Battles raged across Gaza as Israel indicated it was prepared to fight for months or longer to defeat the territory’s Hamas rulers, and a key mediator said willingness to discuss a cease-fire was fading. Israel faces international outrage after its military offensive, with diplomatic support and arms from close ally the United States, has killed thousands of Palestinian civilians. About 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, where U.N. agencies say there is no safe place to flee.
Quick Read
- Escalating Conflict in Gaza: Israel is prepared for a prolonged military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, with battles intensifying across the region.
- International Outcry: Israel’s offensive, supported by the U.S., has led to thousands of Palestinian civilian deaths and massive displacement within Gaza.
- U.S. Support for Israel: The U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution to end the fighting and approved an emergency sale of tank ammunition to Israel.
- Netanyahu-Putin Discussion: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed dissatisfaction with Russia’s U.N. stance in a call with President Putin.
- General Assembly Meeting: The U.N. General Assembly is set to vote on a resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
- Casualties and Humanitarian Crisis: Thousands of Palestinians have been killed, with severe shortages of essentials due to restricted aid access.
- Guterres’ Warning of Displacement: U.N. Secretary-General Guterres warned of potential mass displacement and public order breakdown in Gaza.
- Israeli Denial of Mass Displacement: Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy refuted claims of intentional mass displacement from Gaza.
- Qatar’s Diminishing Mediation Hopes: Qatar’s PM acknowledged waning willingness for ceasefire discussions.
- No U.S. Deadline for Israeli Goals: The U.S. has set no specific timeframe for Israel to achieve its military objectives.
- Blinken’s Stance on Israel’s Decisions: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the duration and conduct of the conflict are Israel’s decisions.
- Jordan’s Concerns: Jordan’s Foreign Minister Safadi highlighted the deepening regional hatred due to the conflict.
- Heavy Fighting and Arrests in Northern Gaza: Israeli forces face strong resistance in Gaza, with reports of detainee mistreatment.
- Civilian Impact and Resistance in Gaza: Heavy fighting continues in Gaza City and Jabaliya, with reports of attacks on moving targets.
- Food Crisis in Gaza: Gaza faces skyrocketing food prices and limited humanitarian aid access.
- Palestinian Death Toll: Over 17,900 Palestinians have died, the majority being women and children.
- Hamas’ Responsibility According to Israel: Israel holds Hamas accountable for civilian casualties due to their tactics.
- Rocket Attacks and Israeli Casualties: Palestinian militants continue rocket attacks into Israel, with 97 Israeli soldiers reported dead.
- Hostage Situation and Exchanges: Hamas holds 117 hostages, with potential exchanges for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
- Evacuation Instructions and Border Refuge: Israel has directed civilians to safer areas, with many fleeing towards the Egyptian border for aid.
- Global Protests and Regional Tensions: Demonstrations worldwide support Palestinians, while tensions escalate in the Middle East, including along the Israel-Lebanon border.
The Associated Press has the story:
Israel indicates it’s willing to fight for months or more to beat Hamas
Newslooks- DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP)
Battles raged across Gaza as Israel indicated it was prepared to fight for months or longer to defeat the territory’s Hamas rulers, and a key mediator said willingness to discuss a cease-fire was fading.
Israel faces international outrage after its military offensive, with diplomatic support and arms from close ally the United States, has killed thousands of Palestinian civilians. About 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, where U.N. agencies say there is no safe place to flee.
The United States has lent vital support in recent days by vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution to end the fighting and pushing through an emergency sale of over $100 million worth of tank ammunition to Israel.
Russia backed the resolution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and expressed dissatisfaction with “anti-Israel positions” taken by Moscow’s envoys at the U.N. and elsewhere, an Israeli statement said.
Netanyahu told Putin that any country assaulted the way Israel was “would have reacted with no less force than Israel is using,” the statement added.
The U.N. General Assembly scheduled an emergency meeting Tuesday to vote on a draft resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the U.N., told The Associated Press that it’s similar to the Security Council resolution the U.S. vetoed Friday.
