RAFAH, Palestinian Territories – Israel struck the Gaza Strip anew on Saturday after renewed United States criticism over its conduct of the war and a United Nations warning of an "epic" disaster if an outright invasion of Rafah occurs.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists reported Israeli strikes in various sectors of the coastal Palestinian territory, where the UN says aid is blocked after Israeli troops defied international opposition and entered eastern Rafah this week, effectively shutting two crossings.
A long-awaited US State Department report on Friday said Israel likely violated norms on international law in its use of weapons from Washington, its main military supplier, but it did not find enough evidence to block shipments.
The State Department submitted its report two days after President Joe Biden publicly threatened to withhold certain bombs and artillery shells if Israel goes ahead with an all-out assault on Rafah, where the UN said 1.4 million had been sheltering.
After rising criticism from Washington over the civilian impact of Israel's war against Hamas militants, the threat was the first time Biden raised the ultimate US leverage over Israel: its military aid, which totals $3 billion annually.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that Gaza risked an "epic humanitarian disaster" if Israel launched a full-scale ground operation in Rafah.
Israeli troops on Tuesday seized and closed the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza — through which all fuel passes into the territory — after ordering residents of the southern city's east to evacuate.
'Heavily militarized'Israel said its southern crossing with the Palestinian territory — Kerem Shalom — was reopened on Wednesday.
But a UN report late on Friday said both crossings remain "heavily militarized" and cited Martin Griffiths, the organization's aid chief, as saying the closure of the crossings "means no aid."
Israel's military said it went into eastern Rafah to pursue militants. Fighting continued on the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing, the military reported on Friday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel cannot defeat Hamas and eliminate any possibility of the militant group repeating its deadly October 7 attacks without sending ground troops into Rafah in search of the remaining Hamas fighters.
The State Department report said it was "reasonable to assess" that Israel has used American weapons in ways inconsistent with standards on humanitarian rights but that the US could not reach "conclusive findings."
The report does not affect Biden's threat to withhold certain bombs and artillery shells. The White House said on Friday it did not yet see a major operation in Rafah.
"We're obviously watching it with concern, of course, but I wouldn't go so far as to say what we've seen here in the last 24 hours connotes or indicates a broad, large (or) major ground operation," said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
Biden's administration had already paused delivery of 3,500 bombs as Israel appeared ready to attack Rafah.
More rights for Palestinians
Israel's military operations around Rafah have already had a severe impact on Gaza civilians, UN agencies said.
More than 100,000 people have fled Rafah since Israel's military on Monday issued an evacuation order affecting the city's east, the UN said.
The Rafah crossing is the only one normally used for deliveries of fuel, and the UN said the resulting exhaustion of stocks inside Gaza had effectively halted aid agency operations.
Israel said it had delivered 200,000 liters of fuel to Gaza on Friday through Kerem Shalom — the amount the UN says is needed every day to keep aid trucks moving and hospital generators working.
Also on Friday, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to grant the Palestinians additional rights in the global body and backed their drive for full membership, which is blocked by the US.
Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said the vote was historic, while Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said it sent the message to Hamas that "violence pays off."
Richard Gowan, an analyst with Brussels-based think tank International Crisis Group, said the resolution sent "a very clear signal to Israel and the US that it is time to take Palestinian statehood seriously."
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