Israel-Hamas War: Hamas Spokesman Says the Group Does Not Plan to Release Hostages, Revisited
“It is critical that aid begins flowing into Gaza as soon as possible,” Blinken said at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. There are also discussions to possibly establish areas to help keep civilians safe, he said.
As Palestinians struggle to find safe passage, health care and clean, reliable water a spokesman for Hamas, Ghazi Hamad, remained unrepentant for his group’s attack on Israel.
The United Nations said Monday the number of internally displaced people had increased to 1 million, after Israel’s order to evacuate northern Gaza. Conricus said Tuesday that around 500,000 Israelis have also been displaced in the south of Israel due to the hostilities.
Of that attack, which started this latest conflict, Hamad said: “We want to get the attention of the world. The people are subject to torture and collective punishment on a daily basis. Our message is for the world.
Some military personnel, children, and one Holocaust survivor are hostages, according to the Israeli military.
Hamad said he was more concerned with Palestinian civilians than the hostages. Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are struggling as Israel shut off the supply of food and power to Gaza’s main electricity grid days ago. Hospitals are struggling to care for thousands of injured people as fuel for generators is running out.
The US and Israel have agreed to work together on a plan to get aid to the people of the besieged Gaza Strip.
The Israeli embassy in Jerusalem, where President Biden and the Israeli army met in Tel Aviv and Amman, Jordan, following the terrorist attack
Israel’s military said Tuesday that it had killed a Hamas official who was responsible for taking prisoners and for directing terrorist strikes against Israel.
The White House announced that President Biden would visit Tel Aviv and Amman, Jordan on Wednesday, amid the growing fears of violence in the region. In Israel, Biden will make a very visible show of U.S. support for the country. In Amman, Biden will meet with Jordanian King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Biden will seek an update on the hostages situation while he is in the region, because the US believes a few Americans are being held hostage by Hamas.
This is true and insufficient. For an Israeli, the real heart of the question is: Who allowed this to happen? Despite the agony, because of it, we must demand a national accounting for what made the military disaster possible: the hubris and complacency and, most of all, the delusions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.
That moment repeats on a loop in my mind — when I wake up at night and when the sirens repeat. There has been no time at all since then. One cannot understand the news of the rave in the countryside, where Hamas men hunted down and slaughtered young Israelis. Hamas is taking people as hostages and butchering families. And our army, on which we relied, in disarray, taking three days to regain control of the area bordering Gaza. More than a week later, the unfathomable counting of bodies and attempting to identify them continues. How did this happen? Every conversation has echoes. The answer is that Hamas is against occupation but against our existence here.