After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday vowed to go it alone in Gaza despite the Biden White House’s ‘red line’ on storming the last-standing terrorist stronghold of Rafah, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has threatened Israel with “consequences” for going ahead with the planned counter-terrorist operation.
“Let me tell you something: I have studied the maps,” Harris boasted in a TV interview. “There’s nowhere for those folks to go,” she said referring to Rafah’s civilian population.
Harris’s claim is unfounded. Netanyahu assured on Friday that his government understands “the need to evacuate the civilian population from the war zones and of course also take care of the humanitarian needs and we are working to that end.”
Last week, the Israeli prime minister okayed a military plan which included an orderly evacuation of civilians from Rafah.
The ABC News reported Harris’s latest outburst:
In a wide-ranging new interview with ABC News, Vice President Kamala Harris suggested there could be “consequences” for Israel if it moves ahead with a planned invasion of Rafah in its pursuit of Hamas fighters. (…)”We have been clear in multiple conversations and in every way that any major military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake,” Harris told ABC News’ Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott in part of the interview that aired Sunday on “This Week.””Let me tell you something: I have studied the maps. There’s nowhere for those folks to go,” Harris said.(…)[ABC’s Rachel] Scott on Sunday pressed the vice president, asking if America would consider “consequences” if Netanyahu went forward — something he said he was willing to do despite the opposition.”Well, we’re going to take it one step at a time, but we’ve been very clear in terms of our perspective on whether or not that should happen,” Harris said.Scott followed up: “Are you ruling out that there would be consequences from the United States?””I am ruling out nothing,” Harris replied.
The Israeli raid on the terrorist-infested Shifa Hospital continued over the weekend, with IDF troops succeeding in killing over 170 terrorists and capturing nearly 800 suspected terror operatives who had established a base inside the largest hospital in Gaza.
The military confirmed that out of 800 suspects “480 of arrested were verified as associated to the terrorist organizations Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ),” the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported. These numbers are expected to go up as IDF winds up the week-long operation, reliable Israeli sources indicate.
The Israeli secutiry services have not revealed the names of all terror operatives apprehended from the site, but media reports suggest that several high-value terrorists were caught in the net. The surprise raid on Shia Hospital, which began on Monday, was jointly conducted by the Israeli military and country’s secutiry agency Shin Bet.
The military “struck hundreds of terrorists, apprehended hundreds of terrorists, and brought in significant operational and intelligence assets,” commander of IDF Southern Command, Major General Yaron Finkelman, said Friday.
The operation will not stop till every single terrorist is purged from the hospital complex, the IDF commander assured. “We are continuing with this operation, the leadership of the commanders is excellent, and we will finish this operation only when the last terrorist is in our hands – alive or dead. Great appreciation for the soldiers, great appreciation for the commanders; keep moving forward, do not stop for a moment,” Major General Finkelman said.
“The IDF and ISA [ the Israel Security Agency, also know as Shin Bet] are continuing to conduct precise operational activity in the Shifa Hospital area while preventing harm to civilians, patients, medical teams, and medical equipment,” the Israel military revealed in a statement on Sunday morning. “IDF troops apprehended approximately 480 terrorists affiliated with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations, and have located weapons and terrorist infrastructure in the hospital.”
On the lighter note, some soldiers on Sunday took respite from days of heavy fighting by celebrating the Jewish festival of Purim inside Shifa hospital. A group of soldiers were filmed reading the Book of Esther, which contains the biblical record of the Jews’ rescue from genocide in ancient Persia.
“IDF troops operating inside Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital read the Book of Esther to mark the Jewish holiday of Purim amid the ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip,” The Times of Israel reported. “In video footage circulating online, a soldier reads the Jewish text, known colloquially as the Megillah, while others stand around him in full combat gear.”
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