Riyadh: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has said the United States “is the only country capable” of preventing Israel’s long-feared invasion of Rafah city in southern Gaza.
Speaking at a summit attended by a host of Gaza mediators in Riyadh, Abbas said: “We appeal to the United States of America to ask Israel to stop the Rafah operation.” He warned it would harm and displace civilians, and be “the biggest disaster in the history of the Palestinian people”.
The health ministry in Gaza has said that at least 34,454 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory during nearly seven months of Israel’s military offensive against Hamas.
The tally includes at least 66 deaths in the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 77,575 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war broke out when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
Israeli forces have launched pre-dawns raids across the occupied West Bank, triggering clashes in the village of Beit Sera, west of Ramallah, Al Jazeera reports citing the Wafa news agency.
The soldiers fired stun grenades and tear gas during the confrontations, the agency reported.
Israeli forces also raided the towns of Illar, north of Tulkarem, and Hizma, northeast of Jerusalem. A 22-year-old Palestinian man was arrested in Hizma, Wafa reported.
The US president has spoken at the annual White House Correspondents’ dinner, offering a toast to “press freedom and democracy” but making no mention of Israel’s incursion in Gaza that has killed at least 97 journalists.
That’s despite demonstrations outside the hotel which is hosting the dinner, denouncing the Biden administration’s handling of the war and urging guests to boycott the event.
Biden spent most of his speech poking fun at his predecessor and rival, former President Donald Trump, but he also paid tribute to journalists “who literally risked their lives” in their line of work.
“Many have suffered grievous injuries, others have lost their freedom. Journalism is clearly not a crime. Not here, not there, not anywhere in the world,” he said, without specifying where “there” was in reference to.