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A ground campaign is the only way to win Gaza war, Netanyahu says
A ground campaign is the only way to win the Gaza War, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he pledged destroy Hamas just after Qatari mediated talks for an additional truce and further hostage releases collapsed in Doha late Saturday afternoon.
“We will continue the war until we achieve all its goals,” Netanyahu told reporters in late night press briefing.
He turned to the international community, stating, “you are partners in our goal of eliminating Hamas and freeing the rest of our hostages.
“Therefore I emphasize to you as well: there is no other way to achieve these goals – but to win, and there is no way to win except by continuing the ground campaign,” he stated.Netanyahu underscored that this would be done while “observing international law.”
The IDF, he stressed, is acting to protect Israeli citizens both against Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north.
“We are continuing the policy we established: a strong deterrence in the north, clear decisive [victory] in the south.”
He issued a warning to Hezbollah not open a second front on the north. “If Hezbollah makes a mistake and enters into a large-scale war” that it will be responsible for Lebanon’s destruction.
Netanyahu spoke one day after the Gaza war resumed following a seven day lull from November 24 to December 1.
During that time 110 captives were freed, Netanyahu said, including 86 Israelis and 24 foreigners.
Israel had hoped that the deal which focused on freeing women and children would have extended into Sunday.
The women and children held by Hamas
During a separate press conference earlier in the night, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that there were still 15 women and two children hostage in Gaza.
This included Shiri Bibas, 32 and her two children, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, aged 10 months.
The Bibas children are the only two remaining in Gaza, all the remainder of the children were released last week.
The two men held separate press conferences. Netanyahu told reporters he had invited Gallant to hold a joint one with him, but that the Defense had preferred to speak to the press on his own.
Talks in Doha to put the Gaza war back on hold that would have allowed for the 15 women and two children to be released continued even after the fighting resumed on Friday morning.
But they broke down completely on Saturday night as Israel ordered Mossad negotiators to return home.
“Director of the Mossad David Barnea has instructed his team in Doha to return to Israel,” Netanyahu’s Office said, explaining that this followed “an impasse in the negotiations.”
“The terrorist organization Hamas did not uphold its part of the agreement, which included the release of all of the children and women according to a list that was given to Hamas and approved by it,” the PMO said.
It issued its statement after an emotional week in which for seven days, ending on Thursday night, Israel has welcomed home the 110 hostages in seven stages.
They were among the 240 hostages its seized during its October 7 infiltration of southern Israel in which the terror group also killed over 1,200 people.
Qatar which together with Egypt, had mediated the deal, had also engaged in talks about the release of the more than 110 male hostages, including soldiers, as well as five female soldiers. Those talks also came to a halt.
Macron’s visit to Qatar
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday day he planned to travel to Qatar to see if he couldn’t help put the process back on track.
At the press conference in Jerusalem on Saturday night, Netanyahu ducked a question by a reporter about whether or not Israel had rejected alternative suggestions by Hamas, that would have allowed for elderly men to be part of the deal rather than the women.
Deputy Hamas chief Saleh Al-Arouri told the pan-Arab Al Jazeera TV on Saturday that no more prisoners would be exchanged with Israel until there was a permanent ceasefire in Gaza all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails were also released. Those prisoners are held on terror charges, including killing Israelis on on more minor security related offenses.
Arouri said, ”Let the war take its course. This decision is final. We will not compromise on it,” Arouri said.
Netanyahu said that “Hamas violated the deal” and he had always said that if they did this, “the war would resume.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had come to the region at the end of last week, partially in hopes of helping to see the hostage deal extended, told reporters in the United Arab Emirates on Friday that Hamas had violated the deal.
He had flown there after visiting Israel, to participate in the United Nations COP28 Climate Conference.
The temporary truce in Gaza, he said, “came to an end because of Hamas. Hamas reneged on commitments it made.”
“In fact, even before the pause came to an end, it committed an atrocious terrorist attack in Jerusalem [on Thursday], killing three people, wounding others, including Americans.
“It began firing rockets before the pause had ended. And as I said, it reneged on commitments it made in terms of releasing certain hostages.”
The Biden administration, he said, is committed to ensuring that all the hostages are returned.
“We’re also very much focused, as we’ve been all along, on trying to make sure that this conflict doesn’t spread, that it doesn’t escalate in other places.
“But we’re also using our diplomacy to look at not only what’s happening today and how we’re handling that, but also what happens the day after in Gaza and how we can get on the path to a just, lasting, and secure peace for Israelis, for Palestinians – in fact, for everyone in the region. And that’s also a big focus of our diplomacy.”
While at COP28, he said, he had spoken with his contemporaries from other countries on all these topics.
He clarified that the United States supports Israel’s right to defend itself through a military campaign in Gaza, but underscored that the IDF must do its utmost to minimize Palestinian civilian loses and to ensure the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“We’ve also been very clear that we support Israel and its efforts to make sure that October 7th never happens again. We’ve also been very clear about the imperative of doing that in a way that puts a premium on protecting civilians and making sure that humanitarian assistance gets to those who need it,” Blinken stated.
The US is “going to be looking very closely” to make sure that Israel does everything possible to protect Palestinian civilians during its military campaign, Blinken said.
Prior to leaving Israel, Blinken had said, that the US had wanted to see plans to ensure Palestinian civilian safety before the IDF embarked on a military campaign in southern Gaza.
Netanyahu told reporters on Saturday night that the US and Israel were more aligned than divided on the issue of the Gaza war, but that the end, “this is our war and we have to make the decisions.”
In the UAE on Friday Israel’s President Isaac Herzog held a series of meetings on the sidelines of the United Nations COP28 Climate Conference as part of his effort to help secure the return of some remaining 137 hostages held by Hamas.
