Families of killed soldiers disrupt Israeli government meeting, demand Rafah invasion

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – Families of Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza conflict attempted to disrupt a government meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday, according to Israeli media.

Protesters tried to prevent ministers from attending the weekly government meeting amid chants for launching a military offensive in the southern city of Rafah, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported.

“We all want to return the hostages to the homeland,” far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said as he showed support for the protesters’ demands.

He claimed that invading Rafah, home to more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians, is “the only way to destroy Hamas and restore security.”

Extremist National Security Minister voiced support for calls for launching a ground attack on Rafah.

“I was the only one in the cabinet who voted against bringing aid into Gaza,” he said. “We must insist on entering Rafah now and that there be no illegal deal.”

Rafah is the last remaining area in the Gaza Strip where Israel has not yet formally announced the entry of its troops to continue the onslaught against Palestinians.

Hamas, which is believed to be holding more than 130 Israeli hostages, demands an end to Israel’s ongoing offensive on Gaza in return for any hostage deal with Tel Aviv.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a cross-border attack led by Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people. Nearly 34,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,000 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Nearly seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi