Israel-Hamas war highlights: Israel's Netanyahu says will give 'answers' on Hamas attacks lapses

Russia and China vetoed on Wednesday a U.S.-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution on the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The draft aimed to address a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling for pauses the violence to allow aid access. The United Arab Emirates also voted no, while 10 members voted in favor and two abstained.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time that he would "have to give answers" for security lapses exposed in the deadly October 7 attacks by Hamas.

"We will examine in detail, we will get to the bottom of it," said Netanyahu, who has faced a barrage of opposition and media criticism after Gaza militants breached Israeli border defences.

"The fault will be examined and everyone will have to give answers, including me. But all this will happen later," the right-wing leader said in a televised address as the Israeli military prepares for a widely expected invasion of the Gaza Strip.

"As prime minister I am responsible for securing the future of the country," he added.

Oil prices rose about 2% on Wednesday, buoyed by worries about conflict in the Middle East, but gains were capped by higher U.S. crude inventories and gloomy economic prospects in Europe.

Brent crude futures rose $2.06, or 2.34%, to settle at $90.13 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.65, or 1.97%, to close at $85.39 a barrel.

Prices fell early in the session but reversed declines on heightened geopolitical risk, said Price Futures analyst Phil Flynn.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday the Israel-Gaza crisis should have "a path to peace" including independent states for the Israelis and Palestinians and integrating Israel among its Arab neighbours.

"Israelis and Palestinians equally deserve to live side by side in safety, dignity and in peace," said Biden.

"Israel has to do everything in its power, as difficult as it is, to protect innocent civilians," US President Joe Biden said during a press conference as part of a White House visit by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees says its relief operations across the Gaza Strip will need to be sharply curtailed amid crippling Israeli airstrikes.

Hospitals in Gaza are doing their best to provide treatment to the wounded with rapidly dwindling resources.

A senior US diplomat on Wednesday returned to the Middle East on the latest bid to stop the spread of the war between Israel and Hamas.

Barbara Leaf, the top US envoy for the Middle East, flew back to the region after accompanying Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a crisis tour.

She started in the United Arab Emirates and will also visit Qatar, Oman, Egypt, Jordan and Israel, with other stops possible, the State Department said.

Leaf will "consult with regional partners and advance efforts to prevent the conflict in the Middle East from spreading," a State Department statement said.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said the ongoing preparations for a ground invasion while withholding specific details.

He emphasised that the timing of any potential invasion would be determined through consensus. Additionally, he urged civilians in Gaza to consider relocating to the southern region of the Gaza Strip.

The government's commitment to securing the release of hostages was also expressed. Furthermore, Israeli citizens were encouraged to carry arms.

The Prime Minister also said, “I will have to answer for what happened on October 7.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver a statement to the media in the coming hour, according to his office, Times of Israel reported.

Simultaneously, Israel's war cabinet has convened at the IDF's Kirya military headquarters. Following this, the full cabinet will convene later this evening, as confirmed by Prime Minister Netanyahu's office.

This series of meetings and announcements reflects the ongoing developments and decisions in Israel's response to current events.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has granted approval for Jacob Lew to serve as the US ambassador to Israel, expediting the process amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The committee voted 12-9 on Wednesday to advance Lew's nomination to the Senate floor for a final vote, likely to take place in the coming week. All Republican members on the panel, with the exception of Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against the nomination, AP reports.

Jacob Lew, a former treasury secretary and budget director during President Barack Obama's administration, emphasized during his confirmation hearing last week that there is currently no greater mission than fortifying the bond between the United States and Israel. He pledged to ensure that Israel has the necessary resources for self-defense in the wake of the recent Hamas attacks and committed to addressing the humanitarian crisis affecting civilians in Gaza following Israeli military operations.

According to the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, one internally displaced person lost their life, and 44 others sustained injuries in a strike near a UNRWA school in Rafah, reports Reuters.

The school, which was providing shelter to 4,600 people, suffered significant collateral damage, as reported by the agency.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced the cancellation of his planned visit to Israel, citing Israel's "inhumane" actions against Hamas militants in Gaza as the reason for the decision. Erdogan's assertion that he does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization but views them as "liberators" fighting for their land has drawn swift and strong condemnation from the Israeli government, AFP reports.

Initially, Erdogan had taken a more restrained stance during the early days of the conflict, condemning all attacks on civilians and urging Israel to exercise restraint following the deadly attacks on October 7 by Hamas. However, his tone became notably more vocal following the lethal strike on the Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza last week, triggering significant and impassioned protests across the Muslim world.

Israel has agreed to delay the invasion of Gaza for now, so the U.S. can rush missile defences to the region, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing US and Israeli officials.

