Netanyahu’s office denies report of a ‘limited’ deal with Hamas
The office of the Israeli prime minister has dismissed a media report that claimed his government and Hamas may agree to a “limited” truce deal as a gesture of goodwill before US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
A report by Israel’s Channel 12 had claimed that both sides are interested in a smaller deal in time for Trump’s January 20 inauguration, but did not provide details.
Netanyahu’s office called the report “a complete lie”.
The Times of Israel also quoted an unnamed senior Arab diplomat as denying the report.
After talks about a Gaza agreement heated up again earlier this month, the Israeli government and Hamas have been trading blame this week for the lack of a breakthrough.
Israel prepares to tell UN freed captives faced physical, sexual abuse
The Israeli government plans to submit a report to the UN this week that says captives freed from Gaza in an exchange deal last year, including children, endured physical and sexual abuse during captivity.
The Israeli Health Ministry said in a statement it is preparing to present the report to Alice Jill Edwards, the UN’s special rapporteur on torture, based on testimonies from released captives.
As the Israeli military continues to bomb and besiege Gaza, this will be the latest in a series of reports Israel has presented to allege abuse, including starvation and beatings.
Hamas has consistently denied the charges. Some previous Israeli claims and witness testimonies have been proven inaccurate.
Military and political objectives ‘not aligned’
Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli ambassador, says he does not know why Israel continues to pound Gaza and target its medical facilities, saying Israel’s operation in Gaza has “exhausted itself”.
“It achieved the military objectives that it had, and that was to degrade Hamas, to render Hamas incapacitated to the point of not being able to govern,” he told Al Jazeera. “That has been achieved.”
Pinkas said that if Netanyahu wants to, as he has said before, “eradicate, obliterate and annihilate Hamas”, the Israeli army would need to occupy and “take care of” the entire Gaza Strip.
“That’s something Israel is hesitant and reluctant to do,” he said. “From Israel’s point of view, … the military objectives were never aligned with coherent political objectives.”
“So when there’s no political objective, you’re left with sporadic, so-called intelligence-driven operations that, with all due respect, yield very little utility.”
‘Hospitals should not be targeted’
Pinkas says there is no justification for Israel to target medical facilities in Gaza like it did this morning when it attacked the upper floor of al-Wafaa Hospital in Gaza City and killed at least seven people.
“It’s horrible beyond description,” the former Israeli ambassador and government adviser told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv. “There’s no other way of saying this. And there’s absolutely no justification – military, political, moral – that could explain something like this.”
The Israeli army said after the attack that it was targeting Hamas fighters and the hospital was no longer operating in a medical capacity. Pinkas said what was or was not in the hospital “doesn’t matter”.
“Hospitals should be out of bounds. Hospitals should not be targeted, period,” he said.
The goal is to ethnically cleanse Northern Gaza, get everyone out or at least all the credible sources like doctors and journalists. It's clear by now the IDF is attempting to empty Northern Gaza. No more hospitals no more reason for the WHO etc to go there... Makes it easier to deny further access to the UN and aid organizations.
And they'll get there as long as the US and Europe keep shielding Israel.
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