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Hopes for an early ceasefire in Gaza are waning. Israel is threatening to launch a ground offensive in the city of Rafah, near the border with Egypt. For many Western allies this goes too far. Considering the nearly 30,000 Palestinians who have been killed since the campaign began after the Hamas attacks on October 7, international anger against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (74) is increasingly boiling over.
Britain and Germany, among others, have urged Netanyahu in recent days to end the fighting. Failed. Is Netanyahu wasting the last bit of international support he has left in Rafah?
International allies are withdrawing
Netanyahu’s stubbornness angers some heads of state. US President Joe Biden (81) has already lost his patience. In private conversations, he called the Israeli prime minister a “son of a bitch,” among other things, three witnesses told NBC News. Biden said he wanted to “give him hell.”
On Monday, the British government imposed sanctions on four settlers accused of violence against Palestinians. A Dutch court has ruled that parts of the F-35 fighter jets cannot be exported to Israel. The Netherlands fears that they could be used for war crimes in Gaza. The Egyptian government is threatening to suspend the peace treaty with Israel. Complicating matters further is South Africa’s lawsuit at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.
There is too much at stake for Netanyahu
But Netanyahu is undeterred; there is too much at stake. Steffen Hagemann, former head of the Israeli office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, explains to Blick: “Rafah is Hamas’s third stronghold in the Gaza Strip. It is believed that the leadership and many Hamas fighters are there.” And Netanyahu desperately needs a victory over Hamas: “He promised a victory over Hamas and has so far failed to achieve this goal. By announcing a military operation in Rafah, he wants to gain popular support for a long-term war.’
Because: “Distrust towards Netanyahu is great.” According to The Guardian, Netanyahu’s political career will end at the same time as the war in Gaza. Support for a new term is declining. Experts doubt whether the offensive in Rafah will ensure its political survival.
No one believes Netanyahu can achieve his goals anymore, Hagemann said. “In addition, the hostages’ relatives are putting pressure on them and demanding that the release of the hostages should also be a priority in the context of an agreement with Hamas.”
Israel fails to rescue hostages
The Israeli army has rescued only three hostages in more than four months of fighting – the same number as those killed by the Israeli army during attempts to free them. The vast majority of the released hostages were bought out during negotiations with Hamas. Last year, more than a hundred people were released during a week-long ceasefire. More than 30 hostages have been confirmed dead in captivity and the lives of at least 20 others are feared.
On Monday, Netanyahu celebrated the liberation of two Israeli hostages from Rafah as a stage victory against Hamas. The Israeli head of state ignores the fact that the Israeli army’s liberation operation also cost the lives of 67 Palestinian civilians in Rafah. That seems to have been worth it to Netanyahu.
Nearly 1.5 million Palestinians are at risk of dying
The Israeli army’s deployment on Monday is a foretaste of what the Palestinians in Rafah will face in a ground offensive. Netanyahu’s forces are expected to destroy at all costs the Islamist terror group Hamas, which carried out a horrific attack on Israel on October 7.
And it would cost a lot, says Hagemann. Above all: human life. More than 1.3 million displaced Palestinian civilians found refuge from the war in Rafah. Although Egypt has opened the Rafah border crossing for aid supplies, Palestinians cannot flee to Egypt. Your back is against the wall.
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
