Middle East
Israel’s army: war lasts many months
Israeli soldiers stand on armored personnel carriers (APC) near the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel. photo
© Leo Correa/AP/dpa
The fronts in the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas have hardened. Both sides want to continue fighting. Will diplomatic efforts to de-escalate succeed? The overview.
While Israel’s army is conducting its ground operation against the Islamist Hamas in the central and southern areas As the Gaza Strip expands, diplomatic efforts to de-escalate continue in the background. However, according to Israel’s Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi, the fighting will continue for “many months.” There are “no magic solutions”. Hamas also wants to continue fighting. According to a media report, Egypt’s proposal to gradually end the war is not off the table. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden spoke with the Emir of Qatar about “urgent efforts” to release all hostages and facilitate aid deliveries to Gaza, the White House announced on Tuesday.
Israel’s army: There are no magic solutions
The fighting in the densely populated and cordoned-off coastal strip was taking place in a “complex” environment, Halevi said on Tuesday evening. “So the war will last for many more months and we will proceed in different ways so that success is maintained over time,” said the Israeli chief of staff. “There are no magic solutions or shortcuts to fundamentally dismantling a terrorist organization, only a persistent and determined fight,” Halevi continued.
UN concerned about Israel’s bombings
“We will also approach the Hamas leadership, whether it takes a week or months,” Halevi said. Israel’s military is close to completing the dismantling of the Hamas battalions in the northern Gaza Strip. “Currently we are concentrating our efforts on the southern Gaza Strip – Khan Yunis, the central camps and beyond,” he said. The information could not initially be independently verified. The UN human rights office previously expressed concern about Israel’s continued bombings in the central Gaza Strip.
Gaza Strip again without internet
Since Christmas Eve, 137 people have died in two refugee camps alone, the office said on Tuesday, citing information from the organization Doctors Without Borders. Three refugee camps were hit. All roads between the camps have been destroyed, making the supply of relief goods significantly more difficult. This information could not initially be independently verified. Telecommunications services were down again, according to Palestinian companies based in the West Bank. It was said that the Gaza Strip was once again cut off from the outside world.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday and called the dismantling of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza as a condition for peace. However, he is under domestic political pressure to ensure the release of all hostages in Gaza. During a ceasefire lasting several days at the end of November, 105 hostages were exchanged for 240 Palestinians.
Newspaper: Israel discusses Egyptian proposal for de-escalation
As the newspaper reported on Wednesday night, Netanyahu’s war cabinet forwarded Egypt’s proposal for a gradual end to the war to a larger group of ministers. Israel is ready to discuss the first phase of the proposal, which would see the release of more hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during a new ceasefire, the Wall Street Journal quoted a senior member of Netanyahu’s Likud party as saying.
Israel’s defense minister: facing multi-front war
According to Israel’s Defense Minister Joav Galant, his country is facing a war on seven fronts at the same time. This refers to Gaza and the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran. “We have already responded and acted on six of these fronts,” he told Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday, according to the Times of Israel newspaper.
Again attacks on ships in the Red Sea
Israel is not only under attack by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but also by the Houthi rebels in Yemen since the Gaza War broke out. Recently, they have repeatedly attacked ships in the Red Sea – one of the most important shipping routes for world trade. According to the pro-Iranian group on Tuesday evening, another merchant ship was attacked in the Red Sea. The crew of the “MSC United” ignored several warnings. It initially remained unclear whether there were any injuries or damage.
US military shoots down Houthis drones and missiles
Meanwhile, the US military, allied with Israel, said it shot down twelve attack drones and five rockets fired by the Houthi rebels in the south of the Red Sea. Among other things, fighter aircraft from a US aircraft carrier group were in use, it was said on Tuesday. The Houthis fired the kamikaze drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles over a period of about ten hours on Tuesday.
Exchange of fire also on Israel’s northern border
On the same day, the Hezbollah militia and the Israeli army fired at each other again in the border area between Israel and Lebanon. The Shiite militia, which operates from Lebanon and is allied with Iran, said it had shelled military targets in Israel and scored “direct hits”. The Israeli army said it fired back.
The Gaza war was triggered by the terrorist attack by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7th. They killed more than 1,200 people. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive that has so far killed more than 20,600 people, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority.
What will be important on Wednesday
Israel’s army continues ground operations in the south of the Gaza Strip. The situation for the civilian population remains catastrophic. According to a media report, Israel’s cabinet wanted to discuss Egypt’s plan for a gradual termination in an expanded circle of ministers.