Biden’s Israel visit, Netanyahu’s ‘safety promise’ and ‘worried’ Egypt | 10 points
Israel-Hamas war latest update: Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has said that Israel will not block humanitarian aid sent to Gaza from Egypt.
Statesman News Service | New Delhi | October 18, 2023 8:43 pm
Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the deadly October 7 attack entered its day 12 on Wednesday. Israel has been pounding Hamas targets in Gaza with air and surface strikes with a looming full-scale ground assault. From US President Joe Binde’s extraordinary wartime visit to Israel to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promise to keep Gaza civilians out of harm’s way as much as possible, the day witnessed several major developments that may have the power to alter the course of how middle east will look like in near future.
Below are the 10 points on day 12 of the Israel-Hamas war
US President Joe Biden arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During his meeting with Netanyahu, Biden said that America will not leave Israel alone. He also blamed “the other party” for the Al Ahli hospital bombing in Gaza, backing Israeli claim.
Biden said that “Seventh of October became the deadliest day since the Holocaust” for the Jewish community and termed the attack like 15 9/11 attacks. Biden also met with family members of hostages and said that bringing them back is the top priority.
Israeli PM Netanyahu, during his meeting with Biden, assured the US president Israel will do everything possible to keep Gaza civilians out of harm’s way as they prepare for the ground assault.
He once again equated Hamas with proscribed ISIS and said “this will be a different kind of war because Hamas is a different kind of enemy.”
Israel has denied Hamas’s allegations that IDF bombed the Al Ahli hospital in the Gaza city and blamed Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) for the attack. Israeli military said that it intercepted a communication between militants groups discussing miss fired PIJ rocket that hit the hospital. Click here to read detailed story on this
Egypt, meanwhile, has denied taking large number of Palestinian refugees displaced by Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Egyptian president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said,”What is happening now in Gaza is an attempt to force civilian residents to take refuge and migrate to Egypt, which should not be accepted.”
The Palestinian Health Ministry has just said 471 people were killed and 314 sustained injuries in the Al Ahli hospital blast Israel claims occurred after a misfired PIJ rocket landed there. The number of deaths in Gaza since Israel began its air strikes has also reached 3478. Some 12,065 people have been wounded so far.
Hamas official Osama Hamdan, while addressing a press conference in Lebanon said that the US and all other western countries that support Israel “hold full responsibility for the war against civilians in Gaza”.
The Israeli air force has claimed that the number of failed rocket launches from Gaza is increasing, raising a concern of more “Al Ahli hospital bombing” type incidents.
Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has said that Israel will not block humanitarian aid sent to Gaza from Egypt. This comes two days after Israel reportedly refused to cease fire to let foreigners exit from Gaza and aid trucks enter into the war torn territory through Rafah border crossing.
The first flight will reach Beirut on Friday, carrying supplies including hygiene items, blankets and emergency shelter kits, among other items, said a statement released by the EU's delegation to Lebanon, Xinhua news agency reported.
President Joe Biden held a "direct," 30-minute phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, their first conversation in almost two months and a chance to confer over Israel's planned response to an Iranian ballistic missile attack.