Israeli Knesset member Benny Gantz, who is also a member of Israel’s war cabinet, said over the weekend that the invasion of Rafah will begin on March 10, the Muslim holy day that marks the start of Ramadan, if the Israeli hostages held by Hamas are not released.
“The world must know — and Hamas leaders must know — that if by Ramadan the hostages are not home, then the fighting will continue, including in Rafah,” Gantz said at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera reported that it has seen a US draft of a UN Security Council resolution that for the first time calls for a ceasefire. It also calls for the land invasion of Rafah to be paused “under the current circumstances.”
Previously, the US has resisted calls for a ceasefire, using its permanent member status on the UN Security Council to veto two resolutions that called for a ceasefire. However, Washington has taken a stronger tone with Israel lately and previously called for Israel to provide a “credible” plan to reduce civilian casualties before it continues its ground offensive in Rafah.
More than 1.4 million of the 2.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza have sheltered in the southern city of Rafah after being told to move there by Israeli forces when it invaded Northern Gaza and then moved south. It also sits on the border with Egypt and has been the only port where aid has gone through with any consistency.
Last week, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said in a statement that an invasion of Rafah “could lead to a slaughter in Gaza,” adding that it “could also leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at death’s door.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised a plan for a civilian evacuation of Rafah. However, speaking at the same conference as Gantz, Netanyahu argued the operation is necessary for Israel to complete its goal of eliminating Hamas.
“Once you destroy the battalions, there is no organized command and control structure,” he said. “You’re left with individual terrorists, which we mop up with ground action.”
Algeria, which is currently the only Arab member of the UN Security Council, put forward a draft resolution calling for a ceasefire more than two weeks ago. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield signaled that the US planned to veto it, claiming that it would interfere with “sensitive negotiations” to secure the release of hostages.
The US, Qatar, Egypt and Israel have held negotiations on a potential truce centered on the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
The resolution does not call for a permanent ceasefire nor does it require that it begin immediately according to reports, which may make the resolution too weak for other members of the Security Council to accept. It nevertheless represents a massive change for the administration of US President Joe Biden, which has been Israel’s staunchest supporter.
Over the weekend it was reported that Washington plans to send tens of millions of dollars worth of weapons to Israel. According to that report, the Biden administration’s internal assessment of the weapons transfer dismissed the potential for human rights violations. “Israel takes effective action to prevent gross violations of human rights and to hold security forces responsible that violate those rights,” the assessment reads.
It is not known when or if the US resolution will be brought to a vote.