The U.S., Israel’s top ally, said it instead hopes to broker a cease-fire and hostage-release agreement between Israel and Hamas, and envisions a wider resolution on the war sparked by the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called Hamas’ demands “delusional.”

Netanyahu also opposes Palestinian statehood, which the U.S. calls a key element in a broader vision for the normalization of relations between Israel and regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia. His Cabinet adopted a declaration Sunday saying Israel “categorically rejects international edicts on a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians” and opposes any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu has vowed to continue the Gaza offensive until Israel achieves a “total victory” over the Hamas militant group and plans to expand it to Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where more than half the enclave’s 2.3 million Palestinians have sought refuge.

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    8 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    Retired general Benny Gantz, part of Netanyahu’s three-member War Cabinet, represents an influential voice but not the final word on what might lie ahead.

    As cease-fire negotiations struggle after signs of progress in recent weeks, Netanyahu has called demands by Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group “delusional.”

    But Netanyahu opposes Palestinian statehood, which the U.S. calls a key element in a broader vision for normalization of relations between Israel and regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia.

    The suggested timing for the offensive came as the World Health Organization chief said southern Gaza’s main medical center, Nasser Hospital, “is not functional anymore” after Israeli forces raided it in Khan Younis last week.

    In Gaza City, which suffered widespread destruction early in the war, an airstrike flattened a home, killing seven people, including three women, according to relative Sayed al-Afifi.

    The U.S. Central Command said it conducted five self-defense strikes Saturday against cruise missiles and drones in area of Yemen controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group.


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