The Biden administration is desperately trying to stop the Israeli invasion of Gaza in hopes of advancing negotiations over the more than 200 hostages still being held by Hamas, according to a report on Sunday.
The development came as Israel intensified its bombing of Gaza ahead of its planned full invasion and clashes increased along the Israel-Lebanon border; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Sunday that if the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah “decides to enter the war… it will be the mistake of its life.”
President Biden and other US officials remained in talks until the last moment to delay the Israeli Defense Forces’ invasion of Gaza so that more hostages could be freed before the Palestinian territory further dissolves into a zone of war, sources briefed on the talks told CNN. .
“He [administration] “I pressured Israeli leaders to delay because of progress on the hostage front,” an official said after the release of two American citizens on Friday.
But a senior Israeli official told CNN on Sunday that the Jewish nation would not contemplate a “ceasefire” as negotiations continued, saying: “Humanitarian efforts cannot be allowed to affect the mission to dismantle Hamas.”
When Biden was asked on Saturday if he was discussing plans to delay the invasion of Gaza, he told reporters: “I’m talking to the Israelis.”
The United States is currently acting as a key negotiator alongside Qatar to secure the release of 210 hostages, including 30 children, trapped in Gaza. Qatar, which delivers aid to the Palestinians, has previously worked with the United States to free hostages in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Israel is mobilizing its tanks for an imminent invasion of Gaza, with one unit stationed at the border on Sunday. HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock President Biden and US officials are reportedly working to stop the invasion in hopes of freeing more hostages taken by Hamas.AFP via Getty Images
After the release of American mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan from Illinois, Hamas said it was willing to release two more hostages. But Netanyahu criticized the claim as “false Hamas propaganda,” suggesting that the terrorists were simply seeking to delay the all-out attack on the Jewish nation.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the president is “hopeful” that more hostages will be freed, even though Hamas’ strategy remains unclear as the terrorists have not asked for anything in return, al Still less.
“We don’t know why Hamas decided to release Natalie and Judith. [Raanan] first. I use the word ‘first’ deliberately, because again, we are hopeful that more will follow,” she told NBC’s Meet the Press. “This is something we’re involved in pretty much 24 hours a day.”
Photo hanging on a refrigerator next to bullet holes in a house in Kibbutz Kissufim in southern Israel.AP
Blinken added that 10 Americans remain missing and are believed to be in Hamas custody, but their status is unknown.
“What we don’t know for sure is whether some of the missing are dead and simply haven’t been discovered yet or whether they are hostages,” he said.
Hamas has refused to comment on its “Israeli army captives” until Israel ends its “aggression.”
The developments came as overnight airstrikes on Deir Al Balah in central Gaza killed at least 143 people, according to Palestinian officials.
Currently, the United States acts as a key negotiator along with Qatar.REUTERS
Israeli authorities said that among those killed in the recent bombings was Muhammad Katmash, Hamas’s deputy artillery commander who had been overseeing many attacks on Israel and helped plan the terrorist group’s heinous stealth invasion on October 7, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Israel said earlier Sunday that it also bombed the al-Ansar mosque, which was being used as the headquarters of a terrorist cell, in Jenin, West Bank, killing at least two people.
The Jewish country has vowed to accelerate its long-range artillery fire and airstrikes in Gaza as IDF tanks begin lining up along the border.
Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie Raanan, both from Illinois, were released by Hamas on Friday. US Embassy in Jerusalem/AFP via Getty Images
“We have to enter the next phase of the war in the best conditions, not according to what we are told,” IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters on Saturday.
“Starting today, we will increase attacks and minimize the danger” to Israeli troops who will soon invade. “We are going to increase the attacks, starting today,” he promised.
Israel also vowed to confront Hezbollah head-on as Lebanese terrorists attack it with rockets and missiles.
“We will paralyze him with a force he cannot even imagine, and the consequences for him and for the Lebanese state are devastating,” Netanyahu said Sunday of Hezbollah while visiting Israeli troops near Israel’s border with Lebanon.
Members of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain hold photographs of hostages while demonstrating. AFP via Getty Images
Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said Sunday that Hezbollah has been “constantly escalating the situation.
“The bottom line is that… Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game,” the spokesman told reporters. “[It is] It is very important that everyone in Lebanon considers the question of price. Is the Lebanese state really willing to jeopardize what remains of Lebanese prosperity and sovereignty for the sake of terrorists in Gaza?
Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Islamist movement operating on the Israel-Lebanon border that praised the Hamas terrorist attack and has since repeatedly attacked Israel.
Blinken said Sunday that the United States is also concerned about potential conflicts arising between Israel and its Iranian proxies.
“We are taking steps to ensure that we can effectively defend our people and respond decisively if necessary. This is not what we want, nor what we are looking for. We do not want an escalation,” he stated.
Some 210 people are still held captive by terrorists in Gaza. AP
The IDF warns Palestinians with new leaflets that they may be identified as sympathizers of a “terrorist organization” if they do not leave the area.
While Biden has strongly supported Israel, he tweeted on Sunday that he and Netanyahu have also “discussed how Israel should operate under the laws of war.
“That means protecting civilians in combat to the best of their ability. “We cannot ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians who just want to live in peace,” Biden wrote.
“We cannot give up on a two-state solution.”
Rising tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and the impending invasion cloud prospects for freeing more hostages despite experts’ perception that diplomacy would be the best course of action to ensure the safety of those held captive by Hamas.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the president is “hopeful” that more hostages will be freed, even though Hamas’ strategy remains unclear.REUTERS
Christopher O’Leary, a former senior FBI official who led many hostage recovery teams, told The Post that while Israel should have plans for a military rescue operation, negotiations through Qatar are necessary.
“Israel should negotiate the release of the hostages as a priority while working to gather more intelligence,” he said.
He also warned that the Jewish country’s repeated airstrikes could have laid the groundwork for a more difficult attack on Gaza.
Israeli forces are planning an invasion of Gaza after the Hamas terrorist group killed more than 1,400 people in Israel. REUTERS
“Airstrikes may result in more destroyed structures, making operations in Gaza and locating hostages more difficult,” he warned. “There is also the possibility that hostages could be injured or killed as a result.”
Along with the United States, other nations have called on Israel to avoid an immediate invasion, as nearly 40 countries have citizens who were kidnapped by Hamas.
UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly “called for discipline, professionalism and restraint from the Israeli military,” according to the BBC, saying that an expansion of the conflict “is exactly what Hamas wants.”
The international implications only grow.
The Israeli military said Sunday that it mistakenly attacked an Egyptian border position near the Gaza border. The Egyptian military said one of its border guard towers was hit and one person suffered minor injuries.
“The incident is being investigated and the details are under review,” Israel wrote in X. “The IDF regrets the incident.”
Meanwhile, up to six Chinese warships have been operating in the Middle East over the past week, the Chinese Defense Ministry website reported last week, according to the South China Morning Post.
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