Live blog: Egypt warns of ‘consequences’ from Israeli offensive in Rafah

Sunday, 11 February, 2023

2000 GMT — Egypt warned of “dire consequences” from Israel’s planned ground offensive in Rafah city in southern Gaza.

The Israeli army plans to launch a ground offensive in Rafah, home to more than 1 million residents seeking refuge from war, to defeat what Tel Aviv calls the remaining "Hamas battalions." The planned offensive has triggered concerns of a humanitarian catastrophe in the city.

“Targeting Rafah, along with Israel’s continued policy of obstructing access to humanitarian aid, is an actual contribution to implementing the policy of displacing the Palestinian people and liquidating their cause,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Egypt said it rejects Israeli official statements about the Rafah offensive, warning that the planned onslaught “will have dire consequences, particularly in light of the risks of worsening the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.”

It called for uniting all international and regional efforts to prevent the planned attack on Rafah, which now shelters around 1.4 million displaced Palestinians who consider it the last safe area in Gaza.

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2208 GMT — Sweden under fire for suspending financial support to UNRWA

Sweden has come under sharp criticism from a number of experts over its decision to suspend financial support to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

"It is catastrophic that Sweden has cut humanitarian aid to UNRWA, above all because it has not even seen any evidence of Israel's accusations," Beatrice Fihn, a lawyer and former executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) who specialises in international law and works for the law firm Lex International in Geneva, told the local Expressen newspaper.

"There is no other organisation that has the built-up capacity to get the necessary help out quickly,” Fihn added.

Fifteen of UNRWA's biggest donors, including Sweden, have suspended payments to the agency after Israel alleged that 12 of the organisation's employees were involved in the Palestinian resistance group Hamas’s attack on October 7.

1821 GMT — Israeli army approves ground offensive plan in Rafah

The Israeli army has approved a plan for a ground offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to local media.

“The plan will be presented when the army is requested to do so,” Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said during a Cabinet session as cited by the Israeli public broadcaster KAN.

The Israeli army plans to launch a ground offensive in Rafah, home to more than 1M residents seeking refuge from war, to defeat what Tel Aviv calls the remaining "Hamas battalions." The planned offensive has triggered concerns of a humanitarian catastrophe in the city.

1812 GMT — UN food agency says Palestinians have ‘too few meals’ amid Israeli onslaught

There are too few meals for most Palestinians in Gaza amid a deadly Israeli offensive on the enclave, the World Food Program (WFP) said.

“For most in Gaza, there is no house, no table, and too few meals,” WFP Country Director for Palestine, Matthew Hollingworth said in a statement.

“We are hoping to be able to assist more bakeries, particularly in the northern areas where people are in desperate need, but we need access, and we need safety,” he added.

1805 GMT — Jordan's King Abdullah participates in Gaza aid airdrop

Jordan's King Abdullah has participated in an airdrop of humanitarian aid to Gaza, a state-owned Al Mamlaka broadcaster said.

A video showed the monarch in military gear on board a plane in the latest mission by the Jordanian Air Force to drop urgent medical supplies to field hospitals it runs in the war-torn enclave.

The kingdom, which has been among Arab neighbours pushing Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, is the only country that airdrops aid to the enclave, channeling it through these two medical facilities.

1641 GMT — UN agency says aid shipment blocked in Israeli port

The main United Nations agency providing aid to Palestinians in Gaza is facing growing administrative hurdles from Israel, with a shipment amounting to a month's supply of food blocked in port, the agency's chief said.

Israel has alleged that 12 staff members with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) were involved in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, with a number of donor countries suspending funding.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said on Friday. He said UNRWA had been informed by a contractor that provided handling services in the port of Ashdod that it could no longer continue working with UNRWA, following instructions from the Israeli authorities.

1227 GMT — Israeli soldiers 'steal' $54M from Bank of Palestine in Gaza

Israeli soldiers have "stolen" $54.29M from the Bank of Palestine headquarters in Gaza, according to an Israeli newspaper.

Maariv newspaper, citing Israeli officers, said a military force took the funds allocated for the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority after coming under fire in the al-Rimal neighbourhood last week.

There was no comment from the Palestinian Authority or Hamas on the report.

“Israeli soldiers were at the Bank of Palestine headquarters in Gaza last week to prevent money from reaching Hamas,” an Israel military spokesman told Maariv, without providing further details.

He said this step "was decided at the political level.”

1354 GMT — Netherlands voices opposition to looming Israeli ground offensive in Rafah

The Netherlands has expressed its strong opposition to a looming Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza.

