São Paulo The government of Benjamin Netanyahu intensified this Tuesday (20) the rocket attack on the Gaza Strip. Throughout the morning, bombings hit mainly the east of the city and Khan Younis territory in the Palestinian south. The attacks come just hours before the United Nations (UN) Security Council begins its meeting at 10 a.m. (12 p.m. Brazil time), which could pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Netanyahu's military offensive, which began on October 7 in response to the deaths of 1,160 Israelis, has already claimed at least 29,092 lives on the Palestinian side. According to the local health ministry, most of the fatalities are women, teenagers and children. Nearly 1.5 million Palestinian refugees still live in Rafah, a southern city on the border with Egypt. Last week, Israel announced that it was preparing a largescale ground attack on Rafah, where it could enter by the start of Ramadan if Hamas does not release the hostages in its possession.
Ramadan is considered a holy month for Muslims and begins on March 10th. And Israel's plan has alarmed the international community. Especially because it hits the city that has been the entry point for humanitarian aid and the only exit point for the population of the Gaza Strip, which has been under complete siege by Israel for four months. According to the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Israeli bombings have disrupted humanitarian operations and the supply of food and essential supplies in other Palestinian cities.
Debate in the Security Council
This Tuesday, two other United Nations agencies warned that food shortages and disease in the area could lead to a real “explosion” in child mortality, prompting the meeting of the UN Security Council this Tuesday. On Saturday (17), Algeria requested a vote on a resolution drafted by its representatives calling for an immediate ceasefire on humanitarian grounds.
The text is against “the forced displacement of the Palestinian civilian population” and refers to the evacuation of civilians from Rafah demanded by Israel. However, the United States, the Zionist government's main ally, is threatening to veto the proposal. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda ThomasGreenfield signaled that Algeria's proposed resolution jeopardized negotiations for the release of hostages still under Hamas control.
Since the Council has 15 members, it requires that in order for a resolution to be adopted, nine of them must vote for it and that none of the five permanent members (US, France, United Kingdom, Russia and China) must veto the proposal. If today's text is vetoed, it would be the third proposal rejected by a vote in the United States. Instead, the country is defending an alternative proposal it has put forward that emphasizes a “temporary ceasefire in Gaza.” However, the draft warns that a ground offensive in Rafah “will cause more harm to civilians and more displacement.”
Don't mince words
Yesterday (19), experts from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called for an investigation into alleged abuses against Palestinian women and girls by Israel. Based on reports, the group presented “credible allegations of serious human rights violations.” These include murders, rapes and other sexual assaults allegedly committed by Israelis against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The massacre in Palestine also had an impact in Brazil, as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) criticized Netanyahu's offensive. During a press conference at the 37th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Lula equated the serial killings in Gaza with the Holocaust that Adolf Hitler ordered against the Jews during World War II. “What is happening to the Palestinian people in Gaza does not exist at any other time in history. In fact, it existed when Hitler decided to kill the Jews,” the Brazilian leader said.
The prime minister declared the Brazilian president persona non grata. However, Lula was supported by authorities and organizations. In addition to Brazil, Canada, New Zealand and Australia also released a joint statement calling on the Israeli prime minister to suspend the military operation.
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Writing: Clara Assunção, with information from AFP, O Globo and Portal