Posted on 02/18/24
| News Source: FOX45
The United States said it would veto another draft U.N. resolution calling for a cease-fire.
The U.S., Israel's top ally, said it instead hopes to broker a cease-fire and hostage-release agreement between Israel and Hamas, and envisions a wider resolution on the war sparked by the terrorist group's Oct. 7 attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called Hamas' demands "delusional."
Netanyahu also opposes Palestinian statehood, which the U.S. calls a key element in a broader vision for the normalization of relations between Israel and regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia. His Cabinet adopted a declaration Sunday saying Israel "categorically rejects international edicts on a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians" and opposes any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu has vowed to continue the Gaza offensive until Israel achieves a "total victory" over the Hamas militant group and plans to expand it to Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, where more than half the enclave's 2.3 million Palestinians have sought refuge.
In response to international concern about what would happen to the people in Rafah, the Israeli leader has said residents will be evacuated before a ground offensive begins there. Where they will go in [...] Gaza is not clear.