Israel-Hamas war day 186: Three of Haniyeh's sons killed
IDF arrests terror suspects in West Bank raid • destroys Hamas rocket launchers
Joe Biden: Netanyahu’s actions in Gaza are a ‘mistake’
“I will tell you this. I think what he's doing is a mistake. I don't agree,” Biden said when asked if he thought that Netanyahu cared more for his own political survival than the Israeli people.
US President Joe Biden blasted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “mistaken” Gaza policies as he called for a six to eight-week pause to the war in an interview he gave to the Latin-American news station Univision Noticias.
Biden was asked if he thought that Netanyahu cared more for his own political survival than the Israeli people.
“I will tell you this. I think what he's doing is a mistake. I don't agree,” Biden said.
He spoke of his anger over the IDF’s airstrike that mistakenly killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen.
“I think it's outrageous that those … three vehicles were hit by drones and taken out,” he stated.
“So I'm what I'm calling for. Is for the Israelis to .. call for a ceasefire [and[ allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country.
“I've spoken with everyone from the Saudis, to the Jordanians, to the Egyptians. They're prepared to move in and are prepared to move this food in."
Go to the full article >>US: Israel has no credible Rafah plan, we remain opposed
The US has opposed a Rafah ground invasion because it fears it would create a humanitarian disaster, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that he plans to move forward
Israel has no credible plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah and the White House remains opposed to a major military operation there, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters in Washington on Tuesday.
“I have not yet seen a credible and executable plan to move people that has any level of detail about how you not only house feed and provide medicine for those innocent [Palestinian] civilians,” Sullivan said.
He spoke as the IDF purchased 40,000 tents to house Palestinian civilians who would need to be evacuated from the area of Rafah, should the IDF conduct an operation to destroy the Hamas battalions in that area of southern Gaza.
The US has opposed such an operation because it fears it would create a humanitarian disaster, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that he plans to move forward with a Rafah operation arguing that it is the only way to ensure a victory over Hamas.
Netanyahu told army induces on Tuesday, ”We will complete the elimination of Hamas's battalions, including in Rafah. No force in the world will stop us. There are many forces trying to do this but it will not help because this enemy, after what it has done, will not do this again. Neither will it exist. We are committed to doing this.”
"If he has a date, he hasn't shared it with us"
On Monday he said he had set a date for that operation, but Sullivan said that no such date had been given to the Biden administration.
“If he has a date, he hasn't shared it with us,” Sullivan said. “The United States does not believe that a massive ground invasion of Rafah, where 1.3 or more million people are sheltering, having been pushed out of other parts of Gaza...is not the best way forward.
“There are better ways to go after Hamas in Rafah,” Sullivan said.
He added that conversations about the operations had occurred at senior levels and would continue to be held.
“We will make determinations about how we proceed” on the matter, “based on how those conversations unfold,” Sullivan said, adding that depending on what happened, “the US would respond accordingly.”
US: If Israel's policy does not change on aid, US policy will
He also took Israel to task for not yet meeting the overall necessary standard regarding the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid.
The US has to see “sustained follow through on specific concrete and measurable steps to provide access provide deconfliction take other measures to alleviate the suffering of people in Gaza.
“And if Israel's policy doesn't change on a sustained basis, and that way, our policy will change,” he stated.
His message for Israel was the same one that US President Joe Biden delivered to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone conversation last week.
Israel has since taken steps to improve the situation with over 468 truckloads of aid entering Gaza on Tuesday. It has also announced that it would open the Erez crossing for aid and allow goods destined for Gaza to be unloaded at the nearby Ashdod port.
“Israel has made public statements. Now we need to see them follow through with action and that action needs to be specific, concrete, and measurable.
“There's been a substantial increase in the amount of aid going into Gaza. That's good. It is not good enough. We would like to see more action following through on what the Prime Minister has announced publicly,” Sullivan stated.
Go to the full article >>US: There’s a serious hostage deal on the table, ball is in Hamas's court
“Hamas could move forward with this immediately and get a ceasefire that would benefit people throughout Gaza as well as of course get the hostages home,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
The United States urged Hamas to accept the “serious” offer on the table for a hostage deal, as Israel’s security cabinet met and the terror group doused optimism that a deal was imminent.
“We have an offer that's on the table now...that is very serious and should be accepted,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday during a joint press conference with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron.
“Hamas could move forward with this immediately and get a ceasefire that would benefit people throughout Gaza as well as of course get the hostages home,” Blinken said. Failure to accept the deal would show its continued disregard for the people of Gaza, he said.
“The ball is in Hamas’s court,” he stated, adding that “the world is watching to see what it does.”
He spoke after Cairo hosted indirect talks earlier this week, that included CIA Director William Burns as well as officials from Hamas, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the talks were a “marathon session that went late into the night” on Sunday.
Israel has shown flexibility in terms of what has been put on the table, Sullivan explained, but he noted that Hamas's public statements have been “less than encouraging.”
Sullivan said he had personally spoken with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed al-Thani on Tuesday, who had explained that Hamas had not yet responded.
“I pressed him to try to secure an answer from them as soon as possible,” Sullivan stated.
