Al-Jazeera: Israel has informed Egypt it’s willing to end Gaza operation

Ted Belman

Israel has informed Egypt — which is mediating a ceasefire between the Jewish state and Hamas — that it is willing to halt its military campaign in the Gaza Strip, Al-Jazeera reports.

But that’s all they are prepared to do.  No mention of a Ceasefire Agreement.  Perhaps they are hoping for  a mutual cessation of attacks.

6:33 P.M. Hamas official: If Israel announces unilateral cease-fire, we’ll assess how to proceed

Husam Budran, a member of the Hamas political bureau, told a radio station Thursday that no agreement with Israel has been reached and that if reports that Israel is preparing to announce a unilateral cease-fire prove true, Hamas will make an assessment of the situation and decide how to proceed. (Jack Khoury)

The Israeli cabinet is meeting now.

Perhaps it is Hamas that should announce a unilateral ceasefire.  Why Israel.

May 20, 2021 | 17 Comments »

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17 Comments / 17 Comments

  1. @ Edgar G.:
    Well, it’s nice to know that Gaza doesn’t have enough space for as many rockets as Lebanon.

    This makes me feel better.

    What if they smuggle a couple of thousand rockets into the West Bank?

    (You don’t have to answer this question).

  2. @ Reader:

    The point you seem not to see is that they have twice as many rockets as they expended, and do NOT need to rearm to again have another conflict with the same expediture of rockets and then another after that, before being out of rockets. And they have other weaponry all smuggled in under Israel’s nose.

    By contrast, Hezballah has about 50-60,000 members and has alliances wit countries, about 7-10 countries. Aslo holds seats in parliament, but actually run the country of over 6 mill people. They are.reported to have over 100,000 missiles of all descriptions. Lebanon is abuot 4100 sq miles, that is, about 65-70 times the size of Gaza, with many natural resources. They can legally import as much weaponry as they want. A highly structured organization compated to the ragtag Hamas.

    They can not be compared in any way, except their hate for Israel. So I don’t knw what you’re trying to say. I know everything that you’ve posted, maybe before you did.s so far.

  3. @ Edgar G.:

    They don’t need to re-arm

    That’s what you think.

    Hizballah got their stores up to 150,000 rockets with no problem, why not Hamas?

    Who will stop them?

  4. Reader Said:

    Did you know that Israel lets Hamas have millions of $$ each “conflict”

    I don’t know if they :let them”……They don’t seem to be able to stop the flow of weaponry and explosives into Gaza so why not money too, which may even be just an electronic transfer through unobserved channels. For humanitarian purposes alone they need millions even if they didn’t skim 20-50%.

  5. @ Reader:
    They don’t need to re-arm if they still have double the number of rockets they fired. And weren’t they supposed to have had 20,000 not 12,000?? The whole thing is a disgrace, the US presure must have been very threatening, becuase Israel can resist any other cou/ntry’s demands.

  6. @ Sebastien Zorn:
    If you mean this one, it sounds like the “demands” haven’t been finalized yet:

    https://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/hamas/report-israel-agrees-to-end-operation-hamas-ready-for-ceasefire-is-it-true/2021/05/20/

    I hope Israel doesn’t cave in on Jerusalem which Hamas claims it already did.

    Anyway, this looks like some kind of an effing game everybody (except for the dead and the wounded) is playing every couple of years pretending that Hamas and Fatah are enemies and competitors while in reality they are nothing of the sort.

    What gets me is they let Hamas to keep the 8,000 rockets that it didn’t get to use up.

    All this game does is rearm Hamas with more sophisticated weapons and strengthen it, and permit it to claim victory over the despised alYahood who they swore to clear out of “Palestine” which hasn’t existed since 1948.

    And, of course, to kill and maim more alYahood later on when they feel like it with Israel’s government’s permission.

  7. @ Reader:
    I read that the cabinet conditioned the cease-fire on the cutting of Quatari aid in the Jewish Press article on the ceasefire I posted in another thread.

