US expresses ‘grave’ concern as fighting in Sudan’s El Fasher escalates amid civil war
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(LONDON) — The U.S. said it is “gravely concerned” following a “large-scale escalation” of fighting in El Fasher, capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state, amid a civil war that has been raging in the North African country for more than a year.
Initial reports of escalating fighting began to surface on Sept, 12 following what eyewitnesses recount as a multidirectional attack on the city by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.
The shelling has been consistent, with explosions being heard in the city “several times this week,” Salah, a resident of the city, told ABC News on Tuesday. He asked to be identified by only his first name.
“There are casualties and many civilians have been killed and injured,” Salah said. “People are dying of famine and diseases. It’s a literally catastrophic situation. As I am speaking, the RSF shelling is going on.”
An analysis from the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab confirmed the escalation of fighting, finding “unprecedented,” “high-tempo and intense combat activity” ongoing in the North Darfur capital. The report detected “high tempo aerial bombardment” by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and “structural damage” from RSF bombardment and other combat activity.
“The current levels of high-tempo combat activity are likely to effectively reduce what is left of El-Fasher to rubble,” reads the report.
The U.N. said it has yet to establish the number of civilian casualties in the city.
In a statement, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said she was “gravely concerned about reports of a serious escalation in RSF’s months-long siege on El Fasher.”
That concern was echoed by America’s Special Envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello who said he is “extremely concerned” by the RSF’s repeated attacks on the North Darfur capital.
Two displacement camps — Abu Shouk and Al Salaam — have been shelled in the RSF’s renewed attacks according to US’ Special Envoy to Sudan.
El Fasher is the largest city in Sudan’s Darfur region and the Sudanese Army’s (SAF) last stronghold in the region. The city has been at the center of a fierce battle as warring parties vie for its control, the Rapid Support Forces besieging the city since May of 2024.
The unprecedented escalation brings renewed threat to “hundreds of thousands” of civilians, according to the U.N. That estimate included internally displaced persons who found refuge in the city, many of whom had been displaced from elsewhere through the course of Sudan’s now 17-month civil war.
“The humanitarian situation is so sad,” Yasin told ABC news over the phone from Tawila, a small town in North Darfur where many fleeing the conflict have sought refuge.
He asked to only be identified by his first name for his safety.
“Prices are spiking for food, medicine end fuel is so rare and expensive,” Yasin said.
“Life in El Fasher was scary because every day there are bombs, shelling and crossfire as well as intense clashes,” he said. “Yesterday evening RSF shelled areas like Mawashy Market, Thoura and Mudarag. These areas are filled with civilians, and the number of human losses till no are unknown because people are hiding.”
The U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan Clementine Nkweta-Salami has expressed “profound sadness and frustration” over the situation, saying the attacks on the city “violate every humanitarian principle.”
“This is heartbreaking and must stop,” Nkweta-Salami said. “There is no excuse for direct attacks on civilians, their assets and essential facilities such as hospitals.”
In a statement sent to ABC News, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, says nutritional screenings carried out in conjunction with Sudanese health authorities in Zamzam camp, just 15 km south of El Fasher, indicate malnutrition rates that are “likely some of the worst in the world.”
“Not only do the results confirm the disaster that we and other stakeholders have been observing and alerting on for months, they also indicate that every day, things are getting worse and we’re running out of time,” said Michel Olivier Lacharité, head of emergency operations for MSF. “We are talking about thousands of children who will die over the next few weeks without access to adequate treatment and urgent solutions to allow humanitarian aid and essential goods to reach Zamzam.”
The war in Sudan has precipitated one of the world’s worst hunger crises with over 750,000 people experiencing “catastrophic levels of food insecurity.” according to the U.N.
The conflict has killed over 20,000 people according to a senior U.N. official, but local groups warned the true toll is likely much higher. At least 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes since fighting began in April 2023, according to the International Office of Migration (IOM).
“The level of destruction, death, displacement and disease in Sudan is tragic,” said World Health Organisation Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus on Tuesday.
The WHO chief was in Chad on Tuesday to join the delivery of a medical supplies convoy across the Chadian border of Adré into Sudan.
