No pause in Gaza siege unless hostages released, says Israel

As Washington pushed Israel to safeguard civilians and the Red Cross spoke of a humanitarian catastrophe in the enclave, Israel declared on Thursday that there would be no respite in its siege of the Gaza Strip for aid or evacuations until all of its hostages were freed.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that America would always support Israel and provide security assistance, but he urged Israel to exercise restraint “even when it’s difficult” as he arrived in Tel Aviv on a solidarity visit.

In retaliation for the bloodiest attack on civilians in Israeli history, when hundreds of militants breached the barrier and rampaged through cities on March 30, Israel has pledged to completely destroy the Hamas movement that rules the Gaza Strip.

Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, head of the Israeli military, warned that the attack’s security lapses in the vicinity of Gaza would serve as a lesson.

“The IDF is responsible for defending the country and its citizens, and Saturday morning, in the area around Gaza, we did not live up to it,” he said. “We will learn, investigate, but now is the time for war.”

Israel’s public channel Kan reported that more than 1,300 people have died there. Most of them were innocent people who were shot dead in their homes, on the streets, or while dancing. Israeli authorities claim to have recognised 97 of the several Israeli and foreign hostages who were transported back to Gaza.

In response, Israel has so far completely besieged Gaza, which is home to 2.3 million people, and launched the most powerful bombing assault in the 75-year history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, obliterating entire neighbourhoods.

According to Gaza’s authorities, more than 6,000 Palestinians have been injured in addition to more than 1,400 fatalities.

The fuel fueling the emergency generators at Gaza’s hospitals could run out in a matter of hours, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

“Without electricity, hospitals risk turning into morgues,” ICRC regional director Fabrizio Carboni said. “The human misery caused by this escalation is abhorrent, and I implore the sides to reduce the suffering of civilians.”

There would be no exceptions to the blockade, according to Israel’s Energy Minister Israel Katz, without the release of the Israeli hostages.

“No electrical switch will be lifted, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli hostages are returned home. Humanitarian for humanitarian. And nobody should preach us morals,” Katz posted on social media platform X.

Egypt, which has a single border crossing with Gaza, said it was trying to allow in aid there.

Syria claimed that Israeli air attacks had targeted the airports in Damascus and Aleppo, rendering both of them inoperable, in the clearest indication yet that the fighting may spread across international boundaries.

According to the Israeli military, it makes no comments on such rumours. Iran, which supports Hamas and has praised the assaults while denying a direct role, is a close friend of Syria.

Standing beside Netanyahu, Blinken said: “You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself. But as long as America exists, you will never ever have to. We will always be there by your side.”

Netanyahu said: “Thank you, America, for standing with Israel, today, tomorrow and always.”

Blinken also offered an emotional, personal aside, recounting how his own grandfather had fled pogroms in Russia and his stepfather survived Nazi concentration camps.

“I understand on a personal level the harrowing echoes that Hamas’ massacres carry for Israeli Jews, indeed, for Jews everywhere,” he said.

“We democracies distinguish ourselves from terrorists by striving for a different standard, even when it’s difficult. That’s why it’s so important to take every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians.”

On Friday, Blinken will travel to Jordan to meet with King Abdullah and Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy in the West Bank that Israel occupies.

On Thursday, Abbas, whose Fatah movement has long been Hamas’ adversary, denounced violence against civilians on both sides.

“We reject the practices of killing civilians or abusing them on both sides because they contravene morals, religion and international law,” the official Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted Abbas as saying.

Scores of Israelis gathered in Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery on Thursday to bury their dead.

“When you didn’t take my call, I knew you were fighting with all your power. When I realised you were missing, I could not imagine this is how it would end,” one mourner said.

The Samour family, who were slain on Wednesday night in a strike that damaged their home, were buried on vacant areas in Khan Younis, Gaza’s main southern city, where cemeteries were already filled.

Eight dead were discovered by family members and friends at the mortuary, and 10 more are thought to be under the wreckage. The victims were taken from the hospital in a truck draped in floral blankets, and they were then deposited at a property across the street from their demolished home, lined up in white shrouds. Nearby, hundreds of men prayed.

A woman at the adjacent hospital made an effort to comfort a crying young girl whose home had been damaged. My mother, I want my mommy, the girl kept yelling. The woman embraced the young girl.

Residents of the Al Shati refugee camp in Gaza were using their bare hands to dig through the debris in search of remains and survivors. According to rescuers, they lack fuel and digging tools.

Although Washington has supported Israel forcefully, Blinken’s proposal to meet with Abbas demonstrates that Washington is still aware of Palestinian grievances, which are keenly felt by Arab friends.

Since Hamas took control of Gaza 16 years ago, its residents—mostly relatives of refugees who left or were evicted from their homes in Israel upon its founding—have endured economic collapse, continuous Israeli bombardment, and a blockade.

Due to Israel’s recent deadly crackdown in the West Bank and promises of annexing additional land by its right-wing administration, Palestinian rage has increased. Palestinian authorities claim that the collapse of a peace effort intended to establish a Palestinian state a decade ago left the populace without hope and strengthened extremists.

(With agency inputs)