“The killing of the aid workers from the World Central Kitchen is not an isolated incident,” the ambassador, Riyad Mansour, said at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday.
“Israel knew very well who it was targeting, hitting three cars in three locations, despite the fact that they were identifiable and had gotten coordinated with Israel,” Mansour added.
The ambassador said “it took the deaths of foreigners” for the international community to acknowledge the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza over the past 180 days. The strike killed one Palestinian, three Britons, a US-Canadian dual citizen, an Australian and a Pole, according to the organization.
Israeli report: On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces published a report into the killings, which it said violated its own protocols and should not have happened.
The report found that IDF forces “mistakenly assumed” there were Hamas gunmen traveling in the aid convoy and opened fire on the vehicles.
The WCK has called for further independent investigations, saying the IDF cannot be trusted to “investigate its own failure in Gaza.”
Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Thursday that “everybody has failed” when it comes to securing the release of hostages held in Gaza, including their son Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old American, was wounded and kidnapped by Hamas at an Israeli music festival.
“Our leaders, all of them, have failed to make this suffering on all sides stop,” Rachel Goldberg told CNN.
“We feel that we as parents have failed ’cause, as a parent your job is to keep your children safe and, if they get into trouble, to save them,” she added.
It has been 181 days since Goldberg-Polin was kidnapped by Hamas. His parents wear a badge that is updated daily to represent the days since Hersh was taken into Gaza.
Jon Polin said he couldn’t help but feel that day 181 would become 281, 381, and even 581.
“We can’t allow that to happen, but world leaders don’t seem to have that sense of urgency,” Polin said.
Goldberg said she often feels she is not “living on the same planet as ‘normal’ people,” as she and her husband are constantly strategizing on how to best bring their son home.
A video of Goldberg-Polin being kidnapped, which his parents have seen, shows his left hand and part of his arm either blown or shot off.
When asked by Cooper if they had received any word about their son’s condition, Goldberg said there has been none, but there is an assumption, based on information from hostages who have been released, that Goldberg-Polin received medical treatment on October 7.
“The assumption is that he is alive,” Goldberg added.
A Palestinian man rides a bicycle past a damaged vehicle where employees from the World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, on April 2. Ahmed Zakot/Reuters
A deadly Israeli attack that killed seven aid workers from the nonprofit World Central Kitchen in Gaza on Monday appears to have consisted of multiple precision strikes, a CNN analysis of aftermath videos and images found.
WCK said in a statement Tuesday that its team was traveling in a “deconflicted zone” in two armored cars and one unarmored vehicle, after dropping off more than 100 tons of food supplies at a warehouse in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, when the attack occurred. The charity said it had coordinated the convoy’s movements with the Israeli military.
CNN geolocated video and imagery of all three destroyed vehicles, at least one of which was clearly marked with a WCK logo on its roof, to two positionson the strip’s Al Rashid coastal road, and a third location on an off-road area of open ground nearby. The first location is around 2.4 kilometers (about 1.5 miles) from the third, indicating that the three vehicles were hit by separate strikes.
The first vehicle, which appeared to have suffered the least damage, was geolocated on Al Rashid street just outside Deir al-Balah. The second car, which was clearly fire damaged with a hole through its WCK-marked roof, was located around 800 meters down the same road. CNN geolocated the third car, which seems to be the “soft skin” or unarmored vehicle referenced in WCK’s statement and appeared to be the most heavily damaged, to an open field 1.6 kilometers from the second car.
A Palestinian-American doctor walked out of a meeting with US President Joe Biden before it was over Tuesday evening, underscoring the high tensions, anger and concern from Arab, Palestinian and Muslim-American communities around the Israel-Hamas war.
Dr. Thaer Ahmad, an emergency physician from Chicago who traveled to Gaza earlier this year, told CNN he abruptly left the meeting that included Vice President Kamala Harris, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, other administration officials and a small group of Muslim community leaders.
Following the meeting, a White House official said in a statement that the president and vice president “know this is a deeply painful moment for many in the Muslim and Arab communities.”
