Israel’s Attempted Genocide Continues, this Time in Rafah

By David Starr

 

Despite warnings being dropped from the sky by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), Israel continues its attempted genocide, launching a ground invasion in the Gaza enclave of Rafah, to go along with its airstrikes, against Palestinians.

 

Palestinians heeded the warnings and have fled Rafah, going to Al Mawasi, a coastal area in the Gaza Strip. But if past actions are any indications, the IOF just may conduct airstrikes against Palestinians fleeing to Al Mawasi. Israel’s fascist government has wanted all along to get rid of the Palestinians, even if it means imposing a Final Solution. The irony is tragic considering the Holocaust.

 

There have been repeated displacements, with Palestinians fleeing from one area to another in Gaza. A United Nations report puts it this way: “Stranded, their homes demolished, loved ones killed, and repeatedly displaced on their land, they had sought refuge in Rafah in the far southern reaches of the Strip to escape death and destruction and to find a safe place that does not exists.” Indeed, the IOF has done a thorough job in making it near to impossible for Palestinians to find a safe place.

 

On Secular Talk, Kyle Kulinski discusses what to expect with yet another forced displacement. And the details would make anyone who is sane outraged.

 

At some point, there was hope among Palestinians that a ceasefire would be realized. Hamas was willing to establish a ceasefire, one of the conditions being that they set the Israeli hostages free. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the deal. Netanyahu and other Israeli fascists in the government, plus their supporters, have at the least implied that they wish to go all the way in exterminating the Palestinians. And taking some Israelis with them, e.g., the hostages.

 

The IOF invaded Rafah on May 6, and in the process took control of the Rafah Crossing. This is a major road in and out of Gaza where people can supposedly come and go. (Although, Gaza has been an open-air prison where for years Palestinians have been trapped in the Strip.) 

 

The IOF has restricted humanitarian aid from going into Gaza, and with control of the Rafah crossing, it has imposed further restrictions. According to the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), “Without aid trucks, the south of Gaza is at risk of mass starvation, which the north is already experiencing.” 

 

The Israeli invasion of Rafah will most likely cost the Palestinians dearly. Moving to Al Mawasi, an already overcrowded area, will add to the overcrowding. Not only that, the IOF has targeted Al Mawasi before, killing and injuring Palestinians who were living in tents. Israel, therefore cannot be trusted, given its pattern of aggression.

 

The AFSC warned that, “Occupying and shutting down the Rafah Crossing by Israeli forces is a death sentence for thousands of injured Palestinians who are in need of medical treatment outside Gaza.” Further, the ASFC demanded “Israel [to] stop its attack on Rafah.” But the odds are that the fascists will not listen.

 

Nevertheless, the AFSC concluded that, “The world must stand firmly against the continued Israeli invasion of Rafah and exert pressure on Israel to stop it.” 

 

The United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) made a statement that was quoted in Jacobin by Seraj Assi: “Rafah is now a city of children, who have nowhere safe to go in Gaza.” So, the latest IOF invasion in Rafah has no doubt been a further case of mass murder. 

 

Assi writes: 

 

“Teeming with tents and overcrowded street corners and sandy plots, Rafah is right now the most densely populated place on earth. People sleep in the streets, makeshift shelters, public housing, cemeteries, and whatever space available. According to UNICEF, there is approximately one toilet for every 850 people, and one shower for every 3,600 people. Food and water are scarce. Medicine is depleting fast. Orphaned children wander the streets searching for food, barefoot and dusty, with no family or relatives to watch over them; many families can’t even find or afford tents. There are three hospitals serving 1.5 million displaced people.”

 

Even before the invasion, Rafah was carpet-bombed mercilessly with air strikes, flare bombs, and fire belts. Whole neighborhoods, and thus families, were obliterated, even after Israel declared Rafah a “safe zone.” This has been how the IOF is treating fleeing Palestinians. Order them to one “safe zone,” then conduct air strikes on them as they try to get to there. Then, repeat the same sadistic behavior.

 

Quoting Jeremy Corbyn, Assi writes, “The assault on Rafah is another utterly despicable war crime.”

 

Israeli officials have been sadistic in calling for the total annihilation of Gaza and also saying that the IOF should kill everyone in Rafah. These actions have resulted in what amounts to be a mini-Holocaust. Over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, about half of them being children. 

 

And yet, Assi writes, “…Congress approved the largest military aid package to Israel in US history.” Further, Israel has expelled Al Jazeera and the USA has potentially banned TikTok, two of many sources calling out Israel’s attempted genocide, ethnic cleansing and war crimes. 

 

Besides the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court (ICC) has decided to charge Israel officials like Netanyahu as war criminals. But outrageously, Republicans in the USA have threatened ICC officials and their families with sanctions and other actions, including, as insane as it is, conducting a military invasion. 

 

Meanwhile, in the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill passed which would make it illegal to criticize Israel, calling it an example of anti-Semitism. Another insane action by hardline Israel supporters. Israel, however, IS NOT exempt from criticism, regardless of the obstacles put in the way to repress such criticism.

 

The constant displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, now going from Rafah to Al Mawasi, is unacceptable, along with Israel’s other war crimes.