TRANSCRIPT
“The situation is scary, with all the shelling - the children are scared. We have no place left to stay. This is the seventh time we have been displaced from where we were, going from one place to another. We are exhausted and tired. For how long?”
Yasmin Yasen is a displaced person - just one of thousands of Palestinians fleeing the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip as Israel deepens its offensive there.
But mothers on both sides of this conflict are feeling the pain.
The Israeli military says at least 290 soldiers have been killed since the ground operation in Gaza began in October.
Mothers of Israeli soldiers fighting in the Gaza Strip protested in Tel Aviv, calling for an end to the war between Israel and Hamas.
Noorit Felsenthal is the mother of an Israeli soldier currently fighting in Gaza.
“This government that uses our sons, the soldiers of the IDF, only for its purposes. We’re crying for a political agreement. There is no horizon here. And the government doesn’t care. They don’t care for the lives of the hostages, and they don’t care for the lives of the soldiers.”
Israel appears to be broadening its incursion into Rafah, which has already caused over 1 million people to flee the city.
Most had already been displaced earlier in the war.
Israel says its incursion is focussed on the Gaza-Egypt border, which it says Hamas has long used to smuggle arms.
An Israeli government National Security Advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi says fighting in Gaza would continue until at least the end of 2024.
Mr Hanegbi says Israel is not ready to end the war as demanded by Hamas, as part of a deal that would see the exchange of hostages it holds for Palestinian prisoners.
The comments come as Israel’s military says it has seized control of the entire length of Gaza’s border with Egypt.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari says it's an important step in stopping Hamas from smuggling weapons into Gaza.
“Over the past days, IDF forces achieved tactical control over the Philadelphi corridor on the border between Egypt and Rafah. The Philadelphi corridor served as an oxygen line for Hamas through which it carried out weapon smuggling into Gaza on a regular basis. This achievement is a result of an operational move under the leadership of Division 162 that is fighting in the Rafah area in recent weeks. Our forces located along the corridor dozens of loaded launchers prepared to fire rockets, launching pits from which Hamas fired rockets and mortars to Israeli territory.”
Palestinians fleeing Rafah are seeking refuge in makeshift tent camps and other war-ravaged areas, where they lack shelter, food, water and other essentials for survival, the UN says.
Briefing the UN Security Council in New York, Tor Wennesland - the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process - painted a grim picture, renewing calls for action.
“It is clear that all sides must urgently change course. It is right that we are all focused on preventing a further deterioration of looking for a solution to the most pressing needs. Yet without linking these urgent efforts to a longer-term political strategy, any solution will be short lived or even counterproductive. No attempts to address the humanitarian security challenges will be sustainable unless it's a part of a broader approach that addresses Gaza's political future.”
The International Court of Justice says the Israeli government has not explained how it is keeping evacuees from Rafah safe and providing food, water and medicine.
The ICJ in The Hague recently ruled that Israel must halt its offensive in Rafah immediately.
In the meantime, officials from the World Health Organisation are pleading with Israeli authorities to let medical aid cross into Gaza.
Dr Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO's Representative in Palestine says the situation is desperate.
“Currently there are 60 - 60 - WHO trucks standing in Al Arish ready to get into Gaza. So again, this plea, the Rafah crossing needs to be opened not just for medical supplies, but for all other humanitarian supplies.”
The International Criminal Court has sought arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence minister and top Hamas officials.
Its ruling is also calling on Hamas to release hostages taken from Israel on October 7 immediately and unconditionally.
