Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he has told the United States that he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of any postwar scenario, underscoring the deep divisions between the close allies three months into Israel’s assault on Gaza aiming to eliminate its Hamas rulers.
Quick Read
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state.
- Netanyahu’s stance highlights deep divisions with the U.S., three months into Israel’s offensive in Gaza against Hamas.
- The U.S. urges Israel to reduce its offensive and supports a Palestinian state in the postwar plan.
- Netanyahu, in a national news conference, commits to continuing the offensive for a “decisive victory over Hamas” and rejects Palestinian statehood.
- He insists on Israeli security control over all territories west of the Jordan River, conflicting with Palestinian sovereignty.
- More than 100 days since the conflict began with a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, Israel’s military campaign aims to dismantle Hamas in Gaza and retrieve captives.
- The war has caused significant casualties and displacement: over 24,600 Palestinians killed, 85% of Gaza’s population displaced, and widespread starvation.
- Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have hit civilian targets, including a recent strike in Rafah killing 16, half children.
- Israel’s military actions include the destruction of Al-Israa University and over 390 educational institutions in Gaza.
- Internet and mobile outages in Gaza hinder communication and information about the conflict.
- The conflict’s broader impact is seen across the Middle East, with Iran-backed groups attacking U.S. and Israeli targets.
- Iran has launched missile attacks in the region, showcasing its long-range capabilities.
- Israel’s offensive goals include dismantling Hamas and preventing future attacks, like the Oct. 7 incident where militants killed 1,200 people.
- Israel aims to return all remaining hostages, with more than 100 already released during a November ceasefire.
- Medicines for hostages in Gaza have entered under a Qatar and France brokered deal, but distribution details are unclear.
- Hamas continues its resistance and rocket launches, demanding a permanent ceasefire for further hostage releases.
- Gaza’s Health Ministry reports over 24,620 Palestinian deaths, mainly civilians, and Israel claims to have killed about 9,000 militants.
The Associated Press has the story:
Netanyahu says he has told US he opposes Palestinian state in any postwar scenario
Neewslooks- RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) —
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he has told the United States that he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of any postwar scenario, underscoring the deep divisions between the close allies three months into Israel’s assault on Gaza aiming to eliminate its Hamas rulers.
The U.S. has called on Israel to scale back its offensive and said that the establishment of a Palestinian state should be part of the “day after.”
But in a nationally broadcast news conference, Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with the offensive until Israel realizes a “decisive victory over Hamas.” He also rejected the idea of Palestinian statehood. He said he had relayed his positions to the Americans.
“In any future arrangement … Israel needs security control all territory west of the Jordan,” Netanyahu told a nationally broadcast news conference. “This collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can you do?”
“The prime minister needs to be capable of saying no to our friends,” he added.
More than 100 days after Hamas triggered the war with its Oct. 7 attack, Israel continues to wage one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history, with the goal of dismantling the militant group that has ruled Gaza since 2007 and returning scores of captives. The war has stoked tensions across the region, threatening to ignite other conflicts.
More than 24,600 Palestinians have been killed, some 85% of the narrow coastal territory’s 2.3 million people have fled their homes, and the United Nations says a quarter of the population is starving.
Hundreds of thousands have heeded Israeli evacuation orders and packed into southern Gaza, where shelters run by the United Nations are overflowing and massive tent camps have gone up. Israel has continued to strike what it says are militant targets in all parts of Gaza, often killing women and children.
Early Thursday, medics said an Israeli airstrike on a home killed 16 people, half of them children, in the southern Gaza town of Rafah.
Dr. Talat Barhoum at Rafah’s el-Najjar Hospital confirmed the toll and said dozens more were wounded. Associated Press footage from the hospital showed relatives weeping over the bodies of loved ones.
“They were suffering from hunger, they were dying from hunger, and now they have also been hit,” said Mahmoud Qassim, a relative of some of those who were killed.
Footage emerged Thursday of Israeli troops blowing up the main campus of a university outside Gaza City in a controlled detonation — one of multiple universities they have destroyed. The video, apparently taken by drone, showed a giant explosion engulfing the complex of buildings of Al-Israa University.
The university, a private institution founded in 2014, said in a statement that its main building for graduate studies and bachelor’s colleges were destroyed. It said Israeli forces seized the complex 70 days ago and used it as a base. It was unclear when the explosion took place. The Israeli army had no immediate comment.
