[size=38]Blinken faces Arab demands for a ceasefire in Gaza... and Israel refuses[/size]
November 4, 2023
Baghdad/Al-Masala Al-Hadath: Health officials in Gaza said that 15 people were killed in an Israeli air strike on an ambulance that the army said targeted militants from the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and the US Secretary of State is scheduled to listen to Arab demands for a ceasefire during a meeting held. Saturday in Jordan.
Health officials in the Hamas-controlled Strip said on Friday that the ambulance targeted by the Israeli bombing was part of a convoy transporting injured Palestinians from Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital in Gaza.
Ashraf Al-Qudra, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said, “When they arrived at Al-Shifa Hospital, the second bus in the convoy was targeted, which led to a hideous massacre that killed 15 martyrs and injured more than 60 others.”
The Israeli army said it identified and hit an ambulance “used by a Hamas terrorist cell” and that a number of Hamas fighters were killed.
The army added, “We confirm that this area is a combat zone.” Civilians in the area are repeatedly called to evacuate and move towards the south for their safety.”
The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health disputed Israel's account regarding the bombing of the ambulance, and demanded that it provide evidence that the vehicle was carrying fighters.
The Israeli army did not provide any evidence to support confirmation of a link between the ambulance and Hamas, but said it intends to publish more information.
Reuters was unable to independently verify either side's account.
Israel encourages Hamas to hide command centers and tunnel entrances in Al-Shifa Hospital, something Hamas and the hospital deny.
Israeli ground forces surrounded Gaza City on Thursday after intensifying a bombing campaign they say is aimed at eliminating Hamas, after the militant group killed 1,400 people and took more than 240 hostage in an October 7 attack in southern Israel.
Last month, Israel ordered all civilians to leave the northern part of the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, and head to the south of the Strip, which it also continued to bomb.
Living conditions in Gaza, which were already poor before the outbreak of fighting, further deteriorated. In addition to the scarcity of food, residents resort to drinking unsafe water, medical services are collapsing, and health officials in Gaza say that more than 9,250 Palestinians have been killed.
An Israeli air strike on Friday killed three, including two women, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, according to Gaza health officials.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that there are approximately 1.5 million internally displaced people out of Gaza's population of 2.3 million.
* “Continue full force”
Two sources close to the Hamas leadership said that the movement has prepared for a long-term war in Gaza and believes it is able to repel the Israeli advance long enough to force its enemy to agree to a ceasefire.
They added that the movement believes that international pressure on Israel to end the siege could lead to a ceasefire and a negotiated solution in which Hamas achieves tangible gains, such as the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages.
During a visit to the region, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday and called for a humanitarian truce, which he said would facilitate efforts to release the hostages and allow aid to enter Gaza, but without preventing Israel from defending itself.
In a statement broadcast on television, Netanyahu rejected the idea of a truce unless the hostages were released. He said, “I made clear that we are continuing with full force and that Israel rejects a temporary ceasefire that does not include the release of our hostages.”
A senior official in US President Joe Biden's administration said on Friday that the United States is "indirectly participating" in efforts to free the hostages.
Explaining why it took a “long time” to release foreign citizens, the official said that Hamas initially stipulated the release of foreigners on the condition that wounded Palestinians be able to leave as well, but it turned out that a third of the Palestinians on the list were Hamas members.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said that Blinken will listen to demands for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza when he meets with foreign ministers of Arab countries in Jordan on Saturday.
The ministry added that the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and representatives of the Palestinians will stress “the Arab position calling for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to the Strip, and they will discuss with Blinken all the repercussions and ways to end this dangerous deterioration that threatens the security of the entire region.”
Washington maintained strong military and political support for Israel, while calling on its ally to take steps to avoid civilian deaths and address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
* A second or third front
While Blinken was in Israel, Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah group, Hassan Nasrallah, warned the United States on Friday that the conflict could expand into a regional war if Israel does not stop its attack on Gaza.
In his first speeches since the outbreak of war, Nasrallah issued a threat to the United States, Israel's main ally, hinting that his Iran-backed group was ready to confront American warships in the Mediterranean.
Hezbollah, a heavily armed Hamas ally, is clashing with Israeli forces along the border in the bloodiest escalation since it went to war with Israel in 2006.
Nasrallah said, “You Americans can stop the aggression against Gaza because it is your aggression.” He continued, "Whoever wants to prevent a regional war and the speech is to the Americans must hurry to stop the aggression against Gaza."
He added that Hezbollah, which is at the forefront of the resistance axis supported by Tehran and hostile to Israel and the United States, is not afraid of the American naval force that Washington has mobilized in the region since the outbreak of the crisis.
He explained, “And you Americans know very well that if war breaks out in the region, your fleets will be of no use, nor will fighting from the air be of any benefit, and that what will pay the price in the first place is your interests, your soldiers, and your fleets, which will be the victim and the biggest loser.”
Other groups loyal to Iran have entered the fray since October 7, as Shiite groups supported by Tehran opened fire on American forces in Iraq and Syria, and the Yemeni Houthi group launched drones at Israel.
https://almasalah.com/archives/71965
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