There are no vetoes in the General Assembly but unlike the Security Council its resolutions are not legally binding. They are important nonetheless as a barometer of global opinion.
Israel’s air and ground war has killed thousands of Palestinians, mostly civilians, since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and other militants killed 1,200 people and captured around 240. Over 100 of them were released during a weeklong cease-fire last month.
With very little aid allowed in, Palestinians face severe shortages of food, water and other basic goods. Some observers openly worry that Palestinians will be forced out of Gaza altogether.
“Expect public order to completely break down soon, and an even worse situation could unfold including epidemic diseases and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a forum in Qatar, a key intermediary.
Eylon Levy, an Israeli government spokesman, called allegations of mass displacement from Gaza “outrageous and false.”
Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, told the forum that mediation efforts seeking to stop the war and have all hostages released will continue, but “unfortunately, we are not seeing the same willingness that we had seen in the weeks before.”
Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, told Israel’s Channel 12 TV that the U.S. has set no deadline for Israel to achieve its goals. “The evaluation that this can’t be measured in weeks is correct, and I’m not sure it can be measured in months,” he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN that as far as the duration and the conduct of the fighting, “these are decisions for Israel to make.”
This is a war that cannot be won, Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, asserted to the Qatar forum, warning that “Israel has created an amount of hatred that will haunt this region that will define generations to come.”
FIGHTING AND ARRESTS IN THE NORTH
Israeli forces face heavy resistance, including in northern Gaza, where neighborhoods have been flattened by air strikes and where ground troops have operated for over six weeks.
Israel’s Channel 13 TV broadcast footage showing dozens of detainees stripped to their underwear, hands in the air. One man held an assault rifle above his head, walked forward and placed a gun on the ground.
Other videos have shown groups of unarmed men held in similar conditions, without clothes, bound and blindfolded. Detainees from a group released Saturday told The Associated Press they had been beaten and denied food and water.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said dozens of arrests took place in two Hamas strongholds and that people are undressed to make sure they are not hiding explosives.
Residents said there was still heavy fighting in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shijaiyah and the Jabaliya refugee camp, a dense urban area housing Palestinian families who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war.
“They are attacking anything that moves,” said Hamza Abu Fatouh, a Shijaiyah resident. He said the dead and wounded were left in the streets as ambulances could not reach the area.
Israel ordered the evacuation of the northern third of the territory, including Gaza City, early in the war, but tens of thousands of people have remained.
Heavy fighting also was underway in and around the southern city of Khan Younis.
WAITING DAYS FOR FOOD
The price of dwindling food in Gaza has soared. Abdulsalam al-Majdalawi said he had come every day for nearly two weeks to a U.N. distribution center, hoping to get supplies for his family of seven.
“Thank God, today they drew our name,” he said.
One hundred trucks with humanitarian aid entered, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority. That’s far short of what’s needed.
With the war in its third month, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,900, the majority women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.
Israel holds Hamas responsible for civilian casualties, saying the militants put civilians in danger by fighting in residential neighborhoods. The military says 97 Israeli soldiers have died in the offensive. Palestinian militants have continued firing rockets into Israel.
Netanyahu’s office said Hamas still has 117 hostages and the remains of 20 people killed in captivity or during the Oct. 7 attack. The militants hope to exchange them for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Israel says it has provided detailed instructions for civilians to evacuate to safer areas, even as it strikes what it says are militant targets. Thousands have fled to areas along the border with Egypt — one of the last places where aid agencies are able to deliver food and water.
Demonstrations were again held in several cities in support of the Palestinians and calling for an end to the war, while thousands marched in Europe against antisemitism.
The war has raised tensions across the Middle East, with Lebanon’s Hezbollah trading fire with Israel along the border and other Iran-backed militant groups targeting the U.S. in Syria and Iraq. Israeli artillery, drone, and airstrikes over Lebanon border towns intensified.
