The Israeli president said on Tuesday that Israel was prepared to hold another humanitarian pause in return for the release of the hostages. The president stressed that full responsibility for this rested with Sinwar and the Hamas leadership. Isaac Herzog made the remarks at a briefing this morning to the ambassadors serving in Israel and the diplomatic corps, which together represent more than 80 countries around the world.
The President at the Diplomats' Briefing, today, Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO
The briefing was held instead of the traditional New Year's reception, which takes place every year, and against the backdrop of the ongoing war against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza. Most of it dealt with the current situation in Israel, alongside the humanitarian aid Israel provides to Gaza. Herzog also stressed that Israel is not at war with the Palestinian people, but at war with the enemy, which is the Hamas terrorist organization. Meanwhile, the president called on international organizations to do more to facilitate the transfer of aid to Gaza. During the briefing, Colonel Elad Goren, Head of COGAT's Civil Department, shared the ongoing efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the residents of Gaza.
The President opened the briefing by saying, "I want to thank the countries and leaders who worked for the release of the hostages as soon as possible. Every effort that your countries, your leaders, and your media can promote, along with your diplomatic contacts, helps exert vital pressure on the various countries involved in the issue of the release of hostages. First and foremost, we must remember and emphasize that there are dozens of humanitarian cases within the group of abductees currently held in Gaza, including babies and women, the elderly, the sick and wounded."
The president called on international organizations to do more to facilitate the transfer of aid to Gaza, Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO
The president continued: "I can reiterate the fact that Israel is prepared to hold another humanitarian pause and provide additional humanitarian assistance in order to enable the release of hostages. Full responsibility lies fully with Sinwar and the Hamas leadership." He added: "It is important for us to reiterate, we are not fighting the residents of Gaza, they are not our enemies - we are fighting Hamas, they are the enemy. Israel's war is more just than ever. And in this respect, we are taking all possible humanitarian measures in accordance with international humanitarian law."
He also elaborated on the humanitarian issue in the Gaza Strip: "We are making considerable efforts to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza. For example, when temporary hospitals are being built on the ground by different countries. On this occasion, I would like to commend the Emirati initiative, which others are following. But there is another point that is important to mention, and that is that the amount of humanitarian aid can be tripled immediately. Over the past two weeks, Israel has operated new scanning equipment in Nitzana, allowing 350 trucks a day to enter. In the past two weeks, there have been many obstacles to the flow of trucks into Gaza, currently facing the UN and other partners. Only about 125 or 100 trucks a day manage to enter the Gaza Strip."
Overview of the UN Security Council debate on the war in Gaza, photo: AP
"We could easily triple the number of trucks if only there was effort by the UN and its partners. The world needs to know that thousands more tons of humanitarian supplies can be brought into Gaza every day. The failure lies with the UN and its partners," the president charged.
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