‘Unthinkable’
Mkhaimar Abusada, an associate professor at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, said that if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “was really interested in releasing all Israeli hostages, he could have gone with a second phase of the ceasefire. But he has never made any commitment to an end to the war.”
Speaking before the UN Security Council, former hostage Eli Sharabi called on the world to “bring them all home”, referring to the dozens still held by Gaza militants.
He said he was “chained, starved, beaten and humiliated” during his Hamas captivity.
Resumption of fighting in Gaza has coincided with a reignited protest movement by Israelis who see Netanyahu’s policies, including his move to fire the internal security agency chief, as a threat to democracy.
On Thursday President Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, spoke of “controversial initiatives that create deep rifts within our nation.”
He also called it “unthinkable to resume fighting while still pursuing the sacred mission of bringing our hostages home.”
Hamas appealed to Arab and Islamic nations “to take urgent action” in the United Nations Security Council and other forums to halt the renewed fighting.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Israel’s latest strikes on Gaza a “catastrophic crime” and said the United States “shares responsiblity”.
Hamas’s Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel that began the war resulted in 1218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.
The overall death toll in Gaza since the start of the war is 49 617, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Source: CNA
