Palestinians flee new Israeli strikes
Iranian official revokes claim linking Hamas attack to US mission
An Iranian general on Wednesday walked back his claim that the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel was “revenge” for the assassination of an Iranian general four years ago, telling Al-Araby his comments earlier in the day were “incompletely conveyed” and misunderstood.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman Ramazan Sharif had linked the Hamas attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, to a U.S. drone strike in Iraq on Jan. 2, 2020, that killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Sharif also said the killing of a top Iranian military advisor by Israel this week would draw a military response from Iran “directly or indirectly.”
The U.S. Justice Department, in a heavily redacted 2020 memorandum, said Soleimani had commanded the guard’s elite Quds Force since the late 1990s and was a “key architect of lran’s campaign of terrorism, assassinations and violence throughout the Middle East.”
The Iranian government, which helps fund Hamas, has repeatedly denied involvement in the October attack that killed 1,200 Israelis in communities along the Gaza border. Hamas issued a statement Wednesday rejecting Sharif ’s claim linking the attack to Iran, saying the attack was primarily a response to “dangers that threaten al-Aqsa Mosque” in Jerusalem, which had seen clashes between Israeli settlers and Muslim worshippers.
Sharif, however, did not retreat from his pledge of a military response for the killing of Iranian Brig. Gen. Razi Mousavi, targeted Monday in an Israeli airstrike on his Damascus home. Israel had accused Mousavi of being a key player in Tehran’s efforts to supply weapons to Hamas and Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah.
“Iran will take harsh and strong revenge,” Sharif said, accusing Israel of killing Mousavi as a way of “escaping from its defeat in Gaza and its failures there, and to divert the world’s attention from a war crime.”
The Palestinian death toll rose to 21,110, with 55,243 injured, after almost 200 people were killed in the last 24 hours, the Gaza Health Ministry announced. Israeli authorities, who have generally confirmed Gaza’s death tolls, said the deaths include 8,000 Hamas operatives − in addition to 1,000 militants killed during and immediately after the Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli border communities.
Israeli rockets rained down on central and southern Gaza early Wednesday, hammering areas where Palestinians fleeing fighting in northern Gaza had gathered on orders from the Israeli military.
Residents reported heavy bombing in the built-up Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, in the southern city of Khan Younis and in the southern town of Rafah, areas where tens of thousands have sought refuge as much of northern Gaza was pounded to rubble.
In Khan Younis, the Palestinian Red Crescent said Israel struck a residential building next to the Al-Amal Hospital, which is run by the rescue service. Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf alQidra said at least 20 people were killed and dozens more wounded, with the death toll likely to rise.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan engaged in a war of words Wednesday over Israeli actions against Hamas militants in Gaza, described by Erdogan as “no different” from those of Adolf Hitler. Netanyahu struck back, accusing Erdogan of carrying out a genocide against Kurds and holding a “world record number” of opposition journalists in jails.
The Israeli Air Force chief of staff on Wednesday firmly rejected repeated global claims that Israel’s airstrikes in Gaza are indiscriminate. Brig. Gen. Omer Tischler said the Israeli military is conducting a “precise, focused” military campaign stressing the protection of civilians. Evacuations are ordered in advance and munitions designed to minimize collateral damage are used, he said. And assaults are monitored in real time and can be aborted if the dangers to civilians becomes too great, he said. But he added that the system is not perfect.
“In war, mistakes can happen,” he said. “While they are exceptional, they are still made. We study them, learn from them, and make changes to our process as a result.”
The Biden administration has been pressing Israeli officials to minimize civilian deaths in Gaza while also seeking other ways to lessen impacts of the crisis.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden held a phone conversation with Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar, a key mediator in hostage negotiations because of its relationship with Hamas leaders.
“The two leaders discussed the urgent effort to secure the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, including American citizens,” the White House said in a readout. “The leaders also discussed the ongoing efforts to facilitate increased and sustained flows of life-saving access to humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced Tuesday the appointment of Sigrid Kaag, the Netherlands’ former deputy prime minister and a Mideast expert, as the U.N. coordinator for humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The announcement follows the Security Council’s adoption of a resolution on Friday requesting Guterres to expeditiously appoint a senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for the enclave.