The U.S. urges Israel to protect the civilians who are currently staying in Rafah.
Israel has threatened to invade Rafah on March 10th during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan if Hamas does not release Israeli hostages. Now, the people in the city of Rafah are in fear of an airstrike attack, according to NBC News.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urges Israeli leaders to protect the lives of the Gazan people because it is their moral obligation. He said, “I have repeatedly made clear to Israel’s leaders that protecting civilians in Gaza is both a moral responsibility and a strategic imperative,” according to PBS News Hour.
Israel has told their Western allies that they have placed buffer zones to ensure the safety of the Gazan people. However, without any detailed plan proposed, Israel is slowly making a foe out of the U.S. Biden and top officials continue to remind Israeli leaders that they must seek a two-state solution.
The U.S. isn’t the only one holding disdain for the actions of the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Amos Harel, a military affairs columnist for Haaretz Daily, Israeli leaders believe Netanyahu is motivated by domestic political circumstances.
Daniel Levy, president of the U.S./Middle East Project and former Israeli peace negotiator, responded to the casualties in Gaza and Americans’ unwillingness to put their foot down by saying, “Israelis have a sense that their road to run is not endless, but they still feel they have lots of road to run,” responded.
These accounts are from citizens of Rafah:
Umm Naif al-Zaza has been displaced twice in the last few months, and she longs for the day that she will return to Gaza. She no longer feels safe, and she has observed “suffering” and “humiliation” everywhere she has been.
Similar to al-Zaza, Khaled Atef Ashour is begging God for peace. He is calling on other Arab nations to lend them support and to help ceasefire in Gaza. He said, “I’m asking the Arab countries, the donor countries, and the countries that have a heart and a conscience and feel for the people of Palestine … find me a solution. Find me a solution. That’s it,” said NPR News.
The last cease-fire resolution took place in Nov. 2023 and only lasted a week. 50 Gazan hostages were exchanged for 150 Palestinian prisoners who were held captive in Israel.
As the war drags on, Gazans are tired of having to relocate constantly. They regret leaving their homes because there is humiliation and suffering everywhere they go. Ms. al-Kurd told the New York Times, “If I stayed home it would have been better than all the suffering and humiliation of displacement, because every time you flee to a new place you have to start all over again.”
There is no peace or rest for the displaced, as they continue to search for stability amid war.