Recognizing that hundreds of Israeli soldiers died in Gaza, the beleaguered Israeli prime minister announces Tel Aviv’s plan to install a “civilian government” in the Palestinian enclave, possibly with support from the United Arab Emirates and other allies.
Following the announcement by the Biden administration that it would no longer be supplying Israel with weapons, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his optimism that he and US President Joe Biden could work out their differences about the conflict in Gaza.
“We’ve disagreed as well as frequently had agreements. We’ve managed to get past them. Netanyahu remarked during an interview on “Dr. Phil Primetime” that, “I hope we can overcome them now, but we will do what we have to do to protect our country.”
Netanyahu acknowledged on Thursday that hundreds of Israeli soldiers had died in Gaza and stated that a civilian government in Gaza was necessary, maybe with assistance from the UAE and other countries.
The Israeli prime minister asserted that his nation had destroyed 20 of Hamas’ 24 battalions in Gaza, highlighting his goal to destroy the resistance organization Hamas in Gaza, which many experts believe is unachievable.
Regarding Netanyahu’s assertions, Hamas did not respond right away.
Netanyahu declared in a statement earlier on Thursday that “if we have to stand alone, we will stand alone.” We shall fight with our fingernails if necessary. But our possessions go far beyond fingernails.”
The US decision to halt the delivery of bombs to Israel due to worries that they would be used in a full-scale invasion of Rafah is the source of Israeli annoyance. On Thursday, US President Joe Biden supported the suspension of arms sales, claiming that Palestinian civilians were killed by US bombs.
In a CNN interview, Biden stated that if Israel’s military invades Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than 1.5 million Palestinians are seeking refuge, the US would stop supplying Israel with specific weaponry and artillery shells.
The US is halting the transfer of “high-payload munitions” in response to Israel’s potential operations in Rafah without a strategy for the civilian population there, according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Austin stated at a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing, “We’re going to continue to do what’s necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself, but that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah.”
The Manila War
At least 34,904 people have died as a result of Israel’s protracted bombing of the besieged Gaza Strip, which has already lasted 217 days. A startling 70% of the casualties were women, children, and infants. Over 78,514 people have been injured as a result of the unrelenting violence, and the terrifying fact that over 10,000 people are thought to be dead beneath the debris of blasted buildings hangs over the area in a dismal light.
The WHO and other UN agencies have stated that the government of Hamas have “good capacity in data collection” and that their prior death toll reporting has been “well developed” and reliable.
On Thursday, Netanyahu seemed to explain the high number of Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza, claiming that “a great military historian” had informed him that the only comparable event to the Gaza War is the “Battle for Manila” in World War II, in which 17,000 Japanese soldiers were battling US armed forces.
“Americans fought and fought bravely and eventually defeated the Japanese but they ended up killing 100,000 civilians,” Netanyahu stated.
“… because that is what happens when you hide in populated areas. Israel has experienced far smaller ratios than this one, the speaker continued.
SOURCE: TRTWORLD
