CNN quoted American officials as expecting that Israel's war on Gaza will enter a new phase in the coming days, during which Israel will reduce the size of its air campaign and focus on a more tactical ground operation.

As humanitarian aid continues to flow into Gaza, the Joe Biden administration expects the Israeli air campaign to see "a decline from what we've seen," a senior administration official told CNN on Friday.

The administration expects to move to focus more on the ground campaign with the aim of eliminating the vast network of underground tunnel complexes from which Hamas operates.

The official stressed that the administration was "very direct... regarding war decisions and was deliberate and asked difficult questions" in discussions with Israel, even as the Israeli army sparked international criticism over the targeting of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to the newspaper.

In response to a question about when the Biden administration might feel compelled to call a ceasefire, something it has refused to do so far, the official said that “given the scale and nature of Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, a ceasefire is not appropriate.”

The official confirmed that the United States is actively calling on Israel to activate the so-called “humanitarian truces,” and that it assures Israel that “even if it has the right to defend itself, it must abide by international humanitarian laws.”

The official added: “Ultimately, I think the ceasefire depends on the Israelis feeling safe in ensuring that something like this does not happen again.”

The Israel-Hamas war has pushed the Palestinian issue to center stage both in the region and internationally. Have Hamas’s October 7 attack, Israel’s blockade and airstrikes, and the ensuing humanitarian catastrophe altered Gazans’ views on Hamas? What did Hamas hope to gain from the attack? Has the Palestinian Authority been weakened further by the escalating violence in the areas under its control, and would its influence be strengthened or weakened if Israel were to succeed in destroying Hamas’s military capabilities? Are there any circumstances in which the Palestinian Authority might return to Gaza?

For the 29th day in a row, Israeli occupation aircraft continue to launch intense raids on the Gaza Strip, leaving behind a series of mass massacres that claimed the lives of more than 9,000 Palestinian martyrs, while violent clashes continue between the Palestinian resistance and the occupation army forces that are trying to penetrate the Strip in several Axes.

Dozens of citizens were martyred, and others were injured, since dawn today, Saturday, in the continuous Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, by land, sea and air, for the 29th day in a row.

Local sources reported that the occupation warplanes targeted a house for the Al-Najjar family in a parking lot in the center of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, resulting in at least 4 deaths and dozens of injuries.

The sources added that an Israeli raid targeted the gate of Al-Nasr Hospital on Al-Nasr Street, north of Gaza City, killing dozens of displaced citizens and wounding many.

The occupation aircraft also bombed the main electricity generator at Al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza City, causing a major fire in the place and putting the generator out of service, in addition to targeting electrical and solar generators in the Al-Rimal neighborhood in central Gaza.

The occupation aircraft bombed a water tank that supplies several neighborhoods east of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, and 14 fishing boats were burned due to the intense bombardment along the coast of the Rafah Sea.

By Paul Jay

Why is most of Israeli society supporting the imminent genocide against the population of Gaza, knowing that 40% of the population are children? Shir Hever says Israel is disintegrating as it tries to wipe Gaza off the map.

ByTalia Baroncelli

Retired U.S. Colonel Larry Wilkerson discusses the Biden administration’s unconditional support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bombardment of Gaza and large-scale indiscriminate attacks on Palestinian civilians. He points to state-sanctioned torture and other unlawful acts committed by the U.S. after 9/11 and asserts that the Israeli government is responding to Hamas’ attacks in a similar fashion by wholly disregarding international legal norms. In doing so, Israel is putting its own population at risk, as well as collectively punishing the Palestinians.

The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the foreign ministers of Jordan, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt, and the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, will hold a coordination meeting on Saturday, November 4, 2023, in light of the efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire between the Israelis and the Palestinians, before... They hold a meeting with US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, who is visiting Jordan.

Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Sufyan Al-Qudah, confirmed that the ministers will hold “a joint meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, during which they will confirm the Arab position calling for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.” The ministers will discuss with the US Secretary of State “all the repercussions and ways to end this dangerous deterioration that threatens the security of the entire region,” according to the statement.

It is noteworthy that Blinken arrived in Jordan on Friday, after a visit to Israel that lasted a little more than 10 hours. On Friday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed the need to “prevent the expansion of the conflict in Gaza,” which has been ongoing since last October 7.

Blinken said in a press conference in Tel Aviv, where he arrived on Friday as part of a visit to the region: “We provided Israel with advice that only the best friends can provide, on how to reduce civilian deaths.” Regarding the violence of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, he added: “I heard a clear commitment from the Israeli government to deal with extremist violence.”

He added: “We need to prevent the expansion of this conflict,” adding: “Regarding Iran and Hezbollah, we have been clear from the beginning that we are determined not to open an additional second or third front in this conflict.”

The Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday, November 3, 2023, that it had recalled its ambassador to Israel for consultations due to what it described as Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip. With this decision, Honduras joins the Latin American countries that opposed the practices of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government against Gaza, in light of the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In addition to Honduras, the presidents of Colombia and Chile, Gustavo Petro and Gabriel Boric, respectively, recently decided to recall their ambassadors to Israel. To evaluate the importance of maintaining diplomatic exchanges with Tel Aviv.

The decision of Colombia and Chile prompted Israel to call on them to condemn the Hamas movement, after the two Latin countries announced the recall of their ambassadors to Tel Aviv. In protest against Israel's violations of humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip. This came in a statement by Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Hayat, which he published on his official account on the “X” platform.

Hayat claimed that "among the victims of the attack launched by Hamas on October 7 were citizens of Colombia, Chile, and other Latin American countries." He continued: “Israel calls on Colombia and Chile to explicitly condemn the Hamas organization,” as he put it.

He continued: "Israel expects that Colombia and Chile will stand by its side, to support the right of the democratic state to protect its citizens, and to call for the immediate release of all those kidnapped."

Hayat called on the two countries "not to ally with Venezuela and Iran," which support Hamas, he said.

Earlier, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that he had summoned his country's ambassador to Tel Aviv for consultations, in protest against what he described as "the massacre committed by Israel against the Palestinians."

Petro said in a post on the “X” platform: “I decided to summon our ambassador to Israel for consultations. If Israel does not stop the massacre against the Palestinian people, we will not be able to stay there.”

Chilean President Gabriel Buric also announced that his country had summoned its ambassador to Israel for consultations, after the latter’s violations of international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip.

On Tuesday, Bolivia announced the severing of its diplomatic relations with Israel. For committing crimes against humanity in its attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to the Bolivian Foreign Ministry.

Bolivia previously severed its diplomatic relations with Israel in 2009. In protest against its attacks on the Gaza Strip, and in 2020 it restored relations.

While fighting raged on the outskirts of Gaza City amid reports of house-to-house and tunnel-to-tunnel confrontations between Hamas fighters and Israeli soldiers, Tel Aviv rejected Washington's effort to implement a humanitarian truce in the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, conditioning that in order to accept this, Hamas should release... The prisoners it holds.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday, Friday, that he informed US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that Israel will not agree to any ceasefire in Gaza unless the 249 hostages are released, according to the latest official Israeli figures, noting that “Hamas” It says that some of them died in the Israeli bombing of Gaza. Netanyahu added after the meeting with Blinken: “I made it clear that we will continue (the attack) with all force. We reject any ceasefire that does not include the liberation of our hostages.”

For his part, Blinken announced that he discussed with Netanyahu the issue of a “humanitarian truce” in Gaza, and explained to reporters in Tel Aviv: “We believe that all these efforts will be facilitated through the humanitarian truce, and through arrangements on the ground that increase security for civilians and allow the delivery of aid.” humanity more effectively and sustainably. He added: “We also consider it a way to create a better environment for the release of hostages.” In other statements, Blinken stressed that the only path to Israel's security is through the two-state solution option.

In addition, the Israeli forces reached the outskirts of Gaza City, through multiple axes from the north and south: north from Beit Lahia, to Sudaniya, Al-Tawam, Al-Karama, and Al-Atatra, all the way to the outskirts of the Beach Camp, northwest of the city, and south from Juhr Al-Dik, southeast of the city, to Netzarim, then Street 10, reaching the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood and Tal Al-Hawa, south of it.

Violent battles were recorded between Hamas fighters and the advanced forces, some of which took place face to face. The battles were accompanied by Israeli aircraft continuing to bomb large areas in Gaza. It targeted a convoy of displaced people, a convoy of wounded people, ambulances, and the vicinity of hospitals, causing more casualties.

The intense discussions that took place inside America last week showed that there is a deep state of anxiety surrounding America regarding the current conflict crisis in Gaza and the fate of the Strip after the end of the military confrontations.

The starting point of the questions: “What is the future of Gaza politically, after the destruction of (Hamas) and its military structure?” This matter depends, without a doubt, on the successes of the possible Israeli ground invasion, and the complete elimination of “Hamas” this time, in person and in stone, unlike previous times.

Does the hypothesis in itself go beyond the possible reality, especially since “Hamas” is an idea that mixes trends of ideological resistance to the occupation with a dogmatic view of the land of Palestine, which gives the conflict a sanctity beyond what is relative?

Certainly, there are those who fear a vacuum in the Gaza Strip in the event of a rapid Israeli withdrawal after achieving the military objective, which makes it a hotbed for similar groups. There are previous experiences, including the vacuum in Afghanistan, which created forces more extreme than the Taliban, such as Al-Qaeda. And in Africa, where ISIS took advantage of the weakness of the structures of a number of African countries or their absence in the Sahel region to grow and expand.

The greatest American fear is that Iran will take advantage of the power vacuum and succumb to the temptation to use new methods, or the emergence and advancement of new allies, to complete the mission of launching attacks on Israel.

This premise prompted US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to express explicitly last week, during a hearing of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee, to say that Washington is seriously seeking to formulate options for possible alternatives for the future of the Strip, even if he used a conditional sentence: “If Hamas is isolated.”

Blinken’s speech resulted in a preliminary understanding of Israel’s refusal to manage the Gaza Strip again, after the end of the military operations, and the clear inclination towards the presence of an effective and united Palestinian authority to govern Gaza, although the question to which the relevant Washington circles do not have an answer is whether or not this is possible. .

Blinken did not reveal the alternatives that Washington is approaching at this time, while Bloomberg played this role... What about those options?

The first option: is to provide temporary control over Gaza by the countries of the Middle East, with the support of the forces of the United States of America, Britain, Germany and France, and at the same time this approach goes towards the presence of Arab forces.

However, this option does not seem to have a successful chance, especially in light of statements by White House spokesman John Kirby, that there are no plans or intentions to deploy American military forces on the ground in Gaza, either now or in the future.

In addition, the majority of Arab capitals tend to prefer not to engage in any military form in this crisis, one way or another.

The second option: is to deploy peacekeeping forces and international observers on the ground in Gaza, which is an option that Israel sees as studyable, even if only in a preliminary manner.

However, America, which is thinking boldly in this regard, is the one that declares its reluctance to do the same, which was evident in the statements of Adrian Watson, the American spokesman for the US National Security Council, to the same “Bloomberg” agency, in which he said: “Sending American forces to Gaza as part of a force “Peacekeeping is not a matter under discussion.”

The third option: It revolves around a temporary administration of the Gaza Strip under the auspices of the United Nations, but Israel, especially after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ statements about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza, sees the UN body as of little use and useless.

Where does the US State Department officially stand regarding these disparate options?

It is clear that the state of discord and separation in the corridors of the US State Department has become clearly heard and read abroad, because in light of the official silence to comment on alternatives to Gaza after the battles, there were those who confirmed that very preliminary talks are already taking place regarding what the future of Gaza might look like. According to Matthew Miller, US State Department spokesman.

Is there an inherent element absent in these options, which distances them from political realism and the possibility of real implementation on the ground?

Definitely yes, as no one cares about the residents of Gaza themselves, which raises the question of what right the Americans or Europeans have in deciding the fate of citizens on their lands, and is this something consistent with international laws, especially since the Gazans will view the matter as a kind of infringement of their rights to sovereignty over Their land?

However, whatever the outcome of all these alternatives, it is too early to be certain of the effectiveness of any option, as long as there is a battle going on on the ground, and for this reason the military confrontation scenarios remain the ones that will determine the future political scene in Gaza.

Options for battles on the ground will not depend on one of four things:

First: That Israel implement a comprehensive ground invasion scenario, destroy what remains of Gaza and attempt to forcibly displace its residents. At that time, hundreds of thousands of civilians will fall victim, and Tel Aviv will reap thousands of deaths.

Second: Turning Gaza into a monument by blowing up Hamas’s basements and tunnels with advanced weapons, including unconventional tactical types, although this does not mean eliminating Hamas forever.

Third: An incomplete ground operation, followed by the entry of UN and Arab forces to take charge of the situation inside, thus saving the face of Hamas, but the Israeli right will consider the matter a betrayal and Netanyahu’s failure to implement what he promised.

Fourth: Hamas will hand over its weapons to a trusted international party and end the war, which is an almost non-existent possibility.

What do the above four scenarios mean?

It means that uncertainty is the master of the situation, and that the unfolding events on the ground are what will determine the next step, and it is the worst possible situation in times of random wars.

Source: Al-Sharq Al-awsat

A senior US administration official said that American officials are making intense efforts to release the hostages held by the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, but there is no guarantee of the success of that effort or a time frame for achieving it.

The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, added that there is “indirect contact” aimed at finding a framework for removing the hostages from Gaza, but the matter is very difficult, according to what was reported by Reuters news agency.

Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7, during which it managed to kill 1,400 people and take more than 240 hostage.

Many hostages are still inside Gaza, which is subject to Israeli air strikes and ground attacks, in addition to a siege imposed by the Israeli army.

The US official said it would require "a significant cessation of the conflict" to extract the hostages. He continued, "It is a matter that is subject to a very serious and active discussion... There is no agreement yet to actually accomplish this matter, but it is something that we are working on very seriously."

He added, "We are optimistic and are doing everything we can to get the hostages out, but there is no guarantee at all that this will happen or when it will happen."

He said, "We will do everything in our power to ensure the exit of all hostages of all nationalities from Gaza. Therefore, there is an active process taking place amid multidirectional efforts, including indirect communication, to try to reach a framework for the exit of the hostages from Gaza."

The official explained that the administration is also negotiating with Hamas about allowing foreign citizens trapped in the Strip safe passage out of Gaza. He said that the talks are difficult and include an effort by Hamas to remove some of its fighters.

On Saturday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his horror at the Israeli attack on a convoy of ambulances outside Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip.

A UN statement quoted Guterres as saying, “I am horrified by the attack... The images of bodies scattered in the street outside the hospital are horrific.”

He added, “Now, for about a month, civilians in Gaza, including children and women, are still besieged, deprived of aid, killed, and forced to leave their homes as a result of bombing... This must stop.”

Guterres described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as horrific, saying that the food, water, and medicine arriving are hardly sufficient for people's needs, and that the fuel needed to operate hospitals and water stations is running out.

He added, “UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) shelters are being bombed, the morgues are full, and the shops are empty... We see an increase in diseases and breathing problems, especially among children... An entire people is suffering from shock and no place is safe.”

Guterres renewed his call for a ceasefire in Gaza for humanitarian reasons, saying that “supplies, basic services and humanitarian aid must be allowed to enter safely and without hindrance and in a manner commensurate with the tragic situation in Gaza,” according to what was reported by the Arab World News Agency.

He also stressed the need for all influential people to exercise their influence in order to “ensure respect for the rules of war, end suffering, and avoid the extension of the conflict, which may spread to the entire region.”

France took an additional step towards using tougher language regarding military operations in Gaza. For the first time, Paris resorts to using the word “condemnation” in its comment on the bombing that Gaza has been subjected to for nearly a month, which affected cultural and religious institutions, hospitals, and civilian structures of all kinds, so that the Ministry of Health announced that the number of deaths exceeded nine thousand, while the number of wounded increases. On weakness.

In a statement issued before noon on Friday by Minister Olivier Veran, government spokesman, it was stated that France “denounces the attacks on United Nations sites and humanitarian teams whose work is essential for the civilian population of Gaza.” Before his statement issued on behalf of the French government, Veran announced, in a statement to the BFM television channel, that Paris “strongly condemns” the bombing of Jabalia camp, the largest camp in the Gaza Strip, which Israel bombed on Tuesday and Wednesday, and where on Thursday a school belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency was hit. Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

Later, on Friday, the French Foreign Ministry announced in a statement that the Israeli authorities had informed it that “an Israeli strike targeted the French Institute in Gaza,” and that Paris had asked it for clarifications about the reasons behind targeting a cultural institute, and that “Israel would provide it without delay, through all means.” appropriate (i.e. diplomatic channels) with the concrete elements that led to this decision”; That is, attacking the institute, which survives thanks to the support of the French state, and provides cultural awareness programs, which is a well-known matter. The ministerial statement stated that no French citizen or employee was present in the building when the bombing occurred.

Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna speaks to the press on the occasion of her visit to Nigeria today, Friday (AFP)

In a second statement, Paris expressed “its concern about the high number of casualties in Gaza, which has reached several thousand,” and about the “deteriorating humanitarian situation” in the Strip. For its part, the French Foreign Ministry affirmed its “condemnation of the attacks targeting United Nations structures and humanitarian workers whose work is indispensable to civilians.” Paris also condemned for the first time the targeting of media headquarters.

Paris reaffirmed respect for “international humanitarian law at all times and places, which imposes clear principles” in terms of distinction between civilian and non-civilian and proportionate responses. In language that Paris had not previously resorted to, the Foreign Ministry statement stated that “protecting civilians is a moral and international duty at the same time,” and that France “asks Israel to take concrete measures” in this context.

Paris also saw the need for a humanitarian truce, which has now become “necessary” in order to provide protection for civilians, deliver adequate and sustainable humanitarian aid, and care for the wounded. While France stated its view of the “Hamas” organization, which it considers “a terrorist organization that has committed terrorist acts,” it stressed that “civilians do not have to pay (the price) for the crimes committed by (Hamas).” Finally, Paris called for “the immediate release of all hostages held in Gaza.”

It appears today clearly that France, which from the beginning declared its solidarity with Israel and supported its legitimate right to self-defense, has today begun to review its position and make Israeli leaders understand, in the words of a diplomatic source, that support “does not necessarily mean giving Israel a blank check” to continue its deadly military operations. . If Paris had taken targeting United Nations institutions as an excuse to modify its position, given that 4 of its schools that were housing displaced persons in the Gaza Strip were damaged by Israeli raids on Thursday, and their bombing, according to the international organization, resulted in the deaths of 23 people.

However, Paris has not yet reached the stage of strong condemnation and denunciation of Israeli practices towards all civilians in Gaza. On Wednesday, France confined itself to expressing its “deep concern about the heavy losses” in lives and homes caused by the Israeli raids on Jabalia.

The truth of the matter is that the French tone has not changed until recently, which can be explained by the fact that the French leniency and support, like Western countries in general, which Israel enjoyed until the middle of last week, will not continue as it was, especially after the Israeli aircraft targeted the French Institute in Gaza.

However, there are things that are difficult to explain and understand. On the occasion of the French Foreign Ministry awarding the “Journalistic Courage” award on Thursday, Minister Catherine Colonna indicated that more than 30 journalists, according to the “Journalists Without Borders” organization, have been killed in Gaza since the seventh of last October. . But what is strange about the matter is that the French Minister did not point out, neither closely nor remotely, to the parties responsible for their killing, which shows a reluctance to put dots on the letters and name those responsible for the crimes committed against the profession that Catherine Colonna wants to defend and those responsible for it.

Axios reported, citing an American official and three Israeli officials, that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken informed Israeli officials that agreeing to a humanitarian truce would help confront increasing pressure due to Washington’s support for the Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip.

The four officials said that Blinken also assured the Israelis that the humanitarian truce would help them buy more time for a ground offensive, according to the Arab World News Agency.

The officials added that Blinken's message to the Israelis was: "We do not want to stop you, but help us to help you buy more time."

According to the website, Israeli officials reported that officials from Israel, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy, informed Blinken that there would be no truce unless those detained by the Hamas movement were released.

But an Israeli official also told Axios that discussing the issue of a humanitarian truce was continuing with the United States, although he said that he did not believe anything would change in the next few days.

During his second visit to the Middle East in less than a month, Blinken seeks to balance American support for Israel after the Hamas attack on October 7 with concern about the escalating death toll in Gaza as a result of the Israeli bombing.

20 people were killed and dozens injured in an Israeli attack that “targeted” a school in northern Gaza, according to what the Ministry of Health in the Strip announced at dawn (Saturday).

A statement by the Ministry of Health said that “20 martyrs and dozens of wounded” were transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City as a result of “direct targeting” of a school that had been converted into a camp to shelter displaced persons in the Al-Saftawi area in the northern Gaza Strip.

The Ministry indicated that the school was directly targeted by tank shells, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.

Today (Saturday), Palestinian television reported that seven people were killed in an Israeli bombing of two homes in Nuseirat and Rafah in the Gaza Strip. He stated that raids, which he described as violent, targeted areas in Beit Lahia in the north of the Gaza Strip and Al-Nasr neighborhood in the west. The television also reported more than 20 raids on the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood carried out by Israeli warplanes.

On the other hand, the Palestinian News and Information Agency (Wafa) quoted local sources that Israeli aircraft targeted the Al-Atatra, Al-Sudaniyya, and northern Beit Lahia areas.

The agency added that the aircraft targeted homes in Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, the Al-Nasr neighborhood, the vicinity of the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza City, the Al-Tuffah neighborhood east of the city, and the Nuseirat and Bureij camps.

The agency said that Israeli aircraft and artillery carried out several raids on the city of Khan Yunis, south of Gaza, and the Al-Qarara area, east of the Strip. It quoted sources as saying that the bombing caused deaths and a large number of injuries, without specifying numbers.

Today, Friday, the World Health Organization expressed its shock at the Israeli occupation bombing of ambulances in the Gaza Strip.

The Director of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom, said in a statement published on the United Nations website that he “expresses his deep shock at reports of attacks on ambulances evacuating patients near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, which led to deaths, injuries and damage.”

He renewed his call for the need to protect patients, health workers, facilities and ambulances at all times, calling for a “ceasefire now.”

In turn, the United Nations Population Fund condemned the Israeli attack on ambulances at the entrance to Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital in Gaza, which caused “victims of innocent women and children and displaced Palestinians searching for shelter.”

The UN agency called for "an immediate ceasefire to prevent further human suffering."

Scottish Prime Minister Hamza Yousef said on Friday that his wife's parents were able to leave the Gaza Strip on Friday, ending the "nightmare" of the family's insomnia after they were stranded in light of the ongoing Israeli bombing of the besieged Strip.

The Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt was opened for limited evacuations for the third day today, Friday, under an agreement brokered by Qatar, which aims to allow some holders of foreign passports, their families, and some wounded residents of Gaza to exit the Strip.

