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Transcript/ScriptWASHINGTON WEEK AHEAD
HEADLINE: Rafah Ground Offensive a Must, Netanyahu Says
TEASER: Displaced Palestinians fearful as Israel readies ground operation in Rafah
PUBLISHED AT: 02//11/2024 at 3:38 pm
BYLINE: Veronica Balderas Iglesias
CONTRIBUTOR
DATELINE:
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR: Henry Hernandez
SCRIPT EDITORS: sv; caw
VIDEO SOURCE (S): Agencies, see script for others
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:49
VID APPROVED BY: mia
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES: Radio Tracks for Reversioning Included))
((TV INTRO))
[[Despite mounting criticism, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended his intention to launch a military ground operation in Rafah. That’s the border town currently sheltering more than a million Palestinians, who say they have nowhere else to go. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the story. ]]
((NARRATOR))
A few days after U.S. President Joe Biden described the military response in the Gaza Strip as quote “over the top,”
((Mandatory cg: Israeli Army))
((NARRATOR))
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on ABC’s “This Week” show and reminded the world about the Hamas terrorist attack that killed 1,200 people and turned 240 into hostages.
((Mandatory cg: ABC “This Week))
((Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister ))
“We were attacked, unprovoked attack, murderous attack on October 7, the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust. And let me tell you, I think we've responded in a way that goes after the terrorists and tries to minimize the civilian population in which the terrorists embed themselves and use them as human shields.”
((NARRATOR))
More than 28,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, have been killed in the war, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
((NARRATOR))
Netanyahu dismissed those figures, adding that while a plan is in the works to get civilians out of harm’s way, his military will go ahead with a ground operation in Rafah. More than 1.4 million Palestinians, many of them displaced Gazans, are sheltering in the border town. The United Kingdom, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have voiced concerns.
((Mandatory cg: ABC “This Week))
((Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister))
“Those who say that under no circumstances should we enter Rafah are basically saying, lose the war. Keep Hamas there and Hamas has promised to do the October 7 massacre over and over and over again.”
((NARRATOR))
Entire families live in tents in Rafah and say they have nowhere else to go.
[[RADIO INTRO: Laila Abu Mustafa is one of the affected]]
((Laila Abu Mustafa, Displaced Palestinian)) ((FEMALE, ARABIC))
“If there will be more displacement, I’m not moving. I’m on the Egyptian border from one side and east of Rafah from the other side. I can’t move.”
((Mandatory cg: Oren Ziv))
((NARRATOR))
In Tel Aviv meanwhile, protesters demanding the release of hostages still in Hamas’ hands blocked the Ayalon highway on Saturday.
[[RADIO INTRO: Efrat Machikwa’s uncle is still in captivity]]
((Efrat Machikwa, Relative of hostage)) ((FEMALE, ENGLISH))
"We are here today, to tell everybody that we are so fed up with what's going on. And, we know the people are with us, but we don't feel the government is, and it's about time.”
((Mandatory cg: SATVIEW.TV))
((NARRATOR))
Netanyahu was asked on ABC whether he knows how many of the roughly 132 hostages in captivity are still alive.
((Mandatory cg: ABC “This Week))
((Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister))
“I think enough to warrant the kind of efforts that we're doing. And we're going to try to do our best to get all those who are alive back and frankly, also the bodies of the dead.”
((NARRATOR))
In his assessment, the military pressure applied to Hamas was a key factor in securing the recent release of 110 hostages, and affirmed that quote, “Victory is within reach.”
((Veronica Balderas Iglesias, VOA News, Washington))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Washington D. C.
Embargo DateFebruary 11, 2024 16:22 EST
Byline
Veronica Balderas Iglesias
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