According to Hamas, Israeli forces have destroyed more than 390 schools, universities, and educational institutions across Gaza.
Internet and mobile services in Gaza have been down for five days, the longest of several outages during the war, according to internet access advocacy group NetBlocks. The outages complicate rescue efforts and make it difficult to obtain information about the latest strikes and casualties.
There was meanwhile no word on whether medicines that entered the territory Wednesday as part of a deal brokered by France and Qatar had been distributed to dozens hostages with chronic illnesses who are being held by Hamas.
WAR REVERBERATES ACROSS REGION
The war has rippled across the Middle East, with Iran-backed groups attacking U.S. and Israeli targets. Low-intensity fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon threatens to erupt into all-out war, and Houthi rebels in Yemen continue to target international shipping despite United States-led airstrikes.
The Israeli military said it fired an interceptor at a “suspicious aerial target” — likely a drone or missile — approaching over the Red Sea on Thursday, triggering air raid sirens in the southern Israeli coastal city of Eilat. The Houthis have launched drones and missiles toward Israel that mostly fell short or were intercepted and shot down.
Iran has meanwhile launched a series of missile attacks targeting what it described as an Israeli spy base in Iraq and militant bases in Syria as well as in Pakistan, which carried out reprisal strikes against what it described as militant hideouts in Iran early Thursday.
It was not clear if the strikes in Syria and Pakistan were related to the Gaza war. But they showcased Iran’s ability to carry out long-range missile attacks at a time of heightened tensions with Israel and the U.S., which has provided crucial support for the Gaza offensive and carried out its own strikes against Iran-allied groups in Syria and Iraq.
Israel has vowed to dismantle Hamas to ensure it can never repeat an attack like the one on Oct. 7. Militants burst through Israel’s border defenses and stormed through several communities that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostage.
Israel has also vowed to return all the hostages remaining in captivity after more than 100 — mostly women and children — were released during a November cease-fire in exchange for the release of scores of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Family members and supporters were marking the first birthday of Kfir Bibas, the youngest Israeli hostage, in a somber ceremony Thursday in Tel Aviv.
The red-haired infant and his 4-year-old brother Ariel were captured along with their mother, Shiri, and their father, Yarden. All four remain in captivity.
MEDICINES BOUND FOR HOSTAGES ENTER GAZA
The agreement to ship in medicines was the first to be brokered between the warring sides since November. Hamas said that for every box of medicine bound for the hostages, 1,000 would be sent for Palestinian civilians, in addition to food and humanitarian aid.
Qatar confirmed late Wednesday that the medicine had entered Gaza, but it was not yet clear if it had been distributed to the hostages, who are being held in secret locations, including underground bunkers.
Both France and Hamas had said the International Committee for the Red Cross, which helped facilitate the hostage releases, would have a role in distributing the medications. But on Thursday, the Red Cross said “the mechanism that was agreed to does not involve the ICRC playing any part in its implementation, including the delivery of medication.”
Hamas has continued to fight back across Gaza, even in the most devastated areas, and launch rockets into Israel. It says it will not release any more hostages until there is a permanent cease-fire, something Israel and the United States, its top ally, have ruled out.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 24,620 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, around two-thirds of them women and children, with over 61,800 wounded. It says many other dead and wounded are trapped under rubble or unreachable because of the fighting. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.
Israel blames the high civilian death toll on Hamas because it fights in dense residential areas. Israel says its forces have killed roughly 9,000 militants, without providing evidence, and that 193 of its own soldiers have been killed since the Gaza ground offensive began.
Israel-Hamas war tensions inflame the Middle East as fighting persists in Gaza
Quick Read
- Continued Conflict in Gaza and Middle East Tensions: The war in Gaza, initiated by Hamas’ attack on October 7th, continues with no signs of ceasing. The conflict has exacerbated tensions throughout the Middle East, leading to various military responses and escalations in the region.
- Pakistan-Iran Hostilities: Pakistan conducted retaliatory airstrikes in Iran, reportedly targeting militant hideouts. This exchange of strikes between Iran and Pakistan adds to the growing tension in the Middle East, already strained by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
- Medical Aid Enters Gaza: A shipment of medicine, part of an agreement facilitated by Qatar and France, entered Gaza to assist hostages held by Hamas and other civilians in need. This humanitarian aid marks a significant development in the midst of the ongoing conflict.