Noting that Rafah hosts a vast number of Palestinians who fled from other parts of the besieged enclave of Gaza, Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot has said on X: “Hard to see how large-scale military operations in such a densely populated area would not lead to many civilian casualties and a bigger humanitarian catastrophe.”

“This is unjustifiable,” she stressed.

1330 GMT — Denmark shares EU’s concern over potential Israeli military offensive in Rafah

Denmark has expressed its concern over potential Israeli military action in the city of Rafah in the Gaza.

Denmark's Foreign Ministry, in a statement on X, said: “Denmark shares the concern of EU and others regarding a potential Israeli military offensive in Rafah where more than half of Gaza’s population is seeking refuge.”

The statement reiterated that "protection of civilians is key."

1328 GMT — Thousands in Morocco protest ties with 'genocidal' Israel

Thousands of Moroccans have again taken to streets of their capital to call for an end to their country's ties with Israel, which they denounced as "genocide" in Gaza.

In late 2020, Morocco established diplomatic ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords brokered by the United States which saw similar moves by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Since the Israel's war on Gaza began on October 7, several large-scale demonstrations in the North African kingdom have called for the abrogation of the normalisation deal.

"Normalisation is treason," and "Stop the massacre," read banners protesters carried in front of Morocco's parliament in the centre of Rabat.

1313 GMT — US strikes unmanned surface vessels, anti-ship cruise missiles Yemen

United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has said its forces carried out strikes on two unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and three anti-ship cruise missiles north of Yemen's port city of Hudaida that were threatening ships in the area.

"CENTCOM identified these USVs and missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to US Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region," it added

1245 GMT — Israeli forces bomb hospital in Gaza’s Khan Younis

Israeli forces have shelled Al-Amal hospital in Khan Younis city on amid a military offensive in the area, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.

“The attack has caused damage to the building and forced the only remaining ambulance out of service,” the aid organisation added in a statement.

There was no information yet available about casualties.

1235 GMT — WHO 'deeply concerned' about situation in and around Gaza's Nasser hospital

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that it was deeply concerned about the situation in and around the Nasser Hospital in Gaza, which has been surrounded by Israeli forces.

"We’re deeply concerned about the safety of patients and health personnel due to the intensifying hostilities in the vicinity of the hospital. We repeat: health MUST be protected at all times," Tedros Ghebreyesus said on X, reiterating his call for a ceasefire.

1057 GMT — Israel's oxygen denial kills patients in Gaza hospital

At least three patients died at the Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza after the Israeli army prevented oxygen from entering the hospital, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.

“The Israeli occupation forces claim to have delivered oxygen cylinders to Al Amal Hospital, but in reality, they have prevented oxygen from reaching the hospital for over a week, resulting in the deaths of three patients, despite continuous coordination efforts with international organisations,” the Red Crescent said in a statement.

The Red Crescent denied that Israeli forces brought any medical equipment into the hospital.

“During their raid on the hospital yesterday (Saturday), the occupation forces destroyed medical equipment, assaulted staff, and arrested nine medical and administrative staff, along with four wounded individuals and five patients' companions,” it added.

1054 GMT — Egypt warns of dropping peace accords if Israel attacks Rafah

Egypt is threatening to suspend its peace treaty with Israel if Israeli troops are sent into the densely populated Gaza border town of Rafah, and says fighting there could force the closure of the territory's main aid supply route, two Egyptian officials and a Western diplomat said.

The threat to suspend the Camp David Accords, a cornerstone of regional stability for nearly a half-century, came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said sending troops into Rafah was necessary to win the four-month-old war on Gaza.

1045 GMT — Oman warns of ‘dangerous’ repercussions if Israel invades Rafah

The Gulf nation of Oman warned of “serious repercussions” over the Israeli army’s intention to invade Rafah in southern Gaza, adjacent to the Egyptian border.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned of the aggravating and dangerous repercussions of the Israeli occupation forces continuing their indiscriminate aggression against the Gaza Strip and now heading towards storming and targeting the city of Rafah,” the Omani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It added that Rafah “has now sheltered hundreds of thousands of defenceless Palestinian civilians displaced from northern Gaza as a result of this brutal aggression.”

1040 GMT — Israel transfers largest army division from Gaza to Lebanese border

Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi transferred the largest army division from Gaza to the border with Lebanon, where the Israeli army and Hezbollah are exchanging fire daily, Israeli media reported.

Israeli Army Radio said that during recent discussions in the General Staff, the commander of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, called for the 36th Division, the army's largest regular division, to remain in central Gaza.

However, the head of the Operations Division, Maj. Gen. Oded Basyuk, proposed removing the division from Gaza toward the north to replace the reserve forces, according to the radio.

It added that the Chief of Staff ultimately decided to withdraw the 36th Division from Gaza and transfer it to the Lebanese border.

1038 GMT — Hamas warns Israel's Rafah offensive torpedoes hostage talks

A senior Hamas official has said that Israel's possible ground invasion of Rafah will undermine the hostage negotiations.

An unnamed Hamas official told Al-Aqsa television that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to avoid fulfilling the responsibilities of the exchange agreement by committing genocide and causing a new humanitarian disaster in Rafah.

"Any attack by the occupation army on the city of Rafah would undermine the exchange negotiations," a Hamas official said.

"Netanyahu and his Nazi army will not be able to achieve now what they could not achieve in more than four months, no matter how long the war lasts,” he added.

0917 GMT — Palestinian death toll hits 28,176 in Israeli attacks — ministry

The health ministry in Gaza reports that the death toll from Israel's war has reached 28,176.

The latest toll includes 117 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, while a total of 67,784 have been wounded in Gaza since the start of the war on October 7, it added.

0859 GMT — UN’s IMO working ‘tirelessly’ to solve Red Cea crisis: head

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is working "tirelessly" to solve the Red Sea crisis, which is severely disrupting the global transport of goods, its head Arsenio Dominguez told AFP.

Yemen's Houthis have launched dozens of attacks against ships in the Red Sea since November, targeting boats headed for Israel in an act of "solidarity" with inhabitants of Gaza.

Despite retaliatory strikes by the US and UK, the rebels are still launching attacks, firing at the US ship "Star Nasia" and UK vessel "Morning Tide" on Tuesday.

The IMO, the United Nations agency responsible for security at sea, is working to ensure that "parties continue to talk so that the situation does not degenerate any further, and we can return to a safe maritime environment," Panama-born Secretary General Dominguez told AFP on Thursday.

"We are working tirelessly to coordinate action that will lead to a resolution," Dominguez added from the IMO's London headquarters.

0000 GMT — Palestinians returning to northern Gaza killed in Israeli raids

Palestinians who fled their homes due to Israeli attacks face more air strikes upon returning to check on their homes in areas where a partial troop withdrawal occurred.

They are being targeted not only by air strikes but also by Israeli snipers as they attempt to return to displaced areas.

The Senti family, displaced from the Jabalia Refugee Camp, returned home to inspect the damage, believing it was safe after Israeli forces had withdrawn.

Encouraged by the "deceptive calmness" in northern Gaza, they returned but upon arrival, they were targeted by Israeli warplanes.

Israeli bombardments and the proliferation of attack drones in Gaza hinder ambulance and civilian defence teams from transporting the wounded and bodies to hospitals.

Ibrahim Senti, who lost 10 family members in Israeli attacks, told Anadolu Agency that while returning to check the damage to their home, his family was directly targeted, resulting in deaths.

2330 GMT — Hamas warns Israel Rafah push may cause casualties in 'tens of thousands'

Hamas warned that Israel's planned military offensive in overcrowded Rafah could cause "tens of thousands" of casualties in the city, the last refuge for displaced Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the army to set its sights on Rafah. He told military and security officials late Friday to "submit to the cabinet a combined plan for evacuating the population and destroying the battalions" of Hamas in the southern city.

Hamas said in a statement that any military action would have catastrophic repercussion that "may lead to tens of thousands of martyrs and injured if Rafah... is invaded".

Netanyahu's announcement, coming after US President Joe Biden had criticised Israel's response to the October 7 attack, sparked concern among world leaders and the United Nations.

2300 GMT — Kuwait, Qatar, UAE express concerns about Israel's plans to attack Rafah

Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) condemned the Israeli army's plans to attack Rafah in southern Gaza.

The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry “expresses its deep concern about the Israeli occupation forces' plans to attack the city of Rafah in Gaza after forcibly deporting its civilians.”

It reiterated Kuwait's stance that rejects “aggressive practices and displacement schemes against the Palestinian people.”

It also reaffirmed its position that urges “the international community and the Security Council to fulfill their responsibilities in protecting innocent Palestinian civilians.”

The agency encouraged “the activation of international accountability mechanisms to put an end to the ongoing Israeli violations of international law, humanitarian law, and legitimate international resolutions.”

For our live updates from Saturday, February 10, click here.