Pictured is Rafah, Gaza Strip
In this issue, the Israeli army has stepped up its military operation in Rafah, 800,000 people have fled Rafah, and there is no safe zone in Gaza. Israeli infighting is intensifying, the wartime cabinet is in jeopardy, and Gantz wants to force Netanyahu to step down!
At a time when Palestinian-Israeli ceasefire talks have reached a stalemate, the Israeli army continues to step up its military operations in the Rafah area. On May 18, local time, that is, two days ago, the Israel Defense Forces issued a war report saying that the Israeli army killed more than 130 Hamas militants in the east of Rafah and found a large number of weapons and equipment in the tunnels built by Hamas.
In recent weeks, the Israeli Givati Infantry Brigade and the 401st Armored Brigade have been fighting in eastern Rafah, and their main operational objective is to carry out "precision strikes" on Hamas and its infrastructure in order to completely destroy Hamas's combat effectiveness.
Palestine refugees are pictured living in makeshift tent camps
As we know, since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on 7 October last year, the Israeli army's ground forces have launched an offensive from the north to the south of Gaza, causing the people of Gaza to flee southward. Over the course of seven months, the people fled from northern Gaza to Gaza City, from Gaza City to Khan Younis, and finally from Khan Younis to Rafah. According to data released by the World Health Organization, about 1.2 million people have fled from the north to Rafah for refuge.
However, as the Israeli army has recently stepped up its military operations in the Rafah area, the millions of people who fled to Rafah are now fleeing again.
On May 19, local time, according to Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao" report, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Lazarini, posted a message on social platform X that since the start of the Israeli army's military operation in Rafah on May 6, about 800,000 people in Gaza have been forced to flee Rafah so far.
After fleeing Rafah, where did these people go? The answer is: there is nowhere to go, there is no safe zone in Gaza.
Palestine refugees are pictured fleeing
Lazzarini explained that after Israel issued an evacuation order to the people of Rafah, they were asked to seek refuge in the so-called "safe zone", the central part of Gaza. However, in fact, this claim is completely deceptive and misleading. Because under the indiscriminate bombardment of the Israeli army, there is no so-called "safe zone" in the entire Gaza Strip, and many places are either under artillery fire or have no water supply or sanitation facilities, and every evacuation of the population is in danger at any time. As a result, the refugees in Rafah had no idea where to go, and they had to wander aimlessly until they found a temporary place to reside in an open space to escape the war.
After listening to Lazzarini's explanation, I don't know what everyone's feelings are, but my feelings can be described as two "miserable", miserable and inhumane. Therefore, in the face of such a humanitarian catastrophe caused by Israel's actions in Rafah, not only is the opposition of the international community rising, but even Israel itself can no longer stand it, and their opposition to Netanyahu has gradually become stronger. On this point, let's look at two pieces of news that have happened in quick succession recently:
The picture shows a large number of protesters in Tel Aviv, Israel
The first piece of news occurred two days ago, on May 18, local time, when large-scale demonstrations broke out again in Israel. Please pay attention to the point, "again". Since the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, many demonstrations have broken out in Israel, and this time the people's demands have not changed:
First, to express Netanyahu's dissatisfaction with his insistence on military operations in the Gaza Strip;
Second, the Israeli government is required to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas and allow the detainees to be released as soon as possible.
This is the first piece of news, if this news has not directly threatened the stability of Netanyahu's regime, then the next message is to directly issue an "ultimatum" to Netanyahu and force him to the palace.
Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's wartime cabinet, is pictured
Who is forcing the palace? Benny Gantz, leader of Israel's opposition National Unity Party and a member of Israel's wartime cabinet.
On the same day on the 18th local time, according to the "Times of Israel", later that day, Benny Gantz made a televised speech, in which Gantz demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu must complete the formulation of the post-war plan for Gaza by June 8, that is, in the next 20 days. Otherwise, Gantz warned that he would lead the National Solidarity Party out of the coalition government.
Why, then, did Gantz issue an "ultimatum" to Neta at this time? In his speech, Gantz explained that he believed that now a small group of people had seized the bridge of the Israeli ship and then sailed it towards the reef. The meaning of this sentence translates to mean that if the Israeli army has been carrying out military operations in Gaza and there is no plan for a truce, then the final consequences for Israel will be tragic. To put it more bluntly, Israel may face a total boycott by the international community, especially by the countries of the Middle East.
Because Gantz's long-standing proposal has been to ask Netta to come up with a plan for post-war governance in Gaza as soon as possible, while at the same time de-escalating the situation in northern Israel and normalizing relations with Arab countries. In Gantz's view, only by solving these problems can Israel gain a better foothold in the Middle East, otherwise even if the Americans support it, Israel will never have peace.
However, today Netanyahu just can't swallow this breath, that is, he wants to stand on the bridge and command the Israeli ship to crash into the reef, that is, to die for the Americans to see, to see if you can end.
Pictured is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Therefore, in response to Gantz's threats, Neta also issued a sternly worded statement at the first time, accusing Gantz of trying to overthrow the Israeli government, he said: Gantz's conditions are all nonsense, and its meaning is very clear, which will lead to the defeat of the Israeli army in the battle, give up most of the hostages, Hamas will continue to be in power, and eventually establish a Palestinian state.
Judging by Netanyahu's response, it is clear that the "ultimatum" issued by Gantz did not work in any way. So the question arises, will Gantz really quit the wartime cabinet? In my opinion, the reason why Gantz issued an "ultimatum" to Neta today is not to expect him to listen to it, but to take this opportunity to withdraw from the wartime cabinet, so as to force the palace and Neta to step down.
As we all know, the National Unity Party, led by Gantz, mainly represents the "centrists" of the Knesset. Therefore, if Gantz does withdraw from the wartime cabinet, Neta's emergency coalition government will not necessarily collapse, but it will expose Netanyahu's government to greater pressure from within and outside, and may even lead to Israel's loss of international support more quickly.
So, let's take a look at what kind of situation Netanyahu is facing. It's a dilemma, a dead end. If the Palestinian-Israeli issue is not properly handled, it will be forced to step down at home, and in the face of the ambiguous and vacillating attitude of the international community and the United States, the "arc of resistance" led by Iran will certainly continue to encircle and suppress Israel, and Israel's situation in the Middle East will be even more difficult in the future.
Well, at this point, I suddenly thought of a common saying that we often say, to die to save face and suffer sin. When it comes to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, let's talk about whether Netanyahu today wants to save face and suffer the crime? In my opinion, it is not only about face, but also about "dying". But what I want to say is that insisting on it for the sake of face is the most faceless thing. Besides, he's holding on to his mistakes.