On Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee, a reminder of special bonds between Saudi and British royals

Queen Elizabeth II with Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal in 1967. (AFP/File)
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Updated 03 June 2022
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On Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee, a reminder of special bonds between Saudi and British royals

  • Cables sent by King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bespeak a friendship dating back decades
  • Since Elizabeth came to the throne in 1952, there have been four state visits to Britain by Saudi monarchs

LONDON: As congratulations flooded into London this week from heads of state around the world, two messages in particular served as reminders of the special relationship that has flourished between the Saudi and British royal families throughout the 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

Behind the formality of the cables sent by King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, wishing her “sincere felicitations and best health and happiness” on the occasion of her platinum jubilee, is a history of friendship dating back to the earliest days of her reign, which began on Feb. 6, 1952.

 

 

That day, her father King George VI died while the 25-year-old Elizabeth and her husband Philip, duke of Edinburgh, were in Kenya on a tour of Africa.

Having left England a princess, she flew home in mourning as Queen Elizabeth II. Her coronation took place on June 2 the following year.

Among the guests at the coronation were members of four royal families from the Gulf: The rulers or their representatives of the then-British protectorates of Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, and Prince Fahd bin Abdulaziz, representing the 78-year-old King Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia’s founder and first monarch, who had only five months left to live.

The bonds between the Saudi and British monarchies cannot be measured by the frequency of formal occasions alone, although an examination of the record of state visits held by Buckingham Palace reveals an illuminating distinction.

Since the queen succeeded her father, there have been no fewer than four state visits to Britain by Saudi monarchs, a number matched by only four other countries, including the UK’s near-neighbors France and Germany.

The first to travel to London was King Faisal, greeted with all the pomp and ceremony of a full British state welcome at the start of his eight-day visit in May 1967.




Queen Elizabeth II speaks with Emirati Minister of State Reem al-Hashemi during a visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi on Nov.24, 2010. (WAM via AFP)

Met by the queen, members of the British royal family and leading politicians — including then-Prime Minister Harold Wilson — King Faisal rode to Buckingham Palace with Elizabeth and Philip in an open horse-drawn state carriage, drawn through London streets lined with cheering crowds.

During a busy eight-day schedule, the king found time to visit and pray at London’s Islamic Cultural Centre.




Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II with Saudi Arabia’s King Khaled in 1981. (AFP/Getty Images)

His son Prince Bandar, who that year graduated from the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, deputized for his father on a visit to inspect English Electric Lightning fighter jets being readied for shipment to Saudi Arabia. Later, the prince would fly Lightnings as a fighter pilot in the Royal Saudi Air Force.

King Faisal was followed on state visits to Britain by his successors King Khaled in 1981, King Fahd in 1987 and King Abdullah in 2007. 




Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II with Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd in 1987. (AFP/Getty Images)

In February 1979, traveling on board the supersonic jet Concorde, Queen Elizabeth visited Riyadh and Dhahran during a Gulf tour that also took her to Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman.

In Saudi Arabia, she was hosted by King Khaled and enjoyed a series of events, including a desert picnic and a state dinner at Maathar Palace in Riyadh.




Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II with King Hussein of Jordan in 1955. (AFP/Getty Images)

In return, she and her husband hosted a dinner for the Saudi royal family on board Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia.

Poignantly, Britannia would return to the Gulf one last time, in January 1997, during its last tour before the royal yacht was decommissioned in December that year.

However, the relationship between the two royal families has not been limited to the great occasions of state.




Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II with Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said in 2010. (AFP/Getty Images)

Analysis of the regular Court Circular published by Buckingham Palace shows that members of Britain’s royal family met with Gulf monarchs more than 200 times between 2011 and 2021 alone — equivalent to once a fortnight. Forty of these informal meetings were with members of the House of Saud.

Most recently, in March 2018, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had a private audience as well as lunch with the queen at Buckingham Palace. 




Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2018. (AFP/Getty Images)

Later, he dined with the prince of Wales and the duke of Cambridge during a visit to the UK that included meetings with then-Prime Minister Theresa May and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

Serious topics, such as trade and defense agreements, are often the subjects of such meetings. But good-natured fun, rather than stiff formality, is frequently the hallmark of private gatherings between the royal families, as Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, the British ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2003 to 2006, would later recall.

In 2003, Crown Prince Abdullah, Saudi Arabia’s future king, was a guest of the queen at Balmoral Castle, her estate in Scotland.




Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah in 2007. (AFP/Getty Images)

It was his first visit to Balmoral and, happily accepting an invitation to be taken on a tour of the large estate, he climbed into the passenger seat of a Land Rover, only to discover that his driver and guide was to be the queen herself.

Having served during the Second World War as an army driver, she has always driven herself at Balmoral, where locals are used to seeing her out and about behind the wheel of one of her beloved Land Rovers.

She is also known for having great fun at the expense of guests as she hurtles one of the vehicles along the narrow lanes and across the rugged terrain of the estate.




Queen Elizabeth (2nd R) and Prince Philip (L) receive Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (R) and his wife Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser at Windsor Castle on Oct. 26, 2010. (AFP)

By Sir Sherard’s account, Prince Abdullah took the impromptu fairground ride well, although at one point, “through his interpreter,” he felt obliged to “implore the queen to slow down and concentrate on the road ahead.”

Aside from the commonality of their royalty, the queen and the monarchs of the Gulf have always bonded over their mutual love of horses, a shared interest that dates back to at least 1937, when Elizabeth was an 11-year-old princess.

To mark the occasion of her father’s coronation that year, King Abdulaziz presented King George VI with an Arabian mare.

A life-size bronze statue of the horse, Turfa, was unveiled in 2020 at the Arabian Horse Museum in Diriyah, where it has pride of place today.

At the time of the unveiling, Richard Oppenheim, then-Britain’s deputy ambassador to Saudi Arabia, highlighted how the two royal families had always bonded over this common interest.

“The queen has many horses, and King Salman and the Saudi royal family also have a long-held love of horses,” he said.

The queen also shares that love with Sheikh Mohammed Al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and vice president of the UAE, who owns the internationally renowned Godolphin horse-racing stables and stud farm in Newmarket, the home of British horse racing.




Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II with Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum in 2010. (AFP/Getty Images)

The two have often been seen together at great events on the horse-racing calendar, such as the annual five-day Royal Ascot meeting, regarded as the jewel in the crown of the British social season, which this year runs from June 14-18.

Team Godolphin has had several winners at Royal Ascot, where the queen’s horses have won over 70 races since her coronation.




Britain's Queen Elizabeth with the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. (AFP)

This weekend, as flags fly from homes and public buildings, thousands of events are taking place across Britain to mark her platinum jubilee, including street parties; the traditional Trooping the Colour at the Horse Guards Parade; gun salutes; a fly-past by the Royal Air Force, watched by the queen from the balcony of Buckingham Palace; and the lighting of more than 3,000 beacons nationwide.

At the age of 96, Elizabeth — queen of the UK and the Commonwealth, and monarch to more than 150 million people — has reached a royal milestone rare not only in Britain, but across the world.

By Friday, she will have reigned for 70 years and 117 days, putting her within nine days of becoming the second-longest-serving monarch in world history.

Bhumibol Adulyadej, king of Thailand from 1946 until his death in 2016 at the age of 88, ruled for 70 years and 126 days.

Only Louis XIV of France was on the throne for longer, ruling between 1643 and 1715, for 72 years and 110 days.

The secret to Elizabeth’s longevity, perhaps, lies in the words of the British national anthem “God Save the Queen,” which will be sung heartily at events across the UK this weekend: “Long live our noble queen … Happy and glorious, long to reign over us, God save the queen.”

 


Israel offensive on Rafah would not eliminate Hamas: Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (REUTERS file photo)
Updated 13 May 2024
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Israel offensive on Rafah would not eliminate Hamas: Blinken

