Tel Aviv [Israel], May 31: Israel declared control of the Gaza border with Egypt and denied the possibility of the campaign ending prematurely, amid concerns that the Palestinian strip of land is increasingly chaotic.
Al Jazeera on May 30 quoted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as strongly warning about Israel's lack of a post-war strategy, putting Gaza
"Hamas breathing tube"
Israel did not immediately comment on Mr. Blinken's statement, but has always affirmed its goal of "completely eliminating" Hamas in Gaza and refusing to grant rights to the Palestinian State. Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced that it controlled the southern Gaza buffer zone adjacent to the Egyptian border. "The Philadelphi corridor serves as a breathing tube for Hamas, often used to smuggle weapons into Gaza," Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said, referring to the 14 km long corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border. the only land border in Gaza that Israel did not previously control directly.
On May 29, Israel continued to send tanks into Rafah City, despite the ruling of the International Court of Justice. Rafah residents said Israeli tanks entered the Tel Al-Sultan and Yibna areas before retreating to a buffer zone near the Egyptian
Humanitarian disaster
Since Israel launched its ground operation in Rafah, the amount of humanitarian aid in Gaza has decreased by two-thirds, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which has always warned of risk of famine in this region. Since May 7, an average of 58 aid trucks have arrived in Gaza each day, compared to 176 trips/day in the period from April 1 to May 6. The UN says Gaza needs 500 trucks of aid and other goods every day. According to OCHA, aid decreased due to the closure of the Rafah border crossing, the inability to safely and reliably obtain goods from the Kerem Shalom border crossing, and limited supplies at other border crossings.
In related developments, AFP on May 30 quoted Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for a peace conference to resolve the Hamas - Israel
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper