STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT. In an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the war in the Gaza Strip would continue despite the cease-fire agreement. Netanyahu said that he was open to a “partial” deal that would facilitate the release of the hostages. Netanyahu also told Channel 14 he would immediately cease military operations in Rafah. He later added that troops would be stationed along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
The White House is concerned that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu may use his July 24 address to the U.S. Congress to criticize Joe Biden, Politico wrote citing senior U.S. officials. “No one knows what he’s going to say,” said one. Another said Netanyahu’s June 18 video address, in which he lashed at the U.S. decision to withhold military aid to Kyiv, “was not helpful at all.” Biden’s advisors believe Netanyahu is prolonging conflict to stay in power and that he would prefer a Trump election victory in November.
An Israeli offensive in Lebanon has the potential to increase the risk of a broader conflict that draws in Iran and Iran-aligned militants, particularly if Hezbollah’s existence is threatened, the top U.S. general said Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not predict Israel’s next steps and acknowledged Israel’s right to defend itself.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Israel during meeting with Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to avoid further escalation in Lebanon. Per a State spokesperson, in a two-hour meeting Blinken discussed indirect diplomacy between Israel and Hamas on an agreement that secures the release of all hostages and alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian people.
A senior U.S. Department of State official and expert on Israeli-Palestinian affairs has resigned this week amid the eight-month war in Gaza that has killed more than 37,400 Palestinians. The Washington Post reported that Andrew Miller, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs, left his job for personal reasons.
Miller told colleagues that he wanted to spend more time with his family as the current conflict which started in October had “become all-consuming”, the report said. He was a skeptic of U.S. President Joe Biden’s “bear hug” approach towards Israel’s government, said the Post, which first reported Miller’s departure. Miller’s is the latest in a string of resignations from the Biden administration across several government agencies over Washington’s continued support for Israel.
The White House expressed deep disappointment over criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the United States amid tensions between the two allies over Israel’s war in Gaza. The White House response came as national security adviser Jake Sullivan held meetings with Netanyahu’s top two aides to discuss the Gaza conflict and other issues. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby addressed the comments in a briefing with reporters, saying the United States had directly expressed displeasure to Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was confident the dispute with the United States over the speed of arms deliveries to Israeli forces battling Hamas militants in Gaza would soon be resolved. “About four months ago, there was a dramatic decrease in the supply of weapons coming from the United States to Israel. We got all sorts of explanations, but… the basic situation did not change,” he told a Cabinet meeting.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant headed to Washington to discuss the next phase of the Gaza war and escalating hostilities on the border with Lebanon, where exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have stoked fears of wider conflict. “We are prepared for any action that may be required in Gaza, Lebanon, and in more areas,” Gallant said in a statement before setting off to Washington.
Senior U.S. officials assured top Israeli diplomats that the Biden administration stands ready to support Israel if a full-scale war erupts on its northern border with Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to a CNN report.
The escalating feud sparked by Israeli authority chief Benjamin Netanyahu with the United States government led by President Joe Biden was reported by the Axios media citing U.S. officials. Axios said that this could divert attention from diplomatic work to avoid war with Hezbollah on the Lebanon-Israel border.
The report said the Biden administration is concerned that the apparent unstable relationship between the United States and Israel could undermine the Israeli authority’s power in the region. This condition also has the potential to embolden Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iran.
House Deputy Chairperson of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP) Sukamta called on the United States to use its full power to stop the genocide in Gaza, Palestine. He conveyed this to a delegation from the U.S. House Democracy Partnership (HDP) led by member of U.S. Congress Nicholas J. Rahall. “He personally agrees with what we have voiced, that what is happening in Gaza should not happen and must be ended immediately, as it violated human rights, caused tens of thousands of people to be killed. However, the U.S. government has its own logic in making decisions,” said Sukamta.
U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein said that the possibility of war between Hezbollah and Israel was growing. The United States has warned that Israel could attack southern Lebanon this weekend. Hochstein said that negotiations had failed, and that Israel would launch an attack within five days.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States would continue to hold off on sending 2,000 pound (907 kilograms) bombs to Israel while addressing concerns about their potential use in densely populated areas. Aside from that, all other U.S. security assistance to Israel continues uninterrupted. U.S. security assistance to Israel serves as a strong deterrent, preventing further conflict, and the United States remains committed to providing that support, Blinken added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is claiming the United States is withholding weapons needed for the war in Gaza. In a video, Netanyahu implied the holdup was slowing Israel’s offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. President Joe Biden has delayed delivering certain heavy bombs to Israel since May over concerns about killing civilians in Gaza. However, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that those 2,000-pound bombs are the only weapons under review.
Amos Hochstein, special envoy to U.S. President Joe Biden, said he had been dispatched to Lebanon immediately following a brief trip to Israel because the situation was “serious.” “We have seen an escalation over the last few weeks.
And what President Biden wants to do is avoid a further escalation to a greater war,” Hochstein said. He had met the head of Lebanon’s army earlier and spoke to reporters following a meeting with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the armed Amal movement, which is allied to Hezbollah and has also fired rockets on Israel.
Palestinian People’s Party Secretary General Bassam al-Salhi said the U.S. participation in Gaza cease-fire mediation is a great deception since Washington itself is complicit in Israeli attacks there. Al-Salhi also questioned the honesty of a Gaza cease-fire proposal that U.S. President Joe Biden recently announced, saying the priority should be to stop Israeli attacks, suggesting that in this context, a prisoner exchange could also be possible.
He alleged that the United States and Israel are trying to make the captive-prisoner exchange the main focus of the deal, saying he believes this is not the correct path.
The U.S. military’s on-again, off-again floating pier in Gaza is expected to resume operations on Thursday to unload sorely needed humanitarian aid for Palestinians, two U.S. officials told Reuters. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the pier had been re-attached to the shore on Wednesday after being temporarily removed last Friday due to poor sea conditions. Aid began arriving via the U.S.-built pier on May 17, and the U.N. said it transported 137 trucks of aid to warehouses, some 900 metric tons.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the prime minister went after President Biden in a video message, accusing him of withholding arms from his country amidst the Israel-Hamas war.
Netanyahu’s message claims that Biden has repeatedly withheld weapons from Israel, accusing the president of propping up Hamas and Iran. The White House has strongly pushed back, pointing to its record of consistently backing the country in the conflict.
“If you are looking to undermine the bipartisanship of the US-Israel relationship, then release a public video attacking the Biden Administration, which, despite hysterical opposition from the far left, has held firm in support of Israel for eight months and counting,” Torres said in a post on X.
The United States imposed sanctions on extremist Israeli group Tzav 9, accusing it of blocking convoys and looting and burning trucks trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Tzav 9 is a right-wing activist group seeking to halt any aid arriving in Gaza so long as Israeli hostages are held in the Palestinian territory. “Individuals from Tzav 9 have repeatedly sought to thwart the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including by blockading roads, sometimes violently,” the U.S. State Department said.
The Israeli military announced a “tactical pause” throughout daytime hours in parts of southern Gaza to free up a backlog of humanitarian aid deliveries destined for desperate Palestinians. However, fighting in the city of Rafah, where Israel is targeting the remaining brigades of Hamas militants, would continue, the military Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan denied that the Palestinian Islamist group had put forward new ideas for the U.S.-backed proposal for a Gaza ceasefire, after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it had suggested numerous changes.
Speaking to pan-Arab television network Al Araby TV, he reiterated Hamas’ stance that it was Israel that was rejecting proposals and accused the U.S. administration of going along with its close ally.aid.
In a joint press conference with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Hamas had proposed numerous revisions or changes to the potential cease-fire agreement in Gaza and was working to reach an agreement. He said that certain changes could be implemented while others could not. Blinken emphasized Washington’s commitment to narrowing the gap and reaching an agreement with mediators such as Qatar and Egypt.
The Hamas militant group in Gaza called on Washington to “pressure” Israel to accept a permanent cease-fire in the territory, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wraps up a Middle East tour. “He continues to talk about Israel’s agreement of the latest (cease-fire) proposal, but we have not heard any Israeli official speak out on this,” Hamas said in a statement.
U.S. President Joe Biden will urge fellow leaders of Group of Seven nations to support ceasefire negotiations and encourage Hamas to accept a proposal backed by Israel, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said. Sullivan said Israel is standing behind a ceasefire proposal for the eight-month-old war in the Gaza Strip, and the goal is to bridge gaps with Hamas and get to a deal soon.
The U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry report, released in Geneva, Switzerland concluded that Israel committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. Experts also said that Palestinian fighters committed war crimes. Israel ignored the report and proceeded to invade Gaza and the West Bank. The commission’s report is based on statements from victims and witnesses, satellite images, forensic reports, and verified videos and photos. The commission’s team did not travel to Gaza or the West Bank because Israel barred them from entering.
According to Secretary-General António Guterres’ report, the killing of over 2,000 Palestinian children contributed to “extreme levels” of violence against children in 2023.
