“Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas but once again too many Palestinian civilians have been killed“. The vice president and Democratic candidate for the White House said this, Kamala Harris, speaking to reporters in Phoenix, Arizona, after the Israeli attack on a school in Gaza.
“It is absolutely necessary to reach a ceasefire and the release of the hostages,” he stressed.
Ben Gvir Against Talks: “It’s a Serious Mistake by Netanyahu”
Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Be Gvir has condemned the ongoing ceasefire and hostage release talks with Hamas in Gaza, saying that this would amount to surrendering to the terror group. In an interview with Radio 103 FM, Ben Gvir also called for a halt to aid to the Strip.
“We are destroying Hamas,” he says, “so now we should go to a conference and surrender?” he asks. “This is a grave mistake on the part of the prime minister. It is a mistake to stand with Hamas, which has raped, killed and burned children, and we surrender to them?”
Ben Gvir also reiterated his call to cut off fuel and aid to Gaza: “If we cut off the fuel, within a week they would be on their knees. And if we stopped the aid trucks, within two weeks they would be on their knees. So why should we make a deal, especially such an irresponsible deal?” he said. “What nonsense, what a terrible mistake, a huge disaster. We can achieve total victory,” he said.
Iran: ‘The Attack on the Gaza School Is a New Crime of the Zionist Regime’
“Iran deplores the new crime of the Zionist regime, the attack on the Tabeen school in Gaza, and is seriously seeking to condemn this act at the regional and international levels,” interim Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri said today in a telephone conversation with the deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas, Khalil al-Hayya. IRNA reported.
Bagheri praised the election of Yahya Sinwar as head of the political bureau of Hamas, saying that it “is a source of pride, since (Sinwar) is a tireless Mujahid, who skillfully leads the battlefield against the Zionists.” Al-Hayya, for his part, called for international condemnation of the attack on the school and stressed the need for continued consultations between Hamas and Tehran.
They ask Hezbollah to postpone its response to Israel until after the talks
Arab officials have asked Hezbollah to postpone its response to the assassination of its chief of staff Fuad Shukr until after the start of the summit to negotiate the release of the hostages, which will be held next Thursday, August 15.
Haaretz reported, citing Lebanese sources. Officials told Hezbollah that an attack on Israel before the summit could damage the negotiations and that the group would be responsible. Hezbollah did not respond to the request.
Tehran: “Israel will pay a price for killing Haniyeh”
“Iran is determined to make the Israeli regime pay the price for the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran,” interim Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri said last night in a telephone conversation with Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib.
“Iran’s decisive and legitimate retaliation will be in line with the defense of its national security, territorial integrity and sovereignty and on the basis of international law,” Bagheri said.
Lahbib, for his part, called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint. In a separate telephone conversation with his Dutch counterpart Caspar Veldkamp, Bagheri said that “some European countries have remained silent on the terrorist acts of the Zionist regime, including the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran and its attack on the school in Gaza.” Veldkamp called for a ceasefire in Gaza and for humanitarian aid to be sent to the area.
Egypt-PNA Dialogue for Rafah Crossing Control
According to sources in Israeli public television Kan, a “meaningful dialogue” is underway between Egypt and the Palestinian Authority (PNA) in order for the PNA to assume responsibility for the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula.
The Egyptians aim to make this the first step in a plan for the PA to gradually take control of other strategic sites in Gaza after the war, despite the Israeli leadership consistently rejecting the idea of giving the Palestinian Authority a role in governing the Strip after the war.
Kan reports that in recent days, a senior PA official, Hussein al-Sheikh, met with an Egyptian official in Ramallah to discuss the plan, which is strongly supported by Cairo and probably also by the United States, adding that the intention is for the Palestinian National Authority to openly assume control of the crossing, without masking or hiding its involvement.
IDF modifies humanitarian zone in Gaza, ‘Hamas operates from civilian areas’
The Israeli military (IDF) said it was changing the borders of the humanitarian zone in Gaza based on “precise information indicating that Hamas has embedded its terrorist infrastructure in the area.”
“The IDF is preparing to operate against terrorist organizations in the area and therefore calls on the population remaining in the al-Jalaa neighborhood to temporarily evacuate to the modified humanitarian zone,” the army said.
The appeals to civilians are being conveyed through leaflets dropped from airplanes, text messages, phone calls and television broadcasts. A military source says there is no need to evacuate hospitals in the area and that the IDF has communicated this to Palestinian health authorities and representatives of the international community.