Worried over the attacks on Jews around the world, growing unease within the US and Hezbollah and other groups itching to broaden the war in Gaza, the Biden administration has privately but bluntly told Israel that the attacks in Gaza need a full stop somewhere down the line.
It just cannot be an endless war. It has also suggested pauses in the bombings in the Gaza strip and the need to wind up the operations as fast as possible; suggestions that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not open to.
White House officials said they were pushing for pauses that were location and duration-specific and that the request was far different from an overall ceasefire, which the Biden administration believes would benefit Hamas. The narrative is fast shifting from Israelis being victims to hapless and defenceless Palestinians being killed mercilessly. This is what is worrying the US as it reconciles to a situation that is veering out of control and may draw into its orbit the much larger occupied West Bank, where Palestinians are livid over the bombardment.
At various public meetings, Biden and senior administration officials are being openly questioned on how America can justify the bombing of refugee camps by Israel and the killing of hundreds of children in Gaza. There are serious questions on whether Israel would be able to rescue the 240 hostages, 10 of them believed to be Americans, who are reportedly hidden in various locations by Hamas and other terrorist outfits.
This has forced the US military to fly a string of surveillance drones over the Gaza Strip. According to two Defense Department officials quoted by The New York Times, the drones were being used to aid in hostage recovery efforts, indicating that the US is more involved than previously known.
US has sent up the highly sophisticated MQ-9 Reapers drones operated by US Special Operations forces and were first spotted on Saturday on Flightradar24, a publicly accessible flight-tracking website.
Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah has said the Israel-Hamas ‘battle’ has ‘extended to more than one front, igniting fears that the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group is set to enter the conflict and widen its ambit. He also thanked the ‘Iraqi, Yemeni hands that have joined this battle’ and celebrated pro-Palestinian protests that have been seen around the world. “We must salute all those who took to the street in support and solidarity with the Palestinians, from all