Israeli evacuation call in Gaza hikes Egypt's fears of a mass exodus of refugees into its territory

Israeli evacuation call in Gaza hikes Egypt's fears of a mass exodus of refugees into its territory
Palestinians fleeing from northern Gaza to the south after the Israeli army issued an unprecedented evacuation warning to a population of over 1 million people in northern Gaza and Gaza City to seek refuge in the south ahead of a possible Israeli ground invasion on Oct. 13, 2023. (AP)
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Updated 13 October 2023
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Israeli evacuation call in Gaza hikes Egypt's fears of a mass exodus of refugees into its territory

Israeli evacuation call in Gaza hikes Egypt's fears of a mass exodus of refugees into its territory
  • Egypt’s leadership has frantically tried to negotiate the entry of humanitarian aid through its crossing into the Palestinian territory
  • On Friday Egypt's Foreign Ministry went further, publicly calling the evacuation order a “grave violation” of international law

CAIRO: Israel’s call Friday for half of the Gaza Strip’s population to evacuate south is hiking Egypt’s fears of a massive influx of refugees across the heavily fortified border into its territory.
Since Hamas’ bloody attack on Israel sparked a massive retaliation in Gaza, Egypt’s leadership has frantically tried to negotiate the entry of humanitarian aid through its crossing into the Palestinian territory — partially in hopes of averting an exodus into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Officials say its efforts have received no response from Israel.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was expected to visit Cairo over the weekend and Egyptian officials are expected to discuss the entry of aid with him.
Israel sealed off the Gaza Strip, stopping all entry of food, water, medicine and fuel to its 2.3 million people, while bombardment has leveled swaths of its cities. That has left Egypt’s Rafah crossing as the sole access. But repeated Israeli airstrikes at the Palestinian side of the crossing have forced it to stop operating, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said, leaving trucks of aid stopped on the Egyptian side.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi called for access through Rafah in a speech Thursday. He also pushed back against letting in large numbers of Palestinians.
“The threat there is significant because it means the liquidation of this (Palestinian) cause,” el-Sissi said at a military college graduation ceremony in Cairo. “It’s important for its people to stay steadfast and exist on its land.” He also pointed out that Egypt already hosts some 9 million refugees. That population swelled this year as 300,000 Sudanese fled their country’s war into Egypt, already facing economic crisis.
On Friday Egypt's Foreign Ministry went further, publicly calling the evacuation order a “grave violation” of international law.
Khaled Gendy, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said Egypt’s primary concern is that hundreds of thousands of refugees will become a permanent reality. “What sort of guarantees are there going to be for their return?” he said.
Palestinians and Arab nations are marked by the experience of the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation when Palestinians were expelled or fled to neighboring countries and have not been allowed to return since, a major sticking point in the long defunct peace process.
A senior State Department official traveling with Blinken from Jordan to Qatar said the U.S. is talking to Israel, U.N. agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross on creating safe zones within Gaza, where civilians can receive humanitarian aid. It was not clear if the aid would enter from Israel or Egypt.
The official said there appears to be little desire on anyone's part to unfettered border crossings into Egypt, given the impact on the already restive Sinai and the economic burden, and they don’t want Palestinians who are already refugees to become double refugees. The U.S. focus on Egypt has been on getting Palestinians with dual nationality out through Rafah if they wish. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private and ongoing diplomatic discussions.
Egyptian officials have long feared that Israel seeks to make their country responsible for Palestinians in Gaza, which Egypt ruled between the 1948 and 1967 Mideast wars. Egypt has joined Israel in its blockade of the Gaza Strip since the Hamas takeover, tightly controlling entry of supplies and the exit of people.
Israel's evacuation call told Palestinians to move to southern Gaza, raising expectations of a ground assault. A military spokesman said they would be allowed back once the war is over. But with bombardment continuing in south Gaza, the mass movement will likely put pressure on Egypt's border.
Israel has not detailed its long-term plan for Gaza beyond crushing Hamas, which has ruled there since 2007. Even if displaced are allowed back, it isn't known what will remain of their homes and economy.
A senior Egyptian security official told The Associated Press that Egypt has taken “unprecedented measures” to prevent a breach to its borders with Gaza. Thousands of security forces have been deployed at the border, he said.
In 2008, Hamas militants blasted through the border fence with Egypt, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to flood into Sinai. The state-run al-Ahram daily reported that Egyptian authorities warned Hamas’ leaders in recent days against any repeat of that.
The official said Egyptian officials have been communicating “around the clock” with Israel, Hamas, the United States and European countries proposing a cease-fire, allowing aid delivery through Rafah and creating “safe zones” inside Gaza. He said there has been no Israeli response. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to talk to news media.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it was unaware of any contacts with Egypt about a cease-fire or humanitarian aid, though such contacts often take place among security officials.
Egypt, which has a peace treaty and close security cooperation with Israel and contacts with Hamas, helped broker cease-fires in previous wars between the two sides.
European Union chief diplomat Josep Borrel on Thursday supported Egypt's proposal to deliver international aid through Rafah. Egypt has called on countries and aid groups to send supplies to its el-Arish airport in northern Sinai, near Rafah. Jordan and Turkey have already sent shipments. Local aid groups, including the Egyptian Red Crescent, also begun collecting aid and donations.
Israel launched its siege of Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’ incursion Saturday, when militants stormed into southern Israel, massacring hundreds of civilians and soldiers and seizing some 150 hostages. More than 3,000 people have been killed on both sides.


