Yoav Gallant Archives - Page 9 of 11

Israeli Army: No Deal Puts Hostages’ Lives in Great Danger

CrossFireArabia
September 4, 2024

The Israeli army warned the Benjamin Netanyahu government that without reaching an agreement with Hamas, any large-scale military operation in Gaza would endanger the lives of the Israeli hostages, Hebrew media reported, Tuesday.

Israel holds at least 9,500 Palestinian prisoners in its jails whilest it is estimated 101 Israeli hostages are being held in Gaza. The Palestinian group Hamas announced that dozens of these hostages have been killed due to indiscriminate Israeli air strikes all over the Gaza Strip.

“The IDF (army) made it clear to the political echelons [government] that without a deal [with Hamas], it must be understood that any extensive ground operation in the Gaza Strip has a meaning — risking the lives of abductees,” Yedioth Ahronoth reported according to Anadolu.

The Israeli newspaper cited an unnamed senior military official who said “the cabinet will have to decide whether it takes responsibility for the lives of the abductees.”

6 Israeli hostages

The report added the military has intensified its warnings to the government since discovering the bodies of six Israeli hostages in a tunnel in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza last Saturday.

The Netanyahu government is accusing Hamas for the killing of these hostages, while the movement maintain they were killed in an Israeli airstrike as part of the Israeli ongoing war in Gaza that literally decimated the enclave as 50,000 bombs were dropped on the territory according to Haaretz.

The deaths of the hostages have sparked a new wave of anger in Israel against Netanyahu, with daily protests taking place holding him personally responsible for their deaths and demanding that he makes a deal with Hamas to exchange the remaining hostages originally at 250.

For months, the US, Qatar and Egypt have tried to reach an accord between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

But mediation efforts failed with Netanyahu frustrating every effort by the Israeli delegates to reach a deal with Hamas over the past 11 months or so. He monitored his team – who frequently travelled to Doha and Cairo to hitch a deal – to the minutest details and the delegates have not been allowed any leeway in the negotiations without returning to him first.

A key sticking point in the hostages/ceasfire talks is Netanyahu’s insistence on maintaining the Israeli military’s presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, a demilitarized zone along the Gaza-Egypt border.

Hamas on the other hand demands a complete withdrawal from the Palestinian territory and says no meaningful negotiations can take place if the Israeli military wants to stay there.

Philadelphi Corridor

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant agrees there should be a withdrawal for the sake of the hostages. He recently stated that Israel’s withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor during the first phase of a deal would not pose a security threat to his country.

But not so for Netanyahu. In a press conference Monday, he said that achieving the war goals that he set “requires maintaining the Philadelphi Corridor.” He emphasized Israel will never withdraw from the corridor.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza following an attack on 7 October, 2023 by Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The onslaught resulted in more than 40,800 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and nearly 94,300 injuries, according to local health authorities in Gaza.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.

News

Resignation of Top Chief Shows Deep Turmoil in Israeli Army

CrossFireArabia
September 3, 2024

The Israeli occupation army Ground Forces Commander Tamir Yedie resigned his post “for personal reasons,” it was reported by the Israeli media.

The resignation of the top commander has been trending on social media ever since it was announced with his name trending.

An Israeli military statement did not provide further details about Yadai’s resignation, which came after he served three years in his position according to Anadolu.

Breaking :
Israeli Ground Forces Commander Tamir Yedie submits his resignation. pic.twitter.com/Rt4otgsccm
— Riyajul Mustafa رياض المصطفى (@MdmustafaMusta6) September 3, 2024

His resignation maybe seen as a protest at the way the Israeli war is being handled in Gaza and the current rift between Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The latter insists that the army must continue fighting against Hamas and the Palestinian resistance groups while Gallant is in favor of a breakthrough political deal that would see the return of the 100-or-so remaining hostages.

Also Yadai’s sudden resignation reflects deep-seated dismay within the Israeli army who privately feel they are being made to do an impossible task in Gaza.

At his handover ceremony on Thursday (AEST), the outgoing head of Israeli military intelligence Major-General Aharon Haliva said the failures on October 7 would haunt him for the rest of his life.https://t.co/D2AjNwdbbC
— Michael Horan (@mikehoran1158) August 26, 2024

Last April, 2024 head of the Military Intelligence Division Aharon Haliva resigned, and the Israeli media then expected a series of resignations in the Israeli army leadership after the launch of internal investigations relating to the military and intelligence failure in repelling the Al-Aqsa Flood operation by Al-Qassam Brigades on 7 October, 2023 according to the Palestine Information Center.

It was then expected among the military leaders that would resign were Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, his deputy Amir Baram, commander of the Gaza Division Avi Rosenfeld and commander of the Southern Command Yaron Finkelman, although he had been in his position for only two months before 7 October.

