Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Tuesday he and President Biden have failed to reach agreement on the future of Gaza but said he appreciates U.S. support for crushing Hamas and freeing more than 100 hostages still held by the militants.
Netanyahu, in a video statement translated by the Times of Israel, said he received full support for military operation and for curbing international pressure to end the war from Biden and other White House officials.
“Yes, there is a disagreement when it comes to ‘the day after Hamas,’” Netanyahu said. “I hope we will come to an agreement there, too.”
The differences may go beyond that. Biden said at a fundraiser Tuesday that Netanyahu heads “the most conservative government in Israel’s history,” and that it’s starting to lose international support.
Netanyahu “has to strengthen and change” his government to resolve the country’s long-running conflict with Palestinians, Biden said in a rare show of public disagreement after steadfastly standing behind Israel since the war began Oct. 7.
Netanyahu has insisted Israel must maintain security control of Gaza after it drives Hamas out of power, but the Biden administration has made it clear it opposes reoccupation of the territory.
After the “enormous sacrifice” made by Israeli citizens and soldiers, Netanyahu said he would not allow Gaza to be run by those who teach, support or finance terrorism. “Gaza will not be Hamas-stan,” he said.
Hamas captivity like ‘Russian roulette,’recently released hostage says: Live updates
Developments:
∎ The U.N. General Assembly votes Tuesday on a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. The resolution is similar to one the U.S. vetoed in the Security Council last week. No member country has veto power in the General Assembly, but its approved resolutions are not binding.
∎ Israeli forces stormed into Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on Tuesday after shelling it for days, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Hamas called the attack a war crime and a “desperate attempt − many times failed − to force our people to leave Gaza’s northern areas.”
∎ Puma, a German-based athletic shoe and apparel maker, said its will end its sponsorship of Israel’s national soccer team, adding that the decision was made months before the war. Still, the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee said the announcement “shows the power of the solidarity movement.”
Netanyahu says dozens of Hamas militantssurrendering; Blinken defends veto on UN cease-fire resolution: Updates
More than 10% of Israeli soldiers killed in war were victims of friendly fire
The death toll of Israeli soldiers in Gaza has surpassed 100, and 20 of those killed were victims of friendly fire or other accidents, the Israeli military said Tuesday. Thirteen of the deaths were from friendly fire due to mistaken identification during shelling, gunfire and airstrikes, the Israeli military revealed to multiple Israeli media outlets. Most of the other deaths involved weapon misfires.
At least 1,645 soldiers have been injured since “Operation Swords of Iron” began in response to a militant attack that Israel says killed about 1,200 people in communities bordering Gaza, the military says. The militants then dashed back to Gaza with over 240 hostages, more than half of whom remain captives.
More than 18,000 Palestinians have died in Israel’s assault on the enclave.
Freed hostage fears exhaustion could kill those still held
Former hostage Yocheved Lifshitz, who surprised the world by shaking hands with one of her captors when she was released in October, warns that some hostages won’t survive if they are not released soon. Lifshitz, 85, and husband Oded Lifshitz, 82, were kidnapped from kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. She said Oded was injured in the attack and has high blood pressure and lung disease.
Yocheved Lifshitz told NBC News she was brought to Gaza on the back of a moped and led through a tunnel system to a large room where she saw other members of her kibbutz. Together they listened, terrified, to the pounding of the Israeli bombardment.
“The lack of air in the tunnels, as well as the shortage of food and medicine, could bring people to complete exhaustion,” she told NBC News. “And they just won’t make it.”
Zara ‘regrets misunderstanding,’ walks back ad campaign
The Spain-based international clothing chain Zara has removed photos from an ad campaign called “The Jacket” amid criticism they resembled images from the war in Gaza. The photos, showing a model against a background of damaged statues and other wreckage, fueled days of social media backlash.
Zara posted a statement Tuesday on Instagram saying the company “regrets that misunderstanding and we reaffirm our deep respect towards everyone.” The company said the campaign was conceived months before the war and photographed in September. The images, it said, were unfinished sculptures in a studio.
“Unfortunately, some customers felt offended by these images, which have now been removed, and saw in them something far from what was intended when they were created,” the statement said.
Harvard President Claudine Gay to keep job amid antisemitism controversy
Harvard President Claudine Gay will retain her job after a meeting Monday of university leaders that followed intense criticism about her response to antisemitism on her campus since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Gay, when grilled by congressional lawmakers last week, hedged on whether discussion of the genocide of Jews would violate Harvard policies, saying the rehtoric would need to cross into conduct.
“We today reaffirm our support for President Gay’s continued leadership of Harvard University,” the Harvard board said in a statement posted Tuesday morning. “Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing.”
On Saturday, University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, who appeared before the congressional committee, resigned after similar criticism.
− Nirvi Shah and Zachary Schermele
