DEFYING international pressure, Israel has begun its long-threatened military assault in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. It is speeding up the ongoing genocide of the occupied population. Israel’s latest military offensive has forced hundreds and thousands of people to flee the city. In the words of a UN official, there is “no safe place in the enclave”.

A full-blown famine has already begun in the territory, with Zionist forces closing all access to relief supplies. According to the UN, “a staggering 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza — 1.9 million civilians — have been forcibly displaced amid Israel’s military operations.” The genocide that has entered its eighth month has so far left more than 35,000 people dead — most of them women and children.

Such savagery is unparalleled in modern history. Yet the world has failed to stop the catastrophe. The latest Israeli offensive and the relentless bombardment of the civilian population has alarmed even Israel’s Western patrons. But still, they are not willing to act effectively to stop the genocide of a hapless population. The latest evacuation has affected close to a million people in Rafah.

US President Joe Biden’s decision to pause the supply of some of the most lethal bombs to Israel is mere hogwash. While withholding the delivery of 3,500 high-payload bombs, which Israel has been using to kill thousands of Palestinians, the US remains the biggest supplier of weapons to the Zionist state. This makes it an accomplice in the genocide. It is not surprising that the right-wing Israeli government is going ahead with the ground invasion of Rafah,........

© Dawn