Netanyahu accuses Gallant of 'anti-Israel' agenda after mocking PM's 'total victory' (2024)

Israeli forces pressed on with operations near the southern Gaza City of Khan Yunis on Monday.

Palestinian medics said Israeli military strikes on Khan Yunis on Monday killed at least 18 people and wounded several.

Meanwhile, more families and displaced persons streamed out of areas threatened by new evacuation orders telling people to clear the area.

Later, an Israeli airstrike killed five people in the Zeitoun suburb of Gaza City, and two others were killed in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, medics said.

An Egyptian source told Sky News Arabia that there is little optimism in Cairo regarding the chances of success for the upcoming round of talks between Israel and Hamas, scheduled for this Thursday.

"There is no political will in Israel to reach an agreement," the source was quoted as saying in the report. "The wait for an Iranian response reduces the chances." According to the source, "The ball is in Netanyahu's court, and it seems he is not interested in reaching an agreement."

The Biden administration has in recent days launched one more concentrated effort to dislodge the hostage-deal negotiations from their impasse, while trying to prevent an all-out confrontation between Israel and Iran, as well as Hezbollah.

As usual with the Americans, these efforts include many pledges to both sides, optimistic spin – whose relation to reality is not entirely clear – as well the issuing of some threats. The chances that this move will prove fruitful, after so many failures over the last eight months, do not seem high for now. And yet, at least the U.S. is trying to prevent a slide into regional war.

The administration is taking action on the backdrop of threats of revenge against Israel made by Iran and Hezbollah following the killing of Fuad Shukr and Ismail Haniyeh in Beirut and Tehran, respectively.

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appealed to Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, to do everything possible to prevent a further military escalation in the Middle East in a phone call on Monday, according to a German government spokesperson.

The spiral of violence in the Middle East must be broken now, as any other course would lead to incalculable danger for the countries and people in the region, Scholz was quoted as telling Pezeshkian.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Office published a scathing response to earlier comments by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

“When Gallant adopts the anti-Israeli narrative, he harms the chances of reaching a deal for the release of the hostages,” the statement read. “He should have criticized Sinwar, who refuses to send a delegation for negotiations and remains the only obstacle to a hostage deal.”

“Israel has only one option: to achieve a decisive victory, which means eliminating Hamas's military and governmental capabilities and freeing our hostages – and this victory will be achieved,” the statement insisted.

IDF and Shin Bet said in a joint statement that they confirmed the identity of 12 terrorists killed in an Israeli strike on a school compound in Gaza last Saturday. According to their earlier reports, the total number of militants killed in the strike stands at 31.

Gaza reports said 90 people were killed in the strike on the compound, in which displaced Palestinians were sheltering.

The Shin Bet and police announced the arrest of two suspects in the attack on four women and a toddler from the Israeli Bedouin city of Rahat who mistakenly entered a West Bank outpost near Nablus over the weekend.

The Shin Bet stated that the two arrested are suspected of throwing stones, threatening with a weapon, and setting the women's car on fire. It was also reported that the suspects will be brought to a hearing tomorrow to extend their detention.

Speaking at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that the threats from Iran and Lebanon may actualize and that Israel's defense establishment is in a state of high alertness.

According to Gallant, the defense establishment in recent days has been strengthening its defensive capabilities and enhancing its offensive options.

Gallant added that decision-makers are obliged to "create the necessary conditions" to release the hostages - including by military pressure that would prompt a cease-fire/hostage release deal.

When asked why Israel is not initiating a war with Lebanon, he said "I hear the heroes with the drums [of war], [talking about] 'total victory' and other nonsense."

The Vatican has urged Iran to exercise restraint in the face of the threat of a violent escelation in the Middle East.

In a telephone conversation with the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin expressed the Holy See's "serious concern about what is happening in the Middle East," according to a statement issued on Monday.

In the conversation, the Vatican's chief diplomat reiterated the need to avoid an escalation of the conflict and to focus instead on dialogue, negotiations and peace.