Israeli forces killed and return home after the Oct. 7 attack: “Dismantling Hamas,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to keep fighting in Gaza, even as anguish over the Israeli military’s accidental killings of three hostages in the enclave raised new questions about how his government is prosecuting the war.
The U.S. defense secretary arrived in Tel Aviv Monday morning. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Austin said he planned meet with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israel’s war cabinet “to reiterate America’s ironclad commitment to Israel,” to discuss Israeli military operations to “dismantle Hamas” and to “underscore the need to protect civilians from harm & enable the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
Mr. Netanyahu began a government meeting in Tel Aviv on Sunday by reading from a letter that he said came from families of Israeli soldiers killed fighting in Gaza.
“You have a mandate to fight; you do not have a mandate to stop in the middle,” Mr. Netanyahu read in Hebrew, according to a statement from his office.
The letter appears at odds with the message coming from relatives of Israelis still held hostage in Gaza, many of whom have taken to the streets to demand a cease-fire so that their loved ones can return home.
Protesters in Tel Aviv were going to join the hostage rally but decided to march through the city to demonstrate against the government.
“We see the current approach is not working,” said Deborah Galili, a protester from Tel Aviv. She said she wanted Mr. Netanyahu’s government to pursue a peaceful resolution that would bring the hostages home and end the fighting.
In the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas killed about 1,200 people and seized some 240 hostages, Israel says. The hostages were freed in exchange for 300 Palestinians who were held in Israeli jails. More than 18,000 people, mostly women and children, have died in the fighting since Israel launched an air-and-ground offensive, the Gaza health ministry says.
“since then, we’re not seeing more hostages coming home alive.” Several hostages have been confirmed dead by Israel’s military in recent weeks.
Ahal Besorai’s niece and nephew were among those released during the pause, but their father — Mr. Besorai’s brother-in-law — remains in captivity. In a phone interview on Sunday, Mr. Besorai said he was worried that the military would only bring his family home after the deaths of three hostages, but he understood why people wanted a cease-fire.
On the one hand, it is very difficult to want your loved ones to be freed, and on the other, you want Hamas to be eliminated. The two aims and goals of the war are at times in conflict.
Efi Toledano, another demonstrator from Tel Aviv, had protested Mr. Netanyahu’s government before the war. He stopped in the wake of the October attack on Israel, but he returned to protest on Saturday night.
Israel War Gaza Lot Lotin: a Tale of Three Hostages Revealed in a Joint Defense Force-Based Operation
The Israeli military also said its troops had struck Hamas infrastructure where explosive devices, rocket-propelled grenades, a cache of mortars and ammunition were found.
Israel’s military said Monday that it was continuing combat operations in Gaza. During a raid at the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, the military says it located the equivalent of $1.37 million in funds inside a senior Hamas leader’s house. Money and weapons were in suitcases, the IDF said. The money was used for terrorist activity.
The escaped captives took a risk by coming to the force and that’s why they took off their shirts so no one would think they were looking for them, he said.
The accidental killing of the three Israeli captives was questioned by the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Force. He called the incident “very difficult and painful” and acknowledged that it “very easily” could have been avoided.
“Citizens of Israel. Netanyahu said that he was mourning the deaths of the three hostages, who were all in their 20s, but that they were committed to fight until victory.
Israeli-Quatari Security Council Negotiations for a “Late-time” Dialogue of Gaza’s Solidary Regime
In New York, the U.N. Security Council was expected to vote as early as Monday on a renewed proposal for a cease-fire to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid. The U.S. had previously vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for a humanitarian pause.
Holy Family Parish, which also came under rocket attack, is one of just two churches in Gaza, both of which are sheltering internally displaced people. Israel’s military has not responded to repeated requests for comment on the shootings.
Pope Francis wanted to draw the world’s attention to the killings of civilians in Gaza. In written remarks that followed news of an Israeli sniper killing two Palestinian Christian women sheltering at Holy Family Parish in northern Gaza, Francis said there are no terrorists at the church but rather children, nuns, families and people who are sick or have disabilities.
The Biden administration has remained firmly behind Israel in its stated goal to “crush Hamas,” but in recent weeks officials have expressed growing concern about the number of civilian casualties in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis unfolding there. President Biden has urged Israel to “be focused on how to save civilian lives.” Austin warned Israel that it risked “strategic defeat” if it didn’t minimize Palestinian casualties.
Austin said in an earlier post that he will be going to Gulf states to underscore US commitments to strengthen regional security and stability.
The C.I.A. director, William J. Burns, met in Warsaw on Monday with Israeli and Qatari officials for talks aimed at restarting hostage and prisoner exchanges, according to U.S. officials.
There are some reasons to believe that talks may be fruitful. The Israeli government is under increasing pressure to free the people being held by Hamas after three hostages were accidentally shot by Israeli forces. The United States is also increasing pressure on Israel to scale back its major combat operations in Gaza and transition to a new phrase in the war.
Mr. Burns is set to meet with David Barnea, the head of Mossad, Israel’s spy agency. The White House decided to work with Mr. Barnea and Mr. Burns on the negotiation efforts.
The two men will speak in Warsaw with Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani of Qatar. The Qataris host Hamas’s political wing in Doha And. have been working to facilitate negotiations.
On the Resumption of Talks with the Director of the C.I.A. Astrophysics – Comment on the Report by Axios
The resumption of talks was earlier reported by Axios. The C.I.A. has a policy not to discuss the director’s travel, according to a spokeswoman.