The border zone between the Gaza Strip and Egypt should be under Israel’s control, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday as he predicted the war in the Palestinian enclave and on other regional fronts would last many more months.
Quick Read
- Israeli Control of Gaza-Egypt Border: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized the need for Israel to control the border zone between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor. He stated that this control is essential for ensuring the demilitarization of Gaza, which is a key goal for Israel in the ongoing conflict.
- Continuation of War: Netanyahu acknowledged that the war with Gaza’s ruling Hamas Islamists, which started with a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7, has intensified conflicts in several regions including the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. He indicated that the conflict is at its peak and is expected to last many more months.
- Direct Threat to Iran: In a significant statement, Netanyahu threatened direct action against Iran in response to the escalating conflict across the Israel-Lebanon border, implicating Iran’s support for Hezbollah. He warned of severe consequences if Hezbollah expands its offensive, suggesting that Israel could directly target Iran.
- Demilitarization and Deradicalization Goals: Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s intent to destroy Hamas in Gaza and to achieve the demilitarization and deradicalization of the region. This strategy is aimed at preventing future attacks and stabilizing the situation.
Reuters has the story:
Netanyahu says Israel should control Gaza-Egypt border zone
Newslooks- JERUSALEM, Dec 30 (Reuters) –
The border zone between the Gaza Strip and Egypt should be under Israel’s control, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday as he predicted the war in the Palestinian enclave and on other regional fronts would last many more months.
Netanyahu held a news conference as Israel entered the 13th week of its war against Gaza’s ruling Hamas Islamists, which has stoked violence in the occupied West Bank and touched off attacks by Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
“The Philadelphi Corridor – or to put it more correctly, the southern stoppage point (of Gaza) – must be in our hands. It must be shut. It is clear that any other arrangement would not ensure the demilitarisation that we seek,” he said.
Israel has said it intends to destroy Hamas in Gaza and demilitarize and deradicalize the territory in order to prevent any repeat of the Oct. 7 cross-border killing and kidnapping spree by the Palestinians militant group that sparked the war.
“The war is at its height. We are fighting on all of the fronts. Achieving victory will require time. As the (IDF) chief of staff has said, the war will continue for many more months,” Netanyahu said.
He added a rare threat to attack Iran directly over the near-daily exchanges of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border. “If Hezbollah expands the warfare, it will suffer blows that it has not dreamed of – and so too Iran,” Netanyahu said without elaborating.
Gantz, Gallant refuse to join Netanyahu news conference
Israeli public broadcaster Kan News reports two other members of the war council did not join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at tonight’s news conference.
The Haaretz newspaper reported opposition leader Benny Gantz felt there were no political updates requiring him to address the media.
Netanyahu says Gaza war on Hamas will go on for ‘many more months,’ thanks US for new weapons sales
Quick Read
- Continuation of War in Gaza: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the war against Hamas in Gaza will continue for many more months. This assertion counters international calls for a ceasefire. The conflict has resulted in significant civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction in Gaza.
- U.S. Support for Israel: The Biden administration has shown support for Israel’s stance in the conflict, including approving emergency weapons sales. The U.S. has also helped prevent a U.N. Security Council resolution that sought an immediate ceasefire. However, there are calls for Israel to reduce civilian harm in Gaza.
- Israeli Strikes in Gaza: Recent Israeli airstrikes targeted Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps, and ground forces advanced into Khan Younis. The Health Ministry in Gaza reported over 21,600 Palestinian deaths, including a large percentage of women and children.
- Displacement in Gaza: The ongoing conflict has displaced approximately 85% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people. Many have sought shelter in areas designated as safe, yet these have also been affected by bombings.
- U.S. Arms Sales to Israel: The U.S. Department of State approved a $147.5 million arms sale to Israel, marking the second such approval within the month. These sales are part of a larger aid package involving Ukraine and other national security needs.
- Netanyahu’s Policy on Gaza: Netanyahu emphasizes the importance of achieving war objectives, including the destruction of Hamas and the release of hostages. Over 120 hostages remain in Gaza following the initial attack by militants.
- Efforts for Hostage Release: While families of hostages demand prioritization of their release, Hamas has stated that the war must end before discussing hostage releases. Egypt proposed a plan for a swap of hostages for prisoners, which is under consideration.
- Challenges in Delivering Aid: The delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza faces significant hurdles due to border crossing delays, ongoing conflict, and infrastructure damage. The U.N. reports that the aid entering Gaza is insufficient, with many residents starving and dependent on external assistance.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) —
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza will continue for “many more months,” pushing back against persistent international cease-fire calls after mounting civilian deaths, hunger and mass displacement in the besieged enclave.
Netanyahu thanked the Biden administration for its continued backing, including approval for a new emergency weapons sale, the second this month, and prevention of a U.N. Security Council resolution seeking an immediate cease-fire. Israel argues that ending the war now would mean victory for Hamas, a stance shared by the Biden administration, which at the same time urged Israel to do more to avoid harm to Palestinian civilians.
