Biden’s strange diplomacy over Israel’s war in Gaza

Krystal Ball and ‎Saagar Enjeti recently looked at the still-unresolved Biden proposal for a cease-fire agreement to end Israel’s current war on civilians in Gaza. (1)

Meanwhile:

Dozens were killed and many more wounded overnight into Thursday in an Israeli airstrike on an UNRWA school in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza the Israel Defense Forces said was functioning as a Hamas compound.

According to the IDF, members of Hamas' elite Nukhba forces who took part in the October 7 massacre were staying at the school. (2)

Oh, of course… It would presumably be pointless to even ask if there is any independent confirmation on this.

Peter Lerner, the IDF's foreign media spokesperson, said that the army was aware that the UNRWA school building was also being used by civilians and said that the strike on the building was "intelligence-directed and precise," targeting specific rooms that intelligence reports indicated were housing terrorists.

There’s also this:

On May 30, the World Health Organization announced that Rafah’s last remaining hospital, the Al-Helal al-Emirati Hospital, had gone out of service. The destruction of the southern Gaza city’s health care system, which comes after more than two dozen hospitals across the Strip have completely shut down as a result of Israel’s assault, encapsulates the human toll of the intensifying Israeli military operation in Rafah.

Far from the “limited” invasion that Israel’s leaders proclaimed, Israeli forces are currently occupying the heart of the city and remain in control of the Rafah Crossing and Philadelphi Corridor, while airstrikes continue to pummel camps for displaced families. Since Israel’s incursion began on May 6, more than 1 million Palestinians have fled Gaza’s last refuge. (3)

Another couple of years of this and the Biden Administration may decide Israel has finally crossed Biden’s “red line” …

Meanwhile: (4)

John Mearsheimer talks in this interview about the risks of expanding war between Hezbollah and Israel: (5)

And this, too:

Officials in Cairo have spent months sounding the alarm about the Israeli military’s advance toward the Egypt-Gaza border, fearing that this war will drive Palestinians into Egyptian territory. At the same time, President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi’s government has been seeking to avoid an escalation of tensions with Israel’s government while simultaneously trying to keep a lid on growing anger among Egyptian citizens who are staunchly pro-Palestinian.

In taking control of the Philadelphi corridor, Israel is violating the 1979 peace accord with Egypt, further complicating its already frosty relationship with Cairo. Egypt and Israel’s peace accord permitspermits each side to deploy a small military or border security presence in this demilitarized zone, yet only through a mutual agreement can the number of troops in the Philadelphi corridor to be adjusted. At the time of the peace accord’s implementation in 1979, Israel had been occupying Gaza with troops on the ground since 1967. Those Israeli military forces as well as Israeli settlers didn’t withdraw from the coastal enclave until 2005. [my emphasis] (6)

Notes:

(1) NONSTARTER' Bibi SPURNS Biden Ceasefire Proposal. Breaking Points YouTube channel 06/03/2024. <https://youtu.be/5ny8pXLASts?si=mhKf_AqbWSOC8Hfu> (Accessed: 2024-04-06).

(2) Khoury, Jack & Kubovich, Yaniv & Haaretz (2024): Dozens Killed in Israeli Strike on UNRWA School in Gaza; IDF: Hamas Used Building as Base. Haaretz 06/06/2024. <https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-06-06/ty-article/.premium/dozens-killed-in-israeli-strike-on-unrwa-school-in-gaza-idf-hamas-used-building-as-base/0000018f-ed20-dba5-afdf-ffb2a6480000> (Accessed: 2024-06-06).

(3) Amer, Ruwaida Kamal (2024): We’re all at risk of being targeted’: Doctors evacuate Rafah’s last hospitals. +972 Magazine 06/05/2024. <https://www.972mag.com/rafah-hospitals-evacuated-gaza/> (Accessed: 2024-06-06).

(4) Bassist, Rina (2024): Al-Monitor 06/06/2024. <https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/06/israeli-military-set-and-ready-if-attack-ordered-against-lebanons-hezbollah> (Accessed: 2024-06-06).

(5) Prof. John J. Mearsheimer: What If Gaza and Ukraine Escalate? Judge Napolitano-Judging Freedom YouTube channel 06/06/2024. <https://www.youtube.com/live/k8iGTaVWExg?si=rmQLyYRSOK5EVmhs> (Accessed: 2024-06-06).

(6) Cafiero, Giorgia (2024): Israel testing Egypt's 'weak hand' in Gaza conflict. Responsible Statecraft 06/04/2024. <https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-egypt-gaza/> (Accessed: 2024-06-06).