Even as Israel has delayed its plan to roll tanks into Gaza, its airstrikes on potential Hamas targets in Gaza have continued unabated. Hamas-controlled health ministry officials in Gaza claimed that several hundred people were killed in the past 24 hours.
While the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is finalising its military strategy for the ground offensive, the US thinks the IDF lacks ‘achievable military goals’ for Gaza, the Times of Israel reported. Israel is considering two options: a major ground offensive or a combo operation of surgical strikes-cum-targeted raids by special forces.
According to a New York Times report, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been holding daily deliberations with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant. The US has advised Israel against rushing its ground forces to Gaza, which will take a heavy toll on both sides. Fighting Hamas terrorists, who operate from underground tunnels and densely populated areas, will be risky and the strategy needs to be thought-through, Austin reportedly told Gallant, while adding the ground offensive will be a long-drawn battle.
Addressing the UN Security Council ministerial meeting on the situation in West Asia on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken drew a parallel between terrorist attacks by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba in Mumbai and by Hamas in Israel. “All acts of terrorism are unlawful and unjustifiable... whether they target people in Nairobi or Bali, Istanbul or Mumbai, New York or Kibbutz Be’eri,” he said.
Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza continues to be grim. The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that 46 out of its 72 health care facilities have ceased to function. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has also warned that it is on the verge of ending operations in the Gaza Strip. Israel has allowed a few aid trucks to enter Gaza, but it is yet to permit fuel.
In a positive development, Hamas released two more hostages — two elderly Israeli women named Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper — on Monday night. After her release, 85-year-old Yocheved told reporters that she was beaten while being taken away on a bike, and was forced to walk several kilometres on wet ground to reach a network of tunnels that looked like a spider web.
No licence to kill: Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, which negotiates with Hamas for the safety of hostages, on Tuesday said Israel can’t have an unconditional licence to kill civilians in Gaza
