Netanyahu reiterates: The war will not end until Hamas is crushed
Hezbollah accuses Cyprus of taking sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah accused Cyprus of allowing Israel to use its airports and bases for military exercises.
Israel will not end the war in the Gaza Strip until all hostages held by Hamas-led militants are returned, Hamas is eliminated and “Iran’s intentions to destroy us” are thwarted, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli parliamentarians on Monday.
However, Netanyahu also said Israel was committed to the peace plan unveiled by President Joe Biden last month.
The comments came a day after the prime minister drew criticism for rejecting the ceasefire plan, which is intended to lead to a lasting peace if both sides follow the steps outlined in the proposal. Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel was willing to stop fighting in Gaza in exchange for the return of some hostages, but said Israel was “obliged” to continue fighting until Hamas is destroyed.
A Hamas statement said Netanyahu’s plan to continue fighting was a “clear confirmation of his rejection” of the ceasefire plan. The statement called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to end the war and the Biden administration to end its support for Israel and “expose the occupation and its crimes, which make Washington a key partner in maintaining it.”
In a brazen, bloody raid on Israeli communities bordering Gaza on October 7, Hamas-led militants killed nearly 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250. More than 100 hostages remain in Gaza, although dozens are presumed dead. The attack sparked Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, in which authorities say more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Developments:
∎ The United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) was sued on Monday by dozens of Israelis who accused it of aiding and abetting the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. The suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, alleges that the agency helped Hamas build a “terror infrastructure” and recruit personnel needed for the attack for more than a decade.
∎ On Sunday, pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters clashed in the predominantly Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles. The United Jewish Coalition issued a statement saying the incident had “represented the worst nightmare that many of us had hoped we would never have to experience on American soil” and that Jews in the city were no longer safe.
∎ Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to a plan backed by Biden to transform the Gaza Strip into a kind of Palestinian Authority in the West Bank after the war.
The pressure on Netanyahu is growing: Biden questions his motives, Hamas sticks to its demands
Once fighting in Gaza subsides, Israel will deploy more troops to the northern border with Lebanon, Netanyahu said. Clashes with Hezbollah there have escalated, forcing tens of thousands of Israelis to flee their homes for months. Netanyahu said the main goal would be to establish defensive positions in the north.
“If we can, we will do it diplomatically. If not, we will do it differently,” Netanyahu said. “But we will bring them home.”
European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned on Monday that the conflict in the Middle East was on the verge of spreading to Lebanon and possibly beyond. Borrell pointed out that just last week the Iran-backed Hezbollah threatened EU member Cyprus.
“The risk that this war will affect and spread to southern Lebanon is growing day by day,” Borrell told reporters ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg. “We are on the verge of an expansion of the war.”
An Israeli offensive in Lebanon targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters stationed there could draw Iran deeper into the Middle East conflict and endanger US forces in the region, the highest-ranking US military officer said.
Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Iranian response in defense of Hezbollah could spark a larger war, according to an Associated Press report. Brown, who spoke to reporters on Sunday en route to Botswana, said Tehran would likely provide more support to Hezbollah than Hamas if Iranian leaders felt Hezbollah was under “significant threat.”
Brown said the U.S. may be able to provide only limited support to Israel in a broader war with Hezbollah because of the difficulty of stopping Hezbollah’s shorter-range rockets that are regularly fired at Israel.
Head of controversial UN aid organization for Palestinians calls for global support
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine, founded 75 years ago, is “faltering under the weight of relentless attacks” and years of severe underfunding, the head of UNRWA said on Monday.
Philippe Lazzarini said UNRWA was being targeted by Israel because of its role in protecting the rights of Palestinian refugees and its commitment to a political solution that is supported by an overwhelming majority of the world. He called for global support for the agency, which he said will be crucial for post-war Gaza, including in providing education to 300,000 children who have been virtually out of school since the war began.
“Israel has long been critical of UNRWA’s mandate,” he said. “But now it wants to end UNRWA’s operations and challenge the agency’s status as a United Nations body supported by an overwhelming majority of member states.”
An Israeli airstrike on a vocational school near Gaza City used to distribute humanitarian aid killed eight Palestinians on Sunday, witnesses said. The attack hit parts of a vocational school run by the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) that provides aid to displaced families.
“Some people … were filling up water, others were receiving vouchers, and suddenly we heard something falling,” Mohammed Tafesh, who witnessed the carnage, told Reuters. “We ran away, those carrying water let it spill.”
The Israeli military, which has repeatedly accused the agency of supporting Hamas, said in a statement that it was using “precise weapons” and extensive intelligence to protect civilians not associated with Hamas.
“This is another example of how the terrorist organization Hamas systematically abuses infrastructure and the civilian population as human shields for terrorist activities,” the military said in a statement.
Hamas rejected Israel’s claim that the site was being used for military purposes, calling it “an exposed lie that obscures the true intentions of this fascist government towards UNRWA.”
Contributors: Reuters
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