Qatar says Gaza truce mediation efforts ‘ongoing’

Qatar says Gaza truce mediation efforts ‘ongoing’
Updated 31 sec ago
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Qatar says Gaza truce mediation efforts ‘ongoing’

Qatar says Gaza truce mediation efforts ‘ongoing’
DOHA: Qatar’s foreign ministry said Tuesday efforts to forge a Gaza truce were “ongoing,” after several rounds of talks aimed at ending the now 11-month war ended without a breakthrough.
“The efforts are still ongoing and channels of communication remain open... the goals and visits and meetings are ongoing,” ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told reporters.
Months of behind-the-scenes negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have failed to halt the fighting between Hamas and Israel, apart from a one-week truce beginning in late November.
Recent mediation in Doha and Cairo has been based on a framework laid out in May by US President Joe Biden and a “bridging proposal” presented to the warring parties in August.
The US State Department said Monday Secretary of State Antony Blinken would visit Egypt this week to “discuss ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire,” his tenth trip to the region since the Gaza Strip war began on October 7.
After in-person talks last month in Egypt and Qatar broke up without a final agreement, Washington indicated that mediators were preparing to present another adapted framework for a ceasefire.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday Washington was working “expeditiously” on a new proposal.
Ansari declined to comment Tuesday on whether any further proposal had been relayed to Israel or Hamas.
“When it comes to the possibility of a deal taking place anytime soon, of course we remain hopeful at every juncture,” he said.
“I can’t comment on the prospects of a deal taking place right now but I can tell you that we remain hopeful and we continue with our efforts.”
Hamas said its delegation met Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Doha last week to discuss a truce and potential hostage and prisoner exchange, again without indicating that any breakthrough had been reached.
Pressure inside Israel for a deal has intensified after authorities announced the deaths of six hostages at the start of September after their bodies were recovered from a Gaza tunnel.
But in the face of the external calls for an agreement, both Israel and Hamas have publicly signalled deeper entrenchment in their negotiating positions.
On Tuesday Israel announced an expansion of its war aims, widening its fight against Hamas in Gaza to focus on Hezbollah along its northern border with Lebanon.
The October 7 attack by Palestinian militants on southern Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,252 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths.

Palestinian poll finds big drop in support for Oct 7 attack

Palestinian poll finds big drop in support for Oct 7 attack
Updated 52 min ago
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Palestinian poll finds big drop in support for Oct 7 attack

Palestinian poll finds big drop in support for Oct 7 attack
  • Poll suggests 57 percent of Gazans think Oct 7 was incorrect decision
  • Slight dip in Hamas support, but group still most popular

RAMALLAH: A majority of Gazans believe Hamas’ decision to launch the Oct. 7 attack on Israel was incorrect, according to a poll published on Tuesday pointing to a big drop in backing for the assault that prompted Israel’s devastating Gaza offensive.
The poll, conducted in early September by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR), found that 57 percent of people surveyed in the Gaza Strip said the decision to launch the offensive was incorrect, while 39 percent said it was correct.
It marked the first time since Oct. 7 that a PSR poll found a majority of Gazan respondents judging the decision as incorrect. It was accompanied by a drop in support for the attack in the West Bank, though a majority of 64 percent of respondents there still thought it was the correct decision, the poll found. PSR’s previous poll, conducted in June, showed that 57 percent of respondents in Gaza thought the decision to be correct.
More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military offensive that has laid waste to the Gaza Strip since last October, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Israel launched its assault after the unprecedented Hamas raid which killed 1,200 people and resulted in another 250 being abducted, according to Israeli tallies.
PSR said it surveyed 1,200 people face-to-face, 790 of them in the West Bank and 410 in Gaza, with a 3.5 percent margin of error.
PSR polls since the Oct. 7 attack have consistently shown a majority of respondents in both Gaza and the West Bank to believe the attack was a correct decision, with support generally greater in the West Bank than Gaza.
PSR said the poll released on Tuesday marked the first time since Oct 7. that its findings had shown simultaneously in the West Bank and Gaza a significant drop in the favorability of the attack and in expectations that Hamas will win the current war.
Overall, the poll found a majority of 54 percent of respondents in Gaza and the West Bank thought the decision was correct.
In August, the Israeli military accused Hamas of mounting an effort to falsify the results of PSR polls to falsely show support for Hamas and Oct. 7, though the military said there was no evidence of PSR cooperating with Hamas.
PSR said it had taken the allegation seriously and investigated it. PSR said on Tuesday its analysis of the data did not flag any inconsistencies that would arise when data is arbitrarily altered, and that a review of quality control measures “convinced us that no data manipulation took place.”
Support for Oct. 7 did not necessarily mean support for Hamas or killings or atrocities against civilians, PSR said, adding that “almost 90 percent of the public believes Hamas men did not commit the atrocities depicted in videos taken on that day.”
The poll showed a drop in the number of respondents in Gaza who said they support Hamas to 35 percent from 38 percent. But the Islamist movement remained more popular than Fatah, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, in both in Gaza and the West Bank.