What the world should say at this moment to Hamas is: It’s time. Let's go. Let's get that ceasefire. We're ready. I believe Israel is ready. And I think Hamas should step up to the table and be prepared to do so as well.”
At issue has been a six-week pause to the war in exchange for 40 out of the remaining 133 hostages, which the US hopes could be transformed into a permanent ceasefire that would see the return of all the hostages.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Israel would have to release 900 Palestinian security prisoners and terrorists from its jails, including 100 serving long-term sentences.
The WSJ said that the proposal would also allow Palestinians to return to their homes in the northern part of the enclave, which was heavily destroyed during the fighting between Hamas and the IDF.
Hamas says proposal does not meet its demands
Hamas said on Tuesday the proposal put on the table in Cairo this week did not meet its demands, but added that it would study the offer further and deliver its response to mediators.
"The movement (Hamas) is interested in reaching an agreement that puts an end to the aggression on our people. Despite that, the Israeli position remains intransigent and it didn't meet any of the demands of our people and our resistance," Hamas said in a statement following the latest ceasefire proposal.
Hamas wants any agreement to secure a permanent ceasefire, an IDF withdrawal from Gaza, and to allow displaced Palestinians to return to their homes across the small, densely populated enclave.
Israel won’t agree to a permanent ceasefire until it ousted Hamas from the enclave, a move which it said can only happen once it has conducted a major military operation in Rafah, in the southern part of Gaza.
In a confession he held with inductees into the Israeli army on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “We have three objectives: One – to return our hostages, all of the field observers, and not just them, but everyone together. We will return them all. “
“The second objective: Eliminating Hamas. The third objective: To ensure that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel,” he said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Go to the full article >>US Defense Secretary says there's no evidence of Israel committing genocide in Gaza
Austin's testimony was interrupted by multiple pro-Palestinian protesters who erupted into applause each time Capitol Hill police escorted a demonstrator out of the senate chamber.
The US does not have any evidence of Israel committing genocide in Gaza, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testified during a hearing Tuesday before the Senate Committee on Armed Services.
Austin denied accusations that he “green-lit genocide.”
“From the very beginning we are committed to help assist Israel in defending its territory and its people by providing security assistance,” Austin said. “And I would remind everybody that what happened on October 7 was absolutely horrible.”
Austin later agreed that Hamas committed war crimes on October 7.
“Hamas is responsible for the start of this war,” Austin said. “But having said that, there have been far too many civilian casualties. I think there is a way to be successful operationally and tactically and also protect civilians. The two are not mutually exclusive.”
Austin said hostage talks are important and ongoing, and leadership in Qatar is “intentionally focused on making sure the hostages are released as soon as possible.”
Austin's testimony was repeatedly interrupted by protesters
Austin’s testimony was interrupted by multiple pro-Palestinian protesters, who erupted into applause each time Capitol Hill police escorted a demonstrator out of the Senate chamber.
Austin faced scrutiny from both Republicans and Democrats on the committee for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the United States’ support for Israel.
Chairman of the committee Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) asked Austin if he agreed that Hamas will not be defeated militarily as long as the Palestinian people cannot be separated from Hamas.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) pressed Austin on why Israel has a responsibility to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Cotton said it’s not Israel’s or the US’s responsibility to provide aid. He described the plan for the US military humanitarian pier as “ill-considered” and said he doesn’t think it will end well. Cotton added that the US didn’t provide aid to Germany or Japan in the middle of World War II, and questioned if Austin would’ve provided aid to Germany during the war.
Austin said that if Israel wants to create lasting effects, then it must address the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people in a meaningful way.
Austin said he talks to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant every week and encourages him to increase the volume of humanitarian assistance going into Gaza. We’ve seen them do that most recently, Austin said, but we need to sustain it.
Austin said the initial operation for the pier will be in place by the third week in April. “It’s something that we have the ability to do, and we should do,” Austin said.
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said the Israeli government needs more than encouragement. King said he was surprised to see the US approve the transfer of offensive munitions to Israel the same week as the deaths of the World Central Kitchen workers.
King added that while most feel Israel has a right and responsibility to defend itself, he’s bothered by the conduct in which they’re doing so as he believes it’s hurting Israel. “My concern is that, particularly when those bombs are coming from this country, we have a responsibility as well in terms of the way that war is being conducted because we are engaged in terms of the supply of the weapons,” King said.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) echoed King’s sentiment, saying the US has an important responsibility as it is giving the IDF the bombs they’re using to destroy homes, hospitals, and refugee camps.
Austin said there have been changes in Israel’s behavior following the deaths of the World Central Kitchen aid workers and that Biden’s conversation with Netanyahu has had an effect.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) – who last week cosigned a letter to Biden calling for the US to provide more medical aid to Gaza – said it’s important for Palestinians to believe they might have a future that looks different than 1948.
In response to Kaine, Austin said violence would be accelerated and the conflict would be long-term if women and children in Gaza died en masse.
Israel-Hamas war: What you need to know
- Hamas launched a massive attack on October 7, with thousands of terrorists infiltrating from the Gaza border and taking some 240 hostages into Gaza
- Over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered, including over 350 in the Re'im music festival and hundreds of Israeli civilians across Gaza border communities
- 133 hostages remain in Gaza
- 37 hostages in total have been killed in captivity, IDF says