JERUSALEM, Israel – Two days after the U.S. failed to veto a key United Nations Security Council resolution, its impact is still being felt.
The focus continues to be on Rafah and Israel's commitment to defeat Hamas in its last Gaza stronghold.
In a meeting between Israel and America's top military commanders, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pressed Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to make guarding the civilian population of Gaza a top priority.
Austin says Gaza is facing a humanitarian catastrophe.
"Protecting Palestinian civilians from harm is both a moral necessity and a strategic imperative," he stated. "In Gaza today, the number of civilian casualties is far too high and the amount of humanitarian aid is far too low."
However, an Israeli international spokesperson said Israel has opened up another entry point to bring in humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“A World Food Programme convoy which is going to bring in humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza who have been taken captive by Hamas," the spokesperson said. "We are doing as many efforts as possible to bring humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip – not only by land, but also by sea, and also by air.”
Israel's COGAT, the Coordination of Government of Activities in the Territories, says that since the beginning of March, it’s transferred 13 million pounds of food to northern Gaza alone.
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Austin also told Gallant that Israel can defeat Hamas without invading Rafah, where more than a million refugees from the war are holed up.
Gallant insists Israel must go after Hamas in Rafah to wipe out the terror group's last military battalions and to retrieve the hostages. He called for the U.S. to stand by their side.
"The negotiation on the hostages issue and Hamas positions require us to join hands in our military and diplomatic efforts," he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that the Jewish nation would invade Rafah, with or without U.S. help. He contends that an end to the fighting now will hand Hamas a victory and allow them to rebuild their terror infrastructure, posing another serious threat to Israeli soldiers and civilians.
Netanyahu is still fuming over America's decision not to veto Monday's U.N. vote demanding a Gaza ceasefire without linking it to the release of more than 100 Hamas-held hostages.
Well-known Jewish attorney Alan Dershowitz told an Israeli TV channel the decision will have consequences on the ground in Israel, as well as in the U.S. elections in November.
"It gives Hamas everything it wants without demanding realistically anything in return," Dershowitz asserted. "It will lengthen the war. It will make it more difficult for Israel. It is a terrible decision for America. It's a terrible decision for Israel, and it will drive a great many Jewish Democrats like me away from voting for the Biden Administration."
One day after the U.N. vote, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Iran's foreign minister in Tehran.
Critics say the decision strengthens Hamas in hostage negotiations. After Hamas refused to give up the hostages unless Israel agreed to stop the war, the Israeli delegation walked out.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that hostage Uriel Baruch died inside Gaza.
CBN News interviewed his father-in-law at the Purim parade in Jerusalem the day before his family got the news.
"We are waiting for for him until now. We didn't know nothing about him and nobody saw him, and no one from the hostages to come back," the father-in-law told us.
Tuesday, The New York Times published the first released hostage testimony of sexual abuse in Gaza. Amit Soussana testified that her captor sexually violated her repeatedly.
IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari commented, "This is a horrific testimony. This is a wakeup call to the world to act to do everything and pressure Hamas to free our hostages."
Of the hostages that remain in captivity, many of them are women.
As fighting continues in Gaza, the IDF says it's killed one of the Hamas commanders involved in plotting the October 7th massacre. Marwan Issa is the highest-ranking commander killed so far in the war.
The fight continues to capture or kill hundreds of terrorists occupying the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
The IDF's Hagari reported, "We have arrested more than 500 terrorists identified as Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists. Even in the last few days, we arrested senior terrorists, including those with significant knowledge."
A captured Hamas commander explained where the terror group set up their operations at the Shifa Hospital. "Hamas uses the management building and the specialist building and the maternity ward," the commander said.
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