TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reprimanded a top cabinet minister who arrived in Washington Sunday for talks with U.S. officials, an Israeli official said. War with Hamas.
Travel by Benny GantzA centrist political rival who joined Netanyahu's wartime cabinet following the October 7 attack by Hamas Friction between US and Netanyahu It has arisen over how to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and what a post-war plan should look like.
An official in Netanyahu's far-right Likud party said Gantz's trip was planned without the Israeli leader's approval. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Netanyahu had “difficult talks” with Gantz and that the country had “only one prime minister”.
Gantz is due to meet with US Vice President Kamala Harris and National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan on Monday and with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, his National Unity Party said. A second Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Gantz's visit was aimed at strengthening ties with the United States, bolstering support for Israel's war effort and the release of Israeli hostages.
Negotiations were underway in Egypt Broker a truce Before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins next week.
A third Israeli government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Israel did not send a delegation because it was awaiting answers from Hamas to two questions. Israeli media reported that the government was waiting to know which hostages were alive and how many Palestinian prisoners Hamas was seeking in exchange for each.
The three Israeli officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the disputes with the media.
United States of America Airdrops began Aid entered Gaza on Saturday after dozens Palestinians rush to grab food A convoy organized by Israel was killed last week. Air droplets pass through a path The aid delivery system has faltered Israeli restrictions, logistical problems and fighting in Gaza. Aid officials say airdrops are far less effective than delivery by truck.
America's priorities in the region are increasingly constrained by Netanyahu's cabinet, which is dominated by ultra-nationalists. Gantz's more moderate party sometimes acts as a counterweight.
Netanyahu's popularity has fallen According to most polls, war had broken out. According to Israeli officials, many Israelis hold him responsible for failing to prevent a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7, which killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages in Gaza, including mostly civilians, women, children and adults. .
More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, two-thirds of them women and ChildrenAccording to Ministry of Health of Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. About 80% of the population of 2.3 million have fled their homes, with hundreds of thousands more, the UN said. On the brink of famine.
Israeli critics of Netanyahu say his decision-making is tainted by political considerations, which he denies. The critique focuses particularly on the post-war plans for Gaza. Netanyahu wants Israel to maintain open security control over Gaza as Palestinians run civil affairs.
The U.S. wants to see progress in building a Palestinian state, with a reorganized Palestinian leadership steering Gaza toward an end state.
That view is opposed by Netanyahu and hardliners in his government. Another high cabinet official Gantz's party's handling of the war and hostage-free strategy have been questioned.
Netanyahu's government, Israel's ultra-conservative and ultra-religious, has been baffled by the deadline for a court order for a new bill to expand the military conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews. Many of them are exempt from military service so they can pursue religious studies. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers have been killed since October 7, and the army is looking to replenish its ranks.
Kants has remained vague about his vision of a Palestinian state. Polls suggest that if the polls were held today, he would have enough support to become prime minister.
A visit to the US if there is progress Before the hostagesGantz's support could increase further.
Israel and Hamas are negotiating a new ceasefire and hostage release deal. Vice President Harris said Sunday that now Hamas must admit it. “Because of the great suffering in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire for at least the next six weeks is what's on the table right now,” Harris said.
Deeply traumatized by Hamas' attacks, Israelis have broadly supported the war effort as a defensive measure amid growing global opposition to the war.
But a growing number are expressing their displeasure with Netanyahu. According to Israeli media, around 10,000 people demonstrated late Saturday to call for early elections. Such protests have increased in recent weeks, but are much smaller than last year's protests Judicial Reform Scheme of Govt.
If political divisions grow and Ganz leaves the government, it could open the floodgates to broader protests by a public already disaffected with the government when Hamas attacked, said Reuven Hasan, a political science professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
At least 12 people, including five women and two children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in the Nusirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Sunday, an Associated Press journalist at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah said. Two Israeli strikes southwest of Deir al-Bala killed at least five people and destroyed an aid truck, witnesses and hospital staff said.
Amid concerns about the broader regional conflict, senior White House adviser Amos Hochstein is traveling to Lebanon on Monday to meet with officials, an administration official who was not authorized to comment said. White House officials want Lebanese and Israeli officials to prevent tensions on their border from escalating.
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Shurafa reported from Rafah, Gaza Strip and Maqdi from Cairo. Associated Press writers Melanie Litman in Jerusalem and Amar Madani and Cheung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.
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