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European Union warns Israel that a further push into Rafah would ‘strain’ ties

The European Union has warned Israel that if it keeps up military operations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, it would put a “heavy strain” on relations. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the ongoing operation is “further disrupting the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza and is leading to more internal displacement, exposure to famine and human suffering.”

Quick Read

  • The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) criticizes Israeli military actions that have resulted in the deaths of aid workers in Gaza, labeling these incidents as “deconfliction failures.”
  • Dan Dieckhaus, USAID Response Director, specifically references recent incidents, including a strike on workers from the World Central Kitchen, demanding an end to such failures.
  • Despite efforts by the Israeli military to avoid targeting aid workers, USAID expresses dissatisfaction with the current situation and emphasizes the need for improved safety for aid workers.
  • USAID and U.S. Navy officials discussed a new initiative involving a floating aid pier to enhance the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
  • The first shipment of UK aid has left Cyprus for Gaza, signaling increased international efforts to deliver necessary supplies despite ongoing challenges.

The Associated Press has the story:

European Union warns Israel that a further push into Rafah would ‘strain’ ties

Newslooks- BRUSSELS — (AP)

The European Union has warned Israel that if it keeps up military operations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, it would put a “heavy strain” on relations.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the ongoing operation is “further disrupting the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza and is leading to more internal displacement, exposure to famine and human suffering.”

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell speaks during his press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled Rafah since Israel launched an incursion last week in which it captured the Gaza side of the city’s crossing with Egypt. Israel says it is carrying out a limited operation after the United States and other close allies urged it to avoid a promised full-scale invasion.

Borrell said on Tuesday that “should Israel continue its military operation in Rafah, it would inevitably put a heavy strain on the EU’s relationship with Israel.”

Palestinians pray by the bodies of people killed during Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip next to the morgue in Deir al Balah, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israel says it must go into Rafah in order to fully dismantle Hamas and return scores of hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attack that ignited the war.

Before the operation, Rafah was sheltering some 1.3 million Palestinians, most of whom had fled fighting elsewhere and were living in U.N.-run shelters and rudimentary tent camps. The United Nations says some 450,000 people have fled the city in the last week.

Palestinians carry mock large keys during a mass ceremony to commemorate the Nakba Day, Arabic for catastrophe, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Palestinians are marking 76 years of dispossession on Wednesday, commemorating their mass expulsion from what is today Israel, as a potentially even larger catastrophe unfolds in Gaza, where more than half a million of people have been displaced in recent days by fighting. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

ISRAELI TROOPS KILL A PALESTINIAN MAN IN THE WEST BANK, HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY

JERUSALEM — The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli troops killed a man in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday, the latest in a surge of deadly violence in the territory.

The Israeli military said a Palestinian was shot after throwing a brick at soldiers during a violent protest near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed during Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in Deir al Balah, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, identified the slain man as 21-year-old Mohamed Safi.

Violence has spiked across the West Bank since the Israel’s war in Gaza erupted last October. Since then, around 500 Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli forces, according to figures from the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Many have been killed in armed clashes or for throwing stones, but people not involved in confrontations have also been killed.

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