US demands Israel ‘immediately’ open Rafah border crossing: Report

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - The US demanded that Israel immediately reopen the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli media said Wednesday.

Senior American officials told Israel that it must be opened now for humanitarian aid to Gaza following the Israeli army's invasion of the Rafah crossing Tuesday, Israel’s public broadcaster reported.

The broadcaster said at the same time, heated discussions have begun within the security establishment regarding who will control the crossing after the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

It noted that it is not yet clear when the crossing will be opened.

Israel informed the US that the crossing will be opened after determining who will manage it, it added.

The broadcaster clarified that the US administration alleges that Israel has not yet provided a full clarification on who will be responsible for managing the crossing.

It cited unnamed Israeli security officials, saying that Tel Aviv "will not allow any Hamas operatives to return to manage the crossing under any circumstances."

The Israeli army seized control Tuesday of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt -- a vital route for humanitarian aid into the besieged territory.

The move came one day after the army issued evacuation orders for Palestinians in eastern Rafah -- a move widely seen as a prelude to Israel's long-feared attack on the city, home to 1.5 million displaced Palestinians.

Israel has waged an unrelenting offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack by Hamas in October which killed less than 1,200 people.

More than 34,800 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,400 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Seven months into the Israeli onslaught, 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 is 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 Mohammad Sio in Istanbul