‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 134: Biden claims to push for temporary ceasefire, as US authorizes more weapons to Israel

Casualties:

• 28,858+ Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including at least 12,000 children, and 68,667+ Palestinians have been injured. 
• 394+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
• Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,147.
• 569 Israeli soldiers have been killed since October 7, and at least 3,221 injured.**

*This figure was confirmed by Gaza’s Ministry of Health on Telegram channel. Some rights groups put the death toll number at more than 36,500 when accounting for those presumed dead.

** This figure is released by the Israeli military, showing the soldiers whose names “were allowed to be published.”

Key Developments:

• US President Joe Biden has had “extensive” talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pushing for a temporary ceasefire
• Hamas will not accept anything less than a “complete” cessation of hostilities, blames Israel for stalling truce agreement
• Head of Egyptian State Information Service (SIS) Diaa Rashwan rejects reports that the country is creating a buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza
• Six NGOs issue a joint statement, warning of “catastrophic” consequences of an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah
• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejects an urgent request from South Africa to safeguard Rafah
• Without police escorts, it is virtually impossible to get humanitarian aid into Gaza
• Israeli military tanks block WHO humanitarian aid trucks trying to enter the Nasser Hospital medical compound in Khan Younis
• The United States has authorized a weapons transfer to Israel that is worth tens of millions of dollars
• Munich Security Conference focuses on Middle East turmoil, bringing together diplomats, politicians and military leaders from around the world
• A delegation of Israeli officials is expected to arrive in Qatar next week, with a goal of reaching a prisoner deal

Hamas won’t accept anything less than ‘complete’ cessation of hostilities

After three days of ceasefire negotiations, Hamas has announced that it will not accept anything less than a “complete” cessation of the aggression, the “withdrawal of the occupation army from Gaza, and the lifting of an unjust siege.” 

Senior Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh said that Israel must also free any Palestinian prisoners serving long prison sentences, and blamed Israel for the lack of progress in achieving a ceasefire agreement.

Meanwhile in Rafah, the 1.5 million Palestinians who are sheltering there are so desperate for food and humanitarian aid that they are stopping any truck that they see in hopes of being able to eat something.

“With the departure of police escorts it has been virtually impossible for the UN or anyone else – Jordan, the UAE, any other implementer – to safely move assistance to Gaza,” said David Satterfield, pointing out that, without police escorts, humanitarian aid trucks are also subject to criminal activity along with the already-difficult conditions of the siege. According to OCHA, less than 43 trucks entered Gaza on average between 9-15 February, a significant drop in the average.

While Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has claimed that Israel has “no intention” of evacuation Palestinian civilians into Egypt, the border wall being constructed between Egypt and Gaza suggests that Palestinian civilians might be forced to cross the border, and shelter in the Sinai Desert. However, Head of Egyptian State Information Service (SIS) Diaa Rashwan has rejected reports that the country is creating a buffer zone. 

Without a plan in place, Palestinians who have been sheltering in Rafah are now evacuating to other parts of the Gaza Strip—many of which have been destroyed or are still under aerial bombardment. Just last night, Israeli war planes bombed multiple homes around Gaza City, killing at least ten people and injuring at least twenty others. Fighter jets attacked a refugee camp in Rafah, killing six others, and the Israeli military raided a home in Deir el-Balah, where many of those who are starting to leave Rafah are looking to seek shelter.

“Rafah is not safe,” Rida Sobh told Al Jazeera after her sister’s children, husband, aunt, and cousin were all killed in the attacks. “Everywhere in the Gaza Strip is a target. Don’t say that Rafah is safe. From Beit Hanoun to Rafah it is all dangerous.”

Over the past week, the Israeli army has arrested more than 100 people during its raid on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, and the situation is dire as Israel continues its siege, claiming that Hamas militants are using it as an operations base and hiding Israeli hostages underground. While there is no proof of either of these claims, video evidence shows civilians who had been sheltering in the hospital leaving the premises holding white flags, amongst other terrifying scenes. 

Now, there are only five medical personnel left to care for the 120 patients still in the hospital, and both oxygen tanks and feeding tubes have stopped operating due to the ongoing power cuts.

Israel attacks funeral of Palestinian it killed in the West Bank

Meanwhile in the West Bank, Israeli forces raided the funeral home of Fadi Jamjoom, a Palestinian man from Hebron who had been killed by Israeli gunfire earlier that day.

Those who had gathered to mourn Jamjoom were understandably outraged; not only had the Israeli army murdered Jamjoom and attacked his funeral, but they had also raided his mother and brother’s homes, forbidding any further funeral gatherings or symbols—such as posters or Palestinian flags—to be shown as a sign of respect. It led to a new round of protests in Hebron, where the Israeli army greeted Palestinian protestors with teargas, causing them to suffocate.

Israeli military raids across the West Bank continued last night, with several raids throughout Jenin and Barta’a, where eleven workers from Gaza were arrested.

U.S. authorizes more weapons transfers to Israel, as Biden claims to push for a truce

U.S. President Joe Biden claims to have repeatedly pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for at least a temporary ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and release hostages.

“I’ve had extensive conversations with the prime minister of Israel over the last several days, almost an hour each, and I’ve made the case, and I feel very strongly about it, that there has to be a temporary ceasefire to get the prisoners out, to get the hostages out,” he said during a White House press conference on Friday.

Nevertheless, the United States has still authorized a weapons transfer to Israel that would include 1,000 MK-82 500-pound bombs and 1,000 KMU-573 Joint Directive Attack Munitions (JDAMs) and is considering sending FMU-139 bomb fuses. When potential human rights concerns were raised, they were dismissed in an assessment that stated: “Israel takes effective action to prevent gross violations of human rights and hold security forces responsible that violate those rights.” 

Even though the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has rejected an urgent request from South Africa to put safeguard measures in place to safeguard Rafah from the potential impact of a ground invasion, it rules that Israel should follow earlier measures imposed last month, which outlines that Israel should do everything that it can to avoid acts of death, destruction and any act of genocide across the whole of the Gaza Strip, including Rafah.

Meanwhile, Ansar Allah (Houthi) operations to stop the movement of Israeli ships in the Red Sea have continued despite ongoing strikes by both the United States and the United Kingdom. Israel sabotaged two major pipelines inside of Iran this week, adding a new element to the proxy war that many fear could quickly escalate.