Middle East

US and Israeli leaders trade accusations as death toll in Gaza passes 31,000

Biden says Israeli invasion of southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million refugees have sought shelter, a ‘red line’

Displaced Palestinians decorate their tent in preparation for the holy month of Ramadan on March 10th in Rafah. Photograph: Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

Mark Weiss in Jerusalem
Sun Mar 10 2024 - 20:31

The leaders of the US and Israel have traded accusations in the most public disagreement between the allies since the start of the Gaza war six months ago.

US president Joe Biden, in a MSNBC interview, accused prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu of “hurting Israel more than helping Israel,” saying “there’s red lines. You cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead.” While reiterating his support for Israel, he described an Israeli invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million war refugees have sought shelter, as a “red line”.

In response, Mr Netanyahu described the criticism as wrong. “These are not my private policies only,” he added. “These are policies supported by the overwhelming majority of the Israelis. They support the action that we’re taking to destroy the remaining terrorist battalions of Hamas.”

The United States announced on Sunday that it has dispatched the USS Frank S Besson support vessel to the eastern Mediterranean to construct a floating pier to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea. The US military estimated it would take about two months before the jetty is operational off the Gaza coast, and stressed that although some 1,000 American troops would be involved in the effort, none would operate in the coastal enclave.

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The decision to establish the floating pier followed warnings from the United Nations and humanitarian groups that famine in the Gaza Strip is a real danger and some children are starving. Humanitarian land convoys have been attacked by desperate residents or commandeered by Hamas gunmen.

Separately, an aide ship with 200 tonnes of food was due to set sail from the Cypriot port of Larnaca after the European Union announced that a new sea route would be opened to allow aid to sail directly from Cyprus – the closest EU country to Gaza.

The US and Jordan carried out another airdrop over northern Gaza on Sunday.

Humanitarian aid being airdropped by an unidentified military transport aircraft above the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday. Photograph: Abir Sultan/EPA

Residents prepared for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts on Monday, with no agreement on a new truce and hostage release deal in place.

Israel accused Hamas of being “uninterested in a deal” and of trying to “ignite the region during Ramadan at the expense of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip.” Hamas blamed Israel for the deadlock for refusing to commit to a permanent ceasefire and blocking the return of war refugees from northern Gaza to their homes.

Egypt is in contact with Hamas and Israel, as well as other mediators, in an effort to restart negotiations for a truce during Ramadan.

According to the Gaza health ministry, more than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 253 hostages seized on October 7th when militants stormed across the border, entering 22 communities – 134 hostages remain in Hamas captivity.

A total 730 Israeli academics on Sunday called on the Israeli government to “take urgent measures to prevent starvation in the Gaza Strip” before “the humanitarian catastrophe gets out of control, causes mass death and becomes an indelible stain.”

A delegation of dozens of family members of hostages being held in Gaza will arrive in New York City on Monday to participate in the UN Security Council discussion on the organisation’s findings regarding the acts of sexual violence that Hamas perpetrated on October 7th.

Mark Weiss

Mark Weiss

Mark Weiss is a contributor to The Irish Times based in Jerusalem

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