Recent flooding has hampered the delivery of aid through the Adré border.
“Chad’s valleys are filled with carcasses of trucks. But we are making progress,” said Toby Harward, the U.N.’s deputy humanitarian coordinator for Sudan.
“I urge RSF to halt its attack, including bombardments destroying infrastructure and threatening civilian life, and fulfil its commitments to the international community to protect civilians,” said Thomas-Greenfield.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi applaud during the ceremony of documents signing after their talks in Mariinskyi Palace, on August 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Ukraine scored victories on and off the battlefield last week, with Kyiv securing a long sought after visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the backdrop of its evolving offensive into Russia’s Kursk region.
A wartime visit by Modi — the popular and powerful leader of the world’s second most populous nation, its fifth largest economy and a major military and economic partner for Russia — has long been near the top of Kyiv’s diplomatic wish list, second perhaps only to a visit by China’s President Xi Jinping.
“It’s great news for Ukraine and can be viewed as a diplomatic victory,” Oleksandr Merezko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and chair of the body’s foreign affairs committee, told ABC News of Friday’s visit. “It’s important for us to have a direct dialogue with him, and persuade him to be on the right side of history.”
With a cease-fire proving elusive after two and a half years of war, Kyiv’s friends and enemies alike will see opportunity in Modi’s outreach.
On Monday, President Joe Biden “commended” Modi on his Ukraine visit, per a White House readout, praising the leader’s “message of peace and ongoing humanitarian support.”
Russians, too, are “positive” about the visit, Oleg Ignatov — the Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Russia — told ABC News.
“Russia will welcome their role, if their role is constructive,” Ignatov said.
The U.S. and its Western partners — even officially non-aligned ones like Switzerland and Austria — have “lost their position of independent, impartial players” in the Kremlin’s eyes, Ignatov said.
“They can’t be middlemen,” Ignatov said.
But perhaps Modi can be that middleman.
True neutral
Modi’s dueling visits to Russia and Ukraine characterize — even if unintentionally — New Delhi’s staunch neutrality. The prime minister was in Moscow when a Russian missile struck a Ukrainian children’s hospital in July. His bear hug greeting of President Vladimir Putin earned him a fierce rebuke from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
And now, Modi has sat down with the Ukrainian leader while the latter’s troops expanded their occupation of Russian territory, in an operation that Putin has decried as a criminal effort to destabilize his nation.
Merezhko said he was “surprised” by the timing.
“I suspect that our American and European allies are trying to push India in the right direction,” Merezhko said.
India has neither condoned nor condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion. New Delhi has been urging de-escalation and peace talks while benefiting from historically low prices for Russian oil — which India is also processing and selling on to the West — amid the Western sanctions campaign, analysts have noted.
India has not signed up to the Western-led sanctions drive. Russia is selling oil to India at prices above the G7 price cap, but Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that is acceptable, as long as India avoids Western insurance, finance and maritime services which are bound by the cap.
Foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said last week: “It is not like there is a political strategy to buy oil … there is an oil strategy to buy oil … there is a market strategy.”
Modi’s India has been building its U.S. ties, happy to work closely with both Republicans and Democrats as the nation looks to extract its mammoth economic potential and blunt the longstanding threat from China across their shared Himalayan border — a challenge experts have suggested is a major driver of the evolving U.S.-India relationship.
India’s trade with Russia is worth less than half that of the $130 billion exchange with the United States. The 2023 U.S.-Indian commitment to the multibillion India-Middle East Economic Corridor speaks to the expanding strategic vision of the two nations. The White House described the project as “a gateway to our future,” while New Delhi lauded what it called “a transformative integration of Asia, Europe and Middle East.”
India is also increasingly looking towards the U.S. for its military needs while its military trade with Russia dwindles, amid concerns about the quality of Moscow’s goods and its inability to deliver on advanced contracts. A warm relationship with the U.S. may also somewhat insulate Modi from concerns — at home and abroad — that he is pushing India’s democracy in an illiberal and perhaps even authoritarian direction.
Modi and his government have pushed back on such criticisms. At a press conference with President Joe Biden in 2023, Modi said there “is no scope for any discrimination” under his administration. And this year, India’s Foreign Ministry dismissed a State Department report detailing “significant” human rights abused as “deeply biased.”
Asked about the Ukraine visit, a State Department spokesperson told ABC News: “We continue to ask all our partners, including India, to support efforts toward a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and to urge Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine’s sovereign territory.”
Before departing New Delhi last week, Modi reiterated his calls for peace, saying in a statement: “As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region.”
India’s position — firmly on the fence — could prove an opportunity for both sides.
Neither the Indian Foreign Ministry nor the Kremlin responded to ABC News’ request for comment in time for publication.
‘Let’s talk’
Officially neutral nations like India, China, Qatar or Saudi Arabia could all play a central role in bringing the war to an end, or at least achieving a cease-fire. All refused to join the Western-led sanctions campaign against Moscow, and all have called for an end to the fighting.
Indeed, reported secret Qatari efforts to facilitate renewed cease-fire talks were only scuppered by Ukraine’s Kursk offensive earlier this month.
“They are ready to play the role of intermediaries; not negotiators, but facilitators, to help both countries understand which issues their positions could be close on,” Ignatov said of non-aligned nations. “If there is a request from both Ukraine and Russia, they will help. But they won’t do anything to the detriment of one country.”
Modi’s visit may undergird the apparent sentiment on both sides of the war that negotiations could be revived. But, Ignatov said, any new proposal should be broad, and as simple as: “Let’s talk.”
Chietigj Bajpaee of the Chatham House think tank in London, U.K., told ABC News that Modi wants to promote India “as a rising and responsible global power,” and potentially as a “bridging power” between the West, its adversaries in authoritarian nations like Russia, China and India, and less powerful “Global South” nations not willing to commit to broader U.S.-led transatlantic goals.
“The other countries that maintain very good relations with Russia — China, Iran, North Korea — all of these are countries with which the U.S. and the West maintain difficult relations,” Bajpaee said.
“In theory, at least, I think India is well positioned to play some sort of role as a bridging power or mediating role in the conflict in Ukraine. Whether it has the means and motivation to do so is another question,” Bajpaee added.
Indian officials have publicly ruled out acting as official mediators between the warring nations, though Modi has said he is willing to convey messages between them.
For Merezhko, India would be a more appealing facilitator than China, for example. Beijing presented an initial peace plan in 2023 which was widely dismissed in Kyiv, followed by a second effort in coordination with Brazil in May.
“Modi shows that Ukraine exists for India,” Merezhko said. “In this regard, we can see a contrast between China’s and India’s position on Ukraine. Whereas Xi has not visited Ukraine at all and had several meetings with Putin, which is very telling, India’s prime minister seemingly is trying to keep some balance.”
“The Chinese plan is empty and pro-Russian. Modi, if he plans to come up with his own peace plan, will at least try to be more constructive than China,” Merezhko said.
Modi will likely keep one eye on facilitating dialogue between Kyiv and Moscow, Yehor Cherniev — a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chairman of his country’s delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly — told ABC News, not least because of continued concerns in the “Global South” as to the conflict’s detrimental effect on trade.
But any nascent rumblings of new talks will be secondary to the ongoing combat. Ukrainian forces will keep pushing in Kursk and Russian forces on the eastern front, particularly in Donetsk. Meanwhile, both sides will keep bombarding the other’s cities with drones and missiles.
Russia’s weekend nationwide missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine served as a bloody reminder of the diplomatic gulf between the two sides.
“The outcome of this war will be decided by Russia and Ukraine,” Ignatov said, “not by India, China or the United States.”
Cherniev said that while Ukrainians are “open” to fresh ideas and “thankful” for Modi’s visit, his compatriots will wait to see “what conditions” will be tied to any revival of dialogue.
“It’s difficult to predict any outcomes of peace negotiations,” Cherniev added, stressing that Kyiv’s demand of full territorial liberation “has not changed.”
As to the persistent question of territorial concessions in pursuit of peace, Cherniev replied: “We will never do this.”
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the U.S. military announced it is moving more forces to the Middle East.
The United States and its allies continue to plead for a cease-fire deal while Israel anticipates possible retaliatory action from Iran or Hezbollah following multiple assassinations of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in recent weeks.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Israel closes humanitarian route through Rafah
Israeli forces “temporarily” closed the humanitarian route in the area of Rafah, in southern Gaza, on Tuesday, saying Hamas operatives “opened fire” toward the route.
This is the second time the IDF has closed this route in the past week.
The route is an 8-mile road going from the Kerem Shalom crossing, near Rafah, north near Khan Younis and the humanitarian zone.
Hamas not attending cease-fire negotiations in Qatar
Hamas said it will not be attending cease-fire negotiations in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday.
“The movement demands a clear commitment from the occupation to what was agreed upon on July 2, according to the clarifications conveyed by the mediators, and if that happens, the movement is ready to enter into the mechanisms for implementing the agreement,” Hamas Political Bureau Member Dr. Suhail al-Hindi told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed TV.
Israel to send delegation to Qatar to negotiate cease-fire
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the sending of an Israeli delegation to Doha, Qatar, on Thursday to continue negotiations for a cease-fire agreement.
This comes as Netanyahu is receiving pushback internally and externally amid reports he changed the parameters of what he would agree to.
Biden expects Iran to hold off on retaliatory attack if a cease-fire deal is reached
President Joe Biden addressed the rising tensions in the Middle East Tuesday after U.S. officials warned Iran could launch a retaliatory attack on Israel as early as “this week.”
Biden told reporters he expects Iran to hold off on carrying out a retaliatory attack against Israel if a cease-fire deal with Hamas is reached.
“That’s my expectation, but we’ll see,” Biden said after arriving in New Orleans, LA.
Last week, Biden along with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar jointly called for Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table and reach an agreement that would free hostages and end the war in Gaza.
Hamas leaders declined the new set of cease-fire conditions on Sunday, asking for negotiations to resume around what was presented in July.
US approves $20 billion more in arms sales to Israel
The U.S. State Department has signed off on several large arms transfers to Israel, notifying Congress on Tuesday that it has approved the sale of more than $20 billion worth of weaponry and military equipment.
All of the sales surpass the value threshold that requires the State Department to formally notify Congress 15 days before initiating the transfer process. Congress can move to reject the transaction by adopting a joint resolution of disapproval within that timeframe.
Some of the items aren’t scheduled to arrive in Israel for years.
Israeli forces kill two Hezbollah fighters, IDF says
Israeli forces killed two Hezbollah fighters from its Southern Front on Tuesday, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement. Hezbollah has confirmed the death of two of their fighters on Tuesday.
These attacks come as Israel awaits a response from Hezbollah and Iran for killings in recent weeks.
CIA director, Biden aide to head to Middle East to salvage hostage talks
Several U.S. officials are headed to the Middle East this week in a bid to de-escalate regional tensions and try to salvage hostage negotiations, as the window for a deal appears to be closing.
CIA Director Bill Burns is expected to arrive in Doha, Qatar, this week, where he will lead a crucial meeting on the hostages, according to a U.S. official. It’s not clear, however, whether a representative of Hamas will attend.
Meanwhile, Brett McGurk, Biden’s top adviser on the Middle East at the White House, was expected to travel separately to Cairo, according to the U.S. official.
Axios first reported the travel plans for Burns and McGurk, noting that McGurk’s plan was to nail down a security plan for the Egypt-Gaza border.
The diplomatic trip also comes as the U.S. has been scrambling to revive a coalition of countries that helped to defend Israel last April during an attack by Iran.
Israel has been bracing for Iran to launch a retaliatory attack following the assassination of a senior Hamas official in Tehran.
The U.S. official acknowledged “there have been complications” with getting some of the Arab countries on board but added they’ve been “able to put in place preparations” to defend Israel successfully.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
Western leaders call on Iran to ‘stand down’
The leaders of the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Italy called on Iran to “stand down” and expressed their support for Israel’s defense “against Iranian aggression” during a call on Monday, according to a joint statement released by the White House.
“We called on Iran to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place,” the statement said.