  • Israel has killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry

WASHINGTON: An all-out Israeli offensive on the Gaza city of Rafah would provoke “anarchy” without eliminating Hamas, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday, as Washington stepped up a pressure campaign against such an assault.
Separately, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan emphasized Washington’s concerns about an offensive in a call with his Israeli counterpart, Tzachi Hanegbi.
“Mr. Sullivan reiterated President Biden’s longstanding concerns over the potential for a major military ground operation into Rafah, where over one million people have taken shelter,” a White House readout of the phone call said.
It said Hanegbi “confirmed that Israel is taking US concerns into account,” but did not elaborate.
Israeli bombardment in the eastern parts of Rafah have already sent 300,000 Gazans fleeing.
The United States and other countries, as well as top UN officials, have warned that a full-out assault on Rafah could have a disastrous impact on the refugees driven there by fighting elsewhere in Gaza, many of them living in desperate conditions.
Israel has said it is attempting to keep civilian casualties to a minimum.
But Blinken, when asked on CBS’s “Face the Nation” whether the US concurred with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that Israeli forces had killed more civilians than Hamas militants since the war began, replied simply, “Yes, we do.”
Blinken said a full-scale invasion could come “potentially at an incredibly high cost” and that even a massive assault on Rafah was unlikely to end the Hamas threat.
“Israel’s on the trajectory, potentially, to inherit an insurgency with many armed Hamas left, or if it leaves, a vacuum filled by chaos, filled by anarchy and probably refilled by Hamas,” he said.
Blinken also confirmed that the hold President Joe Biden has placed on weapons to Israel — as the US continues pressing it to better protect civilians and avoid an all-out invasion of Rafah — is limited to 3,500 “high-capacity” bombs.
He said the United States was continuing to press Israeli leaders to provide a plan for Gaza once the war is finally over, telling NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “we’ve been talking to them about a much better way of getting an enduring result.”
The US diplomat said Hamas militants had already returned to certain areas of northern Gaza that Israel had “liberated.”

Blinken also spoke Sunday with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, insisting again the United States opposed a major Israel ground operation in Rafah, the State Department said.
“The Secretary underscored the urgent need to protect civilians and aid workers in Gaza and urged the Minister to ensure assistance can move into Gaza and help address distribution challenges inside of Gaza as Israel pursues Hamas targets,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Israel struck Gaza on Sunday and troops battled militants in several areas of the Hamas-run territory, where the health ministry said the death toll in the war had exceeded 35,000 people.
More than seven months into the war, UN chief Antonio Guterres urged “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and an immediate surge in humanitarian aid.”
Asked about a State Department report issued Friday that said Israel likely has violated norms of international law in its use of US weapons, Blinken said there was still too little evidence to warrant ending all military support.
The chaotic and dangerous conditions of an ongoing war, he said, made it “very difficult” to determine exactly what was happening, or what weapons were used, in any specific action.
Republicans have been sharply critical even of Biden’s limited halt to providing bombs.
Senator Tom Cotton, who serves on the Armed Services Committee, told CBS that the State Department report “was very clear: there is no evidence that Israel is violating international law.”
He said Israel “is doing more than any military in history to prevent civilian casualties.”
 

 


Powerful Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Sadr girds for political comeback

Updated 13 May 2024
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Powerful Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Sadr girds for political comeback

  • A dominant figure in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, self-styled nationalist Sadr has railed against the influence of both Iran and the United States in Iraq