Biden, the official said, expressed commitment “to continue working to secure an immediate ceasefire as part of a deal to free the hostages and significantly increase humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
Ahmad traveled to Gaza as part of a delegation of doctors from the NGO MedGlobal, working in the city of Khan Younis as fighting raged around the Al Nasser hospital. He discussed his experience there, citing massive numbers of displaced, injured and dying people, and he spoke out against an expected Israeli offensive in Rafah.
“I said it was disappointing I’m the only Palestinian here, and out of respect for my community, I’m going to leave,” Ahmad said he told the president.
Before he left, he handed Biden a letter from an 8-year-old orphaned girl, Hadeel, who lives in Rafah.
“I beg you, President Biden, stop them from entering Rafah,” a translation of the letter shared with CNN says. Hadeel is referring to Israel’s declared plan to enter the southern Gaza city, which the US has said Israel should not do without a comprehensive plan to protect civilian lives.
Biden told him he understood that he needed to leave, Ahmad said.
CNN previously reported that what was supposed to be an iftar dinner to break the Ramadan fast was changed to a meeting because participants didn’t feel comfortable having a celebratory meal while hundreds of thousands in Gaza are on the brink of famine.
Emergency and security personnel inspect the site of a strike that hit a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Syria’s capital Damascus on April 1. Ammar Ghali/Anadolu/Getty Images
Iran has vowed to retaliate after a bombing of its embassy complex in Syria that it blamed on Israel — a deadly escalation of regional tensions over the war in Gaza that appeared to raise the risk of a wider Middle Eastern conflict.
Here’s what we know about the attack:
Who was killed in the strike? The strike killed at least seven officials, including Mohammed Reza Zahedi, a top commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), and senior commander Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi.
Zahedi is the most high-profile Iranian target killed since former US President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of IRGC Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020.
How may Iran respond? Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani warned that Tehran “preserves the right to take reciprocal measures and will decide the type of response and punishment against the aggressor.”
Iran’s most powerful paramilitary ally, Hezbollah, warned that Israel would pay for the attack. Hezbollah has been embroiled in daily crossfire with Israeli forces since the war in Gaza started.
Israel’s military said it does not comment on foreign reports, but its spokesperson told CNN the consulate was a “military building of Quds forces disguised as a civilian building.”
How does the strike escalate regional tensions? While Israel has long targeted Iran and its proxies in Syria, its alleged attack in Damascus is a significant escalation due to both the location and the target. The consulate building, which includes the ambassador’s residence and is located next to the Iranian Embassy, is considered sovereign Iranian territory.
Thousands of protesters gather to call for a ceasefire in Gaza on March 30, in London. Phil Lewis/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in cities across the world over the weekend, including in London, Paris, New York, Tunis and Amman, to demonstrate solidarity with the people of Gaza and show their support for a ceasefire in the strip.
Amman, Jordan: Police can be seen in a video published by AFP pushing back against a massive crowd of demonstrators who gathered Saturday – also known as “Land Day” – chanting, holding signs and waving Palestinian flags.
Tunis, Tunisia: In the capital, demonstrator Mona Elsayed told AFP on Saturday, “This march is the least we can do for the Palestinian people. A people who have been suffering for years. Today is ‘Land Day’ and it’s an opportunity to remind people that oppression exists. As Arabs and Muslims, we must stand by our brothers.”
Paris, France: A French-Palestinian lawyer Salah Hamouri told AFP on Saturday that he expects France “to put an end to its complicity in this ongoing genocide (in Gaza), to totally halt the sale of arms to the Israeli occupier, and to impose a military and economic embargo on the occupying force.” Left-wing politician Manon Aubry was also among those demonstrating Saturday.
London, UK: A significant police presence could also be seen in London on Saturday as large swathes of people joined a pro-Palestinian march waving the Palestinian flag in front of a smaller pro-Israeli demonstration.
New York, US: Protesters marched through the streets chanting and banging drums.
Nearly 400 tons of food aid are expected to arrive in Gaza by ship in the coming days, according to the non-governmental organization arranging the deliveries.
The aid will be provided to people in the northern part of the strip, said Juan Camilo, a community outreach manager with World Central Kitchen.
The Open Arms, a salvage vessel that delivered aid to Gaza earlier this month, is towing a barge, while a cargo vessel, the Jennifer, is also carrying aid, Camilo said.
World Central Kitchen said the vessels were also carrying machinery to speed up the process of offloading the ships, and that it was delivering dates provided by the United Arab Emirates for Palestinians observing Ramadan.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country’s military has “conquered” the north of Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis and is “preparing to enter Rafah,” where more than 1 million people are sheltering in dire conditions. Follow for live news updates.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Israeli army spokesperson, speaks to the press in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023. Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images/File
The Israeli military said it killed 180 people it described as “terrorists” in and around Gaza City’s Al-Shifa medical complex in its raid on the site, which is now in its second week.
Daniel Hagari, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson, said Monday that those killed had been “fighting,” that Israeli forces had been fired upon from the yard of the emergency and the maternity wards, and that the militants remained barricaded inside the wards.
He said “no patients, doctors, medical teams were harmed,” but some buildings had been destroyed by militants using explosives.
He also reiterated that 500 people had been detained.
CNN is unable to independently verify the numbers due to a lack of reporting access to Gaza. Due to the ongoing siege, communication with people inside Al-Shifa has been very limited.
A high-ranking IDF officer said Saturday the raid will finish “only when the last terrorist is in our hands — alive or dead.”
Yaron Finkelman said the raid, which started last Monday, “struck hundreds of terrorists, apprehended hundreds of terrorists and brought in significant operational and intelligence assets.”
Patients trapped: Gaza’s Health Ministry said patients were trapped inside “without water, or food, or medical services and the rest of the wounded and injured are in a dire situation.”
Five patients at Al-Shifa died on Saturday as a result of the Israeli raid on the facility, the ministry said.
Witnesses told CNN that hundreds of civilians, including patients and medical staff, were trapped.
US Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns will join hostage talks in Qatar on Friday as negotiators work toward a deal that would secure the release of hostages held in Gaza alongside a temporary ceasefire, sources familiar with the plans said on Thursday.
The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, will travel to Qatar Friday for the talks, Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement on Thursday.
Barnea will meet with Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel, according to the statement.
“The meeting of senior officials will be held in the framework of the negotiations in Doha, the goal of which is to advance the efforts to return the hostages,” it said.
CNN has asked the CIA for comment.
Burns has been instrumental in trying to secure a deal on hostages, traveling several times to the Middle East and Europe for talks. The efforts have not yet yielded an agreement.
There were signs, however, that progress was being made, and US officials voiced cautious optimism this week that a deal could be reached.
In an interview on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the negotiations to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal are “getting closer.”
“I think the gaps are narrowing, and I think an agreement is very much possible,” Blinken said in an interview with Saudi news channel Al Hadath in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“Clearly, the prime minister was not happy with Sen. Schumer’s speech. Nor was he happy with President (Joe) Biden’s praise of Sen. Schumer’s speech. But I think the prime minster understands the politics of all of it,” Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy said afterward.
“We made it clear to the prime minister that in our judgment, the American people overwhelmingly support Israel’s war,” Kennedy said. “And he made clear he intends to prosecute the war against Hamas to the full extent of his power”
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said Netanyahu was not critical of Biden.
“He said he was grateful of the support he’s gotten from President Biden and he hopes that support continues,” Cruz said.
Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, said Netanyahu was “candid” and “thorough” and said the Israeli leader gave a “pretty detailed update” of the war, answering questions about the prosecution of the war and explaining what Israel’s needs are from the US.
Hawley said Netanyahu was “very mindful” of concerns over civilian deaths and “talked about it at some length” and was “alert to the sensitives” over that issue, even talking about the estimated death toll of Palestinians.
“He wanted to project that the end is in sight,” Hawley said. “By far the greatest portion of this war is over.”
Netanyahu told the senators he does not envision US troops getting directly involved in combat.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pushed back on Republican criticism of his Israel speech, in which he called for the US ally to hold new elections. Pool
More on Schumer’s speech: Schumer pushed back on Republican criticism of his Israel speech, in which he called for the US ally to hold new elections.
“I gave this speech, out of a real love for Israel. And if you read the speech, we called only for there to be an election after the hostilities, declined after Hamas was defeated,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju, when asked about GOP critics saying that his remarks amounted to foreign election interference, and that there shouldn’t be any daylight between the US and an ally when they are at war.
Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, left, and Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi. Getty Images
One of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest confidants, Ron Dermer, and Israel’s national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi will be heading to Washington, DC, to meet with US officials, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office obtained by CNN.
The statement did not say which US officials the Israeli delegation will meet with or when the visit will happen. The White House said it expects the visit to happen early next week.
Dermer is currently a member of Israel’s war cabinet and a former ambassador to the United States.
The US has been calling on Israel to explain how it intends to keep safe over 1 million Palestinians who are seeking refuge in southern Gaza, as Israel warns that it will soon launch a military offensive into Rafah. So far, US President Joe Biden’s administration says a plan has not been presented.
US wants Rafah alternatives: On Monday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Biden had asked Netanyahu to send a team to Washington “to hear U.S. concerns about Israel’s current Rafah planning and to lay out an alternative approach that would target key Hamas elements in Rafah and secure the Egypt-Gaza border without a major ground invasion.”
But the Israeli statement Tuesday said that Netanyahu “is determined to act in Rafah in order to finally eliminate the remaining Hamas battalions, while providing humanitarian solutions to the civilian population.”
The Israeli delegation will be accompanied by a representative — who was not named — for Israel’s Coordination of Government Actions in the Territories, the statement said.
Nima Abu Garrara during an interview with CNN in Jerusalem. CNN
Israeli authorities are preparing to send a group of Palestinian patients who were being treated in East Jerusalem hospitals back to Gaza this week.
The group of 22 Gazan Palestinians includes five newborn babies and their mothers, cancer patients now in remission, and a few companions who had accompanied them, according to hospital officials.
They had all received permission from Israeli authorities to travel to Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem for advanced medical care – most before the October Hamas 7 attack on Israel.
But staying in East Jerusalem is no longer an option.
The Israeli defense ministry body responsible for Palestinian affairs, COGAT, has for months been pushing East Jerusalem hospital officials for a list of patients who no longer require in-patient medical treatment to send them back to Gaza, those officials told CNN.
The patients on that list, which has been seen by CNN, are expected to board buses for the Kerem Shalom crossing on the border between Israel and Gaza on Wednesday.
Among them will be Nima Abu Garrara, who was brought from Rafah to East Jerusalem while pregnant with twins and gave birth on October 5. All her twins have known is the safety of a room at Makassed Hospital.
Soon, that will be torn away, traded for the reality of war. Abu Garrara fears a grim future in Gaza, where an Israeli military ground offensive on the southern city of Rafah looms.
“I’ll be the one responsible for anything that harms them,” she said referring to her twins.
Chuck Schumer speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, on March 12. J. Scott Applewhite/AP
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s warning that Israel risks becoming a “pariah” for its war in Gaza, and his call for new elections in the country, sent shockwaves from Washington to Jerusalem.
President Joe Biden called it a “good speech” and said Schumer had expressed a “serious concern” shared by many Americans.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, slammed the address as “totally inappropriate” in an interview with CNN.
Here’s some of the latest reaction to the comments by Washington’s highest-ranking Jewish official:
Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has defended Schumer’s recent comments on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday.
“Senator Schumer’s speech came from his heart — what he believes is necessary for peace,” Cardin said.
The Maryland senator said Schumer was simply calling for Israelis to be able to vote for who they want as leader, and that this will only happen once Israel has gotten “past Hamas.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosipraised Schumer’s remarks as an “act of courage” and an “act of love for Israel” in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“The prime minister’s presentation proved the necessity of Chuck Schumer’s speech,” Pelosi said.
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee,slammed Schumer’s comments as “inappropriate” and “embarrassing” Sunday.
“There’s a way to talk about your differences – not to topple a democratic country,” the Texas Republican said on “Fox News Sunday.” McCaul characterized the speech as indicative of a “split in the Democratic party” between what he called a “pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel faction” and those who support Israel.
McCaul said a Rafah offensive would allow Israel to take out “high-value targets” in Hamas.
On the campaign trail:Former President Donald Trump has criticized Schumer, suggesting Israel is loyal to the Democratic Party “to a fault.” Asked on Fox News if the majority leader’s words amounted to the US telling a sovereign ally how to run its government, Trump answered, “100%. There’s no question about it and they don’t know where to go. They’re very bad for Israel.”
Trump has repeatedly been criticized for parroting the antisemitic trope that US Jews, a population that historically has voted for Democrats by wide margins, have dual loyalties to the US and Israel.
An aerial view shows the Israeli settler outpost of Homesh in the occupied West Bank, on May 29, 2023. Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images
The US State Department announced new sanctions on three Israeli settlers and two farms in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, as the administration targets threats to peace and security in the area.
The latest sanctions follow an executive order signed by President Joe Biden last month aimed at targeting violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank whom he said undermined stability in the area.
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said that “since the horrific terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, violence in the West Bank has increased sharply.”
“Today, we are taking further action to promote accountability for those perpetuating violence and causing turmoil in the West Bank by imposing sanctions on three Israeli individuals and two associated entities involved in undermining stability in the West Bank.”
Miller reiterated the US position that there is “no justification for extremist violence against civilians or forcing families from their homes, whatever their national origin, ethnicity, race, or religion.”
More on US sanctions: One of the individuals sanctioned, Moshe Sharvit, “repeatedly harassed, threatened, and attacked Palestinian civilians and Israeli human rights defenders in the vicinity of MOSHES FARM, an outpost in the West Bank,” a fact sheet from the State Department said.
A settlement that was sanctioned, Zvis Farm, “perpetrates violence against Palestinians and prevents local Palestinian farmers from accessing and using their lands,” the document said.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said that the US Treasury Department’s decision to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank was “further proof that the US government does not understand who is the enemy and who is a friend.”
Settler violence: About 500,000 Israeli Jewish settlers live in the West Bank according to Peace Now, an Israeli rights and monitoring group. Many settlements are heavily guarded, fenced-off areas that are off-limits to Palestinians.
Most of the world considers the settlements illegal under international law and Israel has been criticized for allowing their expansion.
Grand Omar Mosque destroyed in Israel’s bombardments is seen on March 12 in Gaza City. Omar Qattaa/Anadolu/Getty Images
Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has wiped out entire neighborhoods, crushed the medical system and razed hundreds of mosques – turning religious sanctuaries into relics of war.
At least 1,000 of 1,200 mosques, including ancient sites, have been partially or completely destroyed as of February, the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs in Gaza told CNN.
Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7 have killed more than 100 preachers, including religious scholars, imams, muezzins (those who perform the call to prayer) and hafiz (Muslims who have memorized the Quran), according to the ministry.
Residents told CNN they cannot find enough space to attend nightly taraweeh prayers because places of worship have been destroyed. Taraweeh prayers are performed every night of Ramadan in a congregation.
Limited access to water means others cannot make the obligatory ablution before prayer.
Many are unable to share communal meals with relatives because forced displacement has separated families across the enclave.
Mohammed Hamouda, a displaced health worker in Rafah, told CNN he is struggling to explain to his young children why they will not be able to feast on traditional Palestinian dishes or receive gifts this Ramadan.
“Ramadan usually has a lot of dinner invitations for our extended families. Nowadays, everybody from the family is in a different place,” Aseel Mousa, 26, a journalist displaced in Rafah, told CNN.
“When was the last time I heard the call to prayer without the sound of Israeli drones? I don’t remember.”
12-year-old Palestinian child shot and killed by Israeli border police at a refugee camp in east Jerusalem.
An Israeli border police officer fatally shot a 12-year-old Palestinian boy in Shuafat refugee camp located in occupied east Jerusalem, according to hospital officials and an Israeli police spokesperson.
In a video obtained by CNN, the boy – Rami Al Halhouli – can be seen holding a lit firework above his head before the crackling sound of a single gunshot is heard. The boy falls to the ground just as the firework launches from his hand into the sky.
Rami arrived at Hadassah Mount Scopus hospital’s trauma unit in critical condition and was pronounced dead soon after, hospital officials told CNN.
No security forces are visible in the video of Rami holding the firework, but the boy appears to be standing in front of the West Bank separation barrier.
The Israeli police spokesperson said police forces responded to a “violent disturbance” at the refugee camp and a border police officer fired “towards a suspect who endangered the forces while firing aerial fireworks in their direction.”
The police spokesperson also claimed individuals on Tuesday night threw Molotov cocktails and fired fireworks directly at security forces. Israeli police said it was the second night in a row that Palestinians in Shuafat aimed Molotov cocktails and fireworks at police forces.
In a Telegram post, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir applauded the soldier who fatally shot the boy.
“I salute the soldier who killed the terrorist who tried to shoot fireworks at him and the troops — this is exactly how you should act against terrorists — with determination and precision,” Ben-Gvir said.
The shooting came on the third night of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which has been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in previous years.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli troops fatally shot two other Palestinians at Al-Jib checkpoint in the northern outskirts of Jerusalem, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported.
The number of children dying due to malnutrition and dehydration in northern Gaza is rising, and famine is imminent in the area if aid does not increase rapidly. Follow for live updates
Benny Gantz speaks to media outside Carlton Gardens, in Londonon March 6. Aaron Chown/PA Wire/PA Images/AP/File
The Biden administration is not anticipating that Israeli forces will imminently expand their military operations into Rafah, two US officials told CNN, with the holy month of Ramadan set to begin Monday for most Muslims.
Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz, who visited Washington last week, has warned in recent weeks that if a temporary ceasefire and hostage release deal was not struck by Ramadan, the Israeli military would launch the next phase of its war against Hamas with a major incursion into Rafah in southern Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that regardless of a deal, he plans to send the military into Rafah.
“We’ll go there. We’re not going to leave [Gaza],” Netanyahu said Sunday in an interview with German outlet Axel Springer. “You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is, that October 7 doesn’t happen again.”
Netanyahu was referencing comments made by President Joe Biden in a Saturday MSNBC interview in which he said an operation into Rafah “is a red line.”
“It cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead,” Biden said.
Netanyahu said Sunday in an interview with Politico and German media outlet Bild that the operation would not last more than two months but did not provide specifics on the timeline.
“Once we begin the intense action of eradicating the Hamas terrorist battalions in Rafah, it’s a matter of weeks, if not months. That means it’s not going to take more than two months, maybe six weeks, maybe four,” he said.
The US Army Vessel General Frank S. Besson departs Joint Base Langley-Eustis. US Central Command/Reuters
The first equipment needed to establish a temporary pier in Gaza is on its way, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Saturday.
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced that the US military would begin establishing a port in the territory that could receive large shipments of critically needed food and medical supplies, with Gaza in the grips of a harrowing humanitarian crisis.
CENTCOM said that the US Army Vessel General Frank S. Besson, a logistics support boat, had departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia and was en route to the eastern Mediterranean.
Besson is carrying the first equipment to establish the temporary pier, according to CENTCOM.
But relief could be a long way off. The pier and causeway are expected to take at least one month, possibly two, to build and become fully operational, the Pentagon said Friday — and will likely require up to 1,000 personnel to complete.
The extraordinary measure is among a flurry of actions by the international community to alleviate the crisis in Gaza caused by Israel’s refusal to open additional land crossings or surge more aid by land as it continues to fight Hamas.
In the besieged strip, more than two million people are in need of food and the medical system has all but collapsed.
