Biden leaving war planning to Israelis but asked "hard questions" about strategy, US official says
From CNN's Betsy Klein, Kayla Tausche and Kaanita Iyer
Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Friday. Julia Nikhinson/Reuters
The US is allowing Israel to make its own calls on timing and strategy in its war with Hamas, but US President Joe Biden did weigh in on the matter during his visit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet in Tel Aviv earlier this week, according to a senior administration official.
“He asked some hard questions” about what was being planned and what the effects would be, the official told CNN, adding: “We’re not directing the Israelis, the timeline is theirs – their thinking, their planning.”
The White House late Friday sought to clarify a brief comment made by Biden after he was asked by a reporter whether Israel should delay a ground invasion in Gaza until more hostages could get out. As he climbed the stairs to Air Force One, the president responded, “Yes.”
The White House immediately moved to explain the president’s comments.
“The president was far away. He didn’t hear the full question. The question sounded like ‘Would you like to see more hostages released?’ He wasn’t commenting on anything else,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt said less than an hour later.
Earlier Friday, Hamas released two American hostages in a deal brokered by the Qatari government. A number of foreign nationals were among those kidnapped by Hamas, but information about the status, location and identity of all the hostages remains scarce.
As CNN has reported, the US and its allies have been urging Israel to be strategic and clear about its goals if and when it launches a ground invasion of Gaza, warning against a prolonged occupation and placing a particular emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties, according to US and Western officials.
Death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Gaza overnight climbs to 29, Hamas-run Ministry of Interior says
From CNN's Kareem El Damanhoury
Israeli airstrikes on north and central Gaza killed at least 29 people overnight, the Hamas-run Ministry of Interior in Gaza said in a statement early Saturday.
The ministry said at least 14 people were killed in airstrikes on Jabalia in northern Gaza.
In an earlier statement the ministry claimed that the airstrikes were “targeting” residential homes.
CNN cannot independently verify those claims. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.
Since October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, 4,127 people have died in the violence in Gaza, including 1,661 children.
1 min ago
A somber moment for families at an empty Shabbat dinner table set for 200
From CNN's Jerome Taylor
The release of two American hostages is a bittersweet moment for the families of some 200 captives still being held by Hamas.
Earlier on Friday, before the two hostages were freed, many of those families were at a ceremony in Tel Aviv where a Shabbat dinner table had been laid with 200 empty place settings, each one representing a hostage.
Among those attending were the parents of 21-year-old Omer Shem Tov, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 while he was at the Nova music festival.
Omer's parents spoke with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, describing the frantic and terrified moments they last heard from their son over the phone when the Hamas attack began.
Omer’s father Malki Shem Tov remembered how each call became more and more panicked as Omer and his friends tried to escape the Hamas gunmen.
He recalled Omer saying “I love you, I love you” over the phone.
Shelley, Omer’s mother, said her son managed to jump in a car and turn on live location so they could track where he was going.
Soon their worst fears were realized as the marker began heading in the wrong direction.
“Not coming home at all. It’s moving toward the border [with Gaza],” Shelley recalled the family thinking. “Then in the evening, we got a video that was published by Hamas that Omer is a hostage over there. We saw Omer in the back of a pickup,” Malki said.
For nearly two weeks now they have waited for news. And two Shabbat meals have now passed without their son at the family dinner table.
Shabbat (Hebrew for the Sabbath) begins each Friday at sunset and ends at sundown the following day.
It celebrates the seventh day of creation in the Book of Genesis, a holy day of rest and reflection after the labors of the week and is often a time when Jewish families gather for meals and prayer.
Asked what her message would be for Omer, Shelley gave a heartbroken mother’s reply, saying “That I love him, that I miss him.”
21 min ago
Over half a million sheltering in Gaza UN shelters are in "increasingly dire conditions," organization says
From CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury
Displaced people are seen at a United Nations school in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on Friday. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images
About 1.4 million people have been displaced in Gaza, and more than 544,000 are sheltering in 147 UN-designated emergency shelters that are in "increasingly dire conditions," according to a statement Saturday by the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The number of the displaced constitutes more than 60% of Gaza’s population of about 2 million people.
