Biden tells Netanyahu 3-day ceasefire could help secure release of hostages: Axios
US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a call on Monday that a three-day fighting pause could help secure the release of some hostages, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing two US and Israeli officials.
Citing the US official, Axios reported that under a proposal being discussed between the US, Israel and Qatar, Hamas would release 10-15 hostages and use the pause to verify the identities of all the hostages and deliver a list of names of the people it is holding.
In a statement on Monday, the White House said Biden and Netanyahu discussed “the possibility of tactical pauses to provide civilians with opportunities to safely depart from areas of ongoing fighting, to ensure assistance is reaching civilians in need, and to enable potential hostage releases.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Axios report.
The United States said Tuesday it opposed a new long-term occupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “overall security” of the territory following the war.
“Our viewpoint is that Palestinians must be at the forefront of these decisions and Gaza is Palestinian land and it will remain Palestinian land,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
“Generally speaking, we do not support the reoccupation of Gaza and neither does Israel,” he said.
Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, which it captured in the 1967 Six-Day War, in 2005. It later imposed a blockade after Hamas militants seized control of the territory.
Twenty missiles were launched from southern Lebanon toward Jalil and Israel
Twenty missiles were launched from southern Lebanon toward Jalil and Israel-occupied Golan Heights, Al Arabiya reported Tuesday.
A Hezbollah lawmaker said on Tuesday that the Lebanese militant group would respond “double” to any Israeli attacks on civilians after a strike that killed three children and their grandmother in south Lebanon.
The remarks reflect the volatile situation on the Israeli-Lebanese border, where deadly clashes between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters are fueling fears of a wider regional war while Israel invades the Gaza Strip.
“The resistance will respond double to any aggression that targets civilians,” Ali Fayyad said at the funeral of the four Lebanese killed in the south on Sunday.
“It hasn’t yet shown all its weight,” he said, referring to the Iran-backed group. He did not elaborate.
Lebanese authorities said an Israeli strike hit the car the family was traveling in on Sunday. Israel’s military said its troops engaged a vehicle in Lebanon which was “identified as a suspected transport for terrorists” and it was looking into reports there were civilians inside.
US planning to supply Israel with high-precision bombs worth $320 mln: Report
US President Joe Biden’s administration plans to supply Israel with a batch of high-precision bombs worth $320 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The US administration has notified Congress on October 31 about the plans to supply Spice Family Gliding Bomb Assemblies, a type of precision-guided weapon fired by warplanes, the WSJ said.
According to the agreement, weapons manufacturer Rafael USA would transfer the bombs to its Israeli parent company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems for use by the Israeli defense ministry.
“The weapons were requested by Israel before October 7, with an initial, informal notification sent to congressional leaders earlier this year,” WSJ added.
The weapons deal comes as the death toll in Gaza from Israel’s continued assaults surpassed 10,000 people, according to the local Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The health ministry affiliated with the Palestinian Authority reported that more than two-thirds of those killed in Gaza were women, children and elderly.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday Israeli forces were operating “in the heart of Gaza City” one month after Hamas’s bloody October 7 attacks, as the campaign to crush the Palestinian militants intensifies.
“We are in the heart of Gaza City,” Gallant told reporters. “Gaza is the largest terrorist base ever built.”
He spoke as memorial ceremonies were held in Israel to mark the grim one-month milestone.
Sobs pierced memorial ceremonies and crowds lit candles while mourning the 1,400 dead, including families slain in their homes and young people killed at a music festival, in Israel’s worst attack since its 1948 founding.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas over their shock attack, launching a campaign in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 10,300 people, mostly civilians, said the Palestinian health ministry.
“There’s not one person not impacted by these horrible attacks,” said 52-year-old Sharon Balaban, one of thousands of Israelis who attended sorrowful memorial events. “Everyone knows somebody who was hurt, killed, murdered or impacted.”
UAE is set to establish a field hospital in the Gaza Strip
The United Arab Emirates is set to establish a field hospital in the Gaza Strip to provide medical assistance to Palestinians as part of a humanitarian operation ordered by UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the official Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
On Monday, a convoy of five aircraft departed from Abu Dhabi International Airport, loaded with medical equipment and supplies. The cargo is expected to be transported to Egypt before being forwarded to the Gaza Strip, WAM added.
According to WAM, the 150-bed field hospital will include departments for general surgery, orthopedics, pediatrics, gynecology as well as anesthesia and intensive care units for children and adults.
The facility will also include house clinics for internal medicine, dentistry, psychiatry and family medicine, along with CT imaging, a laboratory, a pharmacy and other essential medical support functions, WAM explained.
At least 10,328 Palestinians, including 4,237 children, have been killed
At least 10,328 Palestinians, including 4,237 children, have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7, the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said on Tuesday.
War began on October 7 when Hamas fighters burst across the fence surrounding Gaza and killed 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, and abducted more than 200, according to Israeli tallies.
While Israel’s military operation is focused on the northern half of Gaza, the south has also come under attack. Palestinian health officials said at least 23 people were killed in two separate Israeli airstrikes early on Tuesday in the southern Gaza cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an immediate ceasefire, as he warned that the bombarded Gaza Strip was becoming a “graveyard for children.”