Israel to US: S. Gaza fight to ‘intensify’
Hamas chief seeks aid, more weapons from Muslim states
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday that Israel will “intensify” military efforts in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza until Hamas leaders are captured or killed and the Israeli hostages are freed.
The Israeli military in recent days has announced plans to continue the war with fewer troops and less bombing. But Gallant made clear that the pursuit of Hamas militants who may have fled northern Gaza will be stepped up.
Blinken was in Israel for talks with President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders aimed at curbing civilian deaths and finding common ground on Gaza’s postwar future. Blinken, who arrived in Tel Aviv after visits with leaders in Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, is also pressing efforts to keep the war from expanding across the Middle East.
At a news conference, Blinken said he and Israeli leaders agreed to a plan for the U.N. to conduct an “assessment mission’’ to determine what will be required for Palestinians to return safely to their homes in northern Gaza.
“In today’s meetings I was also crystal clear: Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow,” Blinken said. “They must not be pressed to leave Gaza.”
Some high-level Israeli ministers have advocated resettling Palestinians elsewhere, but Blinken said Netanyahu assured him that’s not his government’s policy.
Blinken also said he would visit with the families of some of the hostages and “discuss our relentless efforts to bring everyone home and back with their families.”
“The secretary reaffirmed our support for Israel’s right to prevent the terrorist attacks of Oct. 7 from being repeated and stressed the importance of avoiding further civilian harm and protecting civilian infrastructure in Gaza,”
the State Department said in a statement.
Netanyahu did not release any information on this discussion with Blinken, possibly reflecting a rift with the U.S. secretary.
Blinken said the nations he visited expressed interest in helping plan Gaza’s future as well as normalizing relations with Israel. The Saudi ambassador to Britain said Tuesday that Saudi Arabia wants to normalize relations, but any deal must lead to the creation of a Palestinian state.
Prince Khalid bin Bandar told the BBC a pact was “close” when U.S.-brokered talks were halted after Hamas’ assault of Oct. 7 that left 1,200 dead in Israeli border communities. Israel launched a potent military response that has resulted in more than 23,000 Palestinians’ deaths and rampant destruction, drawing harsh criticism from Arab nations.
Saudi Arabia, which has never recognized Israel’s right to exist, still seeks ties with Israel despite the “deplorable” casualty figures in Gaza, the ambassador said.
Jordan said it will host a meeting Wednesday with the leaders of Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to discuss the war in Gaza and surging violence in the West Bank.
Monday was one of the deadliest days yet for Israeli troops in Gaza with nine killed, according to the military. Six died in a central Gaza blast and three more were killed in battles across southern Gaza, the military said Tuesday.
Israeli actor and singer Idan Amedi, who plays a rookie undercover agent in the hit Netflix show “Fauda,” has been hospitalized after being seriously wounded by shrapnel while serving in Gaza, Israeli media reported Tuesday.
Amedi, 35, has been on reserve duty since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, the Israeli news site Ynet reported Tuesday. Israel has enlisted roughly 360,000 reserve soldiers from all walks of life in its war against Hamas.
In Beirut, a drone targeted a car during the funeral procession of high-ranking Hezbollah military commander Wissam Tawil, causing several injuries in the southern Lebanese town of Kherbit Selim, the Lebanese National News Agency reported. Tawil was killed Monday by an apparent Israeli drone strike on his SUV.
And Hezbollah senior commander Ali Hussein Barji, reportedly behind several drone attacks on northern Israel, was killed in an apparent strike in southern Lebanon, the militant group said.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh on Tuesday urged Muslim states to support his war against Israel with weapons as well as humanitarian aid, saying Hamas’ fight is not solely for the Palestinian people.
“We see that the countries of the world are pouring weapons to the occupation through air bridges and aircraft carriers, and the time has come to support the resistance with weapons,” said Haniyeh, speaking at the World Federation of Muslim Scholars Conference in Doha, Qatar.
Haniyeh said the Hamas-led attack on Israel was fueled by the “marginalization” of the Palestinian issue, an Israeli government that he said prioritized displacement of Palestinians, clashes with Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the “normalization and integration of occupation” by Israel in the region.