JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday vowed to press ahead with Israel’s offensive and blasted a UN Security Council resolution calling for a pause in the fighting, saying it had emboldened Hamas to reject a separate proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release.
As the war in Gaza grinds through a sixth month, each side has publicly insisted that its own idea of victory is in reach and rejected international efforts to stem the bloodshed.
Netanyahu has said Israel can achieve its aims of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages if it expands its ground offensive to the southern city of Rafah, where over half of Gaza’s population has sought refuge, many in crowded tent camps.
Hamas has said it will hold onto the hostages until Israel agrees to a more permanent ceasefire, withdraws its forces from Gaza and releases hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including top militants. It said late Monday that it has rejected a recent proposal that fell short of those demands — which, if fulfilled, would allow it to claim an extremely costly victory.
Netanyahu said in a statement that the announcement “proved clearly that Hamas is not interested in continuing negotiations toward a deal and served as unfortunate testimony to the damage of the Security Council decision.”
“Israel will not surrender to Hamas’ delusional demands and will continue to act to achieve all the goals of the war: releasing all the hostages, destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities and ensuring that Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel.”
The war has killed over 32,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally but says women and children make up about two-thirds of those killed. The fighting has left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins, displaced most its residents and driven a third of its population of 2.3 million to the brink of famine.
An Israeli strike late Monday on a residential building in Rafah where three displaced families were sheltering killed at least 16 people, including nine children and four women, according to hospital records and relatives of the deceased. An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies arrive at a hospital.
On Monday, the Security Council finally managed to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire as the United States abstained instead of vetoing the measure, angering Israel in a major escalation of tensions between the two close allies. The resolution calls for the release of all hostages held in Gaza but did not condition the ceasefire on it.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Army Radio on Tuesday that the resolution had emboldened Hamas by signaling that international pressure would end the war without it having to make any concessions.
“The message delivered to Hamas yesterday … is that you don’t have to hurry,” Katz said.
The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border and attacked communities in southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 others. It is still believed to be holding about 100 hostages and the remains of 30 others, after most of the rest were freed in November in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent several weeks trying to negotiate another ceasefire and hostage release, but those efforts appeared to have stalled. Hamas has informed the mediators it will stick to an earlier position, it said in its statement late Monday.
Hamas said Israel has not responded to its core demands of a “comprehensive ceasefire, an (Israeli) withdrawal from the Strip, the return of displaced people and a real prisoner exchange.”
Hamas has previously proposed a phased process in which it would release all the remaining hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the opening of its borders for aid and reconstruction, and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including top militants serving life sentences.
Netanyahu has vowed to resume Israel’s offensive after any hostage release and keep fighting until Hamas is destroyed, saying it’s the only way to prevent a repeat of the Oct. 7 attack. But he has provided few details about what would follow any such victory and has largely rejected a postwar vision outlined by the US
That approach has brought him into increasingly open conflict with President Joe Biden’s administration, which has expressed mounting concern over civilian casualties while supplying Israel with crucial military aid and backing Israel’s aim of destroying Hamas. The US had vetoed previous UN resolutions calling for a ceasefire.
The White House has urged Israel not to undertake a major ground operation in Rafah, warning that it could cause a humanitarian catastrophe. The administration was set to brief visiting Israeli officials on an alternative approach, but Netanyahu called off their visit in response to the US abstention at the UN
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is in Washington on a separate trip, however, and is to meet with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday.
On Monday, Gallant vowed to continue the offensive until Israel’s aims are met.
“We will operate against Hamas everywhere — including in places where we have not yet been,” he said. “We have no moral right to stop the war while there are still hostages held in Gaza.”
Israel and Hamas dig in as international pressure builds for a ceasefire in Gaza
https://arab.news/cpucz
Israel and Hamas dig in as international pressure builds for a ceasefire in Gaza
- The resolution was the first since the Gaza war erupted to demand an immediate halt in the fighting
Gaza war deaths pass 46,000
The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants
GAZA: Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday that more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, with no end in sight to the 15-month conflict.
The ministry said a total of 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded. It has said women and children make up more than half the fatalities, but does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians.
The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. It blames Hamas for their deaths because it says the militants operate in residential areas.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are now packed into sprawling tent camps along the coast with limited access to food and other essentials. Israel has also repeatedly struck what it claims are militants hiding in shelters and hospitals, often killing women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250. A third of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be dead.
All Jordanians living in Los Angeles are fine, Foreign Ministry says
- At least 5 people have been killed by wildfires raging in and around the US city; more than 100,000 forced to flee homes
LONDON: The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said on Thursday that all Jordanian nationals living in Los Angeles, California, are “fine” as deadly wildfires continue to rage through neighborhoods in several areas in and around the US city.
The fires have claimed at least five lives, more than 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes, and hundreds of buildings have burned down.
The ministry sent its sincere condolences to the victims, the American people and the US government, the Jordan News Agency reported.
Japan grants Sudan about $1 million in food aid
- The statement underscored the urgency of the situation in Sudan
- The humanitarian situation has significantly worsened as the fighting areas have expanded
TOKYO: Japan, in cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP), decided to grant Sudan 150 million yen (nearly $1 million) as ‘food aid’ to improve the situation in that country, the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo stated.
Suzuki Satoshi, Japan’s Ambassador to International Organizations in Rome, and Ms. Rania Dagash-Kamara, Assistant Executive Director of the Partnerships and Innovation Department, World Food Programme, signed and exchanged notes regarding the grant aid in Rome on January 8th.
