Sawt Falasteen - UN chief warns of 'epic disaster' as Israel tightens vice on Rafah

Earlier this week, Israeli ground troops seized eastern areas of the city, including the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, but they have yet to enter its main built-up area.

AFP journalists witnessed artillery strikes on the city Friday and the Israeli army said operations were continuing in the east of the city.

"On the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing, the troops eliminated several terror cells during close-quarters combat and with an aerial strike," the military said.

But there was no sign yet of the full-scale assault promised by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even after US President Joe Biden threatened on Wednesday to halt some arms deliveries if he goes ahead.

"If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone," the hawkish premier said in a statement late on Thursday. "We are determined and we are united in order to defeat our enemies and those who want to destroy us."

Netanyahu has said repeatedly that Israel cannot defeat Hamas and extinguish any possibility of the militant group repeating its bloody October 7 attack without sending ground troops into Rafah in search of remaining Hamas fighters.

But Washington has warned that the reputational damage Israel will suffer if it storms a city where an estimated 1.4 civilians are sheltering will far outweigh any possible military gain.

- Aid operations 'crippled' -

Israel's military operations around Rafah have already had a severe impact on Gaza civilians, UN agencies said.

The Rafah crossing, which Israeli troops closed on Tuesday, is the only one equipped to handle deliveries of fuel and the United Nations says stocks inside Gaza have now run out, effectively halting all humanitarian operations.

"In Gaza there are no stocks (of fuel)... (That) means no movement," said Andrea De Domenico, who heads the UN humanitarian office in the Palestinian territories.

"It is completely crippling the humanitarian operations."

More than 100,000 people, many of them already displaced from other areas of Gaza, have fled Rafah this week, the UN said.

Most have taken to the road with only what they can carry and little idea of where they might find shelter, let alone safety.

Many have returned to the city of Khan Yunis, where intense fighting raged earlier this year, or are crowded into shelters along the seashore in the central town of Deir al-Balah.

The Israeli army said four soldiers were killed and two seriously wounded on Friday when an "explosive device" went off near a school in Gaza City.

The armed wing of Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally, said it "detonated a field of mines and high-explosive ground devices" in the city's Zeitoun neighbourhood.

The latest deaths take to 271 the Israeli military's losses in the Gaza campaign since the start of its ground offensive on October 27.

- Back to 'square one' -

The war began with Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,943 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

Israeli and Hamas negotiating teams left Cairo on Thursday after what Egypt called a "two-day round" of indirect negotiations on the terms of a Gaza truce.

Hamas said that Israel's rejection of a truce plan submitted by mediators at the talks had sent the negotiations back to "square one".

"The rejection of the mediators' proposal by Israel... has returned matters to square one," the militant group said in an English-language statement.

Hamas said the plan it had agreed to involved the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the return of displaced civilians and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, with the aim of a "permanent ceasefire".

Israel has long resisted the idea of a lasting truce, insisting it must first finish dismantling Hamas.

- Symbolic UN Palestine vote -

UN and European officials condemned attacks against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which forced it to temporarily close its headquarters in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on Thursday.

UNWRA chief Philippe Lazzarini said the agency had been forced to act after twin arson attacks by "Israeli extremists" on the compound's perimeter put the lives of staff at "serious risk".

He described how "a crowd accompanied by armed men were witnessed outside the compound chanting 'Burn down the United Nations'."

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc "strongly condemns the attack".

"It is Israel's responsibility to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers. UNRWA is an irreplaceable lifeline to millions in Gaza and the region," he said in a post on X.

UN chief Guterres echoed his comments. "Targeting aid workers and humanitarian assets is unacceptable, and must stop," he said in a post.

The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Friday in support of a Palestinian bid for full membership of the world body, a symbolic move after the United States vetoed the measure in the Security Council.

The resolution, which states that the Palestinians should be admitted to the UN and grants them some additional rights as observers, received 143 votes for, 9 against and 25 abstentions.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said it sent the message to Hamas that "violence pays off".

burs-kir/hkb

R.Shaban--SF-PST