The Israeli War on Gaza: President Benjamin Netanyahu and the Hostage-Similar Misleading Deaths of the Hamas Force
As the Israeli military came under fire over the deaths of hostages in Gaza, the prime minister was determined to continue fighting in the enclave.
The U.S. defense secretary arrived in Tel Aviv Monday morning. Austin wrote that he would meet with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israel’s war cabinet to reiterate America’s commitment to Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu read a letter from the families of soldiers killed in Gaza as he started the meeting in Tel Aviv.
“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 gone to the streets for a cease fire so that their family can return home.
Thousands of demonstrators attend weekly rallies in Tel Aviv to protest outside the Israeli military’s main headquarters. The news that three hostages were mistakenly killed by the Israeli military added fuel to the rally on Saturday night.
“We were taught that when there’s a war, we are all to be quiet and support the soldiers,” said Mr. Toledano. The deaths of hostages suggest that Mr Netanyahu might want to continue the war even at the cost of hostages lives. He said they would be fighting against the government because of that.
In the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas killed about 1,200 people and seized some 240 hostages, Israel says. A week of silence at the end of November led to the freeing of around 100 hostages in exchange for some 300 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Since Israel launched an air-and-ground offensive in response to the Hamas attack, more than 18,000 people — mostly women and children — have been killed in the fighting, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Since then, Ms. Galili said, we haven’t seen more hostages coming home alive. Several hostages have died in the last few 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. Mr. Besorai said in a phone interview on Sunday that he understood why people were demanding a cease-fire, especially after the deaths of three hostages, but worried that only military pressure will bring the rest of his family home.
“It’s a very, very, very, difficult spot because on the one hand, you want your loved one to be released, and on the other hand, you want Hamas eliminated,” said Mr. Besorai, whose sister was killed in the Oct. 7 attacks, which left roughly 1,200 dead and 240 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. “These two aims and goals of this war appear at times in conflict.”
Efi Toledano, another demonstrator from Tel Aviv, had protested Mr. Netanyahu’s government before the war. He stopped protesting on Saturday night after the deaths of the hostages in the attack on Israel.
The Israeli Defense Forces says it is a “Difficult and Painful” Battle for Israel, and “Weakly for our Lives”
The Israeli military said that it struck Hamas infrastructure where explosives, rocket-propelled grenades, and a cache of mortars were found.
On Monday, Israel’s military said it was continuing its 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. The IDF said the funds were found in suitcases with numerous weapons. It said the money was earmarked for terrorist activity.
The escaped captives took into account the risk and took off their shirts so no one would think they had a charge against them and held a white cloth over their head to identify themselves,” he said.
The chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, was asked in a news briefing about the death of the three Israeli captives. He called the incident “very difficult and painful” and acknowledged that it “very easily” could have been avoided.
“Citizens of Israel. We are fighting a war for our existence, in which we are committed to fight until victory, despite international pressure, and the unbearable heavy prices that the war is exacting from us in our precious sons and daughters,” Netanyahu said, mourning the deaths of the three hostages, all men in their 20s.
The Holy Family Parish in Gaza: “How to Save the Children” — Pope Francis’s warning on the plight of civilians in the United States
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 US has blocked a Security Council resolution before calling for a humanitarian pause.
The Holy Family Parish, which was also attacked, is one of only a couple of churches in Gaza that are housing internally displaced people. The Israel’s military didn’t respond to any questions about the shootings.
Pope Francis wanted to draw the world’s attention to the plight of the innocents being killed in Gaza. After news broke of an Israeli sniper killing two Palestinian Christian women at Holy Family Parish in northern Gaza, Francis wrote a memo that said there are no terrorists in the church and that children, nuns, families and people with disabilities are just as welcome.
In recent weeks, officials in the Biden administration have expressed concern about the number of civilian deaths in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there. President Biden has urged Israel to “be focused on how to save civilian lives.” In a speech earlier this month Austin warned Israel that it risked strategic defeat if it didn’t minimize Palestinian casualties.
In an earlier post, Austin said he also plans to travel to Bahrain and Qatar “to underscore U.S. commitments to strengthening regional security and stability, and working with partners and allies to advance defense capabilities.”