Israel declared that its war in Gaza against Hamas will continue “with or without international support,” despite growing pressure from its allies, including the United States, and calls for a ceasefire.
Israel bombs the Gaza Strip in response to the attack launched by Hamas on its territory on October 7, which left more than 1,400 dead, according to Israeli authorities.
On October 27, its troops also began a ground operation to fulfill the objective of “annihilating” the Islamist movement, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the Israeli military must find a way to reduce the intensity of its bombing.
USA wants the war between Israel and Hamas to end “as soon as possible,” the White House said Thursday, after Israel’s defense minister told a senior U.S. official that the standoff will drag on for several months.
The impatience of the Biden government
According to US presidential spokesman John Kirby, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had also stated, during a visit to Tel Aviv, that Israel would move to “low intensity operations” against Gaza “in the near future.”
The increasing civilian casualties in Gaza as a result of Israeli attacks have caused a rift between Washington and Israel, solid and historical allies.
“I think we all want this to end as soon as possible,” Kirby told reporters at a briefing, adding that “it could end today” if the Hamas terrorist organization backs down, but “that doesn’t seem likely at this point.”
Kirby said Washington was “not dictating conditions” to Israel and that the schedule announced by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was “consistent” with what Israeli officials had previously said.
But during his visit to Israel, Jake Sullivan had asked “tough questions” to Israeli officials about the course of their offensive against the Palestinian enclave, the spokesman added.
“He talked about a possible transition from what we would call high-intensity operations, which is what we’re seeing now, to lower-intensity operations at some point in the near future,” Kirby said. “But I don’t want to talk about specific times,” she added.
US President Joe Biden has backed Israel, but on Tuesday issued his strongest criticism yet, warning that Tel Aviv risked losing global support over “indiscriminate bombings”.
He made these statements before meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. A trip to the Hebrew State of the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, is also planned soon.
Despite signs of impatience from the United States, its main ally, Israel has intensified its bombing.
The war in Gaza, triggered by the horrendous attacks on October 7 by Hamas terrorists against Israel, has left more than 20,000 dead, according to data from the respective authorities.
The Hamas offensive left more than 1,400 dead, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel’s response has caused 18,787 deaths in Gaza, mostly women and minors, according to the Ministry of Health of this Palestinian territory governed by Hamas.
On Thursday, the ministry said overnight Israeli bombings killed at least 67 people in the Gaza Strip.
Israel seeks to exterminate Hamas
Despite the high number of civilian deaths, the Israeli authorities want to continue their military response.
“Hamas is a terrorist organization that was established over a decade to fight Israel and that built underground and aerial infrastructure that is not easy to destroy. It will take time, more than a few months. But we will defeat and destroy” the organization, said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who met with Sullivan.
Sullivan told a Wall Street Journal event before the trip that he would discuss a timetable for ending the war and urge Israeli authorities to “move into a different phase of the high-intensity operations we see today.”
Netanyahu admitted that there are “disagreements” with the United States over how Gaza will be administered after the conflict.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh declared on Wednesday that “any discussion about Gaza or the Palestinian cause without the presence of Hamas or the resistance factions will be a bluff.”
A poll, published Wednesday by the Palestinian Center for Survey and Policy Research, indicated that Haniyeh has the support of 78% of the inhabitants of the Palestinian territories, compared to 58% before the war.
In addition to American pressure, the UN General Assembly voted this week in favor of a non-binding call for a ceasefire, but the United States ruled against the majority.
Terrorists take civilian centers as a shield
The UN, a historic ally of the Palestinians, estimates that 1.9 million people, of Gaza’s 2.4 million inhabitants, have been displaced and live in tents and that supplies of food, drinking water, medicine are running out. and fuel.
The Israeli Defense Ministry’s body in charge of Palestinian civil affairs, COGAT, stated that the army “is allowing tactical pauses for humanitarian purposes.”
One took place for four hours in a neighborhood of the city of Rafah (southern), transformed into a large camp for displaced people, to allow civilians to replenish supplies, he said.
The UN has warned of the spread of disease and Gaza’s hospital system is in ruins. Hamas authorities say they have run out of vaccines for children, warning that the consequences are “catastrophic.”
On Thursday, the Israeli military said that “more than 70 terrorists left the hospital with weapons in hand” and indicated that its troops killed “several” militants during fighting in the area.
The Israeli army says it has lost 116 soldiers since the start of its offensive, and faces growing pressure to release hostages captured by the terrorist group.
After dozens were freed during a truce over an exchange with Palestinian prisoners, Israeli authorities say 118 of the 240 hostages are still alive in Gaza.
Source: With information from AP and AFP