The names of Elizabeth and Majid Al-Naqla appeared on the list of those to be evacuated that the Rafah Crossings Authority published earlier online.

Hamza Yousef and his wife Nadia Al-Naqla said in a statement, “We are very pleased to confirm that Nadia’s parents were able to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing this morning.”

They added, "The past four weeks have been a nightmare for our family. Despite the deep relief on a personal level, we are saddened by the continued suffering of the people of Gaza."

Youssef (38 years old) said earlier that his wife's parents were visiting their family when the Al-Qassam Brigades launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel on the 7th of last month.

Since then, Israel has launched continuous bombardment on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 9,000 residents of the Strip, wounding more than 23,000, causing widespread destruction in the Strip, and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.

Youssef said last month that his wife's parents were running out of food and drinking water, and they could die if they were not able to leave soon.

A first group including British citizens left Gaza on Wednesday, and the British Foreign Office said it would provide them with transportation to a reception center in Cairo and help arrange travel on commercial flights. Youssef, who heads the devolved government in Scotland, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire. Fire in Gaza. He also condemned the massacre committed by the Israeli army in the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip, which resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of Palestinians.

“We reiterate our calls for all parties to agree on an immediate ceasefire and open a humanitarian corridor so that large amounts of aid, including fuel, can enter a population that has been suffering from collective punishment for too long,” Youssef and his wife said, adding that Hamas should release All detainees. They said, "Families in Gaza and Israel are suffering after the loss of completely innocent men, women and children, and we are praying for them all."

The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the foreign ministers of Jordan, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt, and the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, will hold a coordination meeting on Saturday in light of the efforts aimed at reaching an end to the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, before they hold a meeting with the US Secretary of State, Anthony. Blinken, who is visiting Jordan.

Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sufyan Al-Qudah said, “Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs Ayman Al-Safadi, the foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization will hold a meeting tomorrow, Saturday.” A coordination meeting was held in the context of their efforts aimed at stopping the Israeli war on Gaza and the humanitarian catastrophe it is causing,” according to a Jordanian Foreign Ministry statement.

The judges confirmed that the ministers will hold “a joint meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, during which they will confirm the Arab position calling for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to the Strip.”

The ministers will discuss with the US Secretary of State “all the repercussions and ways to end this dangerous deterioration that threatens the security of the entire region,” according to the statement.

It is noteworthy that Blinken arrived in Jordan on Friday after a visit, which lasted a little more than 10 hours, to Israel.

Foreign Policy magazine warned that harbingers of a coming storm were gathering in the skies of the US State Department, as many diplomats expressed their anger, shock, and despair at what they considered a “blank check” that the United States had granted to Israel in order to launch a large-scale military operation in Gaza at a high humanitarian cost paid by Palestinian civilians in The besieged sector.

The magazine said in a report that this anger turned into a “massive wave of opposition” to President Joe Biden’s approach to the war among national security officials, which put his administration in a defensive position internally and externally.

This comes while US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was moving between the capitals of the Middle East in an effort to address the devastating crisis in the region that was fueled by the war between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas."

Try to contain

Blinken had sent a “lengthy” letter last October 20 to members of the diplomatic corps in his ministry during one of his trips, in which he spoke about how “difficult” the current crisis was for them, and in which he repeated his and President Biden’s calls for Israel to respect “the rule of law and humanitarian standards.” International, while supporting its right to defend itself following the surprise attack launched by Hamas fighters on October 7.

“Let us also ensure that we preserve and expand the space for debate and dissent that makes our policies and our institution better,” he wrote in the letter, a copy of which Foreign Policy said it obtained.

These mounting objections within the State Department, the National Security Council, and other American agencies coincided with angry reactions outside Washington and among progressive Democrats and Arab American voters regarding Biden’s policies.

Rapid decline

The magazine indicated in its report that about 59% of Americans had supported Biden in 2020, but their support for him in the 2024 presidential race dropped to 17%, according to a recent opinion poll.

In Washington, the rise of internal opposition poses one of the biggest challenges facing Blinken's tenure in the State Department so far, according to some current and former officials.

Foreign Policy reported that the Biden administration's approach in light of the high human losses resulting from Israeli strikes and military operations in Gaza has changed, and it has urged Israel publicly and secretly to take more steps to alleviate human suffering and return water, fuel, and humanitarian supplies to Gaza.

Massacre

According to the magazine, many officials agree that the scenes of "massacre" in Gaza and the severe warnings from relief organizations, as well as the protests of other regional powers, have begun to cause a change in US policy on the margins and on limited humanitarian priorities.

It quoted current and former American officials as saying that it is difficult to determine the extent to which violent reactions among diplomats and security officials - if any - helped formulate this change in tone.

But opposition is still simmering and will test the Biden administration's response to further twists in the conflict, manifested in more internal objections from policymakers at every level in the coming weeks, that could change the calculus of the only country that can still moderate Israel's approach to the war.

Source: Foreign Policy

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday renewed his threat to the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, not to interfere in the ongoing war against the Gaza Strip, saying that “the mistake will cost you a price you cannot imagine.”

This came in a press conference by Netanyahu held in conjunction with a direct speech delivered by Nasrallah to announce his position on the ongoing developments in the Gaza Strip and the border confrontations between the Israeli army and members of Hezbollah.

Netanyahu said, "With regard to the north, I repeat and say to our enemy: Do not test us. The mistake will cost you dearly. The mistake will cost you a price that you cannot imagine."

In this context, Netanyahu renewed his rejection of a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip or allowing fuel to enter the Strip.

He added, "We continue with all our might, and we reject a temporary ceasefire that does not include the release of our hostages."

Netanyahu stressed that Israel does not allow the entry of fuel into the Gaza Strip and opposes the transfer of funds to the Strip.

In a related development, a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House said on Friday that Hezbollah should not try to exploit the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, adding that the United States does not want to see the conflict extend to Lebanon.

Since the outbreak of the war against the Gaza Strip on October 7, Israel has on more than one occasion warned groups allied with Iran - especially Hezbollah - against interfering in the current confrontation between the Israeli army and the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip.

Nasrallah's speech On the other hand, Nasrallah revealed in his speech on Friday that his party entered the battle a day after it began in Gaza, stressing that it would not be limited to what is happening on the border.

Nasrallah considered that the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation itself was the result of a 100% Palestinian decision and was hidden from everyone. He pointed out that the operation had become extended on more than one front and in more than one arena.

In conjunction with the Israeli war on Gaza since October 7, the Lebanese border has witnessed intermittent exchanges of fire between the Israeli army on the one hand and Hezbollah and Palestinian factions on the other hand, which led to deaths and injuries on both sides.

For 28 days, the Israeli army has been waging a war on the Gaza Strip that has resulted in the death and injury of thousands of Palestinians - most of them civilians - and caused a catastrophic humanitarian situation, according to warnings issued by international institutions.

The United Nations estimated the humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank at $1.2 billion until the end of 2023, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Operations (OCHA) said in a statement on Friday.

The office explained that “the cost to meet the needs of 2.7 million people, that is, the entire population of the besieged Gaza Strip and 500,000 people in the occupied West Bank, is estimated at 1.2 billion dollars,” adding that the appeal to collect funds launched on October 12 is insufficient. at all.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Operations had previously estimated that $294 million was needed.

Next Monday, the office is scheduled to reveal the details of its updated appeal to donors, which will include details regarding “needs for food, water, health care, shelter, hygiene, and other urgent priorities in the wake of the massive bombing of the Gaza Strip.”

“We urge donors to quickly provide resources to respond,” he said in the statement.

In addition to “adequate funding,” the office stressed the need for “safe and sustainable access to all those in need wherever they are, and an adequate flow of humanitarian supplies and, above all, fuel.”

