US, Israel defence chiefs in tense Gaza talks; Netanyahu slams ‘extreme’ Hamas demands

27 Mar 2024

The number of ‘civilian casualties is far too high, and the amount of humanitarian aid is far too low’ in the Gaza war, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a blunt welcome to his Israeli counterpart at the Pentagon on Tuesday.

Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas broke down again, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing the Islamist group of making ‘extreme demands’.

Singapore ordered the Israel embassy to take down an ‘insensitive and inappropriate’ social media post that could undermine security in the city-state, in the latest test of traditionally warm ties between the two nations.

US defence secretary has blunt welcome for Israeli counterpart

The number of “civilian casualties is far too high, and the amount of humanitarian aid is far too low” in the Gaza war, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a blunt welcome to his Israeli counterpart at the Pentagon on Tuesday.

The US visit by Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, was already under way when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a trip to Washington by other senior officials after the Biden administration decided not to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Although a US defence official described Austin and Gallant as good friends, the growing tensions over Israel’s conduct of the war were evident. Gallant made no reply to Austin’s remarks on casualties and aid, according to a Pentagon transcript, focusing on Israel’s fight against Hamas, designated a terrorist organisation by the US and European Union. He said Israel faced “attacks from seven different fronts” and cited Iran’s support for groups threatening his country.

Negotiations to free hostages held by Hamas “require us to join hands in our military and diplomatic efforts” and increase pressure on Hamas, Gallant said, according to Israel’s embassy in Washington.

The US defence official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said that Austin emphasised Israel must move the more than one million civilians sheltering in Rafah, in southern Gaza, out of harm’s way before launching an attack on Hamas forces there.

Netanyahu slams ‘extreme’ Hamas demands as truce talks stall

Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas broke down again, with Netanyahu accusing the Islamist group of making “extreme demands”.

“Hamas once again rejected an American compromise proposal,” Netanyahu’s office said on Tuesday. He cited the organisation’s insistence on an immediate end to the war in Gaza, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory and “leaving in place its administration so that it can repeat, time and again, the massacre of October 7”.

The two sides were negotiating in Qatar, a key mediator and home to some Hamas political leaders.

Netanyahu’s statement came after weeks of talks that appeared to make little headway. Israel says a ceasefire can only be temporary — around six weeks — and the war must continue until Hamas’ remaining fighting units are taken apart.

Israel has said its next major move will be to send forces into Rafah. Most of its allies, including the US, are deeply concerned about an offensive because the city in southern Gaza contains more than one million people seeking shelter from the war.

The Israeli government argues an assault is necessary because it’s the last bastion of Hamas and where several thousand of its troops, main military leaders and some 100 Israeli hostages are located.

“We intend to fight this fight to the very end,” Ron Dermer, Israel’s strategic affairs minister and one of Netanyahu’s closest allies, said to Bloomberg TV on Tuesday. “If the position of the United States is that there shouldn’t be a major military operation in Rafah, then we won’t be on the same page. We have to go into Rafah and finish the job.”

Israel also says Hamas must agree to release hostages for a truce to start. Hamas abducted around 250 people and killed 1,200 when its fighters swarmed southern Israel from Gaza on 7 October.

Roughly 100 hostages were freed during the only pause in the conflict so far, which ended in early December. It’s unclear how many of the others are alive.

Israel’s retaliatory attack on Gaza has killed more than 32,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there, which doesn’t distinguish between fighters and civilians.

Netanyahu is under increasing pressure to stop fighting and allow more aid into the Palestinian enclave to alleviate a humanitarian crisis. The United Nations has warned of a famine in parts of Gaza.

Singapore orders Israel to remove ‘unacceptable’ online post

Singapore ordered the Israel embassy to take down an “insensitive and inappropriate” social media post that could undermine security in the city-state, in the latest test of traditionally warm ties between the two nations.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, the embassy compared mentions of Israel and Palestine in the Koran, adding that documents and maps “link the land of Israel to the Jewish people as the indigenous people of the land”. The post has since been removed.

“That post, on the Israeli Embassy social media page, is completely unacceptable,” Home Minister K Shanmugam told reporters on Monday. Posts like these can “inflame tensions and can put the Jewish community here at risk. The anger from the post can potentially spill over into the physical realm.”

While Singapore is made up of an ethnic Chinese majority, the multiracial nation is home to a considerable number of Malays who are Muslim. It also has neighbouring Muslim-majority countries like Indonesia and Malaysia that have seen protests in support of the Palestinian cause.

Singapore has laws against domestic threats and foreign influence to help maintain the country’s racial and religious harmony.

“The Israel Embassy respects religion and racial harmony in Singapore,” the foreign mission said in response to media queries. “We assure you that the social media post that had gone up was done without the necessary approvals and the person responsible has already been harshly punished and will face internal disciplinary measures.”

Both countries have enjoyed warm ties since Israel helped then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew set up the tiny island nation’s armed forces following Singapore’s independence in 1965. However, the city-state has grown increasingly concerned with the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

The take-down notice from Singapore comes days after Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan met with Netanyahu during his working visit to Israel.

There he reiterated Singapore’s view that “Israel’s military actions in Gaza have gone too far.” Last week, Singapore completed its first humanitarian airdrop containing food and other essential items into Gaza. DM

Read more in Daily Maverick: Israel-Palestine War

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US defence secretary has blunt welcome for Israeli counterpart

Netanyahu slams ‘extreme’ Hamas demands as truce talks stall

Singapore orders Israel to remove ‘unacceptable’ online post