Israel says it will have Security Responsibilities in Gaza after Fighting
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will have “overall security responsibility” for Gaza once the fighting ends for an “indefinite period”.
He resists calls for a ceasefire but says shorter “humanitarian pauses” might be possible.
On the ground, Israel says it attacked Hamas targets in Gaza from the air, sea, and on the ground.
Explosions were reported in the southern city of Khan Younis, with pictures showing destroyed buildings.
It’s been one month since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, killing more than 1,400 people and kidnapping more than 200 others.
The Israeli military responded with air strikes and a ground operation – it says its targeting Hamas infrastructure and minimizing civilian deaths.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in Gaza according to the Hamas-run health ministry, including more than 4,100 children.
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In Jerusalem last night, crowds gathered to light 1,400 candles and hostages’ faces were projected onto the western wall.
Israel’s attempt to wipe out Hamas in response to the attacks of 7 October is likely to breed only more radicalisation, besides being unlawful, the UN special rapporteur on theoccupied Palestinian territories has said.
In an interview with the Guardian, Francesca Albanese also said the international community was “reaping the whirlwind” of failing to heed the concerns of those, including herself, who had criticised Israel’s “systematic repression of Palestinian human rights”.
“We raised the alarm in the international community, the human rights community, but no one has really listened,” Albanese said. “Now it has reached a dangerous point of no return where the chances of peaceful coexistence have dropped vertically off a cliff. In fact we are staring into an abyss.”
Albanese, an Italian academic, has often been accused by Israel of displaying pro-Palestinian bias, a charge she denies.
She challenged Israel to consider what is in its own self-interest. “Half the infrastructure of Gaza has been destroyed. 9,000 people have been killed, 3,500 of them are reported to be children, over 1,000 of them are still under the rubble. How on earth is that going to lead to peace?”
She doubted it was possible to eradicate Hamas, which she described as “not just a military presence but a political reality”.
