Crowded corridors in southern Gaza’s Nasser hospital after it was stormed by Israeli forces
The main hospital in southern Gaza was crowded with patients after Israeli troops stormed it on Thursday, in what the army said was a search for the remains of hostages taken by Hamas. (Feb. 15)
Israel responded with outrage Sunday to comments by the Brazilian president comparing the war in Gaza to the Holocaust, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went as far as calling Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a “virulent antisemite.”
The two countries have been at odds since Lula, as the Brazilian leader is universally known, returned to power last year. Lula has accused Israel of genocide for its overwhelming military response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, and Sunday he said the conflict does not pit soldiers against soldiers but is instead “a war between a highly prepared army and women and children.”
“What is happening in the Gaza Strip and to the Palestinian people hasn’t been seen in any other moment in history,” Lula told reporters in Addis Ababa. “Actually, it did when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.”
Netanyahu said on social media that the Brazilian ambassador to Israel would be called in for “a stern reprimand,” and said Lula crossed “a red line.”
In a translation of his post in Hebrew, Netanyahu called Lula’s statements “shameful” and added. “This is about trivializing the Holocaust and trying to harm the Jewish people and Israel’s right to defend itself.”
Developments:
∎ At least 18 people in Gaza were killed by Israeli strikes overnight into Sunday, among them six in the southern city of Rafah − including a woman and three children − and seven in Gaza City in the north.
∎ U.S. Central Command said it struck against five Houthi targets Saturday, including three anti-ship cruise missiles, a submarine drone and a sea drone, after concluding “they presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region.”
∎ Israeli swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko was booed by part of the crowd Sunday after winning the silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley at the Doha World Championships in Qatar.
Netanyahu and his top officials kept up the public pressure on Hamas to temper its demands in cease-fire negotiations, as the prime minister vowed Sunday to “finish the job” in Gaza and a member of his War Cabinet suggested a deadline for an invasion of the southern city of Rafah.
Netanyahu called back his negotiating team after a day of fruitless talks in Cairo last week and has indicated he’s not inclined to make major concessions or relent in plans to pursue Hamas fighters in Rafah, saying the way to gain the hostages’ release is through “strong military pressure and firm negotiations.”
About 1.4 million Palestinians are believed to be sheltering in and around Rafah, on the border with Egypt, and aid organizations have warned a ground offensive could result in a humanitarian catastrophe.
Retired Gen. Benny Gantz, one of the three members of Netanyahu’s War Cabinet, told a conference of Jewish American leaders the incursion could take place in three weeks.
“If by Ramadan our hostages are not home, the fighting will continue to the Rafah area,” Gantz said. Ramadan, a holy month on the Islamic calendar, is expected to begin March 10 this year.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, the largest functioning medical facility in Gaza before an Israeli raid last week, is now out of commission, the World Health Organization said Sunday.
“Nasser hospital in #Gaza is not functional anymore, after a weeklong siege followed by the ongoing raid,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a social media post.
Tedros said WHO teams bringing in fuel were twice denied entry into the hospital as they sought to assess the condition of patients and medical needs. He added there are about 200 patients left at the hospital and at least 20 are in urgent need of referrals elsewhere.
Khan Younis in southern Gaza has been the focus of the Israeli offensive for weeks as a Hamas hub. The Israel Defense Forces said it arrested more than 100 militants, including 20 who participated in the Oct. 7 attacks that triggered the Hamas-Israel war, in an incursion that began Thursday to seek the remains of hostages.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said 70 medical personnel were among those arrested, leaving only four to care for patients, and that patients in hospital beds were also detained. Eleven patients died because of the loss of power and oxygen caused by the sweep, the BBC reported.
Tedros warned of more fatalities if those with critical needs don’t get proper care. “The cost of delays will be paid by patients’ lives,” he said.
The Jan. 28 drone strike that killed three American soldiers at a base in Jordan, an assault the U.S. blamed on Iran-backed militias, prompted Iranian leaders to order a pause in those attacks to prevent an escalating conflict, Reuters reported Sunday.
Esmail Qaani, commander of Iran’s Quds Force, met with representatives of the militant groups less than 48 hours after the attack on the Tower 22 base, which also injured 47 U.S. service members, Reuters said. His message: Hold your fire or risk a powerful American response that may include targeting senior commanders and even Iran itself.
The U.S. did retaliate on Feb. 2, hitting more than 80 militia targets at four sites in Syria and three in Iraq, but did not strike inside Iran. There haven’t been any assaults on U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq since Feb. 4, Reuters pointed out, following a two-week stretch of more than 20 such episodes leading up to Tower 22 strike.
The U.S. said it would once again veto a draft U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, saying it goes against the efforts to find a permanent solution to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The draft “will not be adopted,” U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, referring to the motion circulated by Algeria, the Arab representative on the Security Council.
“It is critical that other parties give this process the best odds of succeeding, rather than push measures that put it – and the opportunity for an enduring resolution of hostilities – in jeopardy,” she said.
The U.S., Qatar and Egypt have been trying for weeks to broker a cease-fire that would free the remaining 100-plus hostages in Gaza, but they’ve faced unyielding demands by both Israel and Hamas. On Sunday, the Israeli Cabinet adopted a declaration saying the country “categorically rejects international edicts on a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians” and opposes any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Abhinav Thawait is a globe-trotting correspondent with a passion for international affairs. With a background in international relations, he offers a global perspective on the most pressing issues around the world. Abhinav’s curiosity takes his to the far corners of the earth, where he seeks to share untold stories and diverse viewpoints.