Israel can still rely on US support in the fight against Hamas. The US President calls for greater protection for civil society. And the future of the 135 remains uncertain. The news at a glance.
Israel is receiving increasing pressure from the USA to show more consideration for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, but at the same time it is encouraging its allies to fight for a very long war.
US President Joe Biden said to Israel: “I want them to focus on how they can save the lives of civilians. They should not stop persecuting Hamas, but be more careful.” At a meeting with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Tel Aviv, Israel’s Defense Minister Joav Galant made it clear that the war would last “more than a few months” – until the Islamist Hamas was completely destroyed.
Israel wants to fight until “absolute victory”.
The terrorist organization had built an “underground and above-ground infrastructure that was not easy to destroy,” Galant told Sullivan. Following the meeting, Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the remaining members of the War Cabinet. According to his office, Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would continue the war against Hamas “until absolute victory.” Following Sullivan’s talks, the US government now expects Israel’s “high-intensity” ground offensive to transition to more “targeted” operations.
This is an issue for “sometime in the near future,” National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby said in Washington. “I don’t want to commit to a specific time.” They also don’t want to tell the Islamist Hamas what will happen to them in the coming weeks or months. Kirby did not say what such a military operation might look like and referred to the Israeli government.
An Israeli army spokesman gave a little insight into what lies ahead for Hamas. “We have new fighting methods that we will use to kill terrorists,” said Daniel Hagari. Hamas terrorists and especially their leaders hid in their underground tunnels.
“We will penetrate, plant explosives in places we know the terrorists frequent, and wait for the right moment to kill them underground,” Hagari said. “The terrorists will not be safe underground.
Israel tests flooding of Hamas tunnels
According to US media reports, Israel’s army has also tested flooding the tunnels. Seawater was pumped into some tunnels to find out whether the method was suitable for large-scale destruction of the tunnel network. As the Times of Israel reported on the tests, “they appear to have been successful.”
The tunnels stretch for many kilometers. According to Israel, a number of terrorists are said to be hiding there and are also holding hostages from Israel. To withstand Israeli bombs from the air, some tunnels extend dozens of meters underground. Many tunnels are booby-trapped to kill Israeli soldiers.
Meanwhile, US Security Advisor Sullivan is planning a meeting with Israeli President Izchak Herzog this morning. According to a US government official, he also wants to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on the same day. Looking to the end of the war and the future of the Gaza Strip, the US official spoke of a “number of security forces linked to the Palestinian Authority,” he told US officials. These could “form a kind of nucleus” in the months after the war. “But this is something we are discussing with the Palestinians and the Israelis and with regional partners,” he continued.
The war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, which terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups carried out in Israel on October 7th. More than 1,200 people were killed and around 240 hostages were taken to Gaza. Israel responded with massive air strikes and began a ground offensive in late October. According to the latest Hamas figures, around 18,700 people have been killed in attacks in the Gaza Strip so far.
Negotiations for 135 hostages continue
Given the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, Israel has recently come under increasing international pressure – including from the USA. Meanwhile, Israel continues to worry about the hostages still being held by Hamas. As Israel’s military announced this morning, the body of another hostage had been recovered. The dead body was brought back to Israel and identified there. Accordingly, it is a 28-year-old man. The army initially did not provide any information about the cause of death.
The army recently reported the number of people still being held in Gaza as 135. It is unclear whether the hostages who have since been declared dead are included. Israeli soldiers have already recovered several bodies in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Gaza war. A total of 105 hostages were recently released as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas. In exchange, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.
“We will continue to do everything – everything – to bring all hostages home,” said army spokesman Hagari. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called on the Red Cross to exert more pressure to gain access to Hamas hostages. “You have every opportunity, every right and every expectation to put public pressure on Hamas,” Netanyahu said at a meeting with International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric in Tel Aviv. He handed her a package of medicines and called on the ICRC to “fulfill its task and deliver them to the hostages in Gaza.”
What is important today
US Security Advisor Sullivan wants to meet with Israeli President Izchak Herzog. He also wants to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on the same day. Meanwhile, UN aid organizations are providing information in Geneva about the situation in the Gaza Strip.