Since October 7, the Israeli occupation has cut off electricity and water supplies to the Gaza Strip, and prevented the entry of fuel, leading to a humanitarian disaster.

The statement added, "The work of the private sector and non-governmental organizations will also depend on the protection and guarantees provided by the parties to the conflict. Opening the Israeli crossings will be essential."

With the continuation of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, and the bombing that targeted homes, residential buildings, hospitals, schools, and ambulances, the death toll in the Gaza Strip rose to 9,227, including 3,826 children and 2,405 women, according to the Ministry of Health.

The Agence France-Presse office in Gaza City, which is being subjected to relentless Israeli bombardment, was severely damaged after an extended bombing, according to what an employee cooperating with the agency said today (Friday).

According to her, Agence France-Presse is the only international agency that broadcasts directly from Gaza City without stopping.

The agency's collaborator, who inspected the place on Friday morning, said that an explosive shell appeared to have penetrated the room of the technical employee in the Gaza office from east to west on the last floor of the 11-story building, destroying a wall in the room and causing severe damage to two adjacent rooms.

The blast also damaged the doors of other rooms on the floor and hit water tanks on the roof of the building.

In response to a question from the agency, an Israeli army spokesman said that its services “verified the information several times. The army did not carry out a strike on this building.”

The Chairman of the Agency’s Board of Directors, Fabrice Ferris, condemned “the bombing of the office, whose geographical location is known to everyone,” adding that “the repercussions of this strike could have been disastrous if the Agency’s team had not been evacuated from the city.”

A 24-hour live broadcast from the agency's camera from Gaza City showed that the strike occurred Thursday, a few minutes before noon local time (10:00 GMT).

Pictures taken on Friday of the exterior facade of the building, which houses the agency’s offices on the last two floors in the western Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City, near the port, showed a large gap at the level of the agency’s office.

No one from the eight-person Agence France-Presse team in Gaza was present in the office at the time of the bombing.

The agency's journalists moved from Gaza City to the south of the Strip on October 13, after the Israeli warning to civilians to evacuate the northern area, where Israel carries out extensive military operations and considers it the center of Hamas' operations.

In May 2021, during the previous war between Hamas and Israel, the Israeli army bombed a 13-story tower that housed the offices of the Qatari Al Jazeera channel and the American Associated Press news agency. Israel said at the time that it had intelligence information that made bombing the building “legitimate.”

Media coverage from the Gaza Strip is very difficult, due to the danger of movement on the ground, and due to interruptions in communications and the Internet.

The United States warned Hezbollah against “exploiting” the war between Israel and Hamas, after the party’s Secretary-General announced that the possibilities of expanding this war against Israel are “open.”

A spokesman for the National Security Council said: “We and our partners have been clear: Hezbollah and other parties, whether they are states or not, should not try to exploit the existing conflict.”

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah on Friday threatened the United States, which he held “full responsibility” for the war in Gaza, by targeting its fleets in the Mediterranean, stressing that the possibilities of expanding the war regionally against Israel are “open.”

Commenting on this position, the spokesman said: “We will not enter into a war of words.”

He stressed that “the United States does not seek to escalate or expand the scope of the ongoing conflict” between Israel and the Hamas movement.

The National Security Council spokesman continued: “The matter may turn into a war between Israel and Lebanon that is bloodier than the 2006 war. The United States does not want to see this conflict expand into Lebanon. The potential destruction that will befall Lebanon and its people is unimaginable and avoidable.”

The Palestinian Shehab News Agency quoted the director of the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza as saying, today, Friday, that at least 60 Palestinians were killed or wounded in an Israeli bombing on the gate of the complex located west of Gaza City, “according to the Arab World News Agency.”

The Palestinian Red Crescent said in a statement: “At exactly 16:30, the Israeli occupation forces launched an air strike on Al-Rashid Street on the western side of Gaza, and the target was a group of ambulances returning from a mission to transport the wounded to the Rafah crossing, including an ambulance belonging to the Red Crescent. Palestinian Red.

The Palestinian Information Center quoted the director of the complex as saying that there were deaths among the medical staff as a result of the bombing.

The Hamas movement said in a statement that Israel was once again committing “a heinous, premeditated and monitored massacre in front of the gate of Al-Shifa Hospital, by bombing ambulances that were carrying injured and wounded, which led to the death and injury of dozens, as well as the deliberate bombing of the vicinity of Al-Quds Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital at the same time.” ».

He added: “We hold the United States and the international community responsible for this massacre... and we warn against the occupier committing more massacres by targeting civilians and medical facilities.”

Witnesses had told the Arab World News Agency that the bombing targeted an ambulance that was carrying wounded as part of a convoy that was supposed to head to the Rafah crossing.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza had announced, earlier today, that it would send a convoy of ambulances carrying a large number of wounded to take them to the southern Gaza Strip, asking the International Committee of the Red Cross to accompany it.

The ministry’s spokesman, Ashraf Al-Qudra, said that there are “hundreds of serious and critical cases” of wounded that have exceeded the capabilities of the “Al-Shifa Medical Complex,” which requires their exit to Egyptian hospitals, but Israel prevents their access to southern Gaza, “by cutting off roads and targeting ambulances.”

For its part, the Israeli army said today that it is verifying the report of the Ministry of Health in Gaza that dozens of Palestinians were injured in an Israeli strike on an ambulance convoy.

The senior American official stressed that Hamas did not give any opportunity and refuses any expansion of the warfare

Washington: Ali Barada

In an exclusive interview with "Al -Sharq Al -Awsat", the US Secretary of State Assist for the Near East, Ambassador Henry Woster, confirmed his country's support for "humanitarian guidance" in order to deliver humanitarian aid to more than two million civilian civilians in Gaza, at the same time, refusing to grant " Hamas, “Any opportunity to remain“ a list of an armed terrorist organization and continues to launch terrorist attacks ”against Israel.

Woster, an experienced American diplomat partly descending from Iraqi origin and a long work in the Middle East, was speaking about what appeared to be a propaganda campaign by the administration of President Joe Biden to clarify aspects of its policies and stances related to war, so he confirmed that American officials understand people's pain and suffering due to the fall A large number of civilian victims, and they do not give Israel a "check on white (...) to throw a devastating ball on the entire Gaza", refusing sharply what he called "false division" in accusing the United States of "not appreciating the lives of the Palestinians, as it does for life The Israelis are eggs. ” He said, "We are not so at all."

At a delicate diplomacy, Ambassador Woster considered that it was "not fair" to suggest that the United States stands on the "wrong side of justice" in its position that is clearly biased alongside Israel. But he stressed that American officials do everything in their power to prevent the widening of the war and the "weakening" of those who seek to do so.

He focused on the fact that the most important concern is "removing harm from people and delivering aid", similar to "normalization and complementarity" in the Middle East to the line "that we followed in Europe after the Second World War", avoiding "any speculation" regarding a possible role for the United Nations regarding Peace and normalization in the Middle East.

Here is the text of the dialogue ...

* Allow me to start by saying that Minister Blinkin is leading American diplomatic efforts to deliver a direct message, that the United States wants to continue to defend Israel, with more humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza. But I hear many voices from the world, from the United Nations, and from the region demanding the cessation of killing. when? What is the type of humanitarian truce that the United States can accept?

- Maybe I heard the president speaking publicly yesterday, I think he was on his way to Minyabolis (Minnesota). And he said; We support humanitarianism. But the matter did not require the president to say that we support the safety and dignity of human life from the moment this conflict began. But the puzzle, if you will, here. We often receive a question about the humanitarian truce and the ceasefire, does they not mean the same? The answer is; no. There is a difference here. I would like to stop for a moment, if you do not mind, to explain this difference. 

