“Instead of showing us his full support, Biden is preoccupied with providing humanitarian aid and fuel (to Gaza), which goes directly to Hamas,” Ben-Gvir remarked. “If Trump were in power, the approach of the U.S. would be entirely different.”
His comments were criticized by Benny Gantz, a retired general and member of Netanyahu’s three-man War Cabinet, who stated that Ben-Gvir was causing significant harm to U.S.-Israeli relations. Opposition leader Yair Lapid, also posting on X, formerly Twitter, said Ben-Gvir’s remarks demonstrate that he “lacks an understanding of foreign relations.”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned Ben-Gvir’s statements as “racist” and called for international sanctions against him, citing a threat to the region’s stability.
Netanyahu, without directly mentioning Ben-Gvir, appeared to refer to his remarks during a weekly Cabinet meeting. “I do not require any assistance in managing our relations with the U.S. and the international community,” he stated.
Ben-Gvir, along with other far-right individuals, has advocated for “voluntary” mass emigration of Palestinians from Gaza and the return of Jewish settlements, which Israel disassembled when it withdrew troops from the territory in 2005. The Biden administration opposes any such scenario.
Ben-Gvir and other prominent members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition have threatened to overthrow the government if they believe he is too lenient on Hamas. Netanyahu stated that the military was conducting “very aggressive raids” in northern and central Gaza while dealing with remaining Hamas battalions in the southernmost city of Rafah.
Israel’s military reported Sunday that it had raided the headquarters of Hamas’ brigade in Khan Younis in the south and found what it called training materials for the Oct. 7 attack, including “models simulating entrance gates of Israeli kibbutzim, military bases and IDF armored vehicles.”
The war in Gaza has devastated large parts of the tiny enclave, displacing 85% of its population and pushing a quarter of residents to the brink of starvation. The Health Ministry in Gaza reported that 127 bodies had been brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 27,365. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but states that most of those killed are women and children.
In central Gaza, Israeli airstrikes hit two houses and a mosque in Deir al-Balah, resulting in the deaths of 29 people and injuring at least 60 others, including children, as reported by an Associated Press journalist at the scene. At Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, a nurse tended to the head injuries of a boy who sat between two other children, one trembling and the other in tears.
Other Palestinians sought shelter at the hospital with little relief. “Someone like me has been here for three months or two-and-a-half months, and I haven’t had a shower. What can we do? We want to go back to our home,” said Basemah Al-Haddad, displaced from Gaza City.
Two children were killed in separate airstrikes in Rafah, according to the registration office at the hospital where the bodies were taken. The first airstrike hit a house in the Jeneina refugee camp and killed a 12-year-old. The second hit a room west of the Rafah border crossing, killing a 2-year-old.
The bodies lay on the hospital floor. A female relative bent down to gently touch one child’s face.
Additional humanitarian aid to Gaza will be a “top priority” as Blinken visits the region, Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CBS. Blinken is set to begin Monday in Saudi Arabia and will stop in Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank.
Another focus is Israel’s tense negotiations facilitated by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt, aiming to free more than 100 remaining captives taken in the Oct. 7 attack in exchange for a cease-fire and the release of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
“It’s up to Hamas to come forward and respond to what is a serious proposal,” Sullivan told NBC, adding that there’s no clear idea how many hostages remain alive.
Hamas and other militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted around 250. More than 100 captives, mostly women and children, were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Hamas has stated that it won’t release more hostages until Israel ends its offensive. It also demands the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu has publicly rejected both demands.
Hamas is expected to respond to the latest cease-fire offer in the coming days.
