Israel’s rallying call – ‘lethal attack’ on Hamas; China backs self-defence bid

As Israel revved up its airstrikes on several targets in Gaza since the Islamist group Hamas launched a shocking attack on October 7 followed by an assault that left at least 1,400 people dead, country’s defence minister Yoav Gallant vowed to launch a ‘lethal attack’ on the beseiged Palestinian strip as he referred to its intent to carry out a ground incursion.

“The path is a path of unrelenting attacks, damaging Hamas everywhere and in every way…We want to bring Hamas to a state of full dismantling,” Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said in a statement.

Meanwhile, several nations in the West defended Israel’s ‘right to self-defence’ against Hamas, while US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak harked back on the two-state solution amid the long-standing contention over the statehood of Israel and Palestine.

In a first, China acknowledged Israel’s right to self-defence without condemning Hamas’ attack. Chinese foreign minstr Wang Yi told his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen that ‘all countries have the right to self-defence’, while stressed that countries should abide by international humanitarian law and protect the safety of civilians.

Along with the US and UK, China also reiterated its position for a two-state solution as a viable outcome to the conflict. “China sincerely hopes that the Palestine issue will be resolved in a comprehensive and just manner on the basis of the ‘two-state solution’, and that the legitimate security concerns of all parties will be resolved in a genuine and thorough manner as a result,” Yi said during his visit to Washington DC.

Israeli defence minister Gallant said his country will be launching a ‘lethal attack’ on Gaza as the country is expected to launch a ground offensive. “We are preparing thoroughly. It will be a lethal attack. It will be a combined attack from land, sea, and air,” he said, according to Times of Israel.

Joe Biden underscored the need to sustain “a continuous flow” of humanitarian assistance into Gaza in call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, the White House said. Biden also “welcomed the release of two additional hostages from Gaza earlier today, and reaffirmed his commitment to ongoing efforts to secure the release of all the remaining hostages taken by Hamas,” the White House added.

Two elderly hostages, Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz, were released by Hamas days after the Islamist group released an American mother-daughter duo. Both Cooper and Lifshitz were ferried in a helicopter to a hospital in Tel Aviv, where they were declared healthy. Both of them were on medication before they were taken hostage and believed to have taken off medication during the two weeks of their captivity.

The Israeli military has confirmed that a total 222 people have been taken hostage since October 7.

The US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, in a joint statement, reierated their strong support for Israel and upheld the country’s right to self-defence.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting with his war cabinet to assess the security preparedness ahead of a possible ground offensive.

Intensifying its airstrikes, Israel bombarded targets in southern Lebanon in a bid to attack Hezbollah strongholds. Israeli military also pounded hundreds of targets in Gaza from the air as its soldiers fought Hamas militants during raids into the besieged Palestinian strip.

Former US President Barack Obama warned that “any Israeli military strategy that ignores the human costs could ultimately backfire.”

“Already, thousands of Palestinians have been killed in the bombing of Gaza, many of them children. Hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes,” he said in a written staement.