Gaby Arancibia
SputnikeThu, 20 May 2021 01:04 UTC
© REUTERS / POOL
US President Joe Biden spoke earlier with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The commander-in-chief relayed that he expected a "significant de-escalation" regarding the recent deadly clashes along the Gaza Strip. To date, thousands of rockets have been launched between Israeli and Palestinian forces, with the death toll rising.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to brush off Biden's pressing calls for a cease-fire on Wednesday, telling reporters that operations along the Gaza Strip would continue until objectives are met.Netanyahu's latest remarks came after he had already held a telephone conversation with Biden earlier in the day, and also toured a military headquarters.
The prime minister stated that while he "greatly appreciates the support of the American president," the ongoing military operation against Hamas' military wing would stay the course.
"I am determined to continue this operation until its goal is achieved - to bring back peace and security to you, the citizens of Israel," Netanyahu said, pointing out that "every day we are hitting more capabilities of the terror organizations, bringing down more terror towers, hitting more weapons caches."The raging Israeli-Hamas conflict is currently on its tenth day, with rocket exchanges mounting and world leaders urging both sides to ease tensions and call a cease-fire.
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White House readout of Biden and Netanyahu's conversation noted that the pair spoke on a variety of issues stemming from the violent clashes, including diplomatic efforts by regional partners. "The president conveyed to the prime minister that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a cease-fire," reads the release.
However, moments after Biden's message to Netanyahu made headline news, it appeared early on that a de-escalation was not likely to take place soon, especially after the Israel Defense Forces tweeted that it had struck two buildings in Gaza.
Earlier, the IDF revealed that some
4,000 rockets had been fired toward Israel since renewed tensions emerged, and that IDF jets had struck
40 underground Hamas targets.
Although Netanyahu has put off mention of a cease-fire, Mousa Abu Marzook, a senior Hamas official,
told Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV that he anticipated a mutual agreement being "reached within a day or two." Similar sentiments were
previously voiced by IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi, who also indicated that military operations would remain "as long as it must."
Hostilities in the region have prompted the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians, many of whom were women and children. In Israel, officials indicated that at least a dozen have been killed, including at least two children.
Tensions in the region recently broke out after authorities restricted access to the al-Aqsa Mosque for Palestinians, with escalations being kicked up a notch after courts cleared the eviction of several Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah area.
Comment: Meanwhile, the Israeli Intelligence Minister has delivered an not-so-veiled threat to Iran, stating that IDF warplanes can reach everywhere in Middle East.
From Sputnik:
Earlier, current and former US officials told a major news agency that Washington was considering a 'near wholesale rollback' of sanctions against Tehran to end the months-long standoff about which side makes the first move to restore the functioning of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear agreement.
Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen has called the JCPOA a "bad deal" and warned that Israel is willing to take military action to stop Tehran in its alleged quest to obtain a nuclear weapon.
"A bad deal will send the region spiraling into war," Cohen said, speaking to Reuters on Thursday. "Anyone seeking short-term benefits should be mindful of the longer-term."
"Israel will not allow Iran to attain nuclear arms. Iran has no immunity anywhere. Our planes can reach everywhere in the Middle East - and certainly Iran," he added.
Cohen went on to suggest that along with preventing Iran from expanding its uranium enrichment and missile development capabilities, the US and other powers should force it to stop "destabilizing other countries" and funding militant groups. The minister did not elaborate regarding which countries he had in mind.
And from
The Electronic Intifada:
United Nations human rights experts raised alarm on Tuesday over the "deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza," particularly in regards to its healthcare system.
"It has been starved of equipment, medicines and trained staff. It is buckling under the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic. And now, it is trying to treat the more than 2,000 Palestinians injured during this latest violence," the rights experts said.
Only around 2 percent of Gaza's residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and an Israeli airstrike damaged the only testing lab in the territory, temporarily shutting it down.
In the absence of a ceasefire, OCHA called for a humanitarian pause in hostilities so that "humanitarian staff and critical goods" can be brought into Gaza.
Israel halted the transfer of humanitarian aid on Tuesday, saying that Hamas fighters had fired mortars at the aid caravan.
OCHA said that "only five of the 24 humanitarian trucks scheduled for today entered Gaza."
Israel's narrative of events - and its claim that is "coordinating" the passage of humanitarian aid - should be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism.
UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, called on Israel to allow humanitarian staff and supplies into Gaza and said on Tuesday that the agency was "urgently awaiting approval through established mechanisms to cross into Gaza."
Israel has also prevented travel to and from Gaza via Erez checkpoint, Gisha, an Israeli human rights group, said on Tuesday. This includes "the entry of medical personnel, staff of international aid organizations and journalists, as well as the exit of urgent humanitarian cases."
Israel exploited its shutdown of the transfer of humanitarian aid on Tuesday for propaganda purposes, falsely posturing as though it is actively facilitating the transfer of urgently needed aid rather than consistently obstructing it.
"Under international law, Israel must allow passage of humanitarian goods and provide for the needs of the civilian population in Gaza as much as is required," Gisha said while also calling on Hamas to "enable passage of aid."
Humanitarian agencies and human rights groups have been calling on Israel to open Gaza's only commercial crossing since it was closed last Monday.
Comment: Meanwhile, the Israeli Intelligence Minister has delivered an not-so-veiled threat to Iran, stating that IDF warplanes can reach everywhere in Middle East. From Sputnik: And from The Electronic Intifada: