief statement from UNFPA - no other details

This was the situation there 2 months ago so can only imagine it's got worse if that's possible

For midwives in Rafah, ‘childbirth means chaos and suffering

’Midwives at the Al-Helal Al Emirati Hospital in Gaza’s Rafah are dealing with a “significant increase” in the number of childbirths due to the influx of displaced people into the southern city, according to the UN family planning agency (UNFPA).

The hospital recently saw 78 babies delivered in a single day, the UNFPA said.
The increase in deliveries at the already overburdened hospital has resulted in “chaos and suffering”, the agency said.

“We are delivering non-stop. In our delivery ward, we only have five beds for so many pregnant women,” one midwife told the agency. “While one woman is giving birth, another expectant mother comes into the ward. We tell the woman who has just given birth, ‘We need the bed. Get up, sit on the chair’.”

Conditions at the delivery ward are “miserable,” she said.

“Most of the women come in with infections. They haven’t been able to check the baby’s weight or movement. They just arrive for the delivery, hoping for the best. The foetus could be dead and the mother wouldn’t even know.”

UNFPA 6/3/24

Awful but at least it was 'something' rather than nothing

Also according to another poster on another thread [will try to find their excellent link] Netanyahu is struggling to keep his coalition together with Smotvich and Ben-Gvir [sp] threatening to bring down the coalition if he accepts a ceasefire - so he's in thrall to their malevolent even more extremist viewpoint

Here it is - thank you to @DomPom47

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/08/cant-you-kill-some-netanyahus-political-survival-in-hands-of-far-right

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeQXmcuP/
Not sure if the link to TikTok will work but it's an American midwife working in the hospital in Rafah and the plight of pregnant women who come to the hospital.
Heartbreaking especially when you compare to the posts on the forums here about comparatively trivial (but so important to them) issues. Mothers feel the same about their babies the world over.

It's remarkable that some mothers on this forum are OK with this.

They must have reasonable maternity services a few miles away in Israel. Unbelievable these mothers must give birth in conditions like these when there's adequate health care nearby.

Thank you @Nctodayjan24 saw this on twitter yesterday - she's speaking from the NICU which is/was the last unit still functioning in Gaza so all care for prem babies maybe lost too?

Tragic doesn't really cover it

There were 130 cots pre-war and so many more sick/prem babies being born now because of malnutrition and lack of of ante-natal care

And healthcare available in Egypt and beyond if only it could be accessed

It's really un-forgivable

Yes it is @Efacsen Nobody can pretend these mothers and babies deserve this and it should be a priority to move them to safety and functioning healthcare.