News Update
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken met with Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday in Jerusalem. Blinken said, “We cannot, will not support a major military operation in Rafah absent an effective plan to make sure that civilians are not harmed and no, we’ve not seen such a plan.There are other ways, and in our judgment better ways, of dealing with the ongoing challenge of Hamas that does not require a major military operation in Rafah.” Blinken also toured the Gaza border area and observed the process of unloading and transporting humanitarian aid from the Port of Ashdod.
Netanyahu reiterated that Israel will invade Gaza if Hamas doesn’t drop its demand that Israel stop the war and continues to hold the hostages. [So all Hamas needs to do now is to hold firm to their outlandish demands and force Israel to invade Rafah, cause the inevitable deaths of thousands of civilians, provoke the wrath of the Biden administration and become an international pariah even among its friends and supporters. Hamas can also murder almost all of the remaining hostages, claim that they were killed in the Israeli offensive, and hold on to a small number to serve as their human shields and final bargaining chips. With tens of thousands of Israelis protesting against the government and demanding that it bring the hostages home at any cost, Israel’s options for moving forward don’t look very inspiring.]
Meanwhile, IDF operations against Hamas terrorists in central Gaza, Hezbollah missiles at northern Israel and IDF strikes at terror bases in Lebanon continue.
Saudi Arabia has reportedly been arresting citizens inciting against Israel on social media. The U.S. has been working on brokering a normalization deal between the Saudis and Israel, which could potentially be used as a “reward” to stop Israel from invading Rafah.
