Israel rejects UN Security Council attempt to ‘stop the killing’ to continue Rafah assault | Gaza News

Israeli tanks are entering the centre of Rafah and, despite worldwide calls to end the carnage, air strikes continue across the city.

Israel has continued its assault on Rafah, ignoring a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for “stopping the killing” in the southern Gaza city.

New airstrikes were reported from the southernmost city on Wednesday morning, just hours after witnesses and a Palestinian security source said Israeli tanks had penetrated the heart of Rafah.

“People are currently in their homes because anyone who moves is being shot at by Israeli drones,” said local resident Abdel Khatib.

According to the Palestinian news agency Shehab, Israeli airstrikes targeted various parts of the city, including the area around Badr camp and the Zourob roundabout west of the city.

There are also reports of a complete outage of telecommunications and internet services throughout Rafah.

“The military now has control of the Philadelphia Corridor and is advancing deeper into the remaining part of the corridor – the western part of the city of Rafah.”

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said Israel “continues to drive people from one place to another” amid the attacks.

The Israeli military had previously declared Rafah a safe zone as it attacked targets in the north and center of the Gaza Strip, driving more than half of the enclave’s 2.3 million residents into the city.

Nearly a million people are now believed to have left Rafah as the Israeli assault continues. Israel’s allies have warned against an attack on the city due to the risk of civilian casualties and the worsening humanitarian crisis.

“Those who were told to stay in the al-Mawasi evacuation zone to avoid bombings are on the move again, seeking shelter elsewhere. But there is no safe place in a war zone. Bombings are happening everywhere, not only in Rafah, but also in Khan Younis and the rest of the Gaza Strip,” Mahmoud said.

“Shelling has spread to the area surrounding the Kuwaiti hospital, which is completely out of service. All field hospitals in Rafah, except one, are also out of service,” he added.

US President Joe Biden has joined calls for Israel to refrain from a major military operation in Rafah. However, his government stressed on Tuesday that Israel has not yet crossed its red lines.

“We have not seen them break into Rafah,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

A civil defense official in the Gaza Strip said at least 21 people were killed in an Israeli attack on a refugee camp west of Rafah on Tuesday.

The Israeli army denied allegations that it carried out Tuesday’s attack in a designated humanitarian area.

“The (Israeli army) did not attack the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi,” the army said in a statement, referring to an area designated as a shelter for displaced people from Rafah.

“Stop the killing”

A similar attack over the weekend that killed 45 people sparked global outrage and prompted Algeria to call an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council for Tuesday evening.

The North African state used the meeting to present a draft resolution calling for an end to the Israeli offensive in Rafah and an “immediate ceasefire.”

The draft referred to last week’s ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) calling on Israel to immediately end its military attack on the city.

Algeria’s UN Ambassador Amar Bendjama said after the meeting of the 15-member UN security panel for Gaza that the aim of the measure was to “end the killing in Rafah.” Algeria is a council member for 2024-25.

The Council was due to discuss the issue again on Wednesday. Diplomats said a vote could take place within a few days. However, the United States has vetoed three previous attempts to push through a resolution on a ceasefire in Gaza.