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Israel Vows to 'Intensify' Operations in Gaza’s Rafah

Palestinians who fled Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip arrive with their belongings to Khan Yunis on May 15, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians who fled Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip arrive with their belongings to Khan Yunis on May 15, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Israel Vows to 'Intensify' Operations in Gaza’s Rafah

Palestinians who fled Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip arrive with their belongings to Khan Yunis on May 15, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians who fled Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip arrive with their belongings to Khan Yunis on May 15, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Israel vowed Thursday to "intensify" its ground offensive in Rafah, in defiance of global warnings over the fate of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians sheltering in Gaza's far-southern city.

According to AFP, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said "additional forces will enter" the Rafah area and "this activity will intensify".

"Hundreds of targets have already been struck and our forces are maneuvering in the area," Gallant said following a troop visit on Wednesday.

Israel's top ally the United States has joined other major powers in appealing for it to hold back from a full ground offensive against Hamas in Rafah, the last city in Gaza so far spared heavy urban fighting.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has countered that a ground assault on Rafah is vital to the army's mission of destroying Hamas to prevent any repetition of the October 7 attack that triggered the war.

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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.