Israeli forces strike the southern edge of Gaza: The “Jews Are Here to Stay” campaign in the wake of a joint Israeli-Hamas attack on Khan Younis
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli warplanes struck two urban refugee camps in central Gaza on Saturday, as the Biden administration approved a new emergency weapons sale to Israel despite persistent international cease-fire calls over mounting civilian deaths, hunger and mass displacement in the enclave.
The sides are not close to coming up with a new deal. Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group will not free hostages again until Israel ends the offensive in Gaza.
Israel launched its attack on the southern tip of Israel in order to destroy the military capabilities of Hamas in Gaza. The militants killed some 1,200 people and took 240 others hostage after breaking through Israel’s extensive border defenses, shattering its sense of security.
Israel argues that ending the war now would mean victory for Hamas, a stance shared by the Biden administration which at the same time urged Israel to do more to avoid harm to Palestinian civilians.
tens of thousands of Palestinians have streamed into the city of Rafah at the southern end of Gaza in the past days as Israeli forces pushed deeper into Khan Younis.
At least thirteen people were killed and dozens of others were wounded in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza, according to witnesses. The bodies were draped in white plastic and laid out in front of a hospital, where prayers were held before burial.
He said the Israelis were trying to force people to leave, while he was searching for four people who were missing under the rubble. They will fail but they are trying to break our spirit. We are here to stay.”
U.S. Security and Border Security in Gaza After the Sept. 7 Attack by a Median Attack by Al-Quds TV
A second strike late Friday in Nuseirat targeted the home of a journalist for Al-Quds TV, a channel linked to the group Islamic Jihad whose militants also participated in the Oct. 7 attack. The channel said the journalist, Jaber Abu Hadros and six members of his family were killed.
Drone footage showed a vast camp of thousands of tents and makeshift shacks set up on what had been empty land on Rafah’s western outskirts next to U.N. warehouses. People arrived in Rafah on foot and in trucks. Those who did not find space in the already overwhelmed shelters put up tents on roadsides slick with mud from winter rains.
The State Department said Friday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress he approved a $147.5 million sale for equipment, including fuses, charges and primers, that is needed for 155 mm shells Israel bought previously.
Both moves have come as President Joe Biden’s request for a nearly $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs remains stalled in Congress, caught up in a debate over U.S. immigration policy and border security. Some Democratic lawmakers have spoken of making the proposed $14.3 billion in American assistance to its Mideast ally contingent on concrete steps by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza during the war with Hamas.
The UN agencies warned after the Security Council resolution about the worsening conditions in Gaza.
The head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees said that most of thepopulation is dependent on outside aid. A quarter of the population is starving because too few trucks enter with food, medicine, fuel and other supplies — sometimes fewer than 100 trucks a day, according to U.N. daily reports.
U.N. monitors said operations at the Israeli-run Kerem Shalom crossing halted for four days this week because of security incidents, such as a drone strike and the seizing of aid by desperate Gaza residents.
They said the crossing reopened Friday, and that a total of 81 aid trucks entered Gaza through Kerem Shalom and the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border — a fraction of the typical prewar volume of 500 trucks a day.
There was a demonstration Saturday demanding the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Families of hostages and their supporters have demanded that the government prioritize hostage releases over other war objectives, and have staged large protests every weekend.
Egypt, one of the mediators between Israel and Hamas, has proposed a multistage plan that would kick off with a swap of hostages for prisoners, accompanied by a temporary cease-fire. A similar deal in November saw Hamas free over 100 hostages and Israel release 240 Palestinian prisoners.
In a subsequent phase, talks would begin on forming a transitional Palestinian government of experts who would run both Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Osamahamdan, a senior Hamas official, said Saturday that a complete cease-fire is the first step. The Egyptian plan appears to be in trouble due to this position, though conversations are continuing.
“We haven’t given our final answer to any of the ideas we’ve received, and there are also other ideas we’ve received through our brothers in Qatar,” he said. “This may take some time. We want to talk about the details, because the idea may evolve in different ways and become obsolete at the very least.
Thousands of Palestinians are protesting Israel’s continued rule over the Gaza Strip and the danger of Palestinian statehood: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no plans to declare a statehood
The Israeli military believes Hamas leaders are hiding in the Khan Younis area. It also said its forces operating in the urban Shati refugee camp, in northern Gaza, found a bomb in a kindergarten and defused it. Hamas launched rockets toward southern Israel.
Concerns about a regional conflagration have been raised by the war. The military said Sunday that its forces shot and killed several Iran-backed rebels after they tried to attack a cargo ship in the Red Sea.
There are questions about whether Israel can succeed in its goal of dismantling Hamas because of the large amount of destruction in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel must maintain open-ended security control over the Gaza Strip. He said the war would continue for many more months, and that Israel would assume control of Gaza’s border with Egypt.
Netanyahu has also said he won’t allow the internationally-backed Palestinian Authority, which administers some parts of the West Bank, to participate in any future rule over Gaza, putting him at odds with President Joe Biden’s administration, which has provided crucial military aid for the offensive.
The US wants a unified Palestinian government to rule Gaza and parts of the West Bank in order to pave the way for eventual statehood. The last Israeli-Palestinian peace talks broke down over a decade ago, and Israeli government since then have been staunchly opposed to Palestinian statehood.
On Saturday night, thousands took part in one of the largest demonstrations against Netanyahu since the war began. The country has remained mostly united since October 7, when it was torn over the leader and the judicial reform plan.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s continued rule is the greatest threat to our country and society, said protester Gal Tzur.