Israel resists US pressure to pause the war to allow more aid to Gaza

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against growing US pressure for a humanitarian pause in the nearly month-long war to protect civilians and allow more aid into Gaza.

Netanyahu insisted that there would be no temporary cease-fire until the approximately 240 hostages held by Hamas are released.

This came in response to growing pressure from the US for a pause in the conflict to protect civilians and allow more aid into Gaza.

Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State for the United States of America, made his third trip to Israel since the conflict began. During this trip, he reiterated the United States’ support for Israel’s campaign to smash Hamas in the wake of its deadly attack on October 7 in southern Israel.

In addition, he echoed President Joe Biden’s recommendations for a temporary ceasefire in the war so that a rising humanitarian catastrophe may be addressed.

After weeks of Israeli bombardment and an expanding ground assault that threatens even greater losses, there is growing cause for concern regarding the rising number of Palestinian fatalities and the worsening conditions for residents. As a result of the siege imposed by Israel, hospitals that are already operating at capacity report that they are on the verge of collapsing.

The United Nations reported on Friday that over 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, which is approximately 70% of the population, have evacuated their homes.

Palestinians are getting further and further away from even the most fundamental of goods.

According to Thomas White, the director of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the average resident of Gaza is now surviving on two slices of bread per day, the majority of which is prepared from wheat that has been stockpiled by the United Nations. There has also been an increase in the need for potable water.

He told U.N. diplomats in a video briefing from Gaza that people have moved beyond the point of looking for bread. “It is trying to find some water.

Following their conversation, Blinken stated that a temporary ceasefire was necessary in order to increase the delivery of aid and to assist in winning the release of the captives that Hamas had taken during its savage incursion about a month earlier.

However, Netanyahu asserted that he conveyed to Blinken that Israel would proceed with “full steam ahead” regardless of whether or not captives were freed.

In the beginning, officials from the United States stated that they were not seeking a cease-fire but rather short pauses in specific areas to allow for relief supplies or other forms of humanitarian action. After these pauses, Israeli activities would resume as normal.

Netanyahu has not publicly addressed the notion and instead has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of a cease-fire being implemented.

On Friday, a senior official with the United States government stated that policymakers expect that a pretty large halt in the combat will be required to allow for releases.

The concept is based on a temporary cessation of hostilities on a smaller scale that took place a month ago and resulted in the release of two American captives held captive by Hamas.

The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the topic, stated that the release was a testing pilot for how a larger deal may be done. The official also stated that discussions on a larger package of captives are now ongoing. The official stressed that there would need to be a major cessation in the violence in order to guarantee their safety as they approached the Gaza border.

In the midst of ongoing fighting with Hamas terrorists and in the midst of bombings that destroyed damage around Gaza City, Israeli troops increased their encirclement of the city. Gaza City is the major city in the small Mediterranean region. According to a report by Al Jazeera TV, a strike that occurred late on Friday night damaged a school in Gaza City where a large number of people were taking sanctuary, resulting in injuries.

According to hospital directors, strikes targeted areas close to the entrances of three hospitals in northern Gaza at precisely the same time as staff members were attempting to transport wounded patients to the south.

More than a dozen bloodied bodies of men, women, and young children were found scattered about outside of Gaza’s largest hospital, Shifa, where damaged cars and ambulances were also present. The aftermath of the attack was captured on video.

A youngster who was bleeding out cried for help while he was snuggled on top of a woman who was lying on the ground.

Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesperson for the Health Ministry, stated that there were at least 15 people murdered and 60 people injured outside of Shifa Hospital.

The director of the Indonesian Hospital stated that there were at least fifty more people killed or injured as a result of the attack that took place outside of the hospital, but he did not provide any other information.

On Friday, the Israeli military reported that one of its aircraft had targeted an ambulance that Hamas fighters were using to transport weapons.

The assertion could not be validated through independent investigation. It was unclear whether the strike had any connection to the one that had occurred by Shifa Hospital.

According to the military, the event happened close to a conflict zone, which suggests that it took place in close proximity to active ground fighting.

According to Al-Qidra, a strike damaged a vehicle on the outskirts of Gaza City when it was part of a convoy of ambulances traveling from Shifa to Rafah transporting wounded patients.

After making a U-turn, the convoy was attacked again, this time hitting another ambulance. He asserted that none of the ambulances had been utilized by members of Hamas in any capacity.

Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesperson for the Health Ministry, stated that there were at least 15 people murdered and 60 people injured outside of Shifa Hospital.

The director of the Indonesian Hospital stated that there were at least fifty more people killed or injured as a result of the attack that took place outside of the hospital, but he did not provide any other information.

On Friday, the Israeli military reported that one of its aircraft had targeted an ambulance that Hamas fighters were using to transport weapons.

The assertion could not be validated through independent investigation. It was unclear whether the strike had any connection to the one that had occurred by Shifa Hospital. According to the military, the event happened close to a conflict zone, which suggests that it took place in close proximity to active ground fighting.

