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We need ‘out of box’ solution to end war
Gershon Baskin, a former Israeli negotiator for captives’ release and Middle East director of the International Communities Organisation, has suggested the UN send international peacekeeping forces into Gaza to “protect the Palestinian people and force the Israelis to withdraw”.
“We need to think out of the box and come up with solutions that will enable this war to end, the Israeli hostages to come home, and a rebuilding process of Gaza to begin,” Baskin told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv. “It needs to be done collaboratively [with Palestinians], but we need to get this war to end quickly.”
Baskin also called for more international pressure on Israel to open up border crossings and facilitate more aid flow within Gaza, where hundreds of thousands face catastrophic hunger.
“This has to be done and it has to be a result of international pressure because it’s doubtful Israel will do it on its own,” he said.
War has ‘no end in sight’
Baskin is not optimistic about the prospects of Israel and Hamas reaching a ceasefire deal, saying there is an “unreachable gap” between the two sides.
He points out that Hamas is not willing to strike any agreement that does not fully end the war, while Netanyahu is only open to a “partial agreement” that would bring home Israeli captives during a temporary truce.
The Israeli prime minister has not given negotiators the green light to make any concessions beyond this, Baskin said. This means “we are stuck”, he said.
“The families of the hostages are extremely frustrated and sad. We are nine months into this war now and no end in sight.”
Israeli soldiers in Rafah ‘feel like ducks in the shooting range’
Avigdor Lieberman, the head of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is Our Home) party and former Israeli defence minister, has made the comments criticising Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“We are losers and unable to win and Israeli deterrence is zero,” he told Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. “There is a lot of frustration among our soldiers in Rafah, they don’t understand what they want and they feel like ducks in the shooting range.”
“The government is not able to win, neither in the south nor in the north, and Gallant bears responsibility immediately after Netanyahu,” Lieberman added.
US has provided $6.5bn in aid to Israel since October: Report
The US has transferred security-related aid totalling $6.5bn to Israel since October 7, The Washington Post reports, citing an unnamed senior Biden administration official.
The official added that almost half of that military aid was provided last month alone. “This is a massive, massive undertaking,” the official said.
The Post said the official was disclosing the previously unannounced figures to show the depth of US support for Israel amid accusations from Netanyahu that Washington is withholding arms. The official said the figures were cited in discussions between senior White House officials and Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Washington, DC, this week.
