Israel to press on with Rafah assault, Netanyahu says

STORY: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday pushed back fiercely against what he described as international pressure over the war in Gaza.At a cabinet meeting he said, "To our friends in the international community I say: Is your memory so short? So quickly you forgot about October 7, the worst massacre committed against Jews since the Holocaust?"And he repeated his determination to send forces into Rafah, the city on the border with Egypt overrun by civilian refugees who fled their shattered homes elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.He said, "no international pressure will stop us from achieving all the goals of the war: Eliminating Hamas, freeing all of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel. In order to do that, we will operate in Rafah too."Earlier on Sunday Netanyahu also hit back at a speech made last week by the U.S. Senate majority Leader Chuck Schumer.The Democrat and long-standing supporter of Israel, stunned observers when he directly criticized Netanyahu…"A fourth major obstacle to peace is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,"… and called for new elections in Israel.Speaking on CNN, Netanyahu said Schumer's comments were quote, "totally inappropriate."But Netanyahu is facing pressure from inside Israel as well: "Election now. To change the Prime Minister and all the ministers."Thousands of Israelis in Tel Aviv called for an ‘election now' during a protest against the government on Saturday night. Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people in the October attack according to Israeli tallies, triggering a massive assault on Gaza.The Gaza health ministry says Israel's air and ground campaign in the enclave has killed more than 31,600 people. Most of its 2.3 million residents have been driven from their homes, and aid agencies say the population is on the brink of famine.Israel's allies have piled pressure on Netanyahu not to attack Rafah, where more than a million displaced people from other parts of the devastated enclave have sought shelter."We cannot stand by and watch Palestinians risk starvation. That's not us."German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday and said he supported Israel's right to defend itself, but that along with the military objectives, there were humanitarian needs as well."Take the ground offensive in Rafah. The military logic is one consideration. But there is a humanitarian logic as well. How should more than 1.5 million people be protected, where should they go?"Scholtz said he pressed Netanyahu about the need to provide comprehensive humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza.