800,000 flee Rafah amid heavy clashes

GAZA/JERUSALEM — Heavy clashes and bombardment rocked the southern Gaza city of Rafah over the weekend, where the United Nations said 800,000 people had been "forced to flee" Israel's assault on Hamas militants, as new cracks emerged in the Israeli government over the handling of the conflict in Gaza.

Israel's military said airstrikes hit more than 70 targets across Gaza on Saturday while ground troops conducted "targeted raids" in eastern Rafah, killing 50 militants and locating dozens of tunnel shafts.

Philippe Lazzarini of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said that since Israel's Rafah operation began, there had been a massive movement of people.

"800,000 people are on the road having been forced to flee since the Israeli forces started the military operation in the area on May 6," the UNRWA chief said on X.

He said people were fleeing to areas without water supplies or adequate sanitation.

According to US Central Command, about 500 metric tons of aid are expected to be delivered to Gaza through a floating pier.

But UN agencies and humanitarian aid groups have warned sea or air deliveries cannot replace far more efficient truck convoys into Gaza.

The Rafah border crossing, a vital conduit for humanitarian assistance, has been closed since the Israeli Rafah operation began early this month.

At the same time, Israel has conducted renewed military sweeps this month of parts of northern Gaza where it had declared the end of major operations in January. At the time, it also predicted its forces would return to prevent a regrouping by the Palestinian Islamist group that rules Gaza.

One site has been Jabalia, the largest of the Gaza Strip's eight refugee camps. On Saturday, troops and tanks edged into streets so far spared the ground offensive, residents said. In one strike, medics said 20 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded.

It came as political divisions in Israel's war cabinet burst into the open on Saturday night, with minister Benny Gantz saying he would quit unless Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a postwar plan for the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu has faced criticism at home and abroad for failing to articulate an endgame more than seven months into the conflict.

In a news conference, Gantz said he wanted the cabinet to form a six-point plan in the next three weeks and that if his expectations are not met he would withdraw his centrist party from Netanyahu's emergency coalition.

Gantz said his proposal would include creating a temporary US-European-Arab-Palestinian system of civil administration for Gaza while Israel retains security control.

Increased strain

Gantz's challenge shows increased strain on Israel's coalition, which is dominated by far-right parties. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday demanded clarity on postwar plans and for Netanyahu to forswear any military reoccupation of Gaza.

On the diplomatic front, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was heading to the region.

Sullivan met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on Saturday to discuss a "semi-final "security deal and Netanyahu on Sunday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Saudi state media released no images of Sullivan and Prince Mohammed meeting in Dhahran, a city in the kingdom's far east home to its state-run oil giant the Saudi Arabian Oil, known as Saudi Aramco.

"The semi-final version of the draft strategic agreements between the kingdom and the United States of America, which are almost being finalized — and what is being worked on between the two sides in the Palestinian issue to find a credible path — were discussed," a statement issued after the talks said.

That included "a two-state solution that meets the aspirations and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people" and "the situation in Gaza", the statement said.

Agencies Via Xinhua