Lapid slams Netanyahu for failing to announce Gaza deal at US Congress
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has taken a swipe at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to announce a ceasefire deal that includes the release of the captives in Gaza during his speech at the US Congress earlier.
“Netanyahu had the opportunity to announce that he accepts the deal and returns the captives before they all die in the tunnels. He didn’t do it,” Lapid said in a video posted on X.
He added that Netanyahu spoke of October 7 “as if he had no idea who was the prime minister and who was responsible for the disaster.”
Netanyahu, who was serving as prime minister when Hamas fighters staged the attack that killed at least 1,139 people, has been under attack for failing to prevent it.
He has dismissed demands for the creation of a state commission of inquiry into these events, saying “first, I want to defeat Hamas”.
‘Slow-motion trainwreck’ in Gaza as Netanyahu addresses US Congress: NGO
While the media focus on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, the humanitarian situation in Gaza “is in a nosedive”, the humanitarian organisation Mercy Corps has warned.
“No humanitarian goods are crossing into Gaza via Kerem Shalom [Karem Abu Salem] because the unloading zone has been full for weeks. High insecurity, lawlessness, and bombardments in areas under Israeli military operation make collection and distribution impossible,” Vice President of Global Policy and Advocacy Kate Phillips-Barrasso said in a statement.
“We have been warning for months about a looming famine and secondary diseases taking hold, and now we face the threat of a polio outbreak, with the virus detected in sewage samples, putting countless lives at risk to this crippling disease. While Netanyahu speaks to Congress, the slow-motion trainwreck in Gaza continues.”
As Netanyahu today slammed the International Criminal Court allegations that Israel is starving Palestinians in Gaza, calling it “utter, complete nonsense” and “a complete fabrication.” According to the UN, 96% of the population of Gaza currently faces “crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.”
Netanyahu also said Israel has “enabled more than 40,000 aid trucks to enter Gaza,” a number also disputed by the UN.
Netanyahu accused Hamas of stealing the food, rather than Israel blocking it from entering. However, there have been very few public instances of mass diversion of aid by the group.
A humanitarian official told CNN Wednesday that “no humanitarian goods are crossing into Gaza via Kerem Shalom because the unloading zone has been full for weeks.
Nowhere is safe in Gaza
