A day after Hamas indicated that it may have murdered most of the remaining hostages abducted on October 7, President Joe Biden is telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “just call for a ceasefire” — unliterally and without linking it to the release of the captive Israelis.

“What I’m calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country,” Biden said in an interview with he Spanish-language TV channel Univision.

Biden also criticized Netanyahu for going ahead with the military operation against Hamas’s remaining terrorist fighting force in Gaza. “I think what he’s doing is a mistake,” he told Univision. “I don’t agree with his approach.”

Defying Biden, Netanyahu on Tuesday vowed to enter Rafah, the last standing Hamas stronghold in Gaza. “We will complete the elimination of Hamas’s battalions, including in Rafah. No force in the world will stop us,” he assured.

The Reuters reported Biden’s comments:

The White House said last week that the president, in a call with Netanyahu, threatened to make conditional, opens new tab U.S. support for Israel’s offensive on it taking concrete steps to protect aid workers and civilians. (…)

“What I’m calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country,” Biden said in Tuesday’s interview. (…)

The United States has traditionally shielded Israel in the U.N. Security Council and vetoed three draft resolutions on the war in Gaza. It abstained last month when the Security Council demanded an immediate ceasefire.



Report: IDF strike eliminates three sons of Hamas terror chief Haniyeh

According to Arab news outlets on Wednesday, an alleged Israeli strike eliminated three sons of Ismail Haniyeh.

Haniyeh’s other family members were also killed in the strike. The Times of Israel cites Arab media reports saying “several of their children, Haniyeh’s grandchildren, were also killed in the strike.”

The IDF does not have a policy of targeting the family members of the terrorists. Hamas chief’s daughter has been receiving medical treatment in Israel despite the ongoing military operation in response to the October 7 massacre.

Haniyeh, who is seen as the overall chief of Hamas, has been living a life of safety and luxury in Qatar while direct a campaign of terror against Israel.

An apparently staged clip circulating on the social media show the Hamas terror chief praising ‘Allah’ for the ‘martyrdom’ of his family. It is unclear if the footage was taken sometime after the news was broken to him.

Ismail Haniya receives the news in Doha, Qatar.

“I thank Allah for the honor that my children and grandchildren have been Martyred. Nearly 60 of my family members have been martyred, like all the Palestinian people, and there is no difference between them.” https://t.co/fLA6pfzQ3F pic.twitter.com/qelnOjSzpo

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) April 10, 2024

The newspaper Israel Hayom reported:

Three sons of Hamas leader leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza, Hamas-affiliated news agency Shehab said on Wednesday.

IDF exit, more ‘humanitarian aid’ rewards Hamas and diminishes chances of hostage release

The large-scale withdrawal of Israeli troops and the ramping up of ‘humanitarian aid’ entering Gaza may further embolden Hamas. These unilateral Israeli compromises, extracted by the Biden administration, reduce Hamas’s desire to release of the remaining hostages — including 5 Americans, a recent Israeli report suggests.

Under pressure from the Biden White House, Jerusalem gave up “strong bargaining chips for nothing,” an unnamed Israeli official said. The measures that weaken the Israeli position, “really hurt negotiations,” he cautioned.

The Times of Israel reported Wednesday:

A report claims Israeli officials are blaming the pullback of troops from Khan Younis and the surge in humanitarian aid reaching the Strip for the expected failure of hostage-truce talks in Cairo, saying Hamas won’t compromise after getting so much for free.

According to the Ynet news site, officials in Jerusalem think both moves “really hurt negotiations.”

“We gave up our strong bargaining chips for nothing,” and now Hamas’s position is even tougher to crack, Ynet quotes “Israeli sources” saying. “Hamas is digging in with its demands for an end to a war and a troop withdrawal, and is determined to play tricks with the mediators.”

The moves are thought by some to be the result of US pressure as President Joe Biden’s administration has taken a tougher line against Israeli operations in the Strip and the pace of aid, threatening to pull back support.

IDF hits Hamas terror targets in Gaza

After withdrawing most of the ground troops from Gaza over the weekend, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued counter-terror strikes across the terrorist-infested enclave.

“IDF troops are continuing to operate in the central Gaza Strip and killed a number of terrorists over the past day. During a close-quarters encounter, IDF troops killed a terrorist cell that posed a threat to the troops,” the Israeli military said in a press release Wednesday morning. “Over the past day, IDF fighter jets and aircraft struck dozens of terror targets in the Gaza Strip, including military sites, launchers, tunnel shafts, and infrastructure.”

#NEW from @IDF: Troops continue operating in central Gaza; the IDF struck areas from which launches were identified at IDF troops and Israeli territory.

IDF troops are continuing to operate in the central Gaza Strip and killed a number of terrorists over the past day. During a… pic.twitter.com/OJdjfSUK4L

— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) April 10, 2024

Defense Minister Gallant warns Iran of  ‘powerful response’ if Israel attacked

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed to deliver ‘power response’ if Iran or any of its allies tried to attack Israel. The warning comes amid intelligence reports that Tehran is planning a ‘direct attack’ on Israel, likely using swarms of kamikaze drones and missiles after an alleged Israeli airstrike last week eliminated several high-level Islamic Guards (IRGC) ‘generals’ in Syria.

The Israeli TV channel i24News reported:

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant appeared to echo the earlier statement made by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, vowing to respond directly to any attack against Israel.

While visiting the Iron Dome battery stationed in northern Israel, Gallant said: “In this war we are being attacked on more than one front, from different directions. Any enemy that tries to attack us will first of all meet a strong defense. We will know how to react very quickly with a decisive offensive action against the territory of whoever attacks our territory, no matter where it is, in the entire Middle East.”

Earlier in the day, Iran’s Supreme Leader vowed to “punish” Israel for its alleged strike near the Iranian embassy in Damascus.



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