NAJAF, Iraq: Powerful Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is laying the groundwork for a political comeback two years after a failed and ultimately deadly high-stakes move to form a government without his Shi'ite rivals, multiple sources said.
His return, likely planned for the 2025 parliamentary election, could threaten the growing clout of rivals including Iraqi Shi'ite parties and armed factions close to Iran, and undermine Iraq's recent relative stability, observers say.
However, many among Iraqi's majority Shi'ite population are likely to welcome Sadr's re-emergence, especially his masses of mostly pious and poor followers who view him as a champion of the downtrodden.
Reuters spoke to more than 20 people for this story, including Shi'ite politicians in Sadr's movement and in rival factions, clerics and politicians in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, and government officials and analysts. Most spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
"This time, the Sadrist movement has stronger plans than the last time round to win more seats in order to form a majority government," a former Sadrist lawmaker said, though the final decision to run has not officially been made.
Sadr won the 2021 parliamentary election but ordered his lawmakers to resign, then announced a "final withdrawal" from politics the next year after rival Shi'ite parties thwarted his attempt to form a majority government solely with Kurdish and Sunni Muslim parties.
A dominant figure in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, self-styled nationalist Sadr has railed against the influence of both Iran and the United States in Iraq.
Iran views Sadr's participation in politics as important to maintaining Iraq's Shi'ite-dominated political system in the long term, though Tehran rejects his aspirations to be recognised as its single most dominant force.
The United States, which fought Sadr's forces after he declared a holy war against them in 2004, sees him as a threat to Iraq's fragile stability, but also views him as a needed counter to Iranian influence.
Many Iraqis say they have lost out no matter who is in power while elites siphon off the country's oil wealth.
CLERICAL NOD
Since March, Sadr has stepped back towards the limelight.
First, he held a rare meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, a prominent cleric revered by millions of Shi'ites who played a central role in ending the deadly intra-Shi'ite clashes in 2022 that preceded Sadr's political exit.
Sadrists interpret the March 18 audience with Sistani, who stays above the fray of Iraq's fractious politics and does not typically meet politicians, as a tacit endorsement, according to six people in Sadr's movement.
A cleric close to Sistani said Sadr spoke about a possible return to political life and parliament and "left this important meeting with a positive outcome". Sistani's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Days after the meeting, Sadr instructed his lawmakers who resigned in 2021 to gather and re-engage with the movement's political base.
He then renamed his organisation the Shi'ite National Movement, a swipe at rival Shi'ite factions he deems unpatriotic and beholden to Iran as well as a bid to further mobilise his base along sectarian lines, a person close to Sadr said.
While some analysts fear the disruption of a Sadr return to frontline politics, others say he could re-emerge humbled by the routing of his forces during the intra-Shi'ite strife as well as the relative success of the current Baghdad government, including its balancing of relations between Iran and the U.S.
"Of course, there is always a greater risk of instability when you have more groups balancing power, especially when they are armed. But the Sadrists should return less hostile," said Hamzeh Hadad, an Iraqi analyst and visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
"The political parties know it's best to share power than to lose it all together," he said.
A senior Sadrist politician said the movement might seek to ally with some ruling Shi'ite factions, such as popular Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, while isolating others including arch-rival Qais Al-Khazaali, leader of the powerful, Iran-backed political and military group Asaib Ahl al-Haq.
Advisers to Sudani said he was keeping his options open.
"There are groups in the framework that we have long-time relations with and could ally with before or after elections. What we don't accept is to get into deals with corrupt militias," the senior Sadrist said.
In Sadr City, Sadr's sprawling, long-impoverished stronghold on the east side of Baghdad, many supporters await his return in the hope this could translate into jobs and services.
"This city supports Sadr and I don't think he would forget us after all the sacrifices we have made for him," said Taleb Muhawi, a 37-year-old father of three who was waiting to hear back on a government job.
"He needs to shake things up when he comes back."

 


Tunisia reports increase in migrant interceptions

Updated 13 May 2024
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Tunisia reports increase in migrant interceptions

  • The National Guard also said it had prevented 21,462 people from entering Tunisia across its borders with Algeria in the west and Libya in the east, four times the 5,256 number from last year

TUNIS: Tunisia on Sunday reported a 22.5 percent rise in the number of migrants “intercepted on shore or rescued at sea” as they attempted to cross the Mediterranean to Italy.
The National Guard reported that more than 21,000 people had been prevented from leaving Tunisian shores or had been rescued during the first four months of 2024.
A press statement from the National Guard, which also overseas Coast Guard operations, said 21,545 people were intercepted between January 1 and April 30, compared with 17,576 over the same period last year.
It said the interceptions occurred in an equivalent number of operations — 751 this year and 756 in 2023.
Tunisia and neighboring Libya have become key departure points for migrants, often from sub-Saharan African countries, who risk perilous Mediterranean sea journeys in the hopes of a better life in Europe.
Since January 1, the bodies of 291 shipwreck victims have been recovered compared with 572 last year in almost triple the number of operations (1,967 this year against 686 in 2023), the statement said.
The National Guard also said it had prevented 21,462 people from entering Tunisia across its borders with Algeria in the west and Libya in the east, four times the 5,256 number from last year.
The number of alleged smugglers and their accomplices detained more than doubled, with 529 arrests and 261 prosecutions, up from 203 and 121 respectively last year.
Sfax, the North African country’s second city, remained the main point of departure for clandestine attempts to reach the Italian island of Lampedusa less than 150 kilometers (90 miles) away.
The National Guard said 19,457 would-be migrants were prevented from making the perilous journey in the first four months of 2024, as opposed to 15,468 last year.
Last year many thousands of people from sub-Saharan countries fleeing poverty and conflict, notably in Sudan, and thousands of Tunisians seeking to escape the country’s economic and political crisis attempted to make the crossing.
At Italian instigation, the European Union signed an agreement last summer to provide 255 million euros in financial aid to debt-ridden Tunisia in return for a commitment to curb migrant departures.
According to Romdhane Ben Amor, spokesman for the Tunisian Forum for Social and Economic Rights NGO, the state’s approach to the problem “is not one of rescue but of interception.”
A recent report by the UN’s International Organization for Migration said that over the past decade more than 27,000 migrants have died trying to make the crossing, over 3,000 of them in the past year alone.
 

