Majority of Israelis ‘do not want to continue this war’
Despite Netanyahu and right-wing Israeli leaders’ suggestion that they may want to resume fighting in Gaza after all captives there are released, most Israelis want the war to be over, Ori Goldberg, an Israeli political analyst, told Al Jazeera.
“We are going to have a lot of heated rhetoric about how we’re going to have to go back to the war when stage one is over, how we have to complete the deal,” he said.
“Netanyahu is very much committed to going through with the deal because it benefits him politically,” he added. “The majority of the Israeli public, even though it considers Hamas to be subhuman, even though it thinks all Gazans are potential combatants, even though it supported the genocide actively, the majority of Israeli citizens do not want to continue this war.”
“I think Netanyahu is very well aware of that.”
Release of Israeli captive from Jabalia ruins highly symbolic
The release of Israeli captive Agam Berger from Jabalia was symbolic because this is a place that has come under relentless Israeli bombardment and is in ruins.
Despite Israeli army statements saying they had near full operational control of northern Gaza, an Israeli captive emerged from there and was handed to the Red Cross.
The other captives were released in Khan Younis outside the ruins of the home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Rebuilding Gaza will take 10 to 15 years: Trump’s envoy
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said that rebuilding Gaza after 15 months of Israel’s war will take at least a decade.
Witkoff made a rare visit by a US official to Gaza this week as part of an “inspection team“.
“People are moving north to get back to their homes and see what happened and turn around and leave,” he claimed. “There is no water and no electricity. It is stunning just how much damage occurred there.”
He added that completing demolitions and removing the debris alone would take up to five years.
“There is almost nothing left of Gaza,” Witkoff told the news site Axios. “There has been this perception we can get to a solid plan for Gaza in five years,” Witkoff, a real estate developer, added. “But its impossible. This is a 10- to 15-year rebuilding plan.”
Essay Pro