Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu approves Rafah action plan

Hours after the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it had signed off on plans for a military operation in Rafah, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the White House had yet to have receive information on the operation.

"We haven't seen it. We certainly would welcome the opportunity to see it," Kirby said, adding that the US would not support the plan without "credible" proposals to protect the civilian population in Gaza.

More than 1.5 million people are sheltering in the southern Gazan city, and Israel's supporters like the US have warned against a hasty military operation in the city to root out the remaining Hamas fighters there.

US President Joe Biden has said, for him, an invasion of Rafah would cross a "red line" without credible civilian protection plans in place.

The first ship carrying food aid along a maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza began unloading its cargo in the besieged Palestinian enclave on Friday.

Footage from the AFP news agency showed the Open Arms, the vessel which set sail from Cyprus on Tuesday, towing a barge that the Spanish charity operating it says is loaded with 200 tons of food for Gazans threatened with famine after more than five months of war.

"World Central Kitchen is unloading the barge connected now to the jetty," said Linda Roth, a spokesperson for the US charity that is working with Open Arms.

US President Joe Biden has praised a speech by US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that called for new elections in Israel and criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. 

"He made a good speech," Biden told reporters at the White House. "I think he expressed serious concern shared not only by him, but by many Americans."

Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the United States, called on Thursday for Israelis to replace Netanyahu, whose hard-line policies he said were damaging Israel's international image. 

"Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah," Schumer said. "As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and we should let the chips fall where they may. But the important thing is that Israelis are given a choice. There needs to be a fresh debate about the future of Israel after October 7."

Schumer said it would be a "grave mistake" for Israel to reject a two-state solution, and urged negotiators in the Israel-Gaza conflict to do everything possible to secure a cease-fire, free hostages and get aid into Gaza.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Thursday was quick to emphasize that Schumer's comments were his own and not those of the Biden administration, although he did admit that "there are a number of things we wanted to see Israel do differently."

Netanyahu's Likud Party responded to Schumer on Thursday, saying he "is expected to respect Israel's elected government and not undermine it ... This is always true, and even more so in wartime."

EU officials have said member states have reached a preliminary agreement to impose sanctions on "violent" Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

The bloc is also set to impose sanctions on Hamas for sexual violence during the October 7 attacks.

A high-ranking EU official said he expected foreign ministers from the 27 member states to back the moves at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. 

Both Britain and the United States have already imposed sanctions on a small number of settlers who are accused of committing human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank. 

According to diplomats, Hungary — a staunch supporter of Israel — has been preventing a deal for the EU to take a similar step for weeks. 

On Monday, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is expected to speak with ministers on whether to suspend a cooperation agreement with Israel over its operations in Gaza.

It is thought the move would not achieve the necessary unanimity, given the strong backing for Israel from several bloc members. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved plans for a military operation in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, according a statement released by his office. 

The statement said the military was "prepared for the operational side and for the evacuation of the population".

It did not include further details or a timeframe. 

Army spokesman Arye Shalicar said Hamas leaders are suspected to be in the city on the border with Egypt, along with many remaining fighters from the Islamist terror group.

Leading international politicians have tried to dissuade Netanyahu from ordering the Israeli army into Rafah, where around 1.5 million Palestinians are estimated to have fled from other parts of Gaza. 

Spokesman Shalicar said civilians would be evacuated to safer places such as the al-Mawasi camp, insisting: "That is what we have been doing in recent months and that is exactly how we would operate when it comes to Rafah."

However, aid groups continue to raise concerns over the feasibility of evacuating over 1 million refugees.

On a visit to Austria on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that he has not yet seen a plan for an Israeli military operation in Rafah. But he said any such plan must be "clear and implementable," and ensure civilians are taken "out of harm's way."

An Israeli negotiating team was set to travel to Doha, Qatar, on Friday for further diplomatic talks on a potential cease-fire and hostage exchange with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

The delegation will depart after a debate on the official Israeli stance in the government's Security Cabinet.

"An Israeli delegation will leave for Doha after the Security Cabinet discusses Israel's position," the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahusaid in a statement.

In the statement, Netanyahu reiterated that a cease-fire proposal submitted by Hamas this week was "unrealistic."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will lobby for the delivery of more aid to the devastated Gaza Strip, during a weekend visit to the Middle East with stops in Israel and Jordan.

Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said the chancellor would hold talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Saturday and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog on Sunday.

"Humanitarian efforts must be significantly improved... that is what [Scholz] will make clear in his talks in Israel," Hebestreit said. 

Scholz will also reiterate warnings against an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah. The southern area of Gaza is currently hosting over a million Palestinians, many of whom have fled fighting in other parts of the Gaza Strip.

"We stand close by Israel's side, but we also clearly demand that all commitments under international law are met," Hebestreit said.

He also reiterated calls on the Islamist militant group Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages, to "pave the way for a cease-fire that can then be used for further talks."

This will be Scholz's second visit to Israel since the October 7 terror attacks carried out by Hamas.

Aid distribution in the Gaza Strip, where food is scarce and hunger is widespread, needs to improve so it reaches the most vulnerable first, Hiba Tibi, Care International's director for the West Bank and Gaza, told DW on Friday.

Tibi explained some of the hurdles to distributing aid inside Gaza.

"The first one is the fuel to distribute the aid that is entering, and secondly, the safe environment that would allow the different teams to distribute the aid," she said, adding that it was even more difficult in Gaza's north due to the "very limited" aid entry points.

While all aid that enters Gaza "is making a difference and is saving lives," Tibi emphasized, she added that Palestinians needed safe ways to access humanitarian aid after it reaches the strip, especially in northern Gaza.

A limited number of humanitarian organizations in northern Gaza were working through Palestinian partners, she said, adding that there was nobody to help distribute aid in the north. People in Gaza have even returned to aid trucks after being shot because it was their only option to receive food, she said.

 While international efforts to deliver aid to people in Gaza by sea and air continue, Tibi called for land crossings into Gaza to open, something numerous others, including Egypt and the European Union, have stressed. 

"The easiest, the fastest, the most efficient way [to deliver aid] is to open the land crossing points," Tibi said. 

"The port that is going to be established will take at least 60 days, and this is not going to correspond to the immediate need," Tibi said, referring to a temporary pier the United States announced it was building to help transfer aid. 

 It is unclear how aid unloaded at the pier would reach the people who need it across the Gaza Strip, she said. 

A ship loaded with some 200 tons (187 metric tons) of food arrived off Gaza's coast on Friday in an attempt to open a new aid corridor via sea to counter the risk of famine looming over the besieged enclave.

The Open Arms ship, operated by a Spanish aid agency of the same name, is carrying food arranged by the US World Central Kitchen charity. 

Footage by the French AFP news agency showed a handful of civilians gathered on the coast to watch the approaching vessel.

Few details have been given on how the aid delivery and distribution will take place once the ship is ready to unload. UN relief agencies have described huge obstacles in delivering relief supplies to those in need.

If successful, a new sea route could help ease the hunger crisis in Gaza. However, aid agencies have repeatedly warned that delivering aid via sea and air was not enough to make up for the difficulties of getting aid supplies by land.

World Central Kitchen told US broadcaster CNN earlier this week that 200 tons of aid represents roughly 500,000 meals. With a population of some 2.3 million people, that's enough food to feed less than one-fourth of the people in the Gaza Strip once.

Israel has described a proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza presented by the Palestinian militant group Hamasas "unrealistic."

Reuters news agency reported that the Hamas proposal involved the release of Israeli hostages, including women, Israeli "female recruits," children, the elderly and the ill in exchange for 700-1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including about 100 serving life sentences.

Reuters, which said it saw the proposal, reported that the proposition was presented to mediators and the US.

The militant group said it would agree on a date for a permanent cease-fire, following the exchange of hostages and prisoners.

A deadline for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza would also be agreed upon after the hostages and prisoners were exchanged.

"Hamas is continuing to hold to unrealistic demands," the Israeli prime minister's office said in a statement on the social media platform X. The office added that "an update on the issue will be submitted to the War Cabinet and the Security Cabinet." 

Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by several countries, including Israel, the United States and Germany.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said the death toll for people trying to reach humanitarian aid in Gaza City on Thursday has increased to 20.  Israel denied killing people seeking aid.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the attack also left 155 injured, adding that health crews were unable to deal with the injuries amid a lack of resources.

Health officials accused Israeli troops of opening fire as Palestinians gathered at a roundabout in Gaza City in the north of the Gaza Strip.

Mohammed Ghurab, director of emergency services at a hospital in northern Gaza, told the AFP news agency there were "direct shots" by Israeli forces on people waiting for a food truck.

An AFP journalist on the scene saw several bodies and people who had been shot.

Israeli Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee said reports that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) targeted civilians in Gaza at an aid distribution point were "erroneous." He added that the IDF was "analyzing the incident seriously."

Australia has announced it is resuming its funding to the United Nations relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), after a freeze over Israeli accusations that some UNRWA staff members were involved in the October 7 terror attacks.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Friday that the decision came in response to "a humanitarian situation in Gaza which is dire and only worsening."

"The Australian Government will work with UNRWA on an ongoing basis to ensure its integrity and neutrality are beyond reproach," Wong said.

Canberra is due to release 6 million Australian dollars (3.9 million US dollars, €3.6 million) in funding to UNRWA, which had been temporarily suspended following the Israeli allegations.

"Only UNRWA has the infrastructure to receive and distribute aid on the scale needed right now in Gaza," Wong added. "But aid can only reach the civilian population at scale if Israel lets it into Gaza. Australia implores Israel to allow this to happen."

Australia also pledged an additional $4 million Australian dollars to UNICEF to provide urgent services in Gaza. The country will also contribute to international efforts to airdrop aid into Gaza. 

In its decision to resume funding to the UNRWA, Australia joins Canada, Sweden and the European Commission. 

In January, over a dozen countries froze their funding to the UN relief agency, following the Israeli accusations that 12 of UNRWA's 30,000 employees were involved in the October 7 terror attacks. They included major donors such as the United States and Germany.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini thanked Australia for the resumption of funding in a post on X, formerly Twitter. 

"I hope that other donors who have temporarily paused their contribution will make similar announcement & support the Agency to reverse the widespread hunger in #Gaza & to remain a life line for Palestine Refugees across the region."

A missile struck and damaged a merchant ship off the Yemeni port of Hodeida in the Red Sea early on Friday.

The suspected Houthi attack caused no injuries to the vessel's crew, and the ship was able to resume its journey, the United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

"The vessel has sustained some damage. The crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call," the UKMTO said in an advisory note.

British security firm Ambrey also reported the attack and the damage to the ship, confirming as well that no crew members were injured.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have said they would continue attacks on ships in the Red Sea until the end of the conflict in Gaza.

rmt/sms (AP, AFP, DPA, Reuters)