Israel to have ‘overall security responsibility’ for Gaza indefinitely after war ends

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu states Israel will have “overall security responsibility” for Gaza indefinitely after the war ends. Follow updates. Warning: Graphic

One of the Hamas commanders accused of being responsible for sending “Nukhba” terrorists into Israel has been “eliminated” in Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The death of Wael Asefa, the Commander of Hamas’ Deir al Balah battalion was announced in a social media post that also said he had been jailed previously for his involvement in terror attacks against Israeli communities.

The Nukhba or Nakba is the Arabic word for catastrophe and refers to the mass displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

The announcement followed a phone call between US President Joe Biden and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussing the potential for “pauses” in the Israeli military’s operation, as the death toll in the Palestinian territory passed 10,000.

Mr Netanyahu revealed in an interview that Israel would have “overall security responsibility” over Gaza “for an indefinite period” after the war against Hamas. It is a scenario the US has already voiced its opposition to.

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UN RIGHTS CHIEF SEEKS ACCESS TO GAZA

The UN rights chief is visiting the Middle East amid rising concerns over Israel’s escalation in Gaza, his office said.

Volker Turk was on Tuesday in Egypt at the start of a five-day visit to the region, and was planning to visit the Rafah crossing to Gaza on Wednesday, his office said in a statement.

Turk will visit Amman Thursday, and has also sought access to Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza, it added.

“It has been one full month of carnage, of incessant suffering, bloodshed, destruction, outrage and despair,” Turk said in the statement.

“Human rights violations are at the root of this escalation and human rights play a central role in finding a way out of this vortex of pain.”

CALLS FOR CEASEFIRE CONTINUE

Israeli Defense Forces said they have lost 31 soldiers since it launched its ground assault into Gaza on October 27, while the Gaza Health Ministry said more than 4000 children have been killed in the war.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres again called for a ceasefire, saying the Gaza strip has become a “graveyard for children.”

Meeting with NATO representatives in Brussels, King Abdullah II of Jordan called for an immediate ceasefire and warned everyone is paying the price of the absence of a political solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

But Mr Netanyahu said a ceasefire was dependent on the release of all Israelis being held hostage by Hamas.

ISRAELI TROOPS HIT 450 HAMAS TARGETS

It is estimated another 292 people were killed in a barrage of rockets that hit two paediatric hospitals and Gaza’s only psychiatric facility.

The IDF announced its forces had hit 450 Hamas targets and taken control of a Hamas military compound – containing observation posts and training areas for its operatives.

Israeli troops have effectively separated the north of the Gaza Strip from the south and are expected to make a concerted move into the centre of Gaza City in the next 48 hours. It has reopened an evacuation route for civilians to move south.

Wrapping up his second visit to the Middle East, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said

talks had made good progress on getting humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and he had “very important conversations” with countries in the region to try and to ensure “the conflict doesn’t spread.”

Blinken arrived in Japan on Tuesday for a meeting of G7 foreign ministers that will look to agree on a common line on the Israel-Hamas war.

IDF CLAIMS HAMAS HIDING IN CHILDREN’S PLAY AREA

After pushing further into Gaza, the IDF claimed they also had proof Hamas had turned a mosque and a children’s play area into rocket launching compounds.

The IDF released video to social media sites claiming it showed a large rocket launching site with five separate launch compartments pointing at Israel, all of which were connected by electricity to a mosque. It said the rockets had already been launched.

A separate video claimed to show a scout meeting hall also hosted rocket launchers which were aimed at the town of Ashkelon. Outside, some 50 rockets — bearing the logo of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad — were said to be found in an underground storage site.

Israel also released images purporting to show a Hamas tunnel at the opening of the Qatar-funded Sheikh Hamad hospital.

Israel has consistently said Hamas fighters have been hiding with civilians and many of their underground tunnels and bunkers were beneath hospitals.

IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus said “we know and have proven that the hospital was used for fighting and have started to clear the underground infrastructure and tunnels from booby traps.”

But Qatar condemned Israel for its allegations about the existence of a Hamas tunnel under Sheikh Hamad Hospital, saying the claims were made “without any tangible evidence or independent investigation.”

The chairman of the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, Ambassador Mohammed El Emadi, said, “This is a blatant attempt to justify the occupation’s targeting of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, residential areas, and shelters for displaced people.”

He said the hospital was built with Israel’s approval and that targeting it would constitute a war crime.

The head of the Hamas media unit Salama Marouf called for the UN to verify Israel’s claims about the use of hospitals as shields.

UAE SETS UP FIELD HOSPITAL FOR PALESTINIANS

UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed has directed Emirati authorities to establish a 150-bed field hospital inside Gaza to treat Palestinians wounded during the Israel-Hamas war, according to the Gulf kingdom’s state news agency.

Five planes carrying the medical equipment and supplies necessary for the field hospital took off from Abu Dhabi for Egypt where the shipment will then be transferred into Gaza.

- with AFP.

Originally published as Israel to have ‘overall security responsibility’ for Gaza indefinitely after war ends