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Netanyahu approves Rafah ground invasion, despite Biden opposition
Israel will commence an invasion into the Gaza city of Rafah, despite protests from the United States and other international powers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced approval of the operation via his office on Friday.
The Israeli Defense Force will invade the city in southern Gaza as part of its larger military operations in the region.
NETANYAHU VOWS TO INVADE RAFAH REGARDLESS OF POTENTIAL CEASE-FIRE WITH HAMAS: ‘IT WILL HAPPEN’
Palestinians gather to perform the first Friday noon prayer of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in front of the ruins of Al-Farouq Mosque, destroyed in Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)
The operation will reportedly include an evacuation of civilians, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The Prime Minister’s office also announced that an Israeli delegation would leave for Doha to continue negotiations for the release of hostages.
The security cabinet must first arrive at a comprehensive position on the pressing issue.
ISRAELI STRIKES IN RAFAH LEAVES 31 PALESTINIANS DEAD AHEAD OF PLANNED GROUND INVASION
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in Tel Aviv, Israel. (GPO/Reuters)
The U.S. government has repeatedly opposed Israeli plans to launch the Rafah ground invasion.
The administration is said to have proposed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution, which in part would call for a temporary cease-fire and call on Israel not to go into Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer went so far as to call for a change of leadership in Israel that is more willing to consider a cease-fire and abandon plans for further ground operations.
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Palestinians carry and fill up the water bottles amid clean water and food crises from mobile storages of charities as they have limited access to water due to Israeli attacks and an imposed blockade in Rafah, Gaza. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images)
President Biden seemed to sign off on these remarks, saying on Friday from the Oval Office, «Senator Schumer contacted my staff, my senior staff. I’m not going to elaborate on the speech. He made a good speech, and I think he expressed a serious concern, shared not only by him but by many Americans.»
The Israeli government released its post-war plan for Gaza last month, a deal that was immediately rejected by Palestinian officials.
Under the plan, Israel would seek open-ended control over security and civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu’s government has flatly rejected calls for a two-state solution, which Biden’s administration continues to push for.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
INTERNACIONAL
Estados Unidos frena el intercambio de Inteligencia con Ucrania
Estados Unidos pausó el intercambio de Inteligencia con Ucrania, anunció el asesor de seguridad nacional de la Casa Blanca, Mike Waltz.
«Hemos dado un paso atrás y estamos haciendo una pausa y revisando todos los aspectos de esta relación», afirma.
La medida se produce después de una ruptura diplomática tras la intensa reunión del viernes en la Oficina Oval entre el presidente de Estados Unidos y su homólogo ucraniano, Volodimir Zelenski.
Donald Trump ya había emitido una pausa en la ayuda militar a Ucrania, aunque Waltz ha sugerido que estaría dispuesto a levantar esa congelación si las conversaciones de paz avanzan.
«Ucrania está dispuesta a sentarse a la mesa de negociaciones lo antes posible para acercar una paz duradera», rezaba la carta que leyó Trump. «Nadie quiere la paz más que los ucranianos», agregaba.
El director de la CIA, John Ratcliffe, también anunció la pausa en el intercambio de Inteligencia.
«El presidente Trump tenía dudas reales sobre si el presidente Zelenski estaba comprometido con el proceso de paz», dijo Ratcliffe a Fox News.
El director de la CIA dijo que la pausa «en el frente militar y en el frente de inteligencia» es temporal, y que Estados Unidos volverá a «trabajar hombro con hombro con Ucrania».
Trump dijo el martes que Zelenski le aseguró que estaba listo para negociar el fin de la guerra con Rusia y para firmar un acuerdo para la explotación de minerales por parte de Estados Unidos en Ucrania.
El presidente ucraniano ha publicado en sus redes sociales que el episodio de la semana pasada con Trump en la Casa Blanca fue «lamentable» y que su intención es «arreglar las cosas» con el republicano, en un intento de reconducir la relación entre ambos.
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Pope Francis increases physical therapy, condition remains ‘guarded,’ Vatican says
Pope Francis has reportedly increased his physical therapy, despite his outlook remaining «guarded,» according to the Vatican. He underwent high-flow oxygen therapy during the day and non-invasive ventilation at night during his third week at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
The Vatican added that the 88-year-old pontiff’s situation remains complex, even though he is stable.
Balloons featuring Pope Francis are attached to a statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital in Rome on Feb. 23, 2025. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
CHRISTIANS USE HALLOW APP’S PRAY40 CHALLENGE AMONG OTHER TRADITIONAL WAYS TO GROW CLOSER TO GOD AS LENT BEGINS
Normally, Pope Francis would lead an Ash Wednesday mass at the Vatican to start Lent, but was unable to do so this year. This morning, he participated in the rite of the blessing of the Holy Ashes, and received the Eucharist. Cardinal Angelo De Donatis read the pope’s homily aloud at Rome’s Santa Sabrina Basilica, according to the Vatican.
Pope Francis waves from his popemobile after the weekly Angelus prayers at the Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Oct. 20, 2024. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty)
OPINION: FOUR WAYS TO OBSERVE THE SEASON OF LENT
Before reading the pope’s homily, De Donatis thanked the pontiff for «the offering of his prayer.» In his homily, the pope spoke of the significance of the ashes and the act of receiving them.
«We bow our heads in order to receive the ashes as if to look at ourselves and to look within ourselves. Indeed, the ashes help to remind us that our lives are fragile and insignificant: we are dust, from dust we were created, and to dust we shall return,» the homily read, according to the Vatican.
The pope also called for a «return to God with all of our hearts» in his homily, urging Catholics to «place Him at the center of our lives.»
Candles with the pictures of Pope Francis are the laid under the statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome on Wednesday, Feb. 19, where the pontiff has been hospitalized since Friday, Feb. 14. (AP/Gregorio Borgia)
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While in the hospital, Pope Francis spoke with Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the Holy Family Parish in Gaza. This comes just days after he mentioned the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in his first written message since his hospitalization. He urged prayers «for [those] martyred Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and Kivu.»
Fox News’ Anne Butterworth contributed to this report.
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