Gazans flee Israel bombardment as Rubio meets Netanyahu
Nidal al-Mughrabi and Simon Lewis |
Israel has destroyed a score of buildings in Gaza City, killing at least 16 Palestinians, local health authorities say, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the war with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
Rubio’s visit coincided with an emergency summit in Qatar of Arab and Islamic states, some of them close US allies, convened in response to Israel’s attack last week on leaders of Hamas who reside in the Gulf state.
While diplomacy unfolded in Jerusalem and Doha, the Palestinian death toll kept mounting with two air strikes on sites in Gaza City, one on two family homes and another on a tent housing a displaced family.
Witnesses said strikes from the air and the ground hit several areas, spreading panic and prompting thousands to flee encampments established in streets and open areas.
Israel says the offensive to take control of Gaza City is part of a plan to defeat Hamas for good, and it has warned civilians to head south to a designated humanitarian zone.
However, the UN and numerous countries say its tactics amount to forced mass displacement and conditions in the humanitarian zone are dire, with food in short supply.
“Do you know what is displacement? It is extracting the soul from your body, it is humiliation and another form of death,” said Ghada, 50, a mother of five from the Sabra neighbourhood in Gaza City who was refusing to leave.
“They tell us to go south, and when we do, there is no guarantee they won’t bomb us there, so why bother?” she said via a chat app.
Israeli forces have been operating in at least four eastern suburbs for weeks, of which three have been largely razed. They are advancing on the centre and appear poised to move towards the west, where most of the displaced are sheltering.
According to Hamas, at least 350,000 people have fled their homes, while 1600 residential buildings and 13,000 tents have been destroyed, since August 11, the day after Netanyahu announced plans to take control of Gaza City.
It was not possible to verify the figures independently. Images circulating on social media suggested the flow of people moving southwards had accelerated.
In Jerusalem, Rubio and Netanyahu were scheduled to give a joint statement after their talks on Monday. Footage showed them hugging and shaking hands before sitting down to talk.
Rubio said before leaving Washington he wanted to discuss how Israel would finish its war to defeat Hamas so remaining hostages could be released, in line with President Donald Trump’s wishes.
He was also set to discuss how Israel’s strike in Qatar, which US officials said did not advance Israeli or American interests, would affect those goals.
After Rubio arrived on Sunday, Netanyahu and his wife Sara led him and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, and their wives, on a tour of the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site.
They also visited a nearby archeological site where Israel has excavated ruins, a controversial project adjacent to the Temple Mount, which is also a holy site for Muslims, who call it Haram al-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary.
Hamas said the visit to the Western Wall, which Muslims call the Al-Buraq Wall, was an assault on the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa mosque inside the compound.
The militant group said the visit reaffirmed “the bias and full partnership of the current US administration in the occupation’s crimes against our people, land, and holy sites”.
A State Department spokesperson said late on Sunday that Rubio was proud to visit the site with Netanyahu and that this reaffirmed “America’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital”.
In Doha, leaders were set to warn that Israel’s attack in Qatar threatened coexistence and efforts to normalise ties in the region, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters.
Reuters