 


Israel marks especially somber Memorial Day after Oct 7

Updated 13 May 2024
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Israel marks especially somber Memorial Day after Oct 7

  • The annual day of commemoration has always weighed heavily on Israelis, who have fought numerous wars since Israel’s creation in 1948

JERUSALEM: Israelis stood still and flags flew at half-mast on Sunday as the country marked an especially painful Memorial Day following the carnage of the October 7 attack.
At 8:00 p.m. local time (1700 GMT), sirens sounded across Israel, prompting a minute’s silence in honor of its fallen soldiers and civilian victims of attacks.
“Tonight, we have no peace, and there is no silence,” President Isaac Herzog said at a special ceremony on Sunday evening at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray.
“I stand here, next to the remnants of our temple, in torn garments. This tearing, a symbol of Jewish mourning, it is a symbol of the mourning and sorrow of an entire people this year.”
The annual day of commemoration has always weighed heavily on Israelis, who have fought numerous wars since Israel’s creation in 1948.
However, following the attack by Palestinian militants on October 7 and the ensuing war in the Gaza Strip, which has now lasted more than seven months, the day has new meaning for many.
Top Israeli officials have repeatedly acknowledged failure in preventing the attack, and on Sunday evening army chief Herzi Halevi said he was “fully responsible” for what happened on October 7.
“Every day, I feel its weight on my shoulders, and in my heart I fully understand its significance,” he said at the Western Wall ceremony.
“I am the commander who sent your sons and daughters into battle, from which they did not return, and to positions from which they were kidnapped.”
As with Jewish religious holidays, Israelis commemorate Memorial Day from sunset into the following day, with several events planned at the country’s 52 military cemeteries.
Memorial Day comes ahead of the country’s 76th Independence Day on Tuesday, when Israelis celebrate the creation of their state.
Palestinians remember the creation of Israel as the “Nakba” or catastrophe, marking the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.
For Israelis this Memorial Day is a stark reminder of the October 7 attack.
“The spirit of the fallen holds the promise of our future,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a separate ceremony marking the Memorial Day.
He said it was a “sacred mission to bring home all the hostages” held in Gaza.
Some 250 Israelis and foreigners were kidnapped by militants and taken to Gaza during the October 7 attack by Hamas.
Israel estimates that 128 are still being held captive there, including 36 who the military says are dead.
The Hamas attack itself resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
“Today is like every other day we have experienced since October 7. We are all mourners,” said Reouven Adam, owner of a wine bar in Jerusalem.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign aimed at eliminating Hamas in Gaza has killed at least 35,034 people, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Israel has added more than 1,500 names to the list of soldiers and civilians killed in attacks this year since October 7.
Israel estimates that a total of 25,040 soldiers, members of the security forces and fighters have died on duty since 1860, when the first Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem’s Old City created new neighborhoods outside the city walls.
Israelis are also paying tribute to 5,100 civilians killed in attacks since then, according to figures from the National Insurance Institute, which keeps the records.
The sirens will sound again on Monday at 11:00 local time, beginning a series of solemn events at Israeli military cemeteries.
These ceremonies will then pave the way for Independence Day festivities on Tuesday, the anniversary of the declaration of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948.
However some celebrations have been canceled this year because of the war in Gaza.


