U.S. pressure weighs on Israel's choices. The uncertainty over the Rafah crossing with the exit of foreigners from Gaza, international pressure on humanitarian corridors, the issue of hostages in the Strip are all aspects that are holding back the entry of Israeli troops into Gaza. The Jewish state has been complete military preparations for days, hundreds of tanks and thousands of soldiers are ready for the ground operation, yet the moment seems not to have arrived yet.
On the tenth day of the war, the United States is increasingly present on the ground. Today, for the second time in a few days since the attack launched by Hamas on October 7, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to Israel after a diplomatic shuttle to 6 Arab countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan. And the arrival of Joe Biden is also on the horizon: according to sources cited by Haaretz, the American president is expected in Jerusalem as early as Wednesday.
"Israel's occupation of Gaza would be a big mistake," Biden warned in the prospect of a Hamas beheading. Beyond the military commitment that the United States has already guaranteed by sending two aircraft carriers and dozens of jets, Washington is setting precise limits for Israeli intervention in the Strip. And it is working to avoid the explosion of a wider conflict, with its eyes on Iran first and foremost.
To learn more ANSA Agency The diary of the day
The fate of the Rafah crossing continues to be an unresolved issue. The passage to the Sinai, where hundreds of thousands of fleeing Palestinians are massing, continues to be closed, mainly at the behest of Israel, which today - after news of an imminent opening had filtered out - hit a shelter of the structure as a warning. The Jewish state has repeatedly reiterated that the humanitarian corridors in the Strip are linked to the fate of the hostages held by Hamas. While Blinken - who met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem and who in the next few hours will return, contrary to plans, not to the US but to Jordan - received an update on the situation reiterating "support for Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas terrorism". Without forgetting the dossier "of humanitarian aid to civilians" and the U.S. efforts "for the rapid and safe release of those held hostage by Hamas."
The Israeli army announced that it had contacted the families of 199 hostages, a number that swells the more the days pass. While on the ground, the war goes on. Even today, the firing of rockets from Gaza into the south and center of Israel was dense. The alarm sirens sounded three times in Tel Aviv and once in Jerusalem, where the inaugural session of the winter session of the Knesset with Netanyahu was underway: all the deputies went to the shelter. Israeli air raids continued to target the infrastructure of Hamas and its leaders. Today it was the turn of the head of intelligence of the faction of the city of Khan Younis, in the south of the Palestinian enclave: for the first time, a Saar-6 missile, normally used by the navy, was used.
The situation in the Gaza Strip is dramatic, with more than a million displaced people. The dead, according to Hamas' Ministry of Health, have reached more than 2,800, with 10,850 injured, not counting those still under the rubble. UNRWA has denounced - later retracted - that self-described Hamas men stole gasoline and drugs from the organization's headquarters in Gaza City. In Israel, there are about 100,28 displaced people, not only from the south of the country but also from the north, targeted by Hezbollah. On the border with Lebanon, as many as 1 locations were evacuated. More than 400,291 people died (3 soldiers) and more than 000,<> were wounded.
A price in human lives for which the head of the Shin Bet (Internal Security) Ronen Bar took responsibility for failing to prevent the Hamas attack. "We will triumph because our very existence in this region, which is full of dark forces, is at stake," Netanyahu assured, denouncing that "Hamas is part of the evil axis formed by Iran and Hezbollah."
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