The ceasefire matters to many people, especially those who may not have studied some nuances in diplomatic expressions. Think well, what sermons you? Why don't you support the ceasefire? We are concerned about the ceasefire, it is not related to our desire to extend the war, or to see more harm "to" another innocent person, regardless of his background, whether Palestinian, Israeli or from a third country. But what worries us is that we cannot bear a return to Statco (previous). 

This means that Hamas remains an existing terrorist organization and continues to launch terrorist attacks. This is what cannot continue. For this reason, we do not want a ceasefire, as this will allow fighters to re -equip, arm and form themselves. This is the difference. But the human truce allows for a temporary period of time, if you will, to stop the fire, allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid from medicines and water, and the exit of people - God willing - from there. We are absolutely nevertheless. This is the difference that I wanted to make sure.

Do not tolerate "Hamas"

* But at the same time, there are killings. Is the United States ready to call for the cessation of the killing of civilians in the thousands? Also, she says that you do not want to return to what we were before the last October 7, but some warn us today that what is happening on the ground will lead to the strengthening of "Hamas" and other terrorist organizations, or what you want from other names, and will also remain from Forgiveness for generations. What are you saying?

- Whatever it is said, I would like to repeat what we said to Israel, and what you heard from the public statements that you mentioned, I mean Minister Blinkin. This is a point that we reiterate again and again, that every sovereign actor, and every person has the right to defend himself. This is an authentic basic right. But at the same time there is no white check on how to manage the war. So, there is discrimination, and this should not be understood as an absolute authorization to do everything you do, and that it is just a devastating ball that you throw on the entire Gaza. This is not our position. Again, our position is that "Hamas" cannot continue, and you cannot ask a country to tolerate this. Hamas is not as "Hamas". In this case, it is about Israel, but you cannot do so because you will not ask the United States to say; Well, let's make ISIS on your borders. We will not tolerate this. We only will not do that. But again, how? What do we do about that? We had these talks. We were very public on this position regarding our external policy.

We try to understand

* I left the assistant minister (Barbara Lev) to the region to discuss the future of Gaza after this war. Can you highlight this work you do in the United States?

- Assisting Minister Lev continues without all its diplomatic activities in the region. Sometimes I joked with her that there is more than here. It is very correct that diplomacy is intense here. I want to be clear with your audience, and also with you, that the absence of a solution is available in your hands, or on demand, does not mean and should not be understood at all that it is lack of interest, or indifference in any case. Once again, I only return to your question about the suffering of people. The return of Minister Lev "its goal" is to listen to what leaders and peoples in the Arab world say, as well as in Israel, of course, so that we are able to make sure that we in Washington understand what is going on on the ground . Of course, our embassies, ambassadors, and teams also do so. After that, of course, we also have these conversations with foreign leaders who come to Washington.

False division

* How do you respond to the Arabs who say that the United States does not appreciate the lives of the Palestinians, as the lives of Israelis estimate the white?

I think this is a false division, I know it is a false division. The simple fact is that we are all human. We are all human beings, whether we are American diplomats abroad, or to serve here in Washington. We suffer just like you. We get sick and die. We have family members, and we have children. We have brothers and sisters. Each of us has lost members of his family because of everything, from illness, to accidents, to tragedies. We know what is the feeling of pain and suffering. And we do not wish that to anyone. We do not wish this to the Palestinians. We do not wish this to the innocent Israelis. Therefore, we are not at all.

* So, you are not concerned that the United States may be on the wrong side of justice?

What worries me is the perception that the United States is taking the position I just mentioned in your previous comment, because it is not true. It is wrong. It is a wrong narrative. not correct. Who did diplomacy to obtain the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza? from? The United States, which - before the start of this conflict, was defending the two -state solution. Who is the head of state who was doing that? President Biden was honest in his speech throughout his administration, and this is the position of the United States, in which we support the two -state solution. We had these difficult talks, including talks that are not always, as you know, we do not share our diplomatic talks in the public space. We were doing that, and we are still doing that, and I think the accusation is clear, comes from those who are not good. This is also unfair.

How to fight war

* I ask these difficult questions because we are facing them. I hear it every day. So, excuse me ...

- You don't have to do that. I spent many years in the Middle East before I reached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I was living there, so I understood that you should ask difficult questions. We appreciate freedom of expression, transparency, and all that you do in the press.

* And I can appreciate that. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed concern that what happened in Jabalia Refugee Camp can rise to war crimes. Please comment.

As I said before, how to fight war is important. There are assurances from every country we work with, including Israel, that whenever we work with it, especially in providing any kind of military assistance, they must provide us with assurances. This is a requirement under American law to provide any assistance.

More pain

* What efforts made by the United States to contain any potential expansion of the conflict in Gaza, whether to the West Bank, to Lebanon or Syria, even Iran?

We are making every effort because we do not want this conflict to expand. We do not want a greater conflict. Why? For all the reasons that seem clear to your readers, because expanding the conflict outside Gaza, to the region, will only lead to more pain, more suffering, and more instability. We make every effort, including with everyone, to make sure they understand that this is not what we seek here. But at the same time, if they choose to walk on this way, we will make every effort to weaken their efforts.

Normalization and integration

* My last question, may I ask you, how the United States still seeks to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians and normalization between Israel and the Arab countries, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?

- Well, today, while we and you sit here, and talk, the most important topic is the conflict with "Hamas" and the innocent in Gaza. This is the most important topic in the minds of everyone, keeping harm from people, and delivering aid. This is the basic image. With regard to the broader issue, that is, normalization, integration, etc., this regional integration as long as it was a long -term goal for our diplomacy, in fact for generations and generations, not only in the Middle East, but this is what we followed in Europe after the Second World War as well, as a plan Marshall, etc., which brought us to the European Union. Therefore, we are completely aware of this. We do not want to lose sight of it, but now, this is the most important issue. We keep it alive. Therefore, I don't want you to think we have set it aside. Because we did not. But again, the first issue is to remove harm from people, deliver aid to people, put an end to this conflict and make sure that it will not expand ...

* Do you see any role of the United Nations? Or do you continue to do this as Americans?

As an American diplomat, it is not my role to speak on behalf of the United Nations ...

* I meant; Do you expect any United Nations role?

- I will not speculate on that.

An Israeli public opinion poll conducted by the Maariv newspaper yesterday (Thursday) showed that if the Israeli general elections were held now, each of the party camp lists supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would obtain 42 seats (one seat less than the number of seats it obtained in the poll). The week before last), while the lists of the parties camp opposing him will obtain 68 seats (one seat more than the number of seats they obtained in the poll the week before last). The coalition list between Hadash [the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality] and Ta’al [the Arab Movement for Change] and the Ra’am list [the United Arab List] will each get 5 seats, and the Balad list [the National Democratic Rally] will not be able to exceed the electoral threshold (3.25%).

According to the poll, the Likud Party list headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will get 18 seats, the “Official Camp” list headed by Knesset member Benny Gantz will get 39 seats, and the “There is a Future” list headed by Knesset member Yair Lapid will get 15 seats.

The poll showed that the “Religious Zionism” party list, headed by Minister Bezalel Smotrich, will get 4 seats, the “Otzma Yehudit” [“Jewish Power”]” list, headed by Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, will get 5 seats, and the Shas party list of Haredi [religious extremist] Eastern Jews. It won 8 seats, while the Haredi United Torah Judaism Party list got 7 seats, the “Israel Our Home” party list headed by Knesset member Avigdor Lieberman got 8 seats, the Meretz Party list got 6 seats, while the Labor Party list headed by Knesset member Merav Michaeli got 8 seats. You will not be able to exceed the discount rate.

49% of respondents said that the head of the “Official Camp” coalition, Benny Gantz, is the most suitable to assume the position of Prime Minister of Israel, while only 27% of them said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the most suitable.

