Many countries and organizations that have already spoken out about the evacuation order from Gaza issued by Israel on Friday called for the suspension of the ultimatum, warning of the consequences, but allies remember Jerusalem’s right to defend itself.
Egypt, the main mediator in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, denounced “Israeli intransigence,” as well as US and British support, and assured that it will continue to maintain contact with Israel and its Western allies to broker a ceasefire.
The position was taken by sources who requested anonymity from Spanish news agency Efe, but assured that Egypt is “trying to prepare the ground” for a possible ground attack by Israel, possibly with the creation of a buffer zone on the Palestinian side. from the Rafah border crossing, which connects the enclave to the Sinai Peninsula.
The Egyptian government has not yet officially responded.
In another of Israel’s neighbors, the Gaza Strip, Jordan’s king called for respect “for international humanitarian law” and warned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken against any attempt to expel Palestinians from all Palestinian lands or cause its displacement.
Abdullah II, whose security forces fired tear gas at “hundreds” of people arriving at the border, insisted that “the crisis cannot spread to neighboring countries and worsen the refugee problem.”
The monarch reminded Blinken of the “need to open urgent humanitarian corridors” to bring necessary aid to the Palestinian enclave and asked “to protect civilians and stop the escalation of the war against Gaza.”
Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also warned Antony Blinken, who represents Israel’s closest ally.
Abbas warned that the displacement of the Gaza Strip’s population will mean “a second Nakba,” referring to the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the conflict that began after the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.
In Turkey, concern is focused on the possibility of Lebanon joining the conflict, with authorities asking citizens in Beirut to stay away from the southern part of the country, which borders Israel.
Although they do not represent their countries’ official positions, thousands of people across the Middle East are taking to the streets to express support for the Palestinians and against Israeli airstrikes hitting Gaza, highlighting the risk of a wider regional conflict will break out if Israel actually takes action. towards a land invasion in the coastal strip.
From Amman, Jordan, to Yemen’s capital Sanaa, Muslims took to the streets after weekly prayers to show solidarity with Palestinians, while in Baghdad tens of thousands of people gathered in Tahrir Square in the center of the capital. protesting “the great evil, America, which supports Zionist terrorism against our loved ones in Palestine.”
Russia was also embroiled in a war and decided to criticize events in Israel and Gaza, with President Vladimir Putin warning that civilian casualties from an Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip “will be unacceptable”.
“The ground operation in Gaza and the use of heavy weapons in residential areas will have serious consequences for all sides,” he said, classifying the outbreak of violence in the Middle East as “a major tragedy” that “is the result of the failure of US policy.” US in that region”.
In Europe, positions vary, with support leaning more toward the Israeli side.
In Italy, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani compared Hamas to the Islamic State (IS) and the Nazi SS.
‘Hamas looks like ISIS [o EI]“Just like the SS, just like the Gestapo, they do the same things, they are terrorists, murderers and they use the Palestinian people as a shield, which is not fair,” Tajani said during a support visit to Israel.
While he said he hoped “that peace can be achieved and that Israel’s response will not cause too many tragedies among the civilian population,” Tajani emphasized that he believes “Israel has the right to defend itself.”
In the United Kingdom, another key ally of Israel, Defense Minister Grant Shapps, also cited Jerusalem’s right to defend itself and welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu’s government’s order to evacuate northern Gaza before entering the area , to “pursue terrorists”.
Last Friday, Israel ordered the withdrawal of more than a million people from the northern Gaza Strip within 24 hours, before launching a ground operation into that area.
A measure that the UN considers impossible to comply “without having devastating humanitarian consequences”, as stated by the spokesperson of the Secretary General of the United Nations, while the Commissioner General of the United Nations Agency for the Palestinians, Philippe Lazzarini, described the situation in Gaza as “a hell that is about to collapse”.
Source: DN
