Israel - Hamas war on March 24, 2024: Israel declares it will unilaterally attack Rafah

According to the latest information from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) will conduct a military operation against the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip regardless of whether there is US assistance or not.

The statement was made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“But I also wanted to say that there is no way we can defeat Hamas without going into Rafah and eliminating the Islamist militants there. I told him that we hope to do this with the support of the United States, but without Washington, we will do it alone,” Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu stressed.

The Israeli Prime Minister stressed that Tel Aviv is grateful to the US for its support over the past five months in the fight against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu also added that the military operation will begin when civilians are evacuated from Rafah.

Israel has announced that it will unilaterally attack the city of Rafah regardless of whether it has US support or not. Photo: Getty

In relation to the conflict, Russia and China jointly vetoed a draft Security Council resolution on the conflict in the Gaza Strip proposed by the US. Moscow and Beijing said the new resolution proposed by the US was not enough to put pressure on Israel.

The draft resolution submitted by the US was put to a vote at the United Nations Security Council on March 24, in which for the first time appeared content supporting "the urgent need for an immediate and lasting ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip and condemning Hamas' attack on Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.

The document mentions the possibility of implementing a ceasefire and releasing hostages after negotiations sponsored by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, but does not directly demand that Israel end its military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

Ten of the 15 members of the Security Council, including the two permanent members, Britain and France, voted in favor. Guyana abstained, while Russia, China and Algeria voted against. Because Russia and China are permanent members of the Security Council with veto power, the US draft resolution was not adopted.

According to tradition, a draft resolution to be passed needs at least nine votes in favor and no veto by any of the five permanent members: the US, UK, France, China and Russia.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia criticized the US for deliberately turning a blind eye to the violence and ironically said Washington only mentioned a ceasefire "after the Gaza Strip was virtually wiped off the face of the Earth".

"This is typical hypocrisy. The US resolution document is overly politicized with the sole purpose of winning the support of voters and appeasing them by mentioning some kind of ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. This draft will guarantee immunity to Israel, whose crimes are not even included in the document," said Vassily Nebenzia.

China's UN Ambassador Zhang Jun said the US draft "avoided the key issue with ambiguous language" and failed to answer the question of how to implement a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in the near future.

The issue of resolving the conflict in the Gaza Strip has not been implemented as the parties have not found a common voice. Photo: Reuters

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris will coordinate with Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to convince Russia and China to support a new resolution on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The remaining problem in the current ceasefire talks is that Hamas claims to only release hostages as part of a deal to completely end the conflict, while Israel claims it is only discussing a temporary halt to its military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

The death toll from the conflict in the Gaza Strip has risen to more than 32,000, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health authority. The number of casualties has increased significantly since Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas raid.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/chien-su-israel-hamas-ngay-2432024-israel-tuyen-bo-se-don-phuong-tan-cong-rafah-310560.html