Top updates: US warns Israel against ‘reoccupation’ of Gaza after war ends
After a meeting in Tokyo, top diplomats from the G7 countries said in a statement that Tel Aviv had the right to defend itself but civilians must be protected.
A look at the top developments from Israel’s war on Gaza:
- The United States has warned Israel against a military “reoccupation” of the Gaza Strip, reported the BBC on Wednesday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reportedly told Israel that there should be no forced displacement, blockade or reduction of territory. The White House had earlier also stated that President Joe Biden does not support an Israeli occupation of Gaza once the war ends. The statement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that his country may manage Gaza’s security for an “indefinite period”.
- The Israeli troops on Wednesday targeted a network of tunnels built by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Reuters quoted chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari as saying. The forces used explosive devices to destroy the tunnel that stretched for hundreds of kilometres beneath the besieged Palestinian territory, he said.
- This comes as Israel’s war on Gaza entered its second month. At least 10,569 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, including 4,324 children, reported Al Jazeera. A total of over 1,500 people have been killed in Israel, most of them being civilians who were killed in an attack by Hamas on October 7.
- While the Israeli military has said that its attacks have killed thousands of Hamas fighters, the spokesperson of the group, Ghazi Hamad, on Tuesday denied the claims, reported the Associated Press. “They never give the people the truth,” said Hamad, who left Gaza days before the attack on Israel. “The Palestinians fight and fight and fight against Israel, until we end the occupation.” He said that numerous Israeli soldiers were killed on Monday and “many tanks were destroyed”.
- The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said on Wednesday that the Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza, where nearly 1,400 people have taken refuge, has curtailed most operations to ration fuel use. Bashar Murad, emergency medical services director at the society, told Al Jazeera that the situation at the hospital is “the most catastrophic”. He said that the central storage at the facility has been partially destroyed because of Israeli airstrikes. “We lost all medications and equipment in the storage worth around five million dollars,” said Murad.
- After a meeting in Tokyo, top diplomats from the G7 countries said in a statement that Israel had the right to defend itself but civilians must be protected and international humanitarian law followed. A two-state solution “remains the only path to a just, lasting, and secure peace”, they said.