OCHA stressed that the electricity blackout and ban on fuel imports into the strip have “devastating consequences” on the health care system and access to clean water.
“Increasing water consumption from unsafe sources elevates the threat of infectious disease outbreaks,” OCHA said.
In a statement earlier on Friday, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) also warned of the dire conditions in the strip and said that 16 of UNRWA’s staff have lost their lives over the last 12 days.
US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House Friday that trucks carrying much-needed humanitarian aid should enter Gaza “within the next 24-48 hours.”
CNN's Donald Judd contributed reporting to this post.
20 min ago
Hamas has released 2 American hostages but many remain unaccounted for. Here's what you should know
From CNN Staff
Judith and Natalie Raanan are seen escorted by Israeli soldiers on Friday. Government of Israel/AP
Hamas has released two American hostages – Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie Raanan – nearly two weeks after it launched a deadly attack in Israel and abducted around 200 people.
The US citizens were handed over at the border with Gaza and are now in the care of the Israel Defense Forces, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Friday.
The US welcomes the release and "shares in the relief that their families, friends and loved ones are feeling," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a briefing.
US President Joe Biden, who spoke with the released hostages by phone Friday, said he is “overjoyed” the mother and daughter will “soon be reunited with their family."
Israel previously told the US government that some Americans held hostage by Hamas are known to be alive, a US official told CNN.
Here's more details you should know:
Home by next week:Ben Raanan, the brother of Natalie Raanan, says his sister is likely to return to the US within the next few days. He told CNN their freedom came suddenly and that his joy at the release is tempered by the continued suffering of so many others in the conflict. "There are families all over in Gaza and in Israel that are experiencing a lot that I can't even imagine," he said.
Freed hostages "in a good state":Uri Raanan, the father of Natalie Raanan, said Friday he had spoken with his daughter that day and she was in a good state. He said his daughter's mother had a "little scratch on her hand," but hadn't reported any other injuries.
Captives still unaccounted for: Blinken said there are still 10 additional Americans who remain unaccounted for out of the 200 captives being held in Gaza, including men, women, elderly people and children. Blinken said "the urgent work to free every single American, to free all other hostages, continues."
The US was “very much involved” in securing the release of the hostages, said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. He also offered to credit Israel and Qatar, which played "key roles" in the process. But Kirby declined to discuss the motivations and details behind Hamas’ willingness to release them.
Israel working to return all hostages: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will continue working to return all hostages. "We will not ease the effort to bring back all abductees and those missing," Netanyahu said.
Hamas claims they are working with mediators: Shortly after the release of the two American hostages on Friday, Hamas issued a statement saying they are working with mediators in Egypt, Qatar and other "friendly countries."
1 hr 44 min ago
US expects Rafah border crossing to open for humanitarian aid soon
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid wait in front of the Rafah border crossing on Friday. Sayed Hassan/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday he expected to see the Rafah border crossing open for humanitarian aid to Gaza soon.
During a news conference at the State Department, Blinken said the US has been working relentlessly with former Ambassador David Satterfield, who was tapped by US President Joe Biden as the special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues on the ground, as well as the United Nations, Egypt and Israel to put Biden's proposed plan into motion.
“My expectation is that you'll see that moving soon,” Blinken said in response to a question from CNN.
The Rafah crossing has not opened for desperately-needed humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, and President Joe Biden told reporters it could still be 24-48 hours until it enters.
21 min ago
Blinken will not say outright whether he believes Israel has respected the laws of war
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday would not say outright whether he believes Israel has respected the laws of war in its actions toward Gaza.
“There will be plenty of time to make assessments about how these operations were conducted,” Blinken said at a news conference Friday.
As outrage has grown from Arab partners of the US over the Israeli blockade of Gaza and the death toll of civilians resulting from Israeli strikes, the top US diplomat continued to try to walk a delicate line of voicing support for Israel’s "right" and "obligation to defend itself," while stressing that it should seek to minimize the toll on civilians.
“We've been very clear as well that the way Israel does this matters — and in particular, it's important that operations be conducted in accordance with international law, humanitarian law, the law of war as applicable, and that everything be done to minimize the loss of civilian life,” he said.
