U.S. willing to support a limited Israeli offensive in Rafah focused on eliminating Hamas' leadership as long as Israel doesn't launch a full-scale invasion

 

Israel News, Thursday, 14.03.2024     View in browser

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for Israel to hold new elections, saying PM Netanyahu has "lost his way." Washington announced its second round of sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank, including first-ever sanctions against entire outposts. Washington would reportedly support a limited Israeli operation in Rafah to eliminate Hamas leaders if Israel doesn't launch a full-scale invasion. A man in his 50s was critically wounded in a stabbing attack in southern Israel. Here's what you need to know 160 days into the war     What happened today     ■ GAZA: The U.S. would be willing to support a limited Israeli offensive in Rafah focused on eliminating Hamas' leadership as long as Israel doesn't launch a full-scale invasion, Politico reported, adding that senior Biden administration officials have relayed this message to their Israeli counterparts. The White House said the U.S. "does not want to see [Israeli] operations in Rafah unless there is a credible, legitimate, executable plan to provide for the safety and security of the civilians that are there." CENTCOM said that they conducted a combined humanitarian aid airdrop together with the Royal Jordanian Air Force into northern Gaza A second ship with food aid to Gaza was being loaded in Cyprus, a charity arranging the mission said on Thursday, as the first ship in a pilot trial approaches Gaza. Representatives of prominent clans in Gaza informed international organizations and Israel that their cooperation in distributing aid would only be allowed through the current Hamas channels. The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 31,341 Palestinians have been killed and 73,134 have been wounded since the start of the war. "Control over the pace at which aid enters Gaza through Rafah is one of the key levers of pressure Egypt still has over Hamas. But it's not clear how effective this pressure is'' - Zvi Bar'el ■ UNITED STATES: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish elected official in U.S. history and a pro-Israel stalwart, called for Israel to hold new elections and said PM Netanyahu had "lost his way" and had "bowed to the demands of extremists" and his government "no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7." Schumer warned "Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah" and that it was "testing U.S. standards for assistance." The U.S. issued its second round of sanctions on Israeli settlers including the first-ever sanctions on entire outposts in the West Bank. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the sanctions were meant to "promote accountability for those perpetuating violence and causing turmoil in the West Bank." Dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked the New York Times' newsroom, accusing its staff of "complicity in genocide." ■ ISRAEL: A man in his 50s was critically wounded in a stabbing attack at the Beit Kama junction in southern Israel. Police said the assailant, a 22-year-old Israeli citizen originally from Gaza, was shot by a soldier at the scene. President Isaac Herzog, meeting with Galilee residents evacuated from their homes due to Hezbollah rocket attacks, said: "There is a deep sense of neglect. People don't listen and the immense pain that is down here is not heard from above." German government sources confirmed to DPA that Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Israel and Jordan in the coming days, in his second visit to Israel since the war started. ■ HOSTAGES/CEASE-FIRE: PM Netanyahu met at Defense Ministry HQ in Tel Aviv with relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. In a NewsNation interview with Judith Raanan and her 18-year-old daughter Natalie, who were taken hostage by Hamas and released in October, Raanan recalled being taken to a hospital in Gaza amid celebrations that Hamas had captured "Jewish prey." Earlier on Thursday, at least 40 relatives of hostages held in Gaza blocked the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv. "Netanyahu is trying his utmost to avoid the truth that even if Israelis support the war, they wish he was not the one leading it" - Dahlia Scheindlin ■ WEST BANK: Hamas calls on the Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem, as well as Arab citizens of Israel, "to be alert and ready to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque" on Friday - the beginning of the month of Ramadan and "remain there days and nights." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas intends to appoint Muhammad Mustafa as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. Mustafa currently manages the PA's financial apparatus. A senior Palestinian official told Haaretz that, if appointed, Mustafa will aim for a technocratic government to include representatives of prominent Gazan families. ■ LEBANON: The IDF said fighter jets struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. An Israeli tank killed a Reuters journalist in Lebanon last year when it fired at a group of "clearly identifiable journalists," according to a UN investigation.