Israel turns its guns on northern Gaza again

Updated 13 May 2024
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Israel turns its guns on northern Gaza again

JEDDAH/RAFAH: Israeli tanks and troops battled Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters in central and northern Gaza on Sunday as the invading forces returned to parts of the enclave from which they had earlier pulled out after some Hamas militants regrouped in areas the military said it had cleared months ago.

Palestinians reported heavy Israeli bombardment overnight in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp and other areas in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli forces for months. UN officials say there is a “full-blown famine” there.

Residents said Israeli warplanes and artillery also struck the Zeitoun area east of Gaza City, where troops have battled militants for over a week. They have called on tens of thousands of people to relocate to nearby areas.
“It was a very difficult night,” said Abdel-Kareem Radwan, a 48-year-old from Jabaliya. He said they could hear intense and constant bombing since midday Saturday. “This is madness.”
First responders with the Palestinian Civil Defense said they were unable to respond to multiple calls for help from both areas, as well as from Rafah.
In central Gaza, staff at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir Al-Balah said an Israeli strike killed four people.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the top Israeli military spokesman, said forces were also operating in the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, which were heavily bombed in the war’s opening days.

“We have identified attempts by Hamas to rebuild its military capabilities in Jabalia, and we are acting to destroy these attempts, military spokesman Daniel Hagari said. There were also intense clashes and heavy gunfire from Israeli helicopters in the Zeitun area.

Hamas’ military wing said it shelled Israeli special forces east of Jabaliya and fired mortar shells at troops and vehicles entering the Rafah border crossing area.

“Hamas’ regime cannot be toppled without preparing an alternative to that regime,” columnist Ben Caspit wrote in Israel’s Maariv daily, channeling the growing frustration felt by many Israelis more than seven months into the war.

“The only people who can govern Gaza after the war are Gazans, with a lot of support and help from the outside.”

(With AP)

 

FASTFACT

35,034

Palestinians have been killed and 78,755 others wounded in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7.

In Rafah, the exodus of Palestinians from Gaza’s last refuge accelerated Sunday as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the southern city.

Israel had begun a limited ground offensive in defiance of the US and other allies. Kuwaiti Hospital said it had received the bodies of 18 Palestinians killed in the past 24 hours.

The Health Ministry said at least 63 people had been killed over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll from Israel’s offensive in Gaza to at least 35,034, mostly women and children.

In the US, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel had still not explained how it would protect civilians in Rafah.

“There are certain systems that we’re not going to support and supply for that operation,” he said.

“Israel needs to have a clear, credible plan to protect civilians, which we haven’t seen.”

Rafah is considered Hamas’ last stronghold. Some 300,000 of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there have fled the city following evacuation orders from Israel, which says it must invade to dismantle Hamas and return scores of hostages taken from Israel in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.

Neighboring Egypt issued its strongest objection yet to the Rafah offensive, saying it intends to formally join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice alleging Israel is committing genocide in Gaza — an accusation Israel rejects. The foreign ministry statement cited “the worsening severity and scope of the Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians.”
United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement that he cannot see how a full-scale invasion of Rafah can be reconciled with international humanitarian law.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated opposition to a major military assault on Rafah, and told CBS that Israel would “be left holding the bag on an enduring insurgency” without an exit from Gaza and postwar governance plan.
Gaza has been left without a functioning government, leading to a breakdown in public order and allowing Hamas’ armed wing to reconstitute itself even in the hardest-hit areas. On Sunday, Hamas touted attacks against Israeli soldiers in Rafah and near Gaza City.
Israel has yet to offer a detailed plan for postwar governance in Gaza, saying only that it will maintain open-ended security control over the enclave of about 2.3 million Palestinians.
Internationally mediated talks over a ceasefire and hostage release appeared to be at a standstill.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Memorial Day speech vowed to continue fighting until victory in memory of those killed in the war. But in Tel Aviv, hundreds of protesters stood outside military headquarters and raised candles during a minute-long siren marking the day’s start, demanding an immediate ceasefire deal to return the hostages.
Netanyahu has rejected postwar plans proposed by the United States for the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to govern Gaza with support from Arab and Muslim countries. Those plans depend on progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state, which Israel’s government opposes.
The Oct. 7 attack killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 250 hostage. Militants still hold about 100 captives and the remains of more than 30.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. Israel says it has killed over 13,000 militants, without providing evidence.