The survey included a sample of 515 people representing all categories of the adult population in Israel, with a maximum error rate of 4.3%.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stressed the need to enable the Israeli army to defeat the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas" in Gaza, stressing Israel's right to defend itself.

Blinken explained during a press conference in Tel Aviv today that the protection of civilians must not only be in the Gaza Strip, but also in the West Bank.

In light of the embargo imposed on the Gaza Strip and the prevention of electricity, water, food and fuel, Blinken said that mechanisms have been identified to enable fuel to reach hospitals in Gaza, noting that he spoke with Israeli leaders about concrete steps to increase the sustainable delivery of food, water and medicine.

He said that he discussed with Israeli officials the “humanitarian truce” in Gaza, considering that it “needs time,” pointing out that journalists need “protection” in Gaza.

The two-state solution

During his speech, the US Secretary of State stressed that the best and only path to resolving the Middle East crisis is the two-state solution, through peaceful negotiations. He said that his country will continue to hold discussions with partners in the region and outside it about what should follow the war in Gaza.

Regarding fears that the current conflict will expand to include other fronts, Blinken said that his country is keen that there will not be a second or third front in this conflict.

During his meeting earlier today with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv, Blinken considered, "These days are difficult, but we are here as we were and are still in solidarity with Israel."

He added, "We strongly support the idea that Israel not only has the right to defend itself, but it is also obligatory for it."

Blinken's current visit to Israel is the third since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and the Americans say it aims to pressure Israeli leaders to take concrete steps to limit the damage to civilians in the Gaza Strip.

Shortly after his arrival, Blinken began a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and participated in a meeting of the Israeli security government.

Release detainees

The American New York Times newspaper quoted White House officials as saying that Blinken would urge Israel to agree to a series of short and temporary cessation of military operations, in order to allow the release of detainees and the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza.

White House officials confirmed to the newspaper that the request for a temporary ceasefire is different from a comprehensive ceasefire, which the administration of US President Joe Biden rejects and believes will benefit the Palestinian resistance movement (Hamas) and prevent Israel from the necessary response to the Al-Aqsa flood operation.

Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder said, "We do not support a ceasefire because it gives Hamas time to regroup and launch new attacks on Israeli citizens. We support a temporary humanitarian truce to enable humanitarian aid to enter as well as for the exit of hostages and detainees."

Blinken will head to Jordan after his visit to Israel, and will then begin a tour of Asian countries including Japan, South Korea, and India.

Jonathan Mandel

4 billion shekels were invested by Israel in the underground obstacle project that surrounds the Gaza Strip, from Kerem Shalom in the south to the Zikim area in the north. The construction work took 3 and a half years, during which the state invested in building the most important and largest engineering projects in its history, and in order to implement it, 6 cement factories were built along the border. More than two million cubic meters of cement were poured dozens of meters deep into the ground, reaching groundwater, in quantities sufficient to “pave a road from Israel to Bulgaria,” according to the Ministry of Defense.

Construction of the underground obstacle began at the end of 2017, in order to thwart Hamas' attack tunnels. In July 2014, Hamas used attack tunnels in the area of Kibbutz Sufa. According to the army’s message to the media at the time, “If it were not for the surveillance operation, we would have woken up to a killing campaign in the kibbutz, and there is no doubt that they are trying to carry out kidnappings.” Hamas's choice of tunnels resulted from Israel's success in preventing entry and exit from the Gaza Strip through two fences: "Fence A", which was erected after the Oslo Accords, and "Fence B", which was erected after the separation from Gaza, and another 6-metre-high fence, the work on which was completed with The underground obstacle in 2021.

These methods have been integrated into advanced “see and shoot” systems equipped with cameras and a machine gun that allows for remote shooting at the push of a button. Moreover, in 2019, Israel completed the construction of the sea barrier in the northern Gaza Strip. The goal of this project is to combat infiltration from the sea, and it included 3 layers - an underwater layer, another made of solid stones, and a third made of iron wire.

The obstacles that Israel placed around the Strip - on the ground, underground and under water - were accompanied by a defensive cover that it established against threats emanating from Gaza, from the air. The most famous is the Iron Dome system. Israel has invested a billion shekels in developing and producing systems, and the cost of each interception of these systems has reached 300 thousand shekels.

This system was not present in the winter of 2008 during Operation Cast Lead, but it has become very effective in all confrontations since then, especially in the fall of 2012 (“Pillar of Defense”), in the summer of 2014 (“Protective Edge”), and in the spring of 2019. (“Enclosed Garden”), in the fall of 2019 (“Black Belt”), in the spring of 2021 (“Keeper of the Walls”), in the summer of 2022 (“Dawn Breaking”), in the spring of 2023 (“House and Garden”), and in the current attack ("Iron Swords"). Another air threat that Israel has found a solution to is flaming balloons from the Gaza Strip. In February, a "Light Blade" system was put into use, according to the Israeli police, the first of its kind, which can detect a balloon in flight and hit it with a laser beam.

Until October 7, Israel succeeded in defending itself against the Gaza Strip. It continued to do so, performing hundreds of actions, detecting a threat from the sea, creating an obstacle, from land, establishing an obstacle, from the air, establishing an obstacle, and from under the ground, and establishing an obstacle. Within this logic, it imposed an ongoing siege for 16 years on 2.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

As part of this blockade, ships were prohibited from docking in Gaza or sailing from it, and there were no aircraft. The only way out by land was limited to humanitarian cases, goods, and a few thousand lucky workers, a group that did not constitute one percent of the total population in Gaza.

During the past 16 years, Israel waged military operations, one after the other, used a policy of assassinations, and specified which goods were allowed to be entered and which were forbidden to enter, so that the Gaza Strip would not starve. It was surprised every time that Gaza was described as an “open prison” (as David Cameron did, who was Prime Minister of Britain), or when someone claims that “life for children in Gaza is hell on earth” (United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres), or that “within years, Gaza will become unlivable” (United Nations report on the occupied Palestinian territories in 2017).

But whether out of punishing Hamas, or out of a desire to continue the policy of distinction between Gaza and the West Bank, and to maintain the division between Hamas and Fatah, and the political stalemate towards the Palestinians, Israel was never prepared to think about a new path regarding... With its strategy towards the sector.

Accordingly, the great blindness that led to October 7 is not due to the way Benjamin Netanyahu dealt with the specific warning that arrived from Egypt, or from the security system. The great blindness was in clinging to theory; And the need to maintain, year after year, the status quo of fragile and false “relative calm,” always on the brink of disaster, based on the belief that everything is fine, and that the interception systems, obstacles, and lasers will do their job, while next to Israel there is a human cage that is getting worse. . The one who promised the residents of the “Gaza envelope” empty hopes that their lives would be preserved thanks to millions of cubic meters of cement inside the ground, lied to them...

But Israel continued the siege on Gaza because it wanted to separate Gaza and the West Bank, and also because it really did not know what to do with Hamas. Israel preferred Hamas over other alternatives, and at the same time, it showed rigidity so as not to appear weak in confronting it, and preferred not to strengthen it directly.

At this time, Israel's relationship with the Palestinian Authority was similar. Israel did not want to appear weak in the face of Fatah, or directly strengthen the authority's power. Opposing negotiations with the Palestinians has been the policy of all recent Israeli governments, and it is what has led to political extremism and complete despair in the West Bank, and in Gaza as well.

The feeling of the Palestinians was (and still is) that no one takes them into account. Israel does whatever it wants, even in the holy sites of Jerusalem; It de facto annexes large parts of the West Bank, and forms a government with racist ministers who hate Arabs and call for the erasure of villages. Over the course of a decade and a half, many associations have emerged to encourage Jews to visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Mosque itself... and the number of Jews who visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque every year has increased from 5,000 to approximately 50,000.

