The US Envoys in Israel: Plenty of Talk but Silence on Gaza's Future.
These days showcase a quite distinctive situation: the inaugural US parade of the babysitters. They vary in their expertise and traits, but they all share the common mission – to avert an Israeli breach, or even devastation, of Gaza’s fragile peace agreement. After the war finished, there have been scant days without at least one of Donald Trump’s delegates on the territory. Just this past week saw the presence of a senior advisor, Steve Witkoff, JD Vance and a political figure – all appearing to perform their roles.
Israel engages them fully. In just a few days it executed a set of strikes in the region after the killings of two Israeli military troops – leading, according to reports, in many of Palestinian fatalities. Several officials called for a renewal of the fighting, and the Knesset enacted a initial decision to take over the occupied territories. The American stance was somewhere between “no” and “hell no.”
Yet in several ways, the Trump administration seems more focused on upholding the existing, unstable period of the truce than on progressing to the next: the rehabilitation of Gaza. Regarding that, it seems the US may have aspirations but no specific proposals.
Currently, it is unclear at what point the planned international administrative entity will truly begin operating, and the identical applies to the appointed peacekeeping troops – or even the makeup of its personnel. On a recent day, a US official declared the United States would not impose the membership of the international force on the Israeli government. But if Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration continues to reject multiple options – as it acted with the Ankara's offer lately – what follows? There is also the opposite point: who will determine whether the forces supported by the Israelis are even interested in the mission?
The issue of how long it will take to disarm Hamas is equally ambiguous. “Our hope in the government is that the global peacekeeping unit is intends to now take the lead in disarming Hamas,” remarked the official lately. “It’s will require some time.” The former president only emphasized the ambiguity, declaring in an conversation a few days ago that there is no “hard” deadline for Hamas to demilitarize. So, hypothetically, the unidentified members of this yet-to-be-formed global contingent could arrive in the territory while Hamas militants continue to hold power. Would they be confronting a leadership or a guerrilla movement? These represent only some of the concerns arising. Others might ask what the verdict will be for average civilians in the present situation, with Hamas continuing to attack its own adversaries and dissidents.
Recent events have once again highlighted the gaps of local journalism on each side of the Gaza boundary. Every source seeks to scrutinize each potential angle of the group's infractions of the truce. And, typically, the situation that the organization has been hindering the repatriation of the remains of killed Israeli captives has dominated the news.
On the other hand, reporting of civilian deaths in the region resulting from Israeli strikes has garnered minimal notice – or none. Consider the Israeli counter strikes following Sunday’s southern Gaza event, in which a pair of soldiers were fatally wounded. While local officials claimed dozens of casualties, Israeli news pundits questioned the “moderate answer,” which focused on solely facilities.
This is typical. Over the past few days, the press agency alleged Israel of breaking the truce with the group multiple times since the agreement was implemented, killing 38 individuals and harming an additional many more. The claim appeared irrelevant to most Israeli reporting – it was merely missing. That included reports that eleven members of a local family were killed by Israeli troops last Friday.
The rescue organization stated the individuals had been attempting to return to their dwelling in the Zeitoun area of the city when the bus they were in was targeted for supposedly going over the “boundary” that demarcates zones under Israeli army control. This limit is invisible to the human eye and appears only on maps and in government papers – often not obtainable to average individuals in the area.
Yet that occurrence scarcely rated a reference in Israeli news outlets. One source mentioned it in passing on its website, citing an IDF official who explained that after a suspect transport was detected, soldiers shot cautionary rounds towards it, “but the car kept to approach the forces in a way that created an immediate danger to them. The soldiers shot to neutralize the danger, in accordance with the ceasefire.” No casualties were reported.
With such perspective, it is little wonder numerous Israeli citizens think the group solely is to blame for violating the ceasefire. This belief threatens fuelling demands for a stronger stance in Gaza.
Sooner or later – perhaps sooner rather than later – it will not be enough for all the president’s men to play caretakers, advising Israel what to refrain from. They will {have to|need