No safe place in Gaza: Jumblat urges ceasefire instead of more US weapons
Fromer Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has blamed the U.S. for sending weapons and equipment to Israel.
"Can’t you propose a ceasefire instead of bringing more troops and equipment?" Jumblat asked U.S. President Joe Biden who arrived Wednesday in Tel Aviv on a solidarity visit, on the X platform.
Within hours of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the U.S. began moving warships and aircraft to the region to be ready to provide Israel with whatever it needed to respond. On Tuesday, more ships and forces were heading toward Israel, and other troops in the U.S. were preparing to deploy if called on.
Jumblat asked where the people of Gaza should go with no more homes left in the enclave.
Even the "safe zones" of Gaza aren't safe for Palestinians.
Intense Israeli strikes Tuesday destroyed homes, hit a U.N. school sheltering the displaced and killed dozens of people in south and central Gaza.
Israel had told Palestinians over the weekend to evacuate northern Gaza and Gaza City in advance of an expected ground invasion of the territory following an attack by Hamas militants last week that reportedly killed 1,400 Israelis.
An estimated 600,000 people complied, packing what belongings they could and rushing to the south, where they squeezed into overcrowded U.N. shelters, hospitals, and homes in the approximately 14-kilometer long area south of the evacuation zone. But Israel bombed areas of southern Gaza where it had told Palestinians to flee to, killing dozens of people.
On Tuesday, Israel bombed a Gaza hospital compound, killing at least 500 people. The strike provoked outrage and condemnation from around the world, with protests on the streets of Amman, Tunis, Beirut and Tehran.
Israel denied it had bombed the hospital.
In a separate X post, Jumblat called for the opening of the Rafah border crossing.
"Better to have a United Nation resolution for a ceasefire to stop the destruction of Gaza which will lead to total chaos in the region," Jumblat said, calling on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to open the Rafah crossing without preconditions.
The U.N. Security Council had rejected a Russian resolution Monday night that condemned violence and terrorism against civilians but made no mention of Hamas.
Only four countries joined Russia in voting for the resolution — China, United Arab Emirates, Mozambique and Gabon. Four countries voted against it — the United States, Britain, France and Japan. The other six countries abstained. Adoption needs a minimum of nine "yes" votes in the 15-member council.
Pressure had mounted for aid to be allowed in through Egypt's Rafah crossing with Gaza, the only access to the besieged territory not controlled by Israel.
Egypt said it "did not close" the crossing, but that "developments on the ground and the repeated bombings by Israel of the Palestinian side of the crossing have prevented its operation".
Hundreds of lorries carrying aid have been waiting for six days on the Egyptian side of the crossing, which Israeli aircraft has bombed four times.
Source: Naharnet, Associated Press
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