Jordan, Egypt urge end of Israeli hostilities in West Bank

Jordan, Egypt urge end of Israeli hostilities in West Bank
Updated 56 min 56 sec ago
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Jordan, Egypt urge end of Israeli hostilities in West Bank

Jordan, Egypt urge end of Israeli hostilities in West Bank

CAIRO: Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi expressed their concerns over the continued Israeli attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, warning of their dangerous consequences.  

The two leaders stressed, during a phone call on Tuesday, the necessity of reaching an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, as an immediate step that must be taken to protect the security of the region and prevent the expansion of the conflict, according to state-run Petra news agency.

The two leaders reaffirmed their rejection of any attempts to displace Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

King Abdullah also expressed his appreciation for the efforts made by Egypt to reach a comprehensive truce to end the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.

The two leaders stressed the need to continue supporting the Palestinian people in achieving their full legitimate rights and establishing their independent state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Meanwhile, Jordan will host a coordination meeting on Wednesday for an Arab-Islamic ministerial committee.

The committee is focused on international efforts to halt the ongoing war on Gaza.


Israel says it thwarted Hezbollah plot to kill former defense official

Israel says it thwarted Hezbollah plot to kill former defense official
Updated 17 September 2024
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Israel says it thwarted Hezbollah plot to kill former defense official

Israel says it thwarted Hezbollah plot to kill former defense official
  • The Shin Bet agency did not name the official
  • The attempted attack was similar to a Hezbollah plot foiled in Tel Aviv a year ago

JERUSALEM: Israel’s domestic security agency said on Tuesday that it had foiled a plot by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to assassinate a former senior defense official in the coming days.
The Shin Bet agency did not name the official. It said in a statement that it had seized an explosive device attached to a remote detonation system, using a mobile phone and a camera, that Hezbollah had planned to operate from Lebanon.
Shin Bet said the attempted attack was similar to a Hezbollah plot foiled in Tel Aviv a year ago, without giving further details.
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire across the Lebanese border since October, in the worst escalation of violence there in two decades.


UN General Assembly to debate call for end to Israeli occupation

UN General Assembly to debate call for end to Israeli occupation
Updated 17 September 2024
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UN General Assembly to debate call for end to Israeli occupation

UN General Assembly to debate call for end to Israeli occupation
  • The text, which has faced fierce criticism from Israel, is based around an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice

NEW YORK: UN member states will debate Tuesday a push by the Palestinians to formally demand an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories within 12 months.
The text, which has faced fierce criticism from Israel, is based around an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice calling Israel’s occupation since 1967 “unlawful.”
“Israel is under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible,” read the opinion, requested by the General Assembly.
In response, Arab countries have called for a special session of the assembly just days before dozens of heads of state and government descend on the UN headquarters this month to address the kick off of this year’s General Assembly session.
“The idea is you want to use the pressure of the international community in the General Assembly and the pressure of the historic ruling by the ICJ to force Israel to change its behavior,” said Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour, who acknowledged the draft resolution had “shocked many countries.”
The resolution
The draft resolution, due to be voted on late Tuesday or Wednesday, “demands that Israel brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” and that this be done “no later than 12 months from the adoption.”
The first draft text gave only six months.
The draft resolution also “demands” the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian territories, a halt to new settlements, the return of seized land and property, and the possibility of return for displaced Palestinians.
A paragraph calling on member states to halt arms exports to Israel disappeared from the draft text during negotiations, however.
“I hope that we will have good numbers,” Mansour said, underlining the “tremendous amount of sympathy and solidarity” with the Palestinians.
While the Security Council is largely paralyzed on the Gaza issue — with the United States repeatedly vetoing censures of its ally Israel — the General Assembly has adopted several texts in support of Palestinian civilians amid the current war.
In May the assembly overwhelmingly supported a largely symbolic resolution on full Palestinian membership of the UN, garnering 143 votes in favor, nine against with 25 abstentions.
The push had previously been vetoed by Washington at the Security Council.
Although General Assembly resolutions are not binding, Israel has already denounced the new text as “disgraceful.”
The resolution’s adoption would be “a reward for terrorism and a message to the world that the barbaric slaughter of children, the rape of women and the kidnapping of innocent civilians is a worthwhile tactic,” said Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon.
Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 41,226 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.