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Philadelphi V. Hostages: Netanyahu-Gallant Fight Deepens

CrossFireArabia
September 2, 2024

Disputes have escalated between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the army’s presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, a demilitarized area along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

Netanyahu sees the axis as a “lifeline for Hamas,” ruling out any withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the corridor, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN said.

המתיחות בממשלה: "סיכוי נמוך שנתניהו יפטר את גלנט. הוא ישמח אם יתפטר לבד"https://t.co/yQ94BwoO4Z pic.twitter.com/2DlNOQW6gW
— ynet עדכוני (@ynetalerts) September 1, 2024

Netanyahu’s hardline position is seen by opposition leaders and families of Israeli hostages in Gaza as hindering efforts to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas according to Anadolu.

Last Thursday, Israel’s security cabinet voted to maintain Israeli military presence at the corridor, a position that drew fire from the defense minister.

Gallant called Israel’s control of the corridor “an unnecessary constraint that we’ve placed on ourselves.”

“We will not live up to the war goals we set for ourselves,” he said during a security cabinet meeting on Sunday. “The decision made Thursday was reached under the assumption that there is time, but if we want live hostages, there’s no time.”

“We endangered soldiers for decades for single individuals. How are we to treat the lives of 30? It’s moral bankruptcy,” the defense minister said, in reference to a 2001 prisoner swap deal with Hamas under which more than 1,000 Palestinian detainees were released in return for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

During the meeting, Gallant reminded Netanyahu, “You released 1,027 prisoners, including Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, in exchange for just one man, Gilad Shalit.”

"We have to choose between Philadelphi and the hostages. We can't have both. If we vote, we might find out that either the hostages will die or we will have to backtrack to release them," Gallant said, according to one of his aides.https://t.co/uPqLu3ANS8
— Brian Finucane (@BCFinucane) August 30, 2024

KAN, citing sources close to Netanyahu, said the Israeli premier is not expected to dismiss his defense minister anytime soon despite their strained relations.

Public anger against Netanyahu’s government has grown after the army said Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages from southern Gaza.

In response, the country’s largest labor union Histadrut called a one-day general strike to pressure the Israeli government to reach an immediate cease-fire and prisoner swap deal with Hamas.

Israel estimates that more than 100 hostages are still being held by the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, some of whom are believed to have been already killed.

For months, the US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in over 40,700 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 94,100 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.

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Tel Aviv Declares Emergency as 300 Hezbollah Rockets Land in Israel

CrossFireArabia
August 25, 2024

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant declared a 48-hour state of emergency across the country starting at 6 a.m. Sunday (03:00 GMT), after the military announced it was launching strikes in Lebanon to prevent a “major attack” by Hezbollah.

Galant’s office said in a statement that the declaration of a state of emergency allows the military to “issue instructions to the citizens of Israel, including limiting gatherings and closing sites where are relevant.”

Israel launched a series of intense airstrikes on southern Lebanon early on Sunday in what it said was a “preemptive” attack. Hezbollah said it has completed the “first phase” of the retaliatory attack on Israel with “a large number of missiles” in response to Israel’s killing of its commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut in July according to the Quds News Network.

News

‘Israel Will Collapse in a Year…’ – Ex-General Brik

CrossFireArabia
August 22, 2024

Retired Israeli General Yitzhak Brik warned in an article published in the Jewish daily Haaretz that Israel will collapse within a year if the war of attrition against Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah continues.

Brik, nicknamed the “Prophet of Wrath” in Israel because he predicted an attack by thousands of Palestinian militants on the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip similar to the Aqsa Flood Battle added that Defense Minister Yoav Galant is beginning to realize that if a regional war breaks out due to the failure to reach a Gaza agreement, Israel will be in danger.

Yitzak Brik
"aku sdh bertemu 6x dngn netanyahu dn kesanku adlh dia menyadari Hamas tidak bisa habisi, tpi dia ttp menyatakan bhwa israel akan ttp berperang utk memuaskan ekstrimis-ekstrimis yg duduk dikabinet koalisi dan pemilihnya" pic.twitter.com/dt2HnlDa3q
— AzaadiForGaza🔻 (@TunggalWar51509) August 17, 2024

“I assume Galant now realizes that the war has lost its purpose, we are drowning in the Gaza quagmire and losing our soldiers there without any chance of achieving the main goal of the war, which is to topple Hamas,” said.

He stressed all paths at the political and military levels are leading Israel to the abyss whilst stressing that replacing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist partners could save Israel from an existential spiral that could soon reach the point of no return.

With American support, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since7 October, leaving more than 133,000 dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and deadly famine.

In disregard of the international community, Israel continues the war, ignoring the UN Security Council resolution to stop it immediately, and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza according to JO.24.