The leaders also expressed their support for ongoing efforts to reach a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza, according to the statement.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Hostage deal talks expected to move forward: State Department
As the Middle East continues its uneasy wait for Iran’s response to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, the State Department is pressing on with its high-stakes diplomatic campaign to constrain military action from Tehran amid fresh waves of uncertainty.
“We continue to work diplomatically to prevent any major escalation in this conflict,” deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters Monday. “We obviously don’t want to see any kind of attack or response happen in the first place.”
Multiple officials within the State Department said they are still cautiously optimistic that Iran will limit the scope of its retaliation, but that they increasingly expect the country will strike at Israel before Thursday — the date the Biden administration, along with Egypt and Qatar, set to relaunch hostage/cease-fire deal talks in hopes of bringing Israel and Hamas back to the table for a final push.
A joint statement issued by the mediators last week was designed not only to pressure the parties involved, but as a message to Iran that an agreement was in the offing meant to persuade the country against military action that could scuttle a deal, according to an official.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also publicly warned Monday that Iranian military action could impede progress at a critical point in the negotiations.
However, Hamas’ earlier announcement that it would not participate in the round of negotiations and public infighting among top Israeli officials have cast significant doubt over whether the Thursday meeting will even happen — undercutting the administration’s intended message to Tehran.
At the podium Monday, Patel said mediators “fully expect talks to move forward as they should” in order to “bring this deal to conclusion.”
He declined to say whether Hamas or Israel was the bigger impediment.
“I’m not going to color it one way or the other,” Patel said while noting that “the prime minister of Israel immediately welcomed this initiative and confirmed that the Israeli team will be there, and they’ll be prepared to finalize the details of implementing the deal.”
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Retaliatory attack on Israel could come ‘this week’: Kirby
A United States assessment shows a retaliatory attack by Iran and its proxies against Israel could be launched “this week,” the White House said Monday.
“We share the same concerns and expectations that our Israeli counterparts have with respect to potential timing here. Could be this week,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “We’re continuing to watch it very, very closely.”
Kirby said it’s difficult to ascertain what a potential attack could look like at this time but that “we have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks.”
Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari told reporters on Monday that Israel remains “on high alert.”
“We take seriously the threats of our enemies and that is why we are on high alert offensively and defensively,” he said.
Hagari said the IDF will “work hard to give the public time to get organized.”
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Netanyahu accuses defense minister of ‘adopting anti-Israel narrative’
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant appeared to take a swing at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Knesset committee meeting about Israel’s response to ongoing cross-border tensions with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
“I hear all the heroes with the war drums, the ‘absolute victory’ and this gibberish,” Gallant reportedly said, alluding to Netanyahu’s slogan through the war, according to Israeli media.
Netanyahu’s office released a statement shortly after, saying Gallant too is bound by the policy of “absolute victory.”
“When Gallant adopts the anti-Israel narrative, he hurts the chances of reaching a deal for the release of the abductees,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said. “He should have attacked [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, who refuses to send a delegation to the negotiations, and who was and remains the only obstacle to the kidnapping deal.”
National Unity Party Chairman Benny Gantz warned about internal divisions in Israel during an address on Monday.
“If we don’t come to our senses, there will be a civil war here,” Gantz said.
He said there have been “heroes,” from soldiers to volunteers, in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, but also “leadership that dissolves, networks that poison the well from which we live.”
“The patriotic Israeli majority should stop the hatred and make amends,” Gantz said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Hezbollah says it is still determined to attack Israel
While the weekend passed with no direct retaliation from Hezbollah for the killings of several top leaders by Israeli strikes, the group said it still plans to strike.
“The response is coming and inevitable and there is no turning back from it,” Ali Damoush, the deputy chairman of the Executive Council of Hezbollah, said Monday.
The Hezbollah official saif America, Great Britain, Germany and everyone who supplies Israel with weapons is a partner in the Gaza massacres.
“Israel does not find any practical and serious response to its massacres, and this is what encourages it to continue committing crimes and massacres, and without effective pressure Netanyahu will not stop his crimes,” Damoush claimed.
