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Israeli orgs. urge Biden to stop ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in Gaza
A group of left-wing Israeli organizations submitted a letter to United States President Joe Biden on Tuesday, asking that he encourage Israel to discontinue military actions in the Gaza Strip and continue administering aid.
The letter, which begins by condemning the October 7 massacre committed by Hamas but neglects to use the word “terrorist,” accuses Israel of not complying with the US instructions to act in self-defense in accordance with international law and the rules of war.
Despite the implication that Israel is committing breaches of international law, the letter goes on to say that they do not wish to focus on this but their concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis developing in Gaza.
A humanitarian crisis in Gaza
The groups argue that “Israel’s policy has driven the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to the point of catastrophe – not only as an inevitable outcome of war.” One example they give is that Israel discontinued the sale of water and electricity to the strip.
The letter claims that most of the civilian population does not have access to safe drinking water, although the letter does not cite where this information has come from.
Only 10% of Gaza’s water supply is provided by Israel, as reported by the Jerusalem Post in October. Eyal Pinko of the Department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University also told the Post at the time that “Israel is meeting the basic criteria” for meeting international law.
The letter also addresses the number of civilian casualties caused by Israel’s military response to Hamas. The letter claims that more than 18,000 people have been killed and most are women and children; this statistic was cited as from the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry.
“It is crucial that Hamas release the hostages back into Israel. However,” the letter continues, “allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza is not a gesture of goodwill on Israel’s part but one of it’s obligations.” The letter claims that under international humanitarian law, a civilian population in an armed conflict that does not have the necessary resources to survive on available means must be provided with resources by the fighting parties.
The writers also say that while some humanitarian aid has been sent to Gaza, it does not meet the needs of the population and cannot be properly distributed due to “the ongoing bombardments, the destruction of infrastructure and restrictions imposed by Israel.”
The letter does not mention Hamas stealing aid or corruption as reasons that aid may not be distributed. The IDF released evidence that Hamas had stolen aid, as reported by the Post in November.
“You have the power to influence our government to change its policy and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, in accordance with Israel’s legal obligation,” the writers told Biden.
The letter was signed by Academia for Equality, Akevot Institute, B’Tselem, Bimkom, Breaking the Silence, Combatants for Peace, Gisha, HaMoked Jordan Valley Activists, Looking the Occupation in the Eye, Machsom Watch, Parents Aginst Child Detention, Psychoactive PWG, Rabbis for Human Rights, Re’Acha Kamocha, Social Workers for Peace and Welfare, and Yesh Din, Zazim-Community Action.
Israel’s political echelon, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered the IDF to prepare for an “immediate” return to fighting in Gaza, KAN News reported on Friday evening.
The Jerusalem Post reported earlier this week that Israeli officials estimated that if no agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas, Israel would return to fighting in Gaza in about a week and a half.
“Hamas is currently rejecting [US Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff’s proposal, so it is very difficult to make progress,” one official said.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Witkoff’s plan involves the release of half of the living hostages and the return of half of the bodies on the first day of the continued deal. The rest of the hostages and bodies would be returned on the 42nd day, which would be the final day of the ceasefire.However, some claim that the terrorist organization has not rejected the proposal. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, “Hamas has neither accepted nor rejected the Witkoff proposal.”
Eyal Zamir to Gaza border community heads: We’re preparing to fight
On his first day as the new IDF chief of staff on Thursday, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir told heads of local councils from the Gaza border communities that “we are preparing to return to fighting” in Gaza.
“We must defeat Hamas,” Zamir said. “We are also preparing to resume fighting. The hostages are our top priority.”
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.
Negotiations over the continued release of hostages held in Gaza have stalled, and “right now there is nothing happening,” sources familiar with details of the talks admitted in conversation with The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
“Right now, there’s nothing happening,” an Israeli official told the Post, adding that “Hamas is currently rejecting the Witkoff proposal, so it is very difficult to make progress.”
According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the Witkoff plan involves the release of half of the living hostages and the return of half of the bodies on the first day of the deal. The second half of the hostages and bodies would be returned on the 42nd day, which would be the final day of the ceasefire.
On the other hand, some claim that Hamas has not rejected the proposal. “Hamas has neither accepted nor rejected the Witkoff proposal,” said a source with knowledge of the negotiations with the Post.“Hamas has said it is willing to negotiate and has not rejected the plan. Since Israel currently states that this is the proposal on the table, from Israel’s perspective, Hamas has rejected it.”
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff not expected to visit Israel soon, source says
An Israeli source told the Post that there is no expectation for Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, to visit the region at the moment, adding, “He will only come to finalize a deal. And since there is no real progress right now, it is unclear when or if he will arrive.”
Without an agreement on the release of additional hostages in the coming days, Israeli sources say Israel is preparing to escalate its actions against Hamas. After the decision on Sunday to stop humanitarian aid, Israel is preparing to cut off water and electricity to the Gaza Strip, as well as resume fighting – some say this might happen, without a deal, as early as next week.
Israeli officials suggest that even without accepting the Witkoff initiative, Hamas might agree to release additional hostages in the near future in exchange for the release of terrorists from prison and the entry of caravans and humanitarian aid, but they add that this also depends on other issues.
“The Israeli government needs to decide what will be negotiated with Hamas and what they will receive in exchange for the release of hostages in the coming weeks,” said an Israeli source. “Hamas’s agreement to release more hostages depends on the answers to these questions.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that Israel responded to the mediators’ request to allow a few more days of negotiations. Katz added,d “If Hamas does not release the hostages soon, the gates of Gaza will be locked and the gates of hell will be opened – we will return to fighting, and they will face the IDF with forces and methods they have never encountered before.”
Israeli officials suggest that even without accepting the Witkoff initiative, Hamas might agree to release additional hostages in the near future in exchange for the release of terrorists from prison and the entry of caravans and humanitarian aid, but they add that this also depends on other issues. “The Israeli government needs to decide what will be negotiated with Hamas and what they will receive in exchange for the release of hostages in the coming weeks,” said an Israeli source. “Hamas’s agreement to release more hostages depends on the answers to these questions.”
No progress has been made in the ceasefire talks in Cairo, and Israel is reaching a dead end, a source familiar with the details of the negotiations told The Jerusalem Post Saturday.
There were lots of technical discussions but no results, the source added.
Israel and mediating countries believe that only the Trump administration can perhaps break the talks out of the impasse.
“When [US Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff arrives, things may happen. Everyone is waiting for him,” the source said.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a meeting on the hostage deal in the next several hours with senior officials and the negotiation team, an Israeli official told the Post.
Hamas refusing Israeli proposal to extend phase one of deal
Hamas is refusing the idea of extending the first phase of the deal, Israeli officials said.
The Israeli and Qatari delegations arrived in Cairo on Thursday. The delegation is led by Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing Persons, Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch, as well as “M,” an anonymous officer from the Shin Bet. M is the former deputy of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who is reportedly no longer part of the hostage deal negotiating team.
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