WASHINGTON DC: The Pentagon on Monday sought to dispel what it said were false perceptions on social media that Israel staged part of its hostage rescue operations on the US military’s floating pier off Gaza, saying that was not true and no US personnel were involved.
Still, Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder acknowledged there were Israeli helicopter operations “near” the pier, which was announced by US President Joe Biden as a way to bring desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
“It was near but I think it’s incidental. Again, the pier, the equipment, the personnel all supporting that humanitarian effort had nothing to do with the IDF rescue operation,” Ryder said, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
In a raid in Gaza on Saturday, Israeli forces rescued four hostages held by Hamas since October. In Saturday’s operation 274 Palestinians were killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Ryder said the US military was trying to “push back on some of the inaccurate social media allegations” circulating about the pier.
“The humanitarian pier facility, including its equipment, personnel and assets, were not used in the IDF’s operation to rescue hostages in Gaza. And any such claim to the contrary is false.”
The US military’s pier operations resumed briefly on Saturday after nearly two weeks offline but have been halted against since Sunday due to bad weather. On Saturday, 492 metric tons of aid were delivered from the pier, the US military’s Central Command said.
The Israel-Hamas war has now entered its ninth month, since Hamas-led fighters killed 1,200 people and took some 250 others hostage in a rampage through southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians and reduced most of the enclave to wasteland, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Any perception that the pier could be used by Israel militarily could undermine US efforts to increase the flow of aid to Palestinians and potentially increase the threat to US troops.
Ryder acknowledged misinformation and disinformation about what US troops were doing in the Middle East. But he dismissed the idea that the current misperceptions that the pier was used by Israel increased the threat to US forces, who have air defenses installed to shield them from possible rocket attack.
“No, I don’t think it puts our forces at greater risk,” he said, without explaining how he came to that conclusion.
Pentagon says Israel’s hostage operation did not involve Gaza pier
https://arab.news/6b44t
Pentagon says Israel’s hostage operation did not involve Gaza pier
- The US military’s pier operations resumed briefly on Saturday after nearly two weeks offline
Milei says Argentina to move Israel embassy to Jerusalem in 2026
- “I am proud to announce before you that in 2026 we will make effective the move of our embassy to the city of west Jerusalem,” Milei told Israeli parliament Wednesday
JERUSALEM: Argentine President Javier Milei said Wednesday his country would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the status of which is one of the most delicate issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
“I am proud to announce before you that in 2026 we will make effective the move of our embassy to the city of west Jerusalem,” Milei said in a speech in the Israeli parliament during an official state visit.
Argentina’s embassy is currently located near the coastal city of Tel Aviv.
Several countries, including the United States, Paraguay, Guatemala and Kosovo, have moved their embassies to Jerusalem, breaking with international consensus.
Israel has occupied east Jerusalem since 1967, later annexing it in a move not recognized by the international community.
Israel treats the city as its capital, while Palestinians want east Jerusalem to become the capital of a future state.
Most foreign embassies to Israel are located in the coastal hub city of Tel Aviv in order to avoid interfering with negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
In 2017, during his first term as US president, Donald Trump unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, sparking Palestinian anger and the international community’s disapproval.
The United States transferred its embassy to Jerusalem in May 2018.
Syrian, Egyptian foreign ministers hold talks at Oslo Forum
- Lawmakers exchange views on challenges to regional security
LONDON: The foreign ministers of the Syrian Arab Republic and Egypt held talks on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Oslo Forum 2025 in Norway.
Asaad al-Shaibani and Badr Abdelatty discussed ways to improve collaboration between their countries and exchanged views on the challenges to security and stability in the region, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan also met Abdelatty on the sidelines of the forum to discuss bilateral relations and the escalating situation in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank.
The Oslo Forum is an annual event organized by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue in Switzerland. It provides a platform for global leaders, decision-makers and conflict mediators to share their experiences and discuss pathways to peace.
Smotrich’s move to cut bank ties risks Palestinian supply crisis
- The waiver had allowed Israeli banks to process shekel payments for services and salaries tied to the Palestinian Authority, without the risk of being charged with money laundering and funding extremism
JERUSALEM: An Israeli move to cut off cooperation with Palestinