Israel’s military said Wednesday 10 of its soldiers were killed in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip in its campaign to eliminate Hamas militants from the Palestinian territory, while U.S. President Joe Biden met Wednesday with families of American hostages held by the group.
The Israeli military said it attacked more than 250 targets during the past day. Israeli airstrikes included hitting what the military said was a Hamas team preparing to launch rockets at Israel.
During an operation in Gaza, Israeli troops recovered the bodies of two people taken hostage during the Hamas attack in October that prompted the Israeli military response. An Israel Defense Forces spokesman said Hamas was holding hostages underground in crowded parts of Gaza, making rescue efforts complex. Even so, he said Israel would not be deterred in its mission to free every hostage.
The continued fighting came amid renewed warnings about the war’s effect on Palestinian civilians in Gaza and pressure from other countries to declare a cease-fire.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told a visiting diplomat, “Israel will continue the war against Hamas with or without international support. A cease-fire at the current stage is a gift to the terrorist organization Hamas and will allow it to return and threaten the residents of Israel."
In Washington, Biden met with about a dozen family members of the eight American hostages the U.S. believes are being held by Hamas militants in Gaza — his first in-person meeting with the relatives.
“We're only reinforced in seeing and believing that we could have no better friend in Washington or in the White House than President Biden himself and his administration," said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen.
As he spoke, he held a photo of a smiling young man with the caption, “Bring him home now!”
“We will not stop until we bring all Americans being held hostage home,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre after the meeting.
"We love a Christmas miracle,” said Liz Hirsh Naftali, great-aunt of 4-year old released hostage Abigail Mor Edan. “We would love all of our loved ones to come back and be with us for Christmas.”
International reaction
U.N. refugee chief Filippo Grandi said that as the war rages on, "Tragically … we foresee more civilian deaths and suffering and also further displacement that threatens the region.”
Pope Francis renewed his call for an immediate cease-fire, while calling for more humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
In a sign that the United States is getting increasingly concerned over the scale of civilian casualties from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, Biden delivered a public rebuke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, even as he maintains staunch support for Israel.
“We have made it clear to the Israelis, and they are aware that … the safety of innocent Palestinians is still a great concern. And so, the actions they're taking must be consistent with attempting to do everything possible to prevent innocent Palestinian civilians from being hurt, murdered, killed, lost, etc.,” Biden said at a news conference.
Biden has grown more vocal with his public criticism of Israel’s military campaign, which is now in its third month. Speaking off-camera to Democratic donors for his 2024 reelection bid earlier Tuesday, Biden said Israel is starting to lose support around the world because of its "indiscriminate bombings," according to a White House transcript of the event.
Biden's comment stood in contrast to those of White House officials who say Israel has taken measures to make their strikes more targeted to avoid civilian deaths.
“He’s [Netanyahu] a good friend, but I think he has to change. … This government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move,” Biden said.
The president singled out Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister.
“Ben-Gvir and company and the new folks, they don't want anything remotely approaching a two-state solution,” he said. “They not only want to have retribution, which they should for what the Palestinians — Hamas — did, but against all Palestinians.”
He suggested Netanyahu will need to empower the Palestinian Authority to become a partner in the peace process toward the two-state solution, which Israeli hard-liners oppose.
“You cannot say there's no Palestinian state at all in the future. And that's going to be the hard part,” Biden said, even as he underscored that the United States will not do “a damn thing other than protect Israel in the process.”
Biden said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will travel to the region this week and meet with the Israeli war cabinet to emphasize U.S. commitment to Israel, as well as the need to protect civilian life and ensure more humanitarian assistance into Gaza.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will also travel to the Mideast to step up international efforts to protect the free flow of commerce through the Red Sea that has been disrupted by Iran-backed Houthi militants attacking vessels heading into Israel.
Cease-fire resolution
Biden’s remarks came amid an overwhelming vote at the United Nations General Assembly supporting a cease-fire in Gaza. The vote in the 193-member world body was 153 in favor, 10 against and 23 abstentions.
“Our duty is to try to save the lives who are still alive by having this resolution adopted and by forcing Israel to comply with it — and those who are shielding Israel to comply with the global consensus,” said Riyad Mansour, Palestinian permanent observer to the United Nations.
The vote followed a similar resolution in the U.N. Security Council last week that failed because the U.S. vetoed it. There are no vetoes in the General Assembly.
While General Assembly resolutions are nonbinding, they carry political weight. U.N. member states are shaping “the narrative that the U.S. is standing alone in opposing the cease-fire,” and they are “looking for every means possible to create a sense of moral pressure on the U.S. to change its posture,” said Richard Gowan, U.N. director of the International Crisis Group.
“The Arab group at the U.N. wants to make the Americans nervous,” he told VOA. “It wants to send the message that America is losing international goodwill because of its stance.”
Hamas fighters stormed from the Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages. Gaza health officials say Israel’s military response has displaced at least 2 million people and killed more than 18,400 in the bloodiest campaign of the decadeslong Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
VOA’s White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara and United Nations correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