The Palestinians, whether in the West Bank or Gaza, saw how the Palestinian issue and all the basic issues (Jerusalem, the settlements, security, the state and refugees) began to dissipate in international public opinion, and how Israel succeeded in recording facts on the ground that conflict with the Palestinian national interest.

Palestinians also felt that the Arab world did not care about them, which led to a feeling of isolation and extremism. The leaders of Morocco, Bahrain and the Emirates, where the majority of people are sympathetic to the Palestinians, signed normalization agreements with Israel mediated by the American president who wanted to kill the Palestinian cause during his term, President Donald Trump, who moved the American embassy to Jerusalem, closed the Palestinian representation in Washington, and proposed the “deal of the century.” “Which is considered nothing less than a political joke, at the expense of the Palestinians. Recently, the Palestinians felt the ground shaking under their feet, when Saudi Arabia - custodian of the holy sites and regional leader - announced that “with every passing day, we are getting closer to normalization with Israel” (statement on September 20, 2023, two weeks before the events of “Black Saturday”). .

Hamas, as Adam Schatz pointed out in an article in LBR, had several motives for launching the attack against Israeli civilians and military targets on October 7. Among them is the desire to bring the siege of Gaza back into the international consciousness, thwart Israeli-Saudi normalization, gain popularity for the Palestinian struggle, challenge the rule of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, drag Israel into Gaza and try to subjugate it morally, and advance the liberation of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas wanted to protest what was happening in the West Bank, settler violence and annexation as a fait accompli, and call for an end to changing the status quo in the holy sites in Jerusalem...

Although the attack against civilians and innocent women and children cannot be understood or explained, we must remember what is self-evident: the Hamas movement has become more extremist with the siege of Gaza. During the years of the siege, there was no political horizon, neither in the West Bank, nor in Gaza, neither for Fatah supporters, nor for Hamas supporters. In the last two decades, Israel has pushed forward the policy of distinguishing between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and during the 16 years of siege, the Gaza Strip’s general condition has deteriorated, including its health and psychological levels. In fact, it is very possible that whoever carried out the killing had never met an Israeli in his life, and most likely, he hates Israel and the Israelis with great hatred. It is also possible that this killing was his first in Israel. This is his first time leaving the Strip.

2.3 million Palestinians live in the Strip. 75% of them are refugees, and 50% of them are under the age of 18, and more than 8,000, according to figures from the Ministry of Health in Gaza, are mostly women and children, who were killed in the Israeli bombing, in response to the October 7 attack. In Israel, they want revenge on the Gazans. Taking revenge on them, and taking revenge on Hamas, as if Hamas were an organization with a beginning and an end, as if we had not taken revenge on Hamas over and over again, as if there was no open and bloody conflict, and we had not paid them a “heavy price” in the past...

Accordingly, if there is a promise to be made to those who lost what was most precious to them in Israel, especially the residents of the “Gaza envelope”, and also to all citizens of Israel who lost members of their families, friends and colleagues – it is not to continue pouring cement into the ground, And in producing more laser systems, but rather seeking a new status quo, stable, real, and looking forward to life. We must strive for a situation where the Palestinians do not think about digging an attack tunnel to Kibbutz Sufa, nor do they dream of launching flaming balloons in the direction of the Negev. This promise must be to reconsider the distorted policy that has been pursued in the West Bank since the outbreak of the second intifada, and in the Gaza Strip during the last 16 years. We must propose a political horizon and hope through a real willingness to settle on various issues with the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah, or with a leadership that truly represents the Palestinian people, and based on the realization that Hamas will not disappear.

Israel must come down from the high and useless tree to which it has climbed. If it desires to live, and not to die, it must change and change the cylinder of its relationship with the Palestinian issue, and even the explanations that it will have to provide in the future: This change occurred, not because we “surrendered” to “Hamas,” but because for the first time, we choose life.

The Israeli occupation state intends to establish a special court other than the courts in it today, concerned with trying resistance members of the Hamas movement, against the backdrop of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation that it carried out on the 7th of last October.

Reshet Bet Radio, affiliated with the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, reported today, Friday, that the Israeli government’s judicial advisor, Gali Behrav-Meara, the Public Prosecution, the Court Administration, and the Public Defense, all believe that the ordinary criminal law, through an ordinary court, is not the correct procedure for enforcing it. The law applies to Hamas activists who participated in the operation.

According to the radio, discussions are being held these days to develop a plan to try Hamas members, and that the most likely solution in the Ministry of Justice is special legislation that would allow the establishment of a special court to consider the trial of resistance members.

The radio explained that the intention is to transform this trial into a procedure that not only discusses the cases of detained Hamas activists, but “in fact constitutes a historic trial against the Hamas movement in order to inform the world of the organization’s goals (..), its roots, its financiers and its activities.”

The Israeli Ministry of Justice commented, "For understandable reasons, it is not currently possible to publish about the investigative and judicial activities taking place these days."

An Israeli bombing targeted a group of displaced people, today, Friday, as they were heading from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death of 14 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Health in the besieged Strip.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra said in a statement to reporters: “The occupation is committing a new massacre against displaced civilians, and 14 citizens, including children and women, were martyred.”

A widely circulated video clip showed bodies scattered in the middle of Al-Rashid Coastal Street, which extends along the coast from the north of the Gaza Strip to its south.

The Gaza war is on its 28th day The occupation bombed ambulances near Al-Shifa Complex

This massacre comes in light of the occupation's demand, more than once, of the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to leave towards the south, while the gatherings of displaced people from the south were subjected to repeated brutal bombardment, killing hundreds.

The Ministry of Health said that the occupation aircraft committed 16 massacres during the past hours, claiming the lives of 196 martyrs, which brings the number of massacres committed since the beginning of the war to 997 massacres.

She added that the toll of martyrs of the aggression reached 9,257 martyrs, including 3,826 children and 2,405 women, and 23,516 wounded.

For nearly a month, the occupation has continued to cut off water, food, fuel, and electricity from Gazans, which has led the Strip to reach a stage close to famine in light of an unprecedented health deterioration.

The American CNN website reported that President Joe Biden and his senior advisors warned Israel that it would become difficult for it to achieve its “military goals” in Gaza as global anger over the targeting of civilians intensifies.

The website added in its report that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stressed this point during their conversation with the Israelis, assuring them that the “erosion of support” would have dire strategic consequences for Israel.

According to CNN, officials - behind the scenes - believe that the time available for Israel to try to achieve its goal of eliminating Hamas is “very limited” before reaching the “tipping point” with growing global discontent over the continuing human suffering in Gaza.

American recognition

The website adds, quoting American sources, that there is recognition within the US administration that this “tipping point” may come quickly, and the US government’s refusal to publicly call for a ceasefire will become “untenable.”

CNN quoted "informed sources" as saying that Biden and members of the national security team were "particularly upset" by the Israeli air attacks that targeted a refugee camp in northern Gaza (Jabalia camp), causing widespread destruction and deaths, which is " "What the president didn't like at all."

A senior US administration official said, "The problem now for Israel is that criticism has become stronger, not only from its critics, but within its circle of best friends."

Pressure

According to CNN, Biden “did not set any red lines before Israel,” and so far he has avoided publicly calling for a ceasefire, claiming that this will only help Hamas.

He added that Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the international community would “ruthlessly judge” Israel if it did not take steps to “alleviate human suffering and reduce the death rate among Palestinians.” He also expressed his concern about “the escalation of violence by settlers in the West Bank.” He called for their attacks to stop.

The website continued that the limited ceasefire to remove the hostages and maintain the operation of the communication network and the Internet in the Strip in exchange for allowing limited aid to enter Gaza were among the matters that the American administration pressured Israel - and still is - to accept.