  8. @ Edgar G.:
    Did you know that Israel lets Hamas have millions of $$ each “conflict”?

    I saw it in the article below and decided to check it further.

    https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265412

    This is from the previous truce [emphasis mine]:

    Hamas tightens grip on Gaza, fails to break Israel blockade
    By KARIN LAUB and FARES AKRAMApril 1, 2019

    GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Over the weekend, Gaza’s Hamas rulers marked a year of bloody, weekly protests that have failed to break the Israeli blockade. Rocket attacks brought a wave of Israeli airstrikes and unprecedented protests broke out against the Islamic militants’ increasingly unpopular rule.

    And yet Hamas’ control over Gaza is tighter than ever.

    The militants’ rule has been strengthened by an unlikely overlap of interests with Israel’s right-wing government. Neither wants to see an independent state established in all the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, as the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And Hamas’ refusal to give up power — the asking price of its West Bank-based Palestinian rival for reconciliation — aligns with Israel’s long-standing policy of maintaining a separation between the West Bank and Gaza.

    So even though Israel and Hamas have fought three wars and dozens of skirmishes, and even though Hamas remains committed to Israel’s eventual destruction, the two are once again meeting with Egyptian mediators and working to keep things quiet.

    Under an emerging arrangement, Hamas would halt rocket fire and keep border protests peaceful in exchange for Israel easing its border blockade and allowing $30 million a month in Qatari aid into the territory. On Sunday, Israel reopened Gaza crossings to limited traffic.

    https://apnews.com/article/blockades-ap-top-news-international-news-hamas-jerusalem-7048a88cfb16432cbe592b1e23158448

  9. @ Edgar G.:
    I am almost starting to wonder whether Israel did all this bombing in order to waste the old supplies to make space for the new ones.

    Too bad a few people got killed and maimed…

  10. @ Reader:
    I am also aghast and utterly disappointed with the Cabinet. Regardless of whatever “pressure”; Israel can exert pressure of it’s own, in other words snap a definite

    “NO. not until all our determined goals are accomplished..which is to destroy Hamas in total. THEN we’ll have the peace that you love so much-from afar. But if you lived hee you’d destrpy their whole territory,”collateral damage “notwthstanding.!

    So let us complete our work without your incessant interference. !!!

    THat’s th way to answer them at this moment in time”

  11. @ peloni1986:
    According to the IDF spokesman they never even bothered to take out any of the Hamas rocket arsenals [emphasis and square brackets are mine]:

    IDF Spokesman:
    ‘We’re taking out Hamas’ weapons stashes – from bedrooms in Gaza’ [no, they don’t – they give a warning and the “innocent civilians” get to take their weapons with them and leave the building]
    Sometimes there is collateral damage, but “any other country would just bomb the entire block.”
    Tags: IDF Guardian Of The Walls
    Yoni Kempinski , May 20 , 2021 3:15 PM

    https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/306522

    “We have a great number of objectives remaining and what we’re doing now is taking out Hamas’ weapons storage facilities.

    “What people have to know,” he stresses, “is that these weapons aren’t being stored in barns or fields. They’re in people’s homes, in cupboards in bedrooms, even under beds. Last night, for instance, we took out a weapons stash that was kept in the home of Hamas’ former justice minister.”

    What about the collateral damage that this sometimes involves?

    “Right – sometimes there is collateral damage, as however good our intelligence is, it isn’t 100 percent. But we always notify the residents in advance, with SMS messages and phone calls. And I don’t think any other country in the world would do that – they’d simply take out the entire block,” he notes. [more like the entire Strip – and no one would accuse them of “genocide”]

    The IDF has hit Hamas targets repeatedly over the last few weeks – and yet, Hamas is still firing back. Has the IDF significantly impeded Hamas’ abilities, and if yes, why aren’t we seeing this?

    “Hamas began this conflict with around 12,000 munitions, and they’ve fired around 4,000 so far,” Spielman explains. “So they still have 8,000 munitions left, and they’re spread out all over the Gaza Strip, so they’re still able to fire. However, we have inflicted major damage on their manufacturing capabilities – we’ve taken them back years. And we’ve also taken out their number two and number three on the intel side, as well as their senior commander in the northern part of the Strip.”