Israeli Air Force bans travel abroad
Amid fears that an attack from Iran may be imminent, the commander of Israel’s Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, has issued an order barring servicemembers from traveling abroad. The directive applies to career officers and non-commissioned officers, not conscripts, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
US is ‘strengthening’ military force in Middle East over ‘escalating’ tensions
The U.S. is “strengthening” its capabilities in the Middle East by sending an additional guided missile submarine to the region “in light of escalating regional tensions,” according to a statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder issued on Sunday.
The update comes the same day Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
“Secretary Austin reiterated the United States’ commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel,” according to the statement.
Secretary Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35C fighters, to accelerate its transit to the Middle East, which was previously expected to get there by the end of the month.
The Lincoln was already en route to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt, but will now add to the capabilities of the Roosevelt
Additionally, Austin has ordered the USS Georgia guided missile submarine to the Middle East.
The statement doesn’t say how soon the Lincoln or the USS Georgia will arrive in the region.
Israeli forces intercept ‘projectiles’ crossing from Lebanon, no injuries: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intercepted approximately 30 “projectiles” that were identified as crossing from Lebanon into northern Israel early Monday morning local time, the IDF said in a statement.
No injuries were reported from the attacks, the IDF said.
“The IDF is striking the sources of fire,” the IDF added.
(NEW YORK) — In a defiant address to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that his country was committed to defeating both Hezbollah and Hamas — giving a pointed warning to the groups’ chief backer, Iran.
“I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran,” Netanyahu said. “If you strike us, we will strike you, there is no place. There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach.”
Appearing to back up Netanyahu’s words with action, the Israeli military carried out what an Israeli Defense Force said was “a precise strike on the central headquarters of the Hezbollah terror organization” in Beirut shortly after he finished his address on Friday.
Multiple sources told ABC News the target of the attack was Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
It was not immediately clear whether the strike was successful, but the scale of the bombing immediately sparked concern among U.S. officials who have been applying consistent diplomatic pressure to Iran in an effort to keep the country from stepping up its role in the conflict.
The increased fighting in Lebanon has some officials fearing an all-out war in the region. The Biden administration has been working to persuade Israel to agree to a 21-day ceasefire proposal crafted by the U.S. and France.
After initially rejecting the plan outright, the Israeli government seemed to soften its stance on Thursday — signaling a willingness to negotiate.
But Netanyahu did not reference the plan in his roughly 30-minute speech on Friday and made no mention of pursuing diplomatic peace with Hezbollah.
The prime minister said Israel would “continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are made” and that Israel “must defeat” them.
“As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he said.
Netanyahu asserted the U.S. would not tolerate a similar situation on its own border for “even for a single day.”
Several United Nations delegates walked out of the room as Netanyahu began his address at the U.N. in New York.
“I didn’t intend to come here this year. My country is at war, fighting for its life,” the prime minister said. “But after I heard the lies and slanders leveled at my country by many of the speakers at this podium, I decided to come here and set the record straight.”
Netanyahu continued to press for “total victory” in Gaza as he called for Hamas to surrender and release all remaining Israeli hostages. He also said Israel rejected any scenario in which Hamas remained in control of Gaza after the war.
The prime minister also claimed criticism of Israel’s human rights record was unwarranted, saying Israel had helped ship more than adequate supplies of food to Gaza and continued to “spare no effort” to protect civilian lives.
“We don’t want to see a single person — a single innocent person die. That’s always a tragedy. And that’s why we do so much to minimize civilian casualties,” he said.
However, U.S. officials say Israel’s record in Gaza is checkered. A report released by the State Department in May found that the Israeli government did not cooperate with efforts to move aid into the enclave in the early months of the war against Hamas.
The same report also stated that while Israel has “the knowledge, experience, and tools” to implement “best practices for mitigating civilian harm,” the high number of civilian casualties “raises substantial questions about whether the IDF is using them effectively in all cases.”
U.S. officials have expressed similar concerns about collateral damage from Israeli military action in Lebanon.
More than 118,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced in just the last week, according to the UN. The Lebanon Ministry of Health also said hundreds of people have been killed in that time, although it’s unclear how many were combatants.
The prime minister’s office said Netanyahu would return to Israel earlier than previously planned. It also released a photo it said shows him approving the strike over the phone while sitting at a desk in New York.
