Israel open to 'little pauses' as it bombards Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will have ldquooverall security responsibilityrdquo in Gaza ldquofor an indefinite periodrdquo after its war with Hamas and expressed openness to ldquolittle pausesrdquo in the current fighting to facilitate the release of hostagesHis comments in an interview that aired late Monday on ABC News offered the clearest indication yet that Israel plans to maintain control over the territory that is home to some 23 million PalestiniansNetanyahu ruled out any general ceasefire without the release of the more than 240 captives seized by Hamas in its Oct 7 raid into Israel but said he was open to ldquotactical little pausesrdquoUS President Joe Biden had raised the need for humanitarian pauses directly with Netanyahu on a call earlier Monday but no agreement was reached the White House saidHeres what is happening in the latest IsraelHamas warBLINKEN SEEKS G7 CONSENSUS ON ISRAELHAMAS WARTokyo US Secretary of State Antony Blinken shifted his intense diplomacy on the IsraelHamas war to Asia on Tuesday with an appeal for the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies to forge a consensus on how to deal with the crisisAs he and his G7 counterparts began two days of talks in Japan Blinken said it was critically important for the group to show unity as it has over Russias war in Ukraine and other major issues and prevent existing differences on Gaza from deepeningAlso read Biden Netanyahu discuss possibility of tactical pauses in Gaza strikeslsquoThis is a very important moment as well for the G7 to come together in the face of this crisis and to speak as we do with one clear voicerdquo Blinken told Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko KamikawaThe devastating monthlong conflict in Gaza and efforts to ease the dire humanitarian impacts of Israels response to the deadly Oct 7 Hamas attack will be a major focus of the meeting Yet with the RussiaUkraine war fears North Korea may be readying a new nuclear test and concerns about Chinas increasing global assertiveness it is far from the only crisis on the agendaISRAELIS OBSERVE ONEMONTH ANNIVERSARY OF HAMAS ASSAULTJerusalem Israelis observed a minute of silence on Tuesday morning in memory of the victims of Hamas Oct 7 attack on southern Israel and the 348 soldiers killed since the assault on its onemonth anniversaryIsraelis are marking the anniversary as a day of mourning over the attack in which more than 1400 people were killed and 242 were taken hostage The onemonth anniversary is a milestone in the timeline of Jewish mourningMemorial events are scheduled to be held in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem later in the dayUAE TO ESTABLISH 150BED FIELD HOSPITAL IN GAZADubai The United Arab Emirates says it will establish a field hospital in Gaza with 150 beds a surgery department and intensive care units for adults and childrenThe staterun WAM news agency reported the move late Monday saying five aircraft had flown to Egypt where the equipment will be unloaded and transferred to GazaIt says the hospital will be set up in multiple stages without providing an exact timetableThe UAE was the driving force behind the Abraham Accords in which four Arab countries normalised relations with Israel in 2020The wealthy Persian Gulf country has previously said it would provide 20 million in aid to the Palestinian people and bring about 1000 Palestinian children along with their families to the UAE for medical treatmentPAKISTAN SENDS SECOND PLANELOAD OF RELIEF GOODS FOR GAZAIslamabad Pakistan sent a second planeload of relief goods for people in Gaza on Tuesday the Foreign Ministry saidIt said the humanitarian assistance consisted of hygiene kits medicines and foodForeign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani expressed Pakistans full solidarity with the Palestinian people and condemned Israels bombardment of Gaza He said Israel was targeting civilians including women and children and demanded an end to the strikes