Gantz speaks to Blinken after ICJ ruling, says Rafah operations will continue

By SAM SOKOL 

Today, 6:16 pm

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz in a video message issued May 23, 2024, demanding the immediate establishment of a state commission of inquiry in the events leading up to October 7, 2023. (Screenshot)

Following the the International Court of Justice’s order to halt military operations in Rafah, the war cabinet minister’s office announces that Minister Benny Gantz is speaking with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on the phone from IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Israel must “continue fighting,” Gantz says in a subsequent statement.

“The State of Israel embarked on a just and necessary campaign after a brutal terrorist organization massacred our citizens, raped our women, kidnapped our children and fired missiles at our city centers,” he says, insisting that the Jewish state is “obligated to continue fighting to return its hostages and ensure the safety of its citizens, at any time and place — including in Rafah.”

“We will continue to act according to international law in Rafah and wherever we operate, and make an effort to avoid harming the civilian population. Not because of The Hague tribunal but first of all because of who we are,” he says.

In the call with Blinken, Gantz’s office says the pair also discussed “the efforts to ensure the return of the hostages and the prospects of advancing with a normalisation agreement with Saudi Arabia.”

Gantz insists that this is possible but has all but rejected Riyadh’s main condition of establishing a pathway to a future Palestinian state.

“Gantz conveyed his appreciation for US support for Israel and its mission of continuing to defend itself and noted that it has critical implications on the [ICJ’s] proceedings,” the Israeli readout says.

Blinken raised the importance of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza, it adds, noting that Gantz “conveyed that Israel allows humanitarian aid to reach all parts of Gaza in parallel to the fighting.”