The statement underscored the urgency of the situation in Sudan, where armed conflict between the national army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in April 2023.
The humanitarian situation has significantly worsened as the fighting areas have expanded and become protracted.
According to the WFP, several regions in Sudan are at risk of famine, approximately half of the population is facing acute food insecurity, and hunger-related deaths have been recorded.
At the Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) held in August 2022, Japan announced its commitment to “responding to the food crisis and supporting sustainable agricultural production.” This cooperation is a concrete step in realizing this commitment.
The Republic of Sudan has an area of approximately 1.88 million square kilometers (about five times the size of Japan), a population of approximately 50.04 million, and a gross national income (GNI) per capita of $880, according to the 2023 World Bank data.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, respected army chief
- Aoun has since 2017 headed the army, an institution that serves as a rare source of unity in Lebanon
- The man of few words was able to count on his good relations across the divided Lebanese political class to see him elected
BEIRUT: Joseph Aoun, Lebanon’s army chief who was elected president on Thursday, is a political neophyte whose position as head of one of the country’s most respected institutions helped end a two-year deadlock.
Widely seen as the preferred pick of army backer the United States, he is perceived as being best placed to maintain a fragile ceasefire and pull the country out of financial collapse.
After being sworn in at parliament, Aoun said “a new phase in Lebanon’s history” was beginning.
Analysts said Aoun, who turns 61 on Friday and is considered a man of “personal integrity,” was the right candidate to finally replace Michel Aoun — no relation — whose term as president ended in October 2022, without a successor until now.
A dozen previous attempts to choose a president failed amid tensions between Hezbollah and its opponents, who have accused the Shiite group of seeking to impose its preferred candidate.
Aoun has since 2017 headed the army, an institution that serves as a rare source of unity in a country riven by sectarian and political divides.
He has navigated it through a blistering financial crisis that has drastically slashed the salaries of its 80,000 soldiers, forcing him to accept international aid.
Since late November, he oversaw the gradual mobilization of the armed forces in south Lebanon after a ceasefire ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Under the truce, the Lebanese army has been deploying progressively alongside UN peacekeepers in the south as Israeli forces withdraw, a process they have to finish by January 26.
Speaking on Thursday, Aoun said the state would have “a monopoly” on arms.
The general with broad shoulders and a shaved head has stepped up talks with visiting foreign dignitaries since becoming army chief.
The man of few words was able to count on his good relations across the divided Lebanese political class to see him elected.
Aoun “has a reputation of personal integrity,” said Karim Bitar, an international relations expert at Beirut’s Saint-Joseph University.
He came to prominence after leading the army in a battle to drive out Daesh from a mountainous area along the Syrian border.
“Within the Lebanese army, he is perceived as someone who is dedicated... who has the national interest at heart, and who has been trying to consolidate this institution, which is the last non-sectarian institution still on its feet in the country,” Bitar told AFP.
Aoun was set to retire in January last year, but has had his mandate extended twice — most recently in November.
Mohanad Hage Ali, from the Carnegie Middle East Center, noted that “being the head of US-backed Lebanese Armed Forces, Joseph Aoun has ties to the United States.”
“While he maintained relations with everyone, Hezbollah-affiliated media often criticized him” for those US ties, he told AFP.
Washington is the main financial backer of Lebanon’s army, which also receives support from other countries including Qatar.
An international conference in Paris last month raised $200 million to support the armed forces.
The military has been hit hard by Lebanon’s economic crisis, and at one point in 2020 it said it had cut out meat from the meals offered to on-duty soldiers due to rising food prices.
Aoun, who speaks Arabic, English and French, hails from Lebanon’s Christian community and has two children.
By convention, the presidency goes to a Maronite Christian, the premiership is reserved for a Sunni Muslim and the post of parliament speaker goes to a Shiite Muslim.
Aoun is Lebanon’s fifth army commander to become president, and the fourth in a row.
Military chiefs, by convention, are also Maronites.
Egypt top diplomat meets PLO, urges Palestinian unity
- During his meeting with the PLO delegation in Cairo, Badr Abdelatty “reaffirmed Egypt’s supportive stance toward the Palestinian Authority”
CAIRO: Egypt’s foreign minister met a Palestine Liberation Organization delegation Thursday, calling for “unity” and the strengthening of the Palestinian Authority amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.
The conflict began after the Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering massive retaliation.
During his meeting with the PLO delegation in Cairo, Badr Abdelatty “reaffirmed Egypt’s supportive stance toward the Palestinian Authority,” his office said in a statement.
The minister also reiterated “Egypt’s rejection of any plans to displace Palestinians from their lands,” it added.
Last month, Egypt hosted talks between rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas to discuss bringing post-war Gaza under PA control.
Fatah, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank under the PA, dominates both the PA and the PLO, an internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people.
It has been excluded from Gaza since Hamas seized control in 2007.
On Thursday, Abdelatty also discussed with the PLO delegation Egypt’s efforts to end the Gaza war, reach a ceasefire agreement and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been engaged in months of talks to cement a truce in Gaza, but so far to no avail.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that a Gaza ceasefire remained close but added it may not happen before President Joe Biden hands over to Donald Trump.
“I hope that we can get it over the line in the time that we have,” said Blinken, who leaves office with Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
Hamas said at the end of last week that indirect negotiations in Doha had resumed, while Israel said it had authorized negotiators to continue the talks in the Qatari capital.
A previous round of mediation in December ended with both sides blaming the other for the impasse, with Hamas accusing Israel of setting “new conditions” and Israel accusing Hamas of throwing up “obstacles” to a deal.
