US urges Netanyahu to stop Gaza killing spree
The Biden White House has stressed that it is working tirelessly to achieve a “pause” in the conflict between Gaza and Israel as it was revealed on January 23 that the US envoy to the Middle East was in the region to attempt to resolve the issue, according to Reuters.
US coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, Brett McGurk was in Cairo to meet Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel as White House spokesperson John Kirby said that the American official would be travelling across the Middle East to push for the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October as well as Palestinian prisoners, calling for much needed aid to be let into Gaza, as well as a partial ceasefire in the enclave.
Kirby told the press recently, “The conversations (McGurk is having) are very sober and serious about trying to get another hostage deal in place,”
A hostage deal was agreed at the end of November which allowed the release of over 100 of the 250 captured on October 7 in exchange for a pause in Israel’s brutal pummeling of Gaza.
After a week of relative calm, peace talks stalled following Israeli intelligence agency Mossad walking out of the negotiating table in Qatar, a country who have been key in the previous easing of tensions between Hamas and Israel.
READ: Blinken shocked by high death toll in Gaza
Although US officials have been concerned at the shocking death toll in Gaza, there have been no calls for a permanent cessation of hostilities by key members in Biden’s administration who have echoed Benjamin Netanyahu’s calls of total Hamas destruction and that any permanent ceasefire would only benefit the militant group.
There seems to be no light after the end of the tunnel as over 25,000 have been killed in Gaza and Israel is seeing a record loss of army personnel.
Netanyahu’s recent remarks have only escalated tensions. During a recent phone call with President Biden, he stressed that he is in total disagreement with the idea of establishing a sovereign Palestinian state.
The Israeli head’s remarks were strongly condemned by the international community who have renewed their support for a two-state solution.
Netanyahu has also threatened to completely liquidate Gaza as well as rejecting any negotiations with Hamas.
On the latter he said that he, “outright rejects the Hamas monsters’ terms of surrender. In exchange for the release of our hostages, Hamas demands the end of the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza, the release of all the Nukhba (terrorist commando) murderers and rapists and leaving Hamas intact.”
Reuters
