Despite the consequential events happening around the world, Gaza remains the central issue driving the news for the ninth month. Even in national elections in France, UK, and Iran (and the US Nov. elections), candidates were forced to answer questions related to the war in Gaza, and in the UK, many candidates campaigned and won on a platform that put ending the suffering in Gaza on top of the list. Here are some news stories from this week.
Twelve US government officials who resigned over the Biden administration’s stance on the war in Gaza have issued a joint statement denouncing Biden’s Gaza policy, which they said has failed and poses a threat to US national security.
The statement added that the current crisis illustrates the damage that the current US policy in Gaza is causing to the Palestinians, Israel, and US national security.
The statement considered that the US diplomatic cover for Israel and the ongoing flow of weapons are undeniable complicity in the killing and starvation of the besieged Palestinian population in Gaza.
The statement also said that this stubborn policy threatens the United States and the lives of its soldiers and diplomats, as was evident in the killing of 3 US service members in Jordan last January.
The statement stressed that this policy severely undermines the credibility of the United States around the world.
The officials who signed the statement are:
Maryam Hassanein, who was a special assistant at the Department of Interior, quit her job on Tuesday. She slammed Biden's foreign policy, describing it as "genocide-enabling" and dehumanizing toward Arabs and Muslims. Israel denies genocide allegations.
Mohammed Abu Hashem, a Palestinian American, said last month he ended a 22-year career in the U.S. Air Force. He said he lost relatives in Gaza in the ongoing war, including an aunt killed in an Israeli air strike in October.
Riley Livermore, who was a U.S. Air Force engineer, said in mid-June that he was leaving his role. "I don't want to be working on something that can turn around and be used to slaughter innocent people," he told the Intercept news website.
Stacy Gilbert, who served in the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, left in late May. She said she resigned over an administration report to Congress that she said falsely stated Israel was not blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Alexander Smith, a contractor for USAID, quit in late May, opens new tab, alleging censorship after the U.S. foreign aid agency canceled publication of his presentation on maternal and child mortality among Palestinians. The agency said it had not gone through proper review and approval.
Lily Greenberg Call, a Jewish political appointee, resigned in May, having served as a special assistant to the chief of staff in the Interior Department. "As a Jew, I cannot endorse the Gaza catastrophe," she wrote in the Guardian, opens new tab.
Anna Del Castillo, a deputy director at the White House's Office of Management and Budget, departed in April and became the first known White House official to leave the administration over policy toward Gaza.
Hala Rharrit, an Arabic language spokesperson for the State Department, departed her post in April in opposition to the United States' Gaza policy, she wrote on her LinkedIn page.
Annelle Sheline resigned from the State Department's human rights bureau in late March, writing in a CNN article, opens new tab that she was unable to serve a government that "enables such atrocities."
Tariq Habash, a Palestinian American, quit as special assistant in the Education Department's office of planning in January. He said the Biden administration was turning a "blind eye" to atrocities in Gaza.
Harrison Mann, a U.S. Army major and Defense Intelligence Agency official, resigned in November over Gaza policy and went public with his reasons in May.
Josh Paul, director of the State Department's bureau of political military affairs, left in October in the first publicly known resignation, citing what he described as Washington's "blind support" for Israel.
Background: Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed settlements on the other side of the security fence built by Israel to blockade the Strip on 7 October. The attack resulted in the killing of about 1,200 people and detaining of 250 soldiers and civilians.
However, over time, it has been revealed by Haaretz that helicopters and tanks of the Israeli army had, in fact, killed many of the 1,139 soldiers and civilians claimed by Israel to have been killed by the Palestinian Resistance factions.
Meanwhile, the US officials finally acknowledged that Israel has been using Palestinians as human shield; yet, they refuse to call for independent investigation.
US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel tells reporters that they have seen disturbing reports about the Israeli military using civilians as human shields.
He said the US calls Israel again to quickly investigate and ensure accountability for any violations.
He added that the Israeli army had said that it is investigating the video and that it does not reflect its values because it is a violation of its orders and procedures.
International newspapers and news websites have highlighted Israeli plans to divide the Gaza Strip into separate security zones, the repercussions of an open war between Israel and Lebanon if it breaks out, and the way to calm down on that front.
The American newspaper "Wall Street Journal" spoke about Israeli plans to divide the Gaza Strip into islands and separate security zones in which unsuspecting Palestinians live, allowing the Israeli army to move freely.
The newspaper indicated that retired Israeli officers, academics, and politicians participated in formulating these ideas, and pointed out that these plans reveal harsh facts, including that the Palestinians may remain besieged indefinitely in narrow areas of the Strip.
The newspaper wondered about London's intentions in doing so and whether it was a maneuver to buy time, noting that Attorney General Karim Khan's request to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Galant was not welcomed in Western capitals, especially Washington.
While the National Interest website believes that all the scenarios proposed between the Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel indicate that war has become inevitable, the website quoted writer Alexandre Langlois warning that if war breaks out, it will drag the United States into it and destroy the entire Middle East.