He met with the Emir of Qatar His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and circulated a photograph of the two of them shaking hands. It is the first such public high-level meeting between an Israeli and a Qatari official, given that Israel and Qatar do not have formal diplomatic relations.
Herzog also met President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and His Royal Highness King Charles III. In his meetings, Herzog emphasized the humanitarian duty of releasing the hostages and appealed to world leaders to join this effort. He also said it is Israel’s “right and duty” to defend itself against the security threat posed by Hamas to bring safety back to Israel.
Silva told Herzog that he had spoken with the leaders of South American nations and called on them to support the return of the hostages. All of the leaders condemned the act of terror committed by Hamas against the Israeli people.
Reuters and Maayan Hoffman contributed to this report.
The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.
“Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel,” Biden said in the memo.
“While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States.”Increased attacks since Oct.7
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a “support front” with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel’s military assault in Gaza.
The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.
On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.
Hezbollah is an Iran-backed terrorist group and the most powerful military and political force in Lebanon.
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Preparing for war: Haifa mayor describes city’s infrastructure changes tensions in North escalate
Haifa mayor Yona Yahav spoke this past Monday with Lior Rosenfeld on Radio North 104.5FM about the escalation of the war in the North and his entry into political office amidst the security situation.
Yahav began, “I cannot speak on behalf of the North as I don’t know exactly what’s happening there. No one updates me, as if we are not the largest and most important city in the North. Tomorrow, the Home Front Command is coming to see us for the first time, and we will see what they have to say. We are doing everything to ensure that the city itself and our residents are safe and know what to do in case, God forbid, missiles fall on us. They are more accurate than those in 2006.”
Yahav also discussed the city’s preparations for a war in the North.
“We are now changing the entire method of building public structures,” Yahav said. “We are preparing them for prolonged stays. The minimum will be four consecutive days in shelters and such buildings, which require preparation. For example, installing toilets, which we don’t have today, and we have given instructions to build them in places close to where new houses are being built. This has been fully understood, and developers have begun to understand that the talk about evacuation and reconstruction has undergone drastic changes in light of the security situation. For example, road width needs to be maintained for the sake of evacuating residents on these roads. These are things that were not considered until now and must now be taken into account.”
Yahav’s plans for the success of Haifa’s future
Yahav then discussed his appeal to the transportation minister to stop the Highway 23 Carmel Tunnels’ toll charge.
“We called on the transportation minister to stop the discrimination. Haifa and the North are always discriminated against compared to central Israel, and there’s no reason for this. There are huge tunnels dug in Jerusalem that do not cost residents any money to pass through. There’s no reason why the tunnels dug in Haifa should include a toll. I speak on behalf of Haifa residents, and we are preparing to petition if we do not receive an answer.”
Regarding his entry into his mayoral role about three months ago, Yahav said, “I found a completely ruined city. They destroyed the municipality, and it’s very difficult to move things around. I don’t understand how residents sat idly by and kept quiet. We are trying to go to government offices to fix relations, to get funds, to move projects to bring in fees – and we are doing all this in a short time.
“The ministers are acting openly and with the goodwill to help. I am now waiting for the money on the table. The casino building in Bat Galim will be a luxurious hotel on the Bat Galim seashore. This neighborhood will undergo a complete transformation and will be the most beautiful neighborhood in the country. It will also be the only neighborhood facing a recognized beach. We came to make a change, and we will succeed.”
In conclusion, he touched on the issue of wild boars: “You won’t be able to follow them because soon you won’t see them anymore.”
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‘Psychological operation’: Turkey condemns FM Katz social media post depicting toddler Erdogan
Turkey’s Foreign Affairs Ministry released a statement on Sunday condemning a social media post made by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, in which Katz presented Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan as a toddler on the lap of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Katz, in a Sunday post on X, wrote “Erdogan @RTErdogan finances and arms terrorist organizations of Hamas to carry out attacks and murder against Israelis. The General Security Service captured a squad of students from Bir Zeit who were employed by the Hamas headquarters in Turkey to carry out murder attacks in Israel, through training and weapons and tens of thousands of dollars provided to them.
“Erdogan turned Turkey into a state that supports terrorism and subjects Turkey to the Iranian axis of evil in the name of extreme ideology and blatant anti-Semitism.”
Katz’s comments were made in reference to a recently thwarted terror attack planned by the student Hamas cell in Bir Zeit University, north of Ramallah. The attempted attack, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said, was directed by Hamas’s base in Turkey.ארדואן @RTErdogan מממן ומחמש ארגוני טרור של החמאס לביצוע פיגועים ורצח נגד ישראלים. שירות הביטחון הכללי לכד חוליית סטודנטים מביר זית שהופעלו ע”י מפקדת החמאס בטורקיה לביצוע פיגועי רצח בישראל, באמצעות אימונים ונשק ועשרות אלפי דולרים שסופקו להם.ארדואן הפך את טורקיה למדינה תומכת טרור… pic.twitter.com/R0SCjYdngN
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) July 21, 2024
Turkey condemns the social media post
The Turkish ministry responded “The Israeli Foreign Minister is trying to hide Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians behind a series of lies, slander and disrespect.
“Israel’s dirty propaganda targeting Türkiye and President Erdoğan, and psychological operation attempts will not bear fruit.
“The members of the Netanyahu Government, who have killed nearly forty thousand Palestinians in Gaza and are now trying to start a regional war in order to stay in power, will be tried in international courts and held accountable for their crimes.
“Türkiye will continue to speak the truth and defend the right of the Palestinian people to live in justice and peace.”
The ministry cited data provided by the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Additionally, Turkey has repeatedly asserted that it does not categorize Hamas as a terrorist organization – despite its western allies acknowledging it as such and its proven attacks on Israeli civilians.
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