“I can just say for the part of the United States that this continues to be important to us. And again, it's what distinguishes us, distinguishes Israel, from terrorist groups like Hamas, which not only have absolutely no concern for innocent human life, they intentionally use innocent human lives to hide behind, to use as quite literally as human shields, knowing that civilians invariably are going to suffer in conflict,” Blinken said.
22 min ago
Protests erupt across Middle East as US' Arab allies warn against pushing Palestinians out
From CNN's Nadeen Ebrahim
An aerial view of people holding banners and flags during a pro-Palestinian protest on Friday. Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images
Protests erupted around the Arab world on Friday as the Gaza war raged and an Israeli ground operation with the potential to displace millions of Palestinians loomed.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and the West Bank after Islamic Friday prayers to protest Israel’s actions in its war on Hamas.
The war has so far killed 4,127 people in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. It was launched by Israel in retaliation for an October 7 attack on the country by Gaza’s Hamas rulers — Israeli authorities say 1,400 people were killed and around 200 were taken hostage.
In a sign of the growing anger over the Israeli operation in Gaza, Egypt sanctioned its first major nationwide protest in a decade. Hundreds of protesters gathered Friday near downtown Cairo’s Tahrir Square in support of Palestinians, and demonstrations occurred in other Egyptian cities.
Some of the Cairo protesters chanted, “Where is the Arab army?” and, “Here they are, the Zionists,” referring to Egypt’s riot police, who pushed demonstrators into nearby Bab el-Louk Square and closed access to Tahrir.
In the Lebanese capital, Beirut, several hundred people took to the streets to denounce the Israeli offensive. Many waved the Palestinian and Lebanese flags, along with the flags of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and its political ally in Lebanon, Amal. Young protesters burned the American flag, decrying Washington’s support for Israel.
Hundreds of Iraqis, mostly supporters of Iran-backed militias, staged a sit-in Friday at Iraq’s main border crossing with Jordan. Others protested in Baghdad, not far from the fortified Green Zone that houses the United States embassy.
In Jordan’s capital, Amman, some 6,000 protesters marched in support of Gazans. Some chanted slogans urging Hamas to intensify its strikes on Israel, Reuters reported.
The protests signal growing anger on the Arab street and frustration among regional leaders with the war as the Palestinian death toll climbs, and with the US’ perceived unwillingness to put restraints on Israel’s actions.
Rhetoric against Israel has been particularly heated from the governments of Jordan and Egypt, two US-allied countries that border the Jewish state and were the first Arab nations to sign peace treaties with it. Amman and Cairo have sounded alarms over what they perceive as a plan to transfer Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank to Egypt and Jordan. While Israel has not announced any such plans, both countries have warned such a move could pull them into war.
US and its allies call for Israel to set out clear goals if and when a ground invasion of Gaza is launched
From CNN's Natasha Bertrand, Katie Bo Lillis and Oren Liebermann
The US and its allies have been urging Israel to be strategic and clear about its goals if and when it launches a ground invasion of Gaza, warning against a prolonged occupation and placing a particular emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties, US and Western officials told CNN.
In private discussions with their Israeli counterparts, Western defense officials have not tried to dissuade Israel from moving into Gaza with ground forces, the sources said.
But they have emphasized that Israel should have clear objectives when it comes to degrading Hamas and seeking to avoid a long-term occupation of the Gaza Strip.
“Our advice to them isn’t ‘Don’t do it,’ because we completely respect their right to go after Hamas and that means going after them wherever they are,” a NATO defense minister told CNN. “So it’s not ‘Don’t do it,’ but it is ‘Think about what happens and have a strategy, not just a tactical maneuver.’ We expect Israel to act within international humanitarian law, but we understand that they’re dealing with an enemy here.”
While he said that “taking out the extremists is a necessary requirement” for Israel, “Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again.”
And on Wednesday, while in Tel Aviv, Biden warned in public remarks that wartime leadership “requires clarity about the objectives and an honest assessment about whether the path you’re on will achieve those objectives.”
An Israeli official confirmed that these discussions with the US and other allies are taking place.
A separate senior Israeli official said Friday that “Israel is well aware of the humanitarian issues and is taking steps to address it in cooperation with the US government. It’s Hamas who has turned the 2 million people of Gaza into a human shield.”
