Observations of the Second-Range Israeli-Israel War in the Gaza Strip: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken
The military said that Israeli jets hit Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday, shortly after a weeklong truce expired. Airstrikes hit southern Gaza, including the community of Abassan east of the town of Khan Younis, the Interior Ministry in the Hamas-run territory said. Another strike hit a home northwest of Gaza City. Black smoke billowed from the territory of the Gaza Strip after loud explosions were heard there. In Israel, sirens blared at three communal farms near Gaza warning of incoming rocket fire, suggesting Hamas had also resumed its attacks. The Israeli military announced the strikes just 30 minutes after the cease-fire expired. Hamas has been accused of violating the cease-fire by firing rockets at Israel from Gaza. The halt in fighting began Nov. 24. It initially lasted for four days, and then was extended for several days with the help of Qatar and fellow mediator Egypt. In exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages, Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza agreed to release more than 250 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. The fact that few hostages remained in Gaza complicated reaching an extension for those who had been freed. Hamas, a militant group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years, had also been expected to set a higher price for the remaining hostages, especially Israeli soldiers. More than 100 people have been freed from captivity in Gaza as part of the truce. Qatar and Egypt, which have played a key role as mediators had sought to prolong the truce by another two days. The United States is under increasing pressure to do more to protect the Palestinians when Israel fires missiles against Hamas. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials on his third visit to the region since the start of the war two months ago. While expressing hope at the time that the cease-fire could be extended, Blinken said that if Israel resumed the war and moved against southern Gaza to pursue Hamas, it must do so in “compliance with international humanitarian law” and must have “a clear plan in place” to protect civilians. He said Israeli leaders understood that “the massive levels of civilian life and displacement scale we saw in the north must not be repeated in the south. Israel promised to resume its campaign to crush Hamas if it stops releasing captives, even as the Biden administration encouraged it to operate with greater precision if it does so. Most of Gaza’s population is now crammed into the south with no exit, raising questions over how an Israeli offensive there can avoid heavy civilian casualties. Netanyahu had been under intense pressure from families of the hostages to bring them home. The far-right governing partners of his coalition were also pushing for the war to continue, and they could abandon him if he made too many concessions. A total of 83 Israelis, including dual nationals, were freed during the truce, most of whom appeared physically well but shaken. Another 24 hostages — 23 Thais and one Filipino — were also released, including several men. It’s not clear how many of the remaining women hostages are soldiers. More than 100 men are still held hostage by Israel. Before the cease-fire, Hamas released four hostages, and the Israeli army rescued one. There were two deaths in Gaza. The Palestinian prisoners released so far have been mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs. Several of the freed women were convicted by military courts of trying to attack soldiers with scissors or knives, in some cases after they were found carrying them near security positions. Hamas started the war with a deadly attack on Israel that left over 1,200 people dead, mainly civilians. Authorities have only given some figures. Since then, Israel’s bombardment and invasion in Gaza have killed more than 13,300 Palestinians, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than three-quarters of the population of 2.3 million have been uprooted, after weeks of Israeli bombardment and a ground campaign, leading to a humanitarian crisis. The toll is most likely much higher because officials have only intermittently updated it since Nov. 11. The ministry says thousands more people are feared dead under the rubble. The Israel Defense Force says 77 of its men have lost their lives on the ground. It says it has killed thousands of terrorists without any evidence. Palestinians in Gaza have called for a permanent end to the war, saying the temporary truces don’t resolve the humanitarian catastrophe in the territory. More than 1 million people have been housed in UN schools and many are struggling to find basic necessities such as cooking gas and flour.
Israel released 30 Palestinians in accordance with the cease-fire arrangement that calls for three Palestinians to be freed in exchange for every Israeli turned over by Hamas.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum believes that Hamas still holds 145 hostages from Oct. 7, including 27 women and four minors — one girl and three boys all under the age of 18.
There were two Israeli-Russians released as a result of the side deal brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the third such release since the exchanges began on Friday.
Israel’s President appreciated the work the U.S. does to release the hostages, according to a meeting Blinken had with him Thursday. He also mentioned by name the Bibas family, still being held hostage. Israel says the family was handed over by Hamas to another Palestinian militant group but that the mother and children were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Blinken said that “from day one” the U.S. has focused on trying to secure the hostages’ release. He called the swaps of captives this week “a very positive development.”
“It’s also enabled an increase in humanitarian assistance to go to innocent civilians in Gaza who need it desperately,” Blinken said. The process is yielding results. We hope that it can continue because it is important.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Netanyahu offered condolences to the families of the victims and said his government would expand its efforts to distribute weapons to Israeli civilians.
Also on X, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said the bus stop attack “is further proof of our obligation to continue to fight with strength and determination against murderous terrorism, which threatens our citizens. He wrote that it was all in Jerusalem, Gaza, Judea and Samaria. Judea and Samaria are biblical names used to refer to the West Bank.
On Wednesday, Palestinian officials said Israeli troops killed an 8-year-old and a 15-year-old during a raid on the Palestinian city of Jenin. The military of Israel claims to have killed two people in the raid.
In Gaza, where the week-long pause has temporarily halted Israel’s relentless air-and-ground campaign against Hamas, at least 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Even though the truce has allowed aid to reach many Gazans, the UN secretary-general says the delivery of aid is not enough to meet the needs of more than two million people.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest update that aid convoys, that had been unable to reach areas north of an informal line bisecting Gaza, continued through Wednesday.
Aid distribution in areas of south Gaza, where the majority of internal displaced people are staying, include fuel for hospitals, water and sanitation facilities, as well as cooking gas that “has been entering daily from Egypt since the start of the pause,” OCHA said.