- Casualty Reports: Gaza’s Health Ministry reports over 24,400 Palestinian deaths, with 70% being women and children. Hamas’ initial attack in October resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths in Israel, including about 250 hostages taken by militants.
- Israel’s Air Defense and Red Sea Incident: The Israeli military intercepted an unidentified aerial object over the Red Sea near Eilat. While the exact nature of the object and the responsible party are not confirmed, previous similar incidents have involved Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen.
- Pakistan’s Airstrikes in Iran: Pakistan’s airstrikes in Iran allegedly targeted militant hideouts, killing several people. This action appears to be a part of the escalating series of retaliatory strikes and military engagements in the region.
- Hamas Hostages in Gaza: The Bibas family, including the youngest Israeli hostage Kfir Bibas, remains in captivity in Gaza. Kfir Bibas’ first birthday was observed in Tel Aviv in a solemn ceremony, symbolizing the ongoing distress over the hostages held by Hamas.
The Associated Press has the story:
ISRAEL’S AIR DEFENSE INTERCEPTS ‘SUSPICIOUS AERIAL TARGET’ OVER THE RED SEA
Hamas militants are keeping up a stiff resistance across the Gaza Strip to Israel’s offensive. The war shows no sign of ending and has inflamed tensions across the Middle East, with a dizzying array of strikes and counterstrikes in recent days.
Pakistan launched retaliatory airstrikes on Iran early Thursday, killing multiple people and further raising the threat of violence spreading in a Middle East unsettled by Israel’s war with Hamas.
In Gaza, a shipment of medicine for dozens of hostages held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas entered the territory late Wednesday in a deal that Qatar and France worked out between Israel and Hamas. Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 24,400 Palestinians have died. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70% of the dead were women and children. In Israel, around 1,200 people were killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war and saw some 250 people taken hostage by militants.
The Israeli army says it intercepted a “suspicious aerial target” over the Red Sea near the southern city of Eilat on Thursday. There were no reports of casualties or damage, but the launch of the interceptor set off air raid sirens in the coastal city.
The military did not say whether the object was a drone or missile, or who may have fired it. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have fired drones and missiles at Israel in the past, but most have fallen short or were intercepted and shot down.
In November, a drone exploded in the yard of a house in Eilat, causing no injuries.
The Houthis have attacked container ships in the Red Sea in what they portray as a blockade of Israel linked to its war against Hamas in Gaza. The attacks, which have disrupted global trade, have continued despite U.S.-led airstrikes against the rebels in recent days.
FAMILY IN TEL AVIV WILL MARK THE 1ST BIRTHDAY OF THE YOUNGEST ISRAELI HELD HOSTAGE BY HAMAS
TEL AVIV, Israel — Family members and supporters will mark the first birthday of Kfir Bibas, the youngest Israeli held by Hamas militants in Gaza, in a somber ceremony in Tel Aviv on Thursday.
The red-haired infant, who has been in captivity for a quarter of his life, has become a symbol for the helplessness and anger in Israel over the dozens of hostages still held in Gaza after Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.
On Tuesday, his family gathered at the Bibas’ home in Kibbutz Nir Oz near Gaza, blowing up orange balloons to hang on the walls to cover bullet holes and spatters of blood, and filling his nursery school classroom with birthday decorations.
“It’s celebrating for someone who isn’t here,” Yossi Schneider, a cousin of Kfir’s mother, Shiri, told Israel’s Channel 12 TV. “He’s supposed to be out here on the grass of the kibbutz, with balloons on the trees, with family and high-fives and presents and love and hugs, and none of those things will be there.”
In video from the Hamas attack, Kfir and his 4-year-old brother, Ariel, are being held by their terrified mother as gunmen shout in Arabic. The boys’ father, Yarden, was also taken captive and appears in photos to have been wounded. Under a weeklong temporary cease-fire, Hamas released women, children and teens, but Shiri Bibas and her sons were not included in the list.
Currently:
— Pakistan launches retaliatory airstrikes in Iran after an earlier attack by Tehran, killing 9 people.
— The U.S. pledges new sanctions over Houthi attacks will minimize harm to Yemen’s hungry millions.
— An estimated 60,000 wounded Palestinians are overwhelming the remaining doctors, the U.N. says.
— Harsh Israeli rhetoric against Palestinians becomes central to South Africa’s genocide case.
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
