Israel vows to continue Gaza siege until Hamas frees hostages

After the Red Cross pleaded for fuel to be allowed in to stop overburdened hospitals from “turning into mortuaries,” Israel declared on Thursday that there would be no humanitarian exceptions to its embargo of the Gaza Strip until all of its detainees were freed. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Tel Aviv to express support for Israel, stop the crisis from getting worse, and attempt to liberate hostages. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked America for supporting Israel today, tomorrow, and always while standing next to him. In retaliation for the bloodiest attack on civilians in its history, in which hundreds of militants crossed the border and rampaged through Israeli territory, Israel has pledged to completely destroy the Hamas movement that administers the Gaza Strip. Israel’s public channel Kan reported that more than 1,300 people have died there. Most of them were innocent people who were shot dead in their homes, on the streets, or while dancing. Israeli authorities claim to have recognised 97 of the several Israeli and foreign hostages who were transported back to Gaza. After Israeli soldiers regained control of communities and discovered homes littered with victims, the entire scope of the killings only recently came to light. They claim to have discovered infants who had been shot and burned, as well as women who had been raped and slaughtered. In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has so far completely besieged Gaza, which is home to 2.3 million people, and launched the most intense bombing assault in the conflict’s 75-year history, obliterating entire cities. According to Gazan authorities, the bombing left more than 6,000 Palestinians injured and 1,354 dead. The fuel fueling the emergency generators at Gaza’s hospitals could run out in a matter of hours, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. “Without electricity, hospitals risk turning into morgues,” ICRC regional director Fabrizio Carboni said. “The human misery caused by this escalation is abhorrent, and I implore the sides to reduce the suffering of civilians.” There would be no exceptions to the blockade, according to Israel’s Energy Minister Israel Katz, without the release of the Israeli hostages. “Humanitarian aid to Gaza? No electrical switch will be lifted, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli hostages are returned home. Humanitarian for humanitarian. And nobody should preach us morals,” Katz posted on social media platform X. Following their discussion in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu applauded Joe Biden for calling the Hamas attacks “sheer evil” in his Wednesday speech. Netanyahu was standing next to Blinken. Furthermore, according to Biden, “the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust” was the day of the attacks. Blinken praised Netanyahu’s choice to form a wartime unity government with some of his political rivals and asserted that the US is aware that Hamas does not accurately represent the aspirations of the Palestinian people. On Friday, Blinken will travel to Jordan to meet with King Abdullah and Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy in the West Bank that Israel occupies. The attacks against Israel on Saturday were not explicitly denounced by Abbas, a rival of Hamas, who instead blamed the escalation on the failure to address Palestinian grievances. To bury their deceased, a large number of Israelis gathered Thursday at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem.\ (With agency inputs)