Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Galant was heading to Washington on Sunday for “important” talks on the Gaza war that has been going on since October 7 and growing cross-border tensions with Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed hope for early progress on lifting a blockade on US arms and ammunition supplies to Israel’s top ally, which he said had declined sharply in recent months.
US President Joe Biden disagrees with Israel’s senior right-wing leader over rising civilian deaths in Gaza, but US officials have said they were not aware of what Netanyahu was referring to on the weapons issue.
The Israeli prime minister told his cabinet on Sunday that “about four months ago, there was a dramatic decline in arms supplies from the United States to Israel. We received all kinds of explanations, but… the basic situation remained unchanged.”
However, he expressed hope that the issue would now be resolved: “In light of what I have heard over the past few days, I hope and believe that this issue will be resolved in the near future.”
The Israeli military again bombed Gaza on Sunday, a day after thousands of people protested in Tel Aviv against the government and demanded the return of people held hostage by Hamas.
Tensions have also risen along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where cross-border firefights between the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and the military have occurred on a daily basis, raising fears of a full-blown war.
Gallant said he would “discuss developments in Gaza and Lebanon” and vowed “we stand prepared for any action necessary in Gaza, Lebanon and beyond.”
He stressed that “our relationship with the United States is more important than ever. Our meetings with American officials are vital to this war.”
– ‘War of Destruction’ –
Israeli forces continue to attack targets in Gaza and wage a war against Hamas, an Islamist militant group that Israel vowed to destroy after the Oct. 7 assault, which has left much of the coastal region devastated.
A military statement said that over the past 24 hours, fighter jets have attacked dozens of terrorist targets, including military structures, militants and terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
Amid more than eight months of war in Gaza, Israeli protesters have taken to the streets week after week demanding greater efforts to repatriate remaining hostages.
More than 150,000 people attended the rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, according to the organization Israel Democracy Headquarters Hofshei B’Artzenu, calling it the largest since the Gaza war began.
Many protesters expressed anger and frustration at Netanyahu and his right-wing allies, accusing them of prolonging the war and endangering the country’s security and the hostages.
Many held posters that read “Minister of Crime” and “Stop the War,” while some lay on the ground painted red and protested the death of Israeli democracy.
Yuval Diskin, the former head of Israel’s domestic security agency Shin Bet, addressed the crowd, calling Netanyahu Israel’s “worst prime minister.”
– Lebanon tensions –
The Gaza war began on October 7 with a Hamas attack on southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on Israeli official figures.
The militants also seized hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, though the military says 41 have been killed.
Gaza’s health ministry said at least 37,598 people, mostly civilians, had been killed in Israel’s counter-attack.
The Israeli siege leaves Gaza’s 2.4 million people deprived of drinking water, food, fuel and other essential commodities.
“This war must stop,” said Umm Siraj al-Balawi, who is living in a makeshift shelter amid the rubble, hanging sheets to protect her young children from the burning sun.
“People are being displaced house by house, tent by tent, school by school,” he said. “This is a war of displacement. This is a war of annihilation.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it targeted a military base in northern Israel “with an attack drone” in retaliation for the killing of a commander of the Jewry’s Islamist group in an attack on eastern Lebanon.
Israel said no one was injured in Sunday’s attack.
Hezbollah had published a video excerpt a few hours earlier showing Israeli locations along with their coordinates, raising fears of a wider conflict.
Israel’s military said last Tuesday that plans to invade Lebanon had been “approved and validated.”
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah threatened that no part of Israel would be left untouched in the event of a full-blown war.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