Reuters

On Wednesday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres refuted Israel's claims that his statement to the Security Council amounted to justifying attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel, Reuters reported.

Israel slams Turkey's Erdogan for defending 'terrorist' Hamas

AFP

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has disclosed the true identity of Abu Ubeida, the spokesman for Hamas's military wing, identifying him as Hudhaifa Kahlout. The IDF has also released a brief video unveiling his face to the public, Times of Israel reported.

In a statement, Avichay Adraee, the IDF's Arabic-language spokesperson, commented, "This is Hudhaifa Kahlout, who hides behind the nom de guerre Abu Ubaida, and behind his red keffiyeh, just as Hamas hides behind civilian buildings to launch rockets towards Israel." The statement further criticizes Hudhaifa Kahlout and other leaders of Hamas for concealing themselves in tunnels, using women and children as shields, and hiding behind masks and shadows, concluding with a call for Kahlout to drop his cover.

Israeli officials expressed outrage on Wednesday over UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' statement that the deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel "did not happen in a vacuum," with some accusing him of justifying terrorism. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen cancelled his planned meeting with Guterres, while Israel's Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, claimed that the UN chief “failed the test”, AP reported.

In a social media post, Cohen stated, "I will not meet with the UN secretary-general. After the October 7 massacre, there is no place for a balanced approach. Hamas must be erased off the face of the planet."

Israel's envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan, went further, calling for Guterres's resignation and suggesting that Israel should reconsider its relationship with the international organisation.

“We will refuse to grant visas to UN representatives. We have already refused to give one to Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths,” Erdan said. “It’s time to teach them a lesson.”

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Cairo on Wednesday, an AFP correspondent reported, for talks with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the latest leg of a whistlestop crisis tour.

On Tuesday Macron was in Israel where he voiced support for its retaliation against Hamas after gunmen from the Islamist group unleashed the deadliest attack on Israel in its history on October 7.

AFP

The primary United Nations aid agency operating in the besieged Gaza Strip has issued a dire warning that it will be forced to halt its operations by the conclusion of Wednesday due to a critically low supply of fuel, AFP reported.

Concurrently, Hamas has reported a staggering increase in the death toll resulting from Israeli airstrikes, with over 700 casualties recorded in a single day.

Concerns continue to mount over the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the region has endured relentless bombardment.

The foreign ministers of Turkey and Qatar accused the international community of "double standards" Wednesday in its reaction to the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Qatar's top diplomat Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said the two governments -- both Western allies -- "reaffirm our complete rejection of responding to the crisis with double standards when it comes to human life".

"It is not permissible to condemn the killing of civilians in one context and justify it in another." Al-Thani, who also serves as Qatar's prime minister, said.

AFP

The United Kingdom would consider discussing a humanitarian pause in Gaza in order to facilitate aid coming into the Strip, but does not wish a complete ceasefire since that would only benefit Hamas militants, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said on Wednesday, reported Reuters.

The Hamas terror group asserts responsibility for launching a long-range rocket from the Gaza Strip directed at Israel's southernmost city of Eilat. No warning sirens were activated in Eilat or neighbouring towns, Times of Israel reported.

While there have been no reports of injuries or damage, residents in the area have reported hearing an explosion, suggesting that the rocket may have landed in an open area or exploded mid-air. At present, the Israel Defense Forces have not provided immediate commentary regarding this rocket launch.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned on Wednesday that without immediate deliveries of fuel it will soon have to sharply cut back relief operations across the Gaza Strip, which has been blockaded and hit by devastating Israeli airstrikes since Hamas militants launched an attack on Israel more than two weeks ago.

The warning came as hospitals in Gaza struggled to treat masses of wounded with dwindling resources, and health officials in the Hamas-ruled territory said the death toll was soaring as Israeli jets continued striking the territory overnight into Wednesday.

The Israeli military said its strikes had killed militants and destroyed tunnels, command centers, weapons storehouses and other military targets, which it has accused Hamas of hiding among Gaza's civilian population. Gaza-based militants have been launching unrelenting rocket barrages into Israel since the conflict started.

AP

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has announced the detention of 58 members of the Hamas terror group during a series of overnight arrest operations conducted across the West Bank, Times of Israel reports.

Additionally, the military has released video footage depicting an airstrike on a group of Palestinian gunmen in the Jenin refugee camp. These individuals were engaged in activities involving the hurling of explosives and firing upon Israeli forces during the night.

Lebanese pro-Iranian Al-Mayadeen TV reports alleged Israeli airstrike on Aleppo airport, however, there has been official confirmation yet.