U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said it was likely that Israel would maintain a military presence in Gaza for a “period of time” after the ongoing war, but said the U.S. believes it would be a “mistake” for Israel to reoccupy the territory.
Quick Read
- U.S. Stance on Israeli Presence in Gaza: The U.S. foresees Israeli military presence in Gaza after the war, with security responsibilities, but considers reoccupation a mistake, focusing on future governance solutions.
- Formal Investigation into Hamas Attack: Israel’s legal authorities are preparing to investigate the Hamas attack from Oct. 7, intending to legally prosecute those involved to the fullest extent.
- Palestinian Exodus Amid Conflict: Thousands of Palestinians from northern Gaza have been forced to flee due to intense bombing, suffering from shortages of essentials like food and water.
- Italy’s Humanitarian Effort: Italy is deploying a hospital ship off Gaza’s coast to provide medical aid, signifying support for the Palestinian people and denouncing Hamas.
- Spanish Citizen Killed: The Spanish Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of a Spanish national, Iván Illarramendi, following an attack by Hamas in Israel. Another Spanish-Israeli, Maya Villalobo Sinvany, was also confirmed dead after the same series of attacks.
The associated Press has the story:
White House: Israel to keep military in Gaza after war, but ‘Re-occupying is a Mistake’
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP)
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said it was likely that Israel would maintain a military presence in Gaza for a “period of time” after the ongoing war, but said the U.S. believes it would be a “mistake” for Israel to reoccupy the territory.
“I think all of us can foresee a period of time after the conflict is over where Israeli forces will likely still be in Gaza and will have some initial security responsibilities,” Kirby told CNN on Wednesday. “But for how long and where and to what size and scale and scope, I think it’s too soon to know.” Kirby said the U.S. was focused on devising a long-term governance structure for Gaza after the current conflict, but said that as yet there has been little prospect of a viable plan.
“I think where we are is: a lot of questions, and not a lot of answers,” he said. “We know what we don’t want to see in Gaza post conflict, we don’t want to see Hamas in control, and we don’t want to see a reoccupation by Israel.”
He added: “We know that the United States can’t solve this alone,” and that the U.S. was engaging with regional and international partners on the matter.
ISRAEL TO LAUNCH FORMAL INVESTIGATION INTO HAMAS ATTACK
JERUSALEM — Israel’s attorney general and state attorney are working with police and military to formally investigate the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, they announced Wednesday.
“Our goal is to investigate and initiate legal proceedings against those who perpetrated, planned and otherwise took part in these heinous acts -– wherever they are,” the statement said. It said Israel would punish the Hamas militants with “the utmost severity, commensurate with their crimes.”
Police are working to collect evidence from towns across the south as attorneys for the Ministry of Justice decide how best to proceed with the investigation.
PALESTINIANS FLEE ON FOOT FROM NORTHERN GAZA, DESCRIBING HUNGER, THIRST AND RELENTLESS BOMBING
BUREIJ REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip — A long line of thousands of Palestinians fled on foot from northern Gaza Wednesday — families, children and older adults, crying babies — carrying only what they could take in their arms or on their backs.
They were seen in Associated Press video walking down Gaza’s main north-south highway, heeding the Israeli military’s orders to evacuate during a five-hour window as its troops battled Hamas militants deep inside Gaza City. Some evacuees were pushing relatives in wheelchairs, with one older adult wheeled down the road in a hand truck.
Abeer Akeila left her home in Gaza city after relentless strikes forced all her neighbors to flee southward. She said life in the city has become increasingly difficult amid dwindling water and food supplies.
“There was shelling and bombardment overnight,” she said. “We didn’t have food or drinking water … They struck the bakeries. There is no life in Gaza.”
About 15,000 people fled northern Gaza on Tuesday — triple the number that left Monday — according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Many of the people walking south are refugees or their descendants who fled or were expelled from their homes in what is now Israel in 1948.
ITALY TO STATION HOSPITAL SHIP OFF GAZA’S COAST
ROME — Italy is sending a hospital ship that will be stationed off the coast of Gaza to aid the Palestinian population, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto announced Wednesday.
Crosetto said the mission is a concrete sign of Italy’s “closeness to the Palestinian people, distance from the Hamas terrorists.”
The ship Vulcano has 170 people on board, including medical and military personnel, and includes operating rooms. It will first head to Cyprus and then as close as possible to the conflict zone to provide emergency medical support, Crosetto said.
SPAIN SAYS CITIZEN MISSING AFTER HAMAS ATTACK IS DEAD
MADRID — Spain’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that a Spaniard missing in Israel following the Hamas attack in October is dead. The ministry identified him as Iván Illarramendi. It declined to give any further details.
In a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, Israel’s ambassador to Spain, Rodica Radian-Gordon, said: “Our hearts are torn by the news of the brutal murder of Iván Illarramendi. He has been identified a month after the terrorist massacre committed by Hamas in Israel, along with his wife Dafna Garcovich.”
The Israeli Embassy was unable to say where the death occurred.
Spain’s state news agency Efe and other Spanish news outlets have reported that Illarramendi and his Chilean wife had been living in a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip.
The ministry confirmed the death of another Spaniard with Israeli citizenship, Maya Villalobo Sinvany, on Oct. 11.
Following the attacks, the ministry would only say that two Spaniards had been “affected” in the attacks.
Villalobo was reported to have been in military service at an Israeli miliary base at the time of the attack.
