Israel takes over the Rafah-Egypt crossing…..
The forces did NOT roll into the Rafah itself…
Folks?
There is NO DEAL, as the media thought was the situation yesterday……
The parties ARE still jousting….
Hamas fighters are back to firing at Israeli troops….
The Biden admin HAS stopped shipments of certain bombs….
A progressive House member wants a ICC warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu….
House member Cotton has threatened the ICC if they do issue a warrant….
President Biden does speech supporting Israel….
Here’s what else to know:
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An Israeli delegation of mid-ranking officials has arrived in Cairo to continue talks on a deal for a cease-fire and the release of hostages, an Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The key negotiators, such as the Mossad intelligence chief, did not attend, the official said.
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Israel’s campaign has forced almost all of Gaza’s population to flee their homes. More than a million went to Rafah, where large numbers of people have been living in squalid tent camps. On Monday, Israel told more than 100,000 Gazans in eastern Rafah to flee ahead of airstrikes. It was not immediately clear how many were able to leave, and U.N. officials said Tuesday that the area Israel has designated as a safe zone was neither safe nor equipped to receive them.
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International officials were quick to condemn the Rafah incursion. Egypt’s foreign ministry called it a “dangerous escalation” while Josep Borrell Fontelles, the top E.U. diplomat, said he feared it would cause “a lot of casualties.” Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, warned there was a risk of a “massacre,” writing on X that “instead of giving negotiations on hostage release & cease-fire a chance,” Israel’s government “occupied Rafah crossing & closed it to humanitarian aid to starved Gazans.”
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Hamas’s armed wing claimed it had again fired on Israeli soldiers in the Kerem Shalom area of Israel near the border with Gaza on Tuesday morning. Israel’s military said that four mortar shells and two rockets had been launched toward Kerem Shalom from Rafah but no injuries or damage were reported. Hamas rockets killed four Israeli soldiers on Sunday in the area, which has a border crossing that has been a key conduit for aid to enter Gaza.
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An invasion of Rafah has been a point of tension for Mr. Netanyahu and his closest international allies. The United States has warned him not to launch an invasion without a credible plan to protect Rafah’s population. President Biden spoke by phone with Mr. Netanyahu on Monday and again urged against an offensive….
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The Biden administration is holding up shipments of two types of Boeing-made precision bombs to send a political message to Israel, according to a U.S. official and six other people with knowledge of the deliberations.
The U.S. has yet to sign off on a pending sale of Boeing’s Joint Direct Attack Munitions — both the munitions and kits that convert them to smart weapons — and Small Diameter Bombs, according to six industry and congressional sources with knowledge of the discussions….
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This appears to be the first time the U.S. administration has delayed a potential weapons sale for Israel since Hamas attacked the country on Oct. 7. President Joe Biden has been under pressure from some in his party to set conditions on aid to Israel after the Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza began to exact a heavy toll on civilians, and after Israel hit humanitarian convoys delivering aid to the enclave.
The munitions were ready to be shipped to Israel when word of the hold came down, said one senior congressional aide and two other people familiar with the incident. A third person, an industry official, said the administration told Boeing to halt the shipment since the approval was held up for “political reasons,” and not because of supply chain strain….
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Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress, is demanding the International Criminal Court issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
She made the demand in a statement Tuesday, as Democrats are grappling with deep intra-party divisions over the state of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and the IDF began carrying out military operations in Rafah, a major city in Gaza….