Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his decision not to send a delegation to Washington for talks with the Biden administration was meant to deliver a message to Hamas that international pressure against Israel will not prompt it to end the war without concessions from the militant group. Netanyahu said that his government will not accept Hamas’ “delusional” conditions for a cease-fire in Gaza. The militant group rejected the latest truce proposal because it says Israel is ignoring the group’s core demands: an end to the war and Israel’s full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Israel seeks to destroy Hamas and to recover all of the approximately 100 Israeli hostages still in Gaza, as well as the remains of some 30 others. Some 1,200 people were killed in Israel and another 250 people abducted when militants launched a surprise attack out of Gaza on Oct. 7, triggering the war. More than 32,000 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 74,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally. The ministry says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
Here’s the latest:
Quick Read
- Israeli PM’s Firm Stance: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains steadfast against Hamas’ demands, rejecting the militant group’s conditions for a ceasefire in Gaza. Netanyahu emphasizes that international pressure will not sway Israel from its goal to dismantle Hamas and secure the release of around 100 Israeli hostages in Gaza.
- Violent Escalation: Following an Israeli airstrike on a paramedics center in Hebbariye, south Lebanon, which resulted in seven deaths, Hezbollah retaliated with a rocket attack on northern Israel, causing one fatality in Kiryat Shmona.
- Casualty Toll: The conflict has led to the death of some 1,200 people in Israel and the abduction of 250 others by militants from Gaza on October 7. In Gaza, over 32,000 have been killed, with women and children constituting two-thirds of the deceased, as per Gaza’s Health Ministry.
- Netanyahu’s Message: Netanyahu clarifies that his decision to cancel a delegation’s visit to Washington was aimed at conveying to Hamas that external pressures would not influence Israel’s military objectives.
- Aid Drop Tragedies: Efforts to deliver aid to Gaza have resulted in at least 18 deaths, with individuals drowning or being injured while attempting to retrieve airdropped supplies.
- West Bank Raid: An Israeli military operation in the West Bank resulted in the deaths of three Palestinian militants, exacerbating tensions in the area.
The Associated Press has the story:
Netanyahu says US visit was canceled as a message to Hamas
Newslooks- TEL AVIV, Israel —(AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his decision not to send a delegation to Washington for talks with the Biden administration was meant to deliver a message to Hamas that international pressure against Israel will not prompt it to end the war without concessions from the militant group.
Netanyahu’s remarks appeared to be an attempt to smooth over a clash between Israel and Washington this week following the U.S. decision not to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution this week demanding an immediate cease-fire. Netanyahu decided in response to cancel a delegation’s visit to Washington meant to discuss Israel’s plans for an offensive in Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah.
Speaking to visiting Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida on Wednesday, Netanyahu said the cancelled visit “was a message first and foremost to Hamas: don’t bet on this pressure, it’s not going to work.”
Netanyahu said the U.S. abstention was “very, very bad,” and that it “encouraged Hamas to take a hard line and to believe that international pressure will prevent Israel” from achieving its war aims. Israel wants to destroy Hamas’ military and governing capabilities and free the hostages taken by the militant group during its Oct. 7 attack.
The U.S. abstention and Netanyahu’s decision to cancel the delegation was the strongest public dispute between the two allies since the war in Gaza began.
RAFAH AIRSTRIKE KILLS AT LEAST 4, WITH 10 MORE FEARED BURIED UNDER RUBBLE
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian health officials say an airstrike on an apartment building in the southernmost Gaza city of Rafah has killed at least four people.
An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies arrive at a local hospital. Relatives say another 10 people were still buried under the rubble.
Palestinians could be seen digging through the remains of a pancaked building early Wednesday. Mohammed Dheir, a neighbor, says there were “limbs all over the ground.”
Israel has threatened to expand its ground operation to Rafah, where some 1.4 million people – over half of Gaza’s population – have sought refuge. The military has regularly carried out airstrikes on Rafah since the start of the war.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border on Oct. 7 and attacked several Israeli communities and army bases, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. They abducted another 250 and dragged them back to Gaza.
In response, Israel launched one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Wednesday that at least 32,490 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war. It does not differentiate between fighters and civilians but says women and children make up around two-third of those killed.
The Israeli military says it has killed over 13,000 fighters. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants fight in dense, residential areas, but the military rarely comments on individual strikes.
18 PEOPLE HAVE NOW DIED TRYING TO RECOVER AIRDROPPED AID, GAZA OFFICIALS SAY
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian officials say at least six people drowned earlier this week while trying to recover airdropped food aid in northern Gaza.
Mahmoud Bassel, a spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defense rescue service, says a large group of men swam out into the Mediterranean Sea on Monday to try to recover aid parcels. Six bodies were later recovered and transferred to a nearby hospital.
He said Wednesday that a total of 18 people have died while trying to recover airdropped aid in scenes of chaos and desperation.
“Sometimes it falls into the sea, sometimes on civilians, sometimes on houses, sometimes on Israeli territory beyond the border fence,” he said.
The Hamas-run government media office has also reported 18 deaths related to the aid drops. The United States and other nations have carried out several airdrops in recent weeks to try and get food to Palestinians in northern Gaza, where experts say famine is imminent.
Aid groups say the airdrops are no substitute for bringing aid in overland and have called on Israel to streamline its inspection procedures and open more crossings.
Israel’s offensive, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, has caused widespread devastation in northern Gaza and Israeli forces have largely sealed the north off since October. Aid groups say requests to deliver aid to the north are often denied by the military or are too dangerous because of the breakdown in security across Gaza.
ISRAELI MILITARY KILLS 3 PALESTINIANS DURING AN OVERNIGHT RAID IN THE WEST BANK
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says its forces killed three Palestinian militants during an overnight raid in the West Bank.
The military said it opened fire on militants who hurled explosive devices, killing one of them. It said an airstrike killed two other militants, and that its forces destroyed a vehicle containing explosive devices after arresting two people who were inside it.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said two of those killed were 19 years old. It says another four Palestinians were wounded in the raid, which occurred overnight into Wednesday. It did not say whether any of those killed or wounded were militants or civilians.
Violence across the West Bank has spiked since the war in Gaza broke out on Oct. 7, when Palestinian militants launched an incursion on southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping around 250 others.
The raid was carried out in the Jenin refugee camp, which has seen regular clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in recent years. The dense, urban camp was built to house Palestinian refugees from what is now Israel who fled or were driven out during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.
The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has little control over Jenin.
At least 450 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli fire since the conflict broke out, according to Palestinian health officials.
Currently:
— Israel and Hamas dig in as pressure builds for a cease-fire in Gaza.
— With its soldiers mired in Gaza, Israel is also fighting over drafting the ultra-Orthodox.
— They fled kibbutzim after Hamas attacked. Now, many Israelis must decide whether to go back.
— Seven Lebanese and an Israeli are killed in an exchange of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border.
— Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
