{"id":110678,"date":"2024-02-13T18:05:18","date_gmt":"2024-02-13T16:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=110678"},"modified":"2024-02-13T08:31:56","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T06:31:56","slug":"13-05-96","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=110678","title":{"rendered":"Hours after Israel frees hostages in Rafah, Biden says no operation there sans civilian plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Hours after Israel frees hostages in Rafah, Biden says no operation there sans civilian plan<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

ANDREW BERNARD<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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The U.S. president, who stood alongside Jordan\u2019s king, said that there have been \u201ctoo many\u201d Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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\nU.S. President Joe Biden in Tel Aviv, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo by Miriam Alster\/Flash90.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

(February 12, 2024 \/ JNS)<\/div>\n

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that Israel \u201cshould not proceed\u201d with a military operation in the Palestinian city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, without a plan for the more than 1 million civilians currently sheltering in the area.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking alongside the visiting Jordanian King Abdullah II at the White House, Biden added that there have been \u201ctoo many\u201d Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza. He appeared to cite statistics from the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, despite having criticized those numbers in the past.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor the past four months, as the war has raged, the Palestinian people have also suffered unimaginable pain and loss,\u201d Biden said. \u201cToo many of the over 27,000 Palestinians killed in this conflict have been innocent civilians and children, including thousands of children. And hundreds of thousands have no access to food, water or other basic services.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Associated Press<\/em> reported last week<\/a> that \u201cthe Palestinian death toll from the war has surpassed 27,840 people, the Health Ministry in Gaza said.\u201d The AP<\/em>, quoting Ann Skelton, chair of the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, added that the \u201clatest U.N. figures\u2014largely based on statistics from the Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza\u2014showed more than 27,000 people have died in the Israel-Hamas war since Oct. 7.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On Monday, Biden also repeated his position<\/a> that the Israeli military must account for Rafah\u2019s civilian population before commencing any major operation there.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe major military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible plan for ensuring the safety and support of more than one million people sheltering there,\u201d Biden said. \u201cMany people there have been displaced multiple times, fleeing the violence to the north, and now they\u2019re packed into Rafah, exposed and vulnerable. They need to be protected.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have also been clear from the start: We oppose any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Jordanian king went further, saying he opposed the operation entirely.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot afford an Israeli attack on Rafah,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is certain to produce another humanitarian catastrophe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a lasting ceasefire now,\u201d he added. \u201cThis war must end.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Biden mentioned the hostages briefly on two occasions. The king did not.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Friday that he ordered the Israel Defense Forces and the security establishment to submit a plan<\/a> for the Rafah operation that includes a civilian evacuation effort. He also said that victory against Hamas would be \u201cimpossible\u201d without taking Rafah.<\/span><\/p>\n

Biden also discussed the latest proposal to secure the release of the remaining 134 hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. The deal would include six weeks of an \u201cimmediate and sustained period of calm\u201d in Gaza, which could then lead to \u201csomething more enduring,\u201d Biden said on Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n

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