According to Al-Qidra, a strike damaged a vehicle on the outskirts of Gaza City when it was part of a convoy of ambulances traveling from Shifa to Rafah transporting wounded patients. After making a U-turn, the convoy was attacked again, this time hitting another ambulance.

He asserted that none of the ambulances had been utilized by members of Hamas in any capacity.

CONCERNS REGARDING BRAND NEW FRONTSAlong the border with Lebanon, Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire practically every day throughout the conflict, which has raised concerns about the possibility of a new front developing there.

Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, made his first public speech since the conflict began and stated that the fighting across the border was evidence that his organization had joined the fight.

He gave the impression that things may become worse, saying that we would not be restricted to this. However, he did not provide many hints that Hezbollah will actively participate in the conflict. Up to this point, Hezbollah has acted in a strategic manner to demonstrate its support for Hamas while avoiding starting a full-scale war that would be disastrous for both Lebanon and Israel.

On Thursday, there was one of the most intense clashes that have taken place over the border so far. Hezbollah assaulted Israeli military sites in northern Israel with drones, mortar fire, and suicide drones, and Israel reacted with strikes in Lebanon using jets and helicopter gunships. A spokesperson for the Israeli military, Rear Adm.

According to Daniel Hagari, the attacks by Hezbollah resulted in injuries to civilians.

He stated that we are in a very high state of alertness and a very high degree of readiness in the northern region.

Since the beginning of the conflict, the exchanges have resulted in the deaths of seven Israeli troops, a civilian in northern Israel, 10 Lebanese civilians, and 66 combatants from Hezbollah and other militant groups. In addition, seven Israeli citizens have been murdered.

CIRCULATION OF THE CITY OF GAZA According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more over 9,200 Palestinians have been murdered in Gaza so far, with two thirds of the victims being women and children. The ministry did not provide a breakdown between civilians and fighters in this number.

On the Israeli side, more than 1,400 people have been murdered, the majority of whom were civilians slain during the initial attack by Hamas. The militants in Gaza have continued to fire rockets into Israel, which has disrupted the lives of millions of people and caused an estimated 250,000 people to flee their homes in places across northern and southern Israel.

The vast majority of rockets get shot down.
Since the beginning of the ground operation in Gaza, there have been twenty-four Israeli troops that have been killed there.

The number of fatalities is very likely to skyrocket.

Officials from the Israeli military have stated that their forces have encircled the heavily populated area of Gaza City and that they have begun to launch targeted attacks within the city against militant cells.

There are still hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Palestinians living in the city and the surrounding areas of northern Gaza.

According to Israel, Hamas maintains a substantial military infrastructure in the city, which includes a network of underground tunnels, bunkers, and command centers.

According to the statement, its strikes are directed against Hamas and the militants because they put civilians in danger by operating among them.

The attack that took place outside of Shifa Hospital on Friday was in response to a claim made by Israel that Hamas maintains a command center at the institution. This claim has not been independently verified, and both Hamas and hospital authorities have denied it.

A strike reportedly caused damage to one of the Palestinian Red Crescent’s ambulances while it was transporting wounded patients to southern Gaza along the coastal route.

The organization published photographs of the vehicle, which showed blood splattered over the side and damage to the hood.

According to Qidra, Israeli strikes have resulted in the destruction of 25 ambulances since the beginning of the conflict.

The military has reported that its troops had killed a number of Hamas militants when they emerged from underground tunnels. Soldiers and tanks were seen in footage published by the military moving approaching buildings that had been destroyed by bombing.

Israel has urged inhabitants of Gaza’s northern region to relocate to the southern part of the territory because it is safer there. However, many people have been prevented from leaving or remaining in the south out of fear of further airstrikes in that region.

On Thursday, the military ordered residents of the Shati refugee camp, which is located on the outskirts of Gaza City, to leave the area.

On Friday, shells hit a convoy of persons being evacuated on the coastal road they were instructed to travel, resulting in the deaths of perhaps a dozen people, according to the medics.

Children’s bodies could be seen laying in the sand in the footage taken from the road.

Witnesses reported that workers in Khan Younis, which is located further south, recovered 17 dead from the wreckage of a building that had been destroyed by a strike.

Images from the Associated Press showed rescue workers digging with their bare hands in order to free someone who was fully buried, with only one arm visible above the debris.

A distraught adult male was seen at a hospital holding up the lifeless body of a young girl who looked to be missing her lower limbs.

According to the Israeli military and Palestinian health officials, Israeli troops killed seven Palestinians in the occupied West Bank overnight and arrested many more. These incidents took place in various locations across the occupied West Bank.

According to Wael Abou Omar, the Hamas spokesman for the Rafah border crossing, more than 386 Palestinian dual nationals and wounded people left Gaza into Egypt on Friday. As a result, the total number of people who have escaped since Wednesday is now 1,115.

Aid workers in Gaza claim that even though Israel has allowed more than 300 trucks carrying food and medicine into Gaza, it is not nearly enough. Because Israeli officials believe Hamas is stockpiling fuel for military purposes and would seize newly delivered supplies, they have refused to allow fuel imports.