    I HAVE NO WORDS…

  13. The MSM has been reporting that the Biden administration has been putting intense pressure on Israel to cease its operations. The MSM has been doing this as well with phoney claims of Israeli massacres and the supposedly immense suffering of the Gazans.

    The race-traitor Bernie Sanders has introduced a resolution in Congress, requesting that Biden hold back 375 million in military assistance to Israel, because of its purported inhumane actions in Gaza. Aver 140 Democratic congressman have signed it, but no Republicans.

  14. I had previously been blocked from commenting by someone who calls himself “Moynihan,” apparently a hacker. At the ame time, my mouse stopped working. Now, the “Moynihan block” has been lifted, and suddenly my mouse works again. Ted or anyone else in the Israpundit circle who can give me useful feedback will be much appreciated. Thanks, Adam.

  15. From TOI a few minutes ago:

    20min ago
    Security cabinet votes in favor of Gaza ceasefire

    Israel’s high-level security cabinet votes in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza, according to Hebrew media reports.

    It’s not immediately clear when the truce, said to be unilateral, will come into effect. Channel 12 says it’ll begin at 2 a.m.

    and

    Ministers voted unanimously for ceasefire after being told Hamas ‘deterred’

    Ministers in the high-level security cabinet voted unanimously in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza, reports say.

    Defense officials briefing the ministers told them Israel has “exhausted” all of its possible military achievements in the conflict with Palestinian terror groups in the coastal enclave, according to the Ynet news site.

    “Hamas is deterred and suffered serious blows,” an official is quoted as telling the ministers.

  16. Key is after the fighting stops not to have the situation be as before. The following should be insisted upon.

    1. Building Materials should only be allowed in if Hamas turns over their weapons and demilitarizes.

    2. Only allow food and medicine in.

    3. Do NOT allow Qataris to bring cash

    4. Insist that the World Bodies change the situation in Gaza and no longer allow a terrorist group to run Gaza

    5. No rebuilding of Gaza until Hamas in no longer in power and I repeat demilitarizes.

    6. Insist on the return of the bodies of the dead Israeli soldiers and 2 Israeli citizens held hostage (including the Arab)

  17. But, then, also in today’s news:

    Gantz: We are taking Hamas back in time
    Defense Minister says Israel ready to expand campaign against Hamas at any time in order to defend its citizens.
    Tags: Hamas Guardian Of The Walls Benny Gantz
    Arutz Sheva Staff , May 20 , 2021 5:50 PM
    Share

    Gantz in the field
    Gantz in the fieldAriel Hermoni, Defense Ministry
    Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited the 405th Battalion in the south Thursday.

    During the visit, Gantz received an overview of the battalion’s activities during Operation Guardian of the Walls and had a dialogue with the soldiers of the battalion.

    Afterwards, the defense minister visited the satellite listening base of Unit 8200.

    At the end of the visit, Minister Gantz said: “We continue to conduct ourselves with determination for security and political responsibility, and to maintain close contact with our friends in the world, especially the United States, which backs our right to defend ourselves. We do this with the aim of bringing long-term peace, and strengthening the moderate factors in the region.”

    “Unfortunately, Hamas continues to attack our population, and in the last 48 hours, when we tried to bring medical equipment into the Gaza Strip through international organizations, they fired in the direction of the crossings and led to their closure and eventually harm to the Gaza residents.

    Ganz added: “We are prepared and ready to expand the campaign as much as necessary, and we are taking Hamas on a journey back in time – a journey from which we will not allow it to return.

    “For the citizens of Israel who constantly give us a strong home front and a spirit of recovery – these days are exactly the time to adhere to the guidelines of the Home Front Command. One of Hamas’ MOs is to create periods of silence and then try to surprise us with barrages on population centers. Vigilance must be maintained in order to save lives,” said the defense minister. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/306538

    Should we believe Al Jazeera?