The U.S. is going to scale back war with Israel
Israeli actions against Hamas during a clash of Oct. 7 in Tel Aviv: Defense Secretary Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Israel’s defense minister and the prime minister
On Saturday, Netanyahu, appearing with Gallant and Minister Benny Gantz, reiterated the need to continue the war in the face of international criticism.
The U.S. defense secretary arrived in Tel Aviv Monday morning. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Austin said he planned meet with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israel’s war cabinet “to reiterate America’s ironclad commitment to Israel,” to discuss Israeli military operations to “dismantle Hamas” and to “underscore the need to protect civilians from harm & enable the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
Mr. Netanyahu began a government meeting in Tel Aviv on Sunday by reading from a letter that he said came from families of Israeli soldiers killed fighting in Gaza.
“You have a mandate to fight; you do not have a mandate to stop in the middle,” Mr. Netanyahu read in Hebrew, according to a statement from his office.
The letter appears at odds with the message coming from relatives of Israelis still held hostage in Gaza, many of whom have taken to the streets to demand a cease-fire so that their loved ones can return home.
Hundreds of protesters gathered on a central boulevard in Tel Aviv to demonstrate against the government before marching through the city to join the hostage rally.
“We see the current approach is not working,” said Deborah Galili, a protester from Tel Aviv. She said she wanted Mr. Netanyahu’s government to pursue a peaceful resolution that would bring the hostages home and end the fighting.
In Israel over the weekend, families and supporters of hostages seized by Hamas militants during an Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel renewed calls for a truce to facilitate their release after Israeli forces mistakenly shot and killed three escaped captives during combat operations in northern Gaza on Friday.
Ms. Galili said they are not seeing more hostages coming home alive. Israel’s military has confirmed the deaths of hostages in recent weeks.
Ahal Besorai’s niece and nephew were among those released during the pause, but their father — Mr. Besorai’s brother-in-law — remains in captivity. Mr. Besorai said in the phone interview he was worried that the military will bring his family home but he understood why people were demanding a cease-fire.
“It’s a very, very, very, difficult spot because on the one hand, you want your loved one to be released, and on the other hand, you want Hamas eliminated,” said Mr. Besorai, whose sister was killed in the Oct. 7 attacks, which left roughly 1,200 dead and 240 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. The goals and aims of this war appear at times in conflict.
The protester from Tel Aviv was Efi Toledano. He stopped protesting on October 7th after the deaths of the hostages, but he started again on Saturday night.
Israeli Defense Force and the Jabaliya Refugee Camp: a “Difficult and Efficient Campaign” to End the War in Gaza
In addition, the Israeli military said its troops hit Hamas infrastructure where bombs, mortars, and rockets were found.
Israel’s military said on Monday that it is continuing its fight against Hamas in Gaza. During a raid at the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, the military says it located the equivalent of $1.37 million in funds inside a senior Hamas leader’s house. “The funds were found in suitcases alongside numerous weapons,” the IDF said. The money was designated for terrorist activity.
He said the escaped captives “took into account that they were taking a risk by coming to the IDF force” and that to minimize that risk, they “took off their shirts so that no one would think they had a charge on them and held a white cloth on a pole to identify themselves.”
The Israeli Defense Force’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, was asked about the accidental killing of three Israeli captives. He called the incident “very difficult and painful” and acknowledged that it “very easily” could have been avoided.
Citizens of Israel. We are fighting a war for our existence, in which we are committed to fight until victory, despite international pressure, and the unbearable heavy prices that the war is exacting from us in our precious sons and daughters,” Netanyahu said, mourning the deaths of the three hostages, all men in their 20s.
The Times of Gaza Observed by the U.N. Security Council and a Palestinian sniper attack on the Holy Family Parish
The U.N. Security Council is prepared to vote as early as Monday on a proposal that would allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid. The U.S. used its Security Council veto to prevent the resolution from being passed.
Holy Family Parish, which also came under rocket attack, is one of just two churches in Gaza, both of which are sheltering internally displaced people. Israel’s military has not responded to repeated requests for comment on the shootings.
At the Vatican, meanwhile, Pope Francis has also sought to draw the world’s attention to unarmed civilians being killed in Gaza. The news that an Israeli sniper killed two Muslim Christians at Holy Family Parish in northern Gaza madeFrancis speak out, but he stated there were no terrorists at the church and rather children, nuns and people with disabilities.
TEL AVIV, Israel — Pressure was mounting on Israel Monday to begin bringing the war in Gaza to a close, with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expected to relay Biden administration concerns over the heavy death toll for Palestinian civilians. The Security Council was going to vote again this week on a resolution that calls for a cease-fire.
In an earlier post, Austin said he also plans to travel to Bahrain and Qatar “to underscore U.S. commitments to strengthening regional security and stability, and working with partners and allies to advance defense capabilities.”
