War on Gaza to proceed regardless of international opinion: Israeli FM

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
13 Nov 2023 09:41
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The Israeli Foreign Minister says the aggression will continue until it achieves its goals.

A fireball engulfs a residential neighborhood after an Israeli air aggression on Gaza City on Sunday, October 8, 2023 (AFP)

The war on Gaza and the ground invasion will continue regardless of the international position on the matter, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Sunday.

"First of all, we see unprecedented support for Israel on the world stage. Dozens of world leaders and foreign ministers came here and expressed solidarity. But let me be perfectly clear - even if the international credit of trust ends, we will continue to move towards achieving the two goals that we have set for ourselves: the elimination of Hamas and the release of all hostages," Cohen told Channel 14.

In its latest report on Sunday, the Palestinian government's media office in Gaza stated that the number of martyrs in the Strip has risen to 11,180 martyrs, including 4,609 children.

A spokesperson for the office further declared an increase in the number of hospitals and medical centers that have been put out of service to 22 and 49 respectively.

This comes as hundreds of thousands of protesters around the world, especially in Western countries, are taking the streets denouncing the Israeli crimes and calling for the end of the aggression on the besieged Strip, with no signs that these marches would settle down anytime soon until the Israeli aggression ends.

Amid these events, Western media reports said that Western countries are starting to slightly shift hawkish support for the aggression on Gaza due to the inability to maintain growing pressure as Israeli crimes and massacres reached unprecedented levels compared to their other crimes over the years.

French President Emmanuel Macron is one of these leaders who opened up the aggression with "unwavering support" for the occupation but is now taking a different approach, lamenting the women and babies killed indiscriminately in Gaza.

"De facto - today, civilians are bombed - de facto. These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed. So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy," Macron told the BBC.

In an exclusive interview at the Élysée Palace, he said there was "no justification" for the bombing.

Even Blinken chided "Israel" for "far too many" Palestinians killed in Gaza.

Addressing a gathering in New Delhi, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the US acknowledges Israeli efforts to reduce civilian casualties but deems them insufficient, according to the Associated Press.

However, in an effort to tone down his criticism for "Israel", Blinken said the Israeli efforts to formalize pauses in its military operations and the creation of a second safe corridor for them to use to escape harm are appreciated, adding that they "will save lives and will enable more assistance to get to Palestinians in need,” but he still admitted that “much more needs to be done to protect civilians and to make sure that humanitarian assistance reaches them.”

Meanwhile, the United States and its European allies have blocked all attempts at the UNSC to reach a ceasefire in Gaza or even condemn the Israeli horrific crimes against civilians in the Strip.

On October 18, the US exercised its veto power to block a Brazil-drafted UN Security Council resolution that urged "Israel" to revoke its evacuation order for Gazans, while it shot down another resolution proposed by Russia in the voting process.

On the other hand, the United States put forward a draft resolution excluding a ceasefire clause but stating "Israel's" right to "self-defense," a vague term that would have provided the occupation entity with international legitimacy to continue carrying out its massacres and war crimes against the 2.2 million population in besieged Gaza. The proposal was vetoed by China and Russia.

The United States has made it clear that it does not support a ceasefire in the Strip, claiming that this would benefit Hamas while disregarding the suffering of now over one million Palestinians.

Addressing Washington's actions, Russia's envoy to the UN said on Monday that the United States is opposing any international measures that would condemn "Israel" regarding its aggression on Gaza, adding that this is a clear indication of the biases inherent in the Western approach to international conflicts.

Regarding any possible ceasefire, Dmitry Polyanskiy expressed to Sputnik skepticism about the prospects of a UNSC resolution on the war on Gaza in the foreseeable future due to the US position, which is a barrier to international consensus and action within the framework of the United Nations.

He pointed out that there are fundamental disagreements between the US and the EU concerning the situation in Gaza, but US' European partners are hesitant to publicly disclose these disputes, however, they are widely acknowledged as "open secrets".