Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will have “overall security responsibility” in Gaza “for an indefinite period” after its war with Hamas and expressed openness to “little pauses” in the current fighting to facilitate the release of hostages
An aerial view shows the compound of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on November 7, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will have “overall security responsibility” in Gaza “for an indefinite period” after its war with Hamas and expressed openness to “little pauses” in the current fighting to facilitate the release of hostages.
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His comments, in an interview that aired late Monday on ABC News, offered the clearest indication yet that Israel plans to maintain control over the territory that is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians.
Netanyahu ruled out any general cease-fire without the release of the more than 240 captives seized by Hamas in its Oct 7 raid into Israel, but said he was open to “tactical little pauses”.
US President Joe Biden had raised the need for humanitarian pauses directly with Netanyahu on a call earlier Monday, but no agreement was reached, the White House said.
Here's what is happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:
BLINKEN SEEKS G7 CONSENSUS ON ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Tokyo: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken shifted his intense diplomacy on the Israel-Hamas war to Asia on Tuesday with an appeal for the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies to forge a consensus on how to deal with the crisis.
As he and his G7 counterparts began two days of talks in Japan, Blinken said it was critically important for the group to show unity as it has over Russia's war in Ukraine and other major issues and prevent existing differences on Gaza from deepening.
Also read: Biden, Netanyahu discuss possibility of 'tactical pauses' in Gaza strikes
‘This is a very important moment as well for the G7 to come together in the face of this crisis and to speak, as we do, with one clear voice,” Blinken told Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa.
The devastating monthlong conflict in Gaza and efforts to ease the dire humanitarian impacts of Israel's response to the deadly Oct 7 Hamas attack will be a major focus of the meeting. Yet with the Russia-Ukraine war, fears North Korea may be readying a new nuclear test, and concerns about China's increasing global assertiveness, it is far from the only crisis on the agenda.
ISRAELIS OBSERVE ONE-MONTH ANNIVERSARY OF HAMAS ASSAULT
Jerusalem: Israelis observed a minute of silence on Tuesday morning in memory of the victims of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel and the 348 soldiers killed since the assault, on its one-month anniversary.
Israelis are marking the anniversary as a day of mourning over the attack, in which more than 1,400 people were killed and 242 were taken hostage. The one-month anniversary is a milestone in the timeline of Jewish mourning.
Memorial events are scheduled to be held in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem later in the day.
UAE TO ESTABLISH 150-BED FIELD HOSPITAL IN GAZA
Dubai: The United Arab Emirates says it will establish a field hospital in Gaza with 150 beds, a surgery department and intensive care units for adults and children.
The state-run WAM news agency reported the move late Monday, saying five aircraft had flown to Egypt, where the equipment will be unloaded and transferred to Gaza.
It says the hospital will be set up in multiple stages, without providing an exact timetable.
The UAE was the driving force behind the Abraham Accords in which four Arab countries normalised relations with Israel in 2020.
The wealthy Persian Gulf country has previously said it would provide $20 million in aid to the Palestinian people and bring about 1,000 Palestinian children, along with their families, to the UAE for medical treatment.
PAKISTAN SENDS SECOND PLANELOAD OF RELIEF GOODS FOR GAZA
Islamabad: Pakistan sent a second planeload of relief goods for people in Gaza on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry said.
It said the humanitarian assistance consisted of hygiene kits, medicines and food.
Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani expressed Pakistan's full solidarity with the Palestinian people and condemned Israel's bombardment of Gaza. He said Israel was targeting civilians, including women and children, and demanded an end to the strikes.
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