In new fighting, Israeli warplanes struck the urban refugee camps of Nuseirat and Bureij in the center of the territory Saturday as ground forces pushed deeper into the southern city of Khan Younis.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said Saturday that more than 21,600 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s unprecedented air and ground offensive since the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel. The ministry, which does not distinguish between the deaths of civilians and combatants, said 165 Palestinians were killed over the past 24 hours. It has said about 70% of those killed have been women and children.
The number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza combat rose to 170, after the military announced two more deaths Saturday.
The war has displaced some 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, sending swells of people seeking shelter in Israeli-designated safe areas that the military has nevertheless bombed. Palestinians are left with a sense that nowhere is safe in the tiny enclave.
With Israeli forces expanding their ground offensive this week, tens of thousands more Palestinians streamed into the already crowded city of Rafah at the southernmost end of Gaza.
Thousands of tents and makeshift shacks have sprung up on Rafah’s outskirts next to U.N. warehouses. Displaced people arrived in Rafah on foot or on trucks and carts piled high with mattresses. Those who did not find space in overwhelmed shelters pitched tents on roadsides.
“We don’t have water. We don’t have enough food,” Nour Daher, a displaced woman, said Saturday from the sprawling tent camp. “The kids wake up in the morning wanting to eat, wanting to drink. It took us one hour to find water for them. We couldn’t bring them flour. Even when we wanted to take them to toilets, it took us one hour to walk.”
In the Nuseirat camp, resident Mustafa Abu Wawee said a strike hit the home of one of his relatives, killing two people.
“The (Israeli) occupation is doing everything to force people to leave,” he said over the phone while helping to search for four people missing under the rubble. “They want to break our spirit and will, but they will fail. We are here to stay.”
MORE U.S. WEAPONS FOR ISRAEL
The State Department said Friday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress he approved a $147.5 million sale for equipment, including fuses, charges and primers, that is needed for 155 mm shells Israel bought previously.
It marked the second time this month that the Biden administration is bypassing Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel. Blinken made a similar decision on Dec. 9 to approve the sale to Israel of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than $106 million.
Both moves have come as President Joe Biden’s request for a nearly $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs remains stalled in Congress, caught up in a debate over U.S. immigration policy and border security. Some Democratic lawmakers have spoken of making the proposed $14.3 billion in American assistance to its Mideast ally contingent on concrete steps by Netanyahu’s government to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza during the war with Hamas.
THE WAR’S TIMELINE
Blinken, who has repeatedly traveled to the Middle East during the war, was expected back in Israel and other countries in the region in January. U.S. officials have urged Israel to start shifting from high intensity combat to more targeted operations, but said they were not imposing a deadline.
Netanyahu said Israel needs more time.
“As the chief of staff said this week, the war will continue many more months,” he told a televised news conference Saturday. “My policy is clear. We will continue to fight until we have achieved all the objectives of the war, first and foremost the annihilation of Hamas and the release of all the hostages.”
More than 120 hostages remain in Gaza, after militants seized more than 240 in the Oct. 7 assault that also killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Netanyahu is also at odds with the Biden administration over who should run Gaza after the war. He has rejected the U.S.-backed idea that a unified Palestinian government should run both Gaza and parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a precursor to eventual statehood. Instead, he has insisted on open-ended Israeli security control in Gaza, without saying what would come next.
TRADING FOR HOSTAGES
Families of hostages and their supporters have demanded that the government prioritize hostage releases over other war objectives, and have staged large protests every weekend, including Saturday.
Egypt, one of the mediators between Israel and Hamas, has proposed a multistage plan that would kick off with a swap of hostages for prisoners, accompanied by a temporary cease-fire — along the lines of an exchange during a weeklong truce in November.
Hamas insists the war must end before it will discuss hostage releases. Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official in Beirut, reiterated that position Saturday, but also told The Associated Press that “we have not given any final answer so far” to the Egyptian proposal.
Asked about reports of possible progress toward a deal, Netanyahu said Saturday that “we see a possibility, maybe, for movement” but that he did not want to raise “exaggerated expectations.”
DIFFICULTIES IN DELIVERING AID
More than a week after a U.N. Security Council resolution called for the unhindered delivery of aid at scale across besieged Gaza, conditions have only worsened, U.N. agencies warned.
Aid officials said the aid entering Gaza remains woefully inadequate. Distributing goods is hampered by long delays at two border crossings, ongoing fighting, Israeli airstrikes, repeated cuts in internet and phone services and a breakdown of law and order that makes it difficult to secure aid convoys, they said.
Nearly the entire population is fully dependent on outside humanitarian aid, said Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. A quarter of the population is starving because too few trucks enter with food, medicine, fuel and other supplies — sometimes fewer than 100 trucks a day, according to U.N. daily reports.
