Tel Aviv
In response to an urgent request from Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu made an apparent concession on the humanitarian issue in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli prime minister is playing with words. In order to appease Joe Biden, he agreed on Thursday to a limited pause in the fighting, both in time and in its size, for humanitarian reasons. But this gesture falls far short of the three-day cessation of hostilities recommended by the American president. On paper, the White House announced Thursday that the Israeli military had agreed to freeze its attacks and shelling each day for four hours starting Thursday to allow the exodus of Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip in the heart of the war, to the south of the enclave, as well as the delivery of emergency humanitarian aid to the area.
In fact, Benjamin Netanyahu has consented to much less than he seems. "Fighting continues, but in particular areas, for a few hours, we will facilitate safe passage for civilians fleeing the combat zones," the prime minister said. Military officials have made it clear that the measure will not apply to the entire northern Gaza Strip, but only to selected communities whose residents will be given two to three hours' notice to prepare to leave. Moreover, these provisions are practically nothing new.
They had already been in place since the beginning of the week, allowing more than 100,000 Palestinians to flee to the southern Gaza Strip. In other words, there is no tangible change, except that, to speed up the evacuation of civilians, a second route along the sea was opened on Friday. The Israeli army intends to limit "collateral damage" among civilians, as the battle rages for control of Gaza City, as well as the nearby Shifa hospital where the command and communications center of Hamas' military wing is said to be located underground.
Hostility of the General Staff
Asked about the Israeli "concession," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not hide a certain disappointment. "Much more needs to be done for the protection of (Palestinian) civilians and the provision of humanitarian assistance," he said. But the Prime Minister can hardly go beyond that. The General Staff is opposed to a halt to the fighting, which it says would play into Hamas' hands by allowing it to lick its wounds, reorganize itself and prepare new attacks via the network of tunnels against the Israeli military. The families of some 240 Israeli and foreign hostages are also waging a campaign against anything that might appear to be a ceasefire if their loved ones are not released first.
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On the political front, the prime minister, who is plummeting in the polls, cannot afford to go against the tide of public opinion by showing signs of weakness towards Hamas, which he has repeatedly promised to eradicate. No misstep will be forgiven as he prepares to give an account of the fiasco of October 7 when Hamas commandos sowed death in southern Israel, before a commission of inquiry that will be established as soon as the war is over.