Two American hostages, a mother and her daughter, have been released by Hamas and are with Israeli authorities, according to Israel's prime minister. The US citizens will be reunited with family at an Israeli military base, officials said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised their release, and said the "urgent work" to free all American hostages — and other hostages taken by Hamas during their October 7 attack — must continue. An Israeli military official credited "military pressure" for the release of the mother and daughter.
Conditions in Gaza are deteriorating as Israeli strikes pound the Palestinian enclave and aid agencies warn hospitals are nearly out of fuel. As a result,protests against the siege of Gaza are taking place in cities across the Middle East.
Humanitarian aid that has been stuck in Egypt should reach Gaza within "24 to 48 hours," US President Joe Biden said Friday. The UN has said the trucks waiting at the southern Rafah crossing will be the "difference between life and death."
The US and its allies have been urging Israel to set clear goals if and when it launches a ground invasion of Gaza, placing a particular emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties, US and Western officials told CNN.
Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Friday. Julia Nikhinson/Reuters
The US is allowing Israel to make its own calls on timing and strategy in its war with Hamas, but US President Joe Biden did weigh in on the matter during his visit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet in Tel Aviv earlier this week, according to a senior administration official.
“He asked some hard questions” about what was being planned and what the effects would be, the official told CNN, adding: “We’re not directing the Israelis, the timeline is theirs – their thinking, their planning.”
The White House late Friday sought to clarify a brief comment made by Biden after he was asked by a reporter whether Israel should delay a ground invasion in Gaza until more hostages could get out. As he climbed the stairs to Air Force One, the president responded, “Yes.”
The White House immediately moved to explain the president’s comments.
“The president was far away. He didn’t hear the full question. The question sounded like ‘Would you like to see more hostages released?’ He wasn’t commenting on anything else,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt said less than an hour later.
Earlier Friday, Hamas released two American hostages in a deal brokered by the Qatari government. A number of foreign nationals were among those kidnapped by Hamas, but information about the status, location and identity of all the hostages remains scarce.
As CNN has reported, the US and its allies have been urging Israel to be strategic and clear about its goals if and when it launches a ground invasion of Gaza, warning against a prolonged occupation and placing a particular emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties, according to US and Western officials.
Israeli airstrikes on north and central Gaza killed at least 29 people overnight, the Hamas-run Ministry of Interior in Gaza said in a statement early Saturday.
The ministry said at least 14 people were killed in airstrikes on Jabalia in northern Gaza.
In an earlier statement the ministry claimed that the airstrikes were “targeting” residential homes.
CNN cannot independently verify those claims. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.
Since October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, 4,127 people have died in the violence in Gaza, including 1,661 children.
The release of two American hostages is a bittersweet moment for the families of some 200 captives still being held by Hamas.
Earlier on Friday, before the two hostages were freed, many of those families were at a ceremony in Tel Aviv where a Shabbat dinner table had been laid with 200 empty place settings, each one representing a hostage.
Among those attending were the parents of 21-year-old Omer Shem Tov, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 while he was at the Nova music festival.
Omer's parents spoke with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, describing the frantic and terrified moments they last heard from their son over the phone when the Hamas attack began.
Omer’s father Malki Shem Tov remembered how each call became more and more panicked as Omer and his friends tried to escape the Hamas gunmen.
He recalled Omer saying “I love you, I love you” over the phone.
Shelley, Omer’s mother, said her son managed to jump in a car and turn on live location so they could track where he was going.
Soon their worst fears were realized as the marker began heading in the wrong direction.
“Not coming home at all. It’s moving toward the border [with Gaza],” Shelley recalled the family thinking. “Then in the evening, we got a video that was published by Hamas that Omer is a hostage over there. We saw Omer in the back of a pickup,” Malki said.
For nearly two weeks now they have waited for news. And two Shabbat meals have now passed without their son at the family dinner table.
Shabbat (Hebrew for the Sabbath) begins each Friday at sunset and ends at sundown the following day.
It celebrates the seventh day of creation in the Book of Genesis, a holy day of rest and reflection after the labors of the week and is often a time when Jewish families gather for meals and prayer.
Asked what her message would be for Omer, Shelley gave a heartbroken mother’s reply, saying “That I love him, that I miss him.”
Displaced people are seen at a United Nations school in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on Friday. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images
About 1.4 million people have been displaced in Gaza, and more than 544,000 are sheltering in 147 UN-designated emergency shelters that are in "increasingly dire conditions," according to a statement Saturday by the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The number of the displaced constitutes more than 60% of Gaza’s population of about 2 million people.
OCHA stressed that the electricity blackout and ban on fuel imports into the strip have “devastating consequences” on the health care system and access to clean water.
“Increasing water consumption from unsafe sources elevates the threat of infectious disease outbreaks,” OCHA said.
In a statement earlier on Friday, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) also warned of the dire conditions in the strip and said that 16 of UNRWA’s staff have lost their lives over the last 12 days.
US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House Friday that trucks carrying much-needed humanitarian aid should enter Gaza “within the next 24-48 hours.”
CNN's Donald Judd contributed reporting to this post.
Judith and Natalie Raanan are seen escorted by Israeli soldiers on Friday. Government of Israel/AP
Hamas has released two American hostages – Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie Raanan – nearly two weeks after it launched a deadly attack in Israel and abducted around 200 people.
The US citizens were handed over at the border with Gaza and are now in the care of the Israel Defense Forces, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Friday.
The US welcomes the release and "shares in the relief that their families, friends and loved ones are feeling," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a briefing.
US President Joe Biden, who spoke with the released hostages by phone Friday, said he is “overjoyed” the mother and daughter will “soon be reunited with their family."
Israel previously told the US government that some Americans held hostage by Hamas are known to be alive, a US official told CNN.
Here's more details you should know:
Home by next week:Ben Raanan, the brother of Natalie Raanan, says his sister is likely to return to the US within the next few days. He told CNN their freedom came suddenly and that his joy at the release is tempered by the continued suffering of so many others in the conflict. "There are families all over in Gaza and in Israel that are experiencing a lot that I can't even imagine," he said.
Freed hostages "in a good state":Uri Raanan, the father of Natalie Raanan, said Friday he had spoken with his daughter that day and she was in a good state. He said his daughter's mother had a "little scratch on her hand," but hadn't reported any other injuries.
Captives still unaccounted for: Blinken said there are still 10 additional Americans who remain unaccounted for out of the 200 captives being held in Gaza, including men, women, elderly people and children. Blinken said "the urgent work to free every single American, to free all other hostages, continues."
The US was “very much involved” in securing the release of the hostages, said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. He also offered to credit Israel and Qatar, which played "key roles" in the process. But Kirby declined to discuss the motivations and details behind Hamas’ willingness to release them.
Israel working to return all hostages: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will continue working to return all hostages. "We will not ease the effort to bring back all abductees and those missing," Netanyahu said.
Hamas claims they are working with mediators: Shortly after the release of the two American hostages on Friday, Hamas issued a statement saying they are working with mediators in Egypt, Qatar and other "friendly countries."
Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid wait in front of the Rafah border crossing on Friday. Sayed Hassan/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday he expected to see the Rafah border crossing open for humanitarian aid to Gaza soon.
During a news conference at the State Department, Blinken said the US has been working relentlessly with former Ambassador David Satterfield, who was tapped by US President Joe Biden as the special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues on the ground, as well as the United Nations, Egypt and Israel to put Biden's proposed plan into motion.
“My expectation is that you'll see that moving soon,” Blinken said in response to a question from CNN.
The Rafah crossing has not opened for desperately-needed humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, and President Joe Biden told reporters it could still be 24-48 hours until it enters.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday would not say outright whether he believes Israel has respected the laws of war in its actions toward Gaza.
“There will be plenty of time to make assessments about how these operations were conducted,” Blinken said at a news conference Friday.
As outrage has grown from Arab partners of the US over the Israeli blockade of Gaza and the death toll of civilians resulting from Israeli strikes, the top US diplomat continued to try to walk a delicate line of voicing support for Israel’s "right" and "obligation to defend itself," while stressing that it should seek to minimize the toll on civilians.
“We've been very clear as well that the way Israel does this matters — and in particular, it's important that operations be conducted in accordance with international law, humanitarian law, the law of war as applicable, and that everything be done to minimize the loss of civilian life,” he said.
“I can just say for the part of the United States that this continues to be important to us. And again, it's what distinguishes us, distinguishes Israel, from terrorist groups like Hamas, which not only have absolutely no concern for innocent human life, they intentionally use innocent human lives to hide behind, to use as quite literally as human shields, knowing that civilians invariably are going to suffer in conflict,” Blinken said.
An aerial view of people holding banners and flags during a pro-Palestinian protest on Friday. Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images
Protests erupted around the Arab world on Friday as the Gaza war raged and an Israeli ground operation with the potential to displace millions of Palestinians loomed.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and the West Bank after Islamic Friday prayers to protest Israel’s actions in its war on Hamas.
The war has so far killed 4,127 people in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. It was launched by Israel in retaliation for an October 7 attack on the country by Gaza’s Hamas rulers — Israeli authorities say 1,400 people were killed and around 200 were taken hostage.
In a sign of the growing anger over the Israeli operation in Gaza, Egypt sanctioned its first major nationwide protest in a decade. Hundreds of protesters gathered Friday near downtown Cairo’s Tahrir Square in support of Palestinians, and demonstrations occurred in other Egyptian cities.
Some of the Cairo protesters chanted, “Where is the Arab army?” and, “Here they are, the Zionists,” referring to Egypt’s riot police, who pushed demonstrators into nearby Bab el-Louk Square and closed access to Tahrir.
In the Lebanese capital, Beirut, several hundred people took to the streets to denounce the Israeli offensive. Many waved the Palestinian and Lebanese flags, along with the flags of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and its political ally in Lebanon, Amal. Young protesters burned the American flag, decrying Washington’s support for Israel.
Hundreds of Iraqis, mostly supporters of Iran-backed militias, staged a sit-in Friday at Iraq’s main border crossing with Jordan. Others protested in Baghdad, not far from the fortified Green Zone that houses the United States embassy.
In Jordan’s capital, Amman, some 6,000 protesters marched in support of Gazans. Some chanted slogans urging Hamas to intensify its strikes on Israel, Reuters reported.
The protests signal growing anger on the Arab street and frustration among regional leaders with the war as the Palestinian death toll climbs, and with the US’ perceived unwillingness to put restraints on Israel’s actions.
Rhetoric against Israel has been particularly heated from the governments of Jordan and Egypt, two US-allied countries that border the Jewish state and were the first Arab nations to sign peace treaties with it. Amman and Cairo have sounded alarms over what they perceive as a plan to transfer Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank to Egypt and Jordan. While Israel has not announced any such plans, both countries have warned such a move could pull them into war.
The US and its allies have been urging Israel to be strategic and clear about its goals if and when it launches a ground invasion of Gaza, warning against a prolonged occupation and placing a particular emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties, US and Western officials told CNN.
In private discussions with their Israeli counterparts, Western defense officials have not tried to dissuade Israel from moving into Gaza with ground forces, the sources said.
But they have emphasized that Israel should have clear objectives when it comes to degrading Hamas and seeking to avoid a long-term occupation of the Gaza Strip.
“Our advice to them isn’t ‘Don’t do it,’ because we completely respect their right to go after Hamas and that means going after them wherever they are,” a NATO defense minister told CNN. “So it’s not ‘Don’t do it,’ but it is ‘Think about what happens and have a strategy, not just a tactical maneuver.’ We expect Israel to act within international humanitarian law, but we understand that they’re dealing with an enemy here.”
While he said that “taking out the extremists is a necessary requirement” for Israel, “Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again.”
And on Wednesday, while in Tel Aviv, Biden warned in public remarks that wartime leadership “requires clarity about the objectives and an honest assessment about whether the path you’re on will achieve those objectives.”
An Israeli official confirmed that these discussions with the US and other allies are taking place.
A separate senior Israeli official said Friday that “Israel is well aware of the humanitarian issues and is taking steps to address it in cooperation with the US government. It’s Hamas who has turned the 2 million people of Gaza into a human shield.”
