US defense secretary, Israeli leaders discuss more targeted approach in Gaza

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant hold a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel Dec. 18, 2023. (Reuters)

• The US has vetoed calls for a ceasefire at the UN and rushed munitions to Israel
• Human Rights Watch on Monday accused Israel of deliberately starving Gaza’s population

TEL AVIV: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed with Israeli leaders Monday ways to scale back major combat operations in Gaza but said Washington was not imposing a timetable despite international calls for a ceasefire.
Austin and other US officials have repeatedly expressed concern about the large number of civilian deaths in Gaza, even while underscoring American backing for Israel’s campaign aimed at crushing Hamas. Neither side elaborated Monday on what needed to change on the ground for a shift to more precise operations after weeks of devastating bombardment and a ground offensive.
At a press conference alongside Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Austin said, “This is Israel’s operation. I’m not here to dictate timelines or terms.” The US has vetoed calls for a ceasefire at the UN and rushed munitions to Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will keep fighting until it ends Hamas rule in Gaza, crushes its formidable military capabilities and frees the dozens of hostages still held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7 attack inside Israel that ignited the war.
Israeli protesters have demanded the government relaunch talks with Hamas on releasing more hostages after three were mistakenly killed by Israeli troops.
Talks were underway Monday to broker freedom for more hostages, as CIA Director William Burns met in Warsaw with the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and the prime minister of Qatar, a US official said. It was the first known meeting of the three since the end of a weeklong ceasefire in late November, during which some 100 hostages were freed in exchange for the release of around 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
More than 100 people were killed in Israeli strikes on residential buildings in northern Gaza on Sunday, a Health Ministry official in the Hamas-run territory said.
The 10-week-old war has killed more than 19,000 Palestinians and transformed much of the north into a moonscape. Some 1.9 million Palestinians — nearly 85 percent of Gaza’s population — have fled their homes, with most packing into UN-run shelters and tent camps in the southern part of the besieged territory.
US pressure on Israel 
Austin, who arrived in Israel with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown, said he and Israeli officials exchanged “thoughts on how to transition from high intensity operations” and how to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
American officials have called for targeted operations aimed at killing Hamas leaders, destroying tunnels and rescuing hostages. Those calls came after US President Joe Biden warned that Israel is losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing.”
Speaking alongside Austin, Gallant said only that “the war will take time.” Last week, Gallant said Israel would continue major combat operations for several more months.
European countries also appear to be losing patience. “Far too many civilians have been killed in Gaza,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell posted on X. “Certainly, we are witnessing an appalling lack of distinction in Israel’s military operation in Gaza.”
Under US pressure, Israel provided more precise evacuation instructions earlier this month as troops moved into the southern city of Khan Younis. Still, casualties have continued to mount and Palestinians say nowhere in Gaza is safe as Israel carries out strikes in all parts of the territory.
Israel reopened its main cargo crossing with Gaza to allow more aid in — also after a request from the US — but the amount is less than half of prewar imports, even as needs have soared and fighting hinders delivery in many areas. Israel blocked entry off all goods into Gaza soon after the war started and weeks later began allowing a small amount of aid in through Egypt.
Human Rights Watch on Monday accused Israel of deliberately starving Gaza’s population — which would be a war crime — pointing to statements by senior Israeli officials expressing the intent to deprive civilians of food, water and fuel or linking the entry of aid to the release of hostages.
Unprecedented death and destruction 
The war began with an unprecedented surprise attack by Hamas that overwhelmed Israel’s border defenses. Thousands of militants rampaged across southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 240 men, women and children.
Hamas and other militants are still holding an estimated 129 captives after most of the rest were freed in return for Israel’s release of 240 Palestinian prisoners during a truce last month. Hamas has said no more hostages will be released until the war ends.
More than 19,400 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Health Ministry, which has said most are women and minors, and that thousands more are buried under the rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.
Israel’s military says 127 of its soldiers have been killed in the Gaza ground offensive. It says it has killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence.
Israel blames civilian deaths on Hamas, saying it uses them as human shields. But the military rarely comments on individual strikes.
At least 110 people were killed in Israel’s bombardment of residential buildings in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza on Sunday, Munir Al-Boursh, a senior Health Ministry official, told Al Jazeera television.
The area has seen heavy fighting in recent days. “No one can retrieve the martyrs or take the wounded to hospitals,” said Amal Radwan, who is staying at a UN shelter in Jabaliya.
The military released pictures of what it said was around $1.3 million in Israeli currency found in the home of a senior Hamas operative in the camp.
Regional tensions
Yemen’s Houthi militia continued attacks on shipping in the Red Sea in a campaign that has prompted a growing list of companies to halt their operations in the major trade route. The latest company was oil and natural gas giant BP, which said Monday it was suspending shipments through the Red Sea.
Multiple projectiles were fired at the Swan Atlantic, a Cayman Islands-flagged tanker, in the Red Sea off Yemen on Monday, a US official said. The USS Carney, an American warship, responded, the official said without providing further details. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the attack and so spoke on condition of anonymity.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, confirmed the attack and said the group would continue targeting ships bound for Israeli ports as long as the blockade of Gaza continued.
The tanker was not heading toward Israel, according to ship tracking website VesselFinder, and there was no indication it was linked to the country.
Austin said he would hold talks Tuesday morning with his counterparts in the Middle East and beyond on an international coalition to respond to the attacks. “It is an international problem. That’s why it deserves an international response,” he said.
Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have traded fire along the border nearly every day since the war began, In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, over 300 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, including four overnight during an Israeli military raid in the Faraa refugee camp, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
This has been the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2005. Most have been killed during military raids, which often ignite gunbattles, or during violent demonstrations.