Meanwhile, the Swiss newspaper Le Temps editorial said that the key to calm in Lebanon lies in Gaza, explaining that the war between Israel and Hezbollah seems imminent, but the solution to avoid it is also clear, which is to put an end to the war in Gaza.
The newspaper added that the Americans know this and are trying to bypass Netanyahu in favor of his political rival Yoav Galant, and the Europeans are also aware of this but are content with warning their citizens of the dangers, according to the newspaper.
A report by the Washington Post also addressed the conditions of the Palestinians in Gaza who were able to flee to Egypt, and said that they survived the war but are unable to build a future for themselves, adding that most of them live in a state of confusion without a clear legal status and without hope of reaching another destination.
Regarding the situation in the West Bank, an investigation published by the New York Times revealed the great panic and terror that Palestinians are subjected to at the hands of settlers, noting that this violence, unlike what is prevalent in many parts of the world, is supported by the state and carried out with American weapons.
American journalist Thomas Friedman confirmed that the Israeli occupation entity is currently living in "existential danger", at a time when the axis of resistance has managed to "tighten its grip on Israel", while "the latter has no military or diplomatic response".
In an opinion piece he wrote in the American newspaper "The New York Times", Friedman warned of the danger of war with Hezbollah on "Israel", noting that the Islamic resistance in Lebanon is armed with precision missiles capable of destroying large areas of the Israeli infrastructure.
Friedman explained that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "leads Israel, while he must remain in power, in order to avoid the possibility of being sent to prison on corruption charges", at a time when the occupation faces the possibility of war breaking out on several fronts.
According to him, Netanyahu, in order to remain in power and avoid prison, "sold his soul in order to form a government with right-wing extremists, who insist that Israel must fight in Gaza until Hamas is eliminated, in order to achieve complete victory", as they claim.
Now, the Israeli "war cabinet" has collapsed, due to "Netanyahu's lack of a plan to end the war and safely withdraw from the Gaza Strip," while "extremists in his government coalition are looking forward to their next steps to reach power," according to Friedman.
While the American journalist pointed out that these extremist ministers "caused a lot of damage," he warned that "no friend (of Israel) should participate in this circus," as he described it.
In this context, Friedman stressed the need to form a new government in "Israel" and remove Netanyahu from the position of Prime Minister, through new elections.
The American journalist also expressed his support for what former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak confirmed in the American newspaper Haaretz last Thursday, which is that "Israel is facing the most serious crisis in its history."
In light of this, Friedman warned that "every American should be concerned about this matter," explaining that it represents "a recipe for dragging the United States into a war in the Middle East to help Israel."
In this context, Friedman believed that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken "should not make another trip to the Middle East without the agreement of both Israel and Hamas on a clear plan to end the war."
While acknowledging the need for US President Joe Biden to push the occupation to submit to Hamas's conditions to stop the war, Friedman stressed that "Biden must tell Israel that it must accept Hamas's main demand: to end the war completely now, and withdraw from the Gaza Strip, in exchange for the return of all Israeli prisoners."
Friedman believed that ending the war in the Gaza Strip would "lead to reaching an agreement mediated by the US with Hezbollah, in order to calm the war on the northern border."
He added that Netanyahu's idea that some Palestinians, who do not belong to Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, will run the place for "Israel" is "a fantasy." In light of all this, the American journalist stressed that "Israel must leave Gaza," while the head of the Hamas movement in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, continues to run the Strip.
Friedman argued his point of view without even mentioning the human cost of this reckless war that civilians in Gaza have endured for more than 250 days and that may last for months more.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken explained - in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera - that US President Joe Biden presented the outlines of his proposal 12 days ago, and it received support from the United Nations, the Arab League, and all countries in the region, including Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) delayed submitting its response, "which came last night through mediators, and was not as approved as the rest of the parties."
The US Secretary of State stressed that the support of Washington, Qatar and Egypt for the proposal represents the best guarantees to reassure both parties, in addition to the support of the entire international community for this agreement in a rare precedent that reflects the world's determination to end the war. He described the fall of civilian casualties during the operation to recover the four Israeli prisoners from Gaza as "horrific", considering the ceasefire the best way to end the war and return all prisoners, stressing that Washington helped Tel Aviv to determine the places of their detention.
Blinken said Israel has already accepted the deal, and that while "Hamas could have answered with a single word: yes," it has not.
Hamas sharply criticizes Blinken and confirms its positive position
Hamas confirmed in a statement that while the US Secretary of State continues to talk about Israel's approval of President Joe Biden's proposal, no Israeli official has been heard talking about this approval.
It pointed out that the world has not heard any welcome or approval from Israel for the Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire.
Hamas pointed out that Blinken's positions, which "attempt to exonerate the occupation, are a continuation of the US policy complicit in the brutal war of extermination" and called on the US Secretary and the Biden administration to pressure the occupation government "which is determined to complete the mission of killing and extermination."
It also said that it dealt positively and responsibly with the latest proposal and all proposals for a ceasefire and the release of detainees.
Hamas pointed out that it agreed to the proposal it received from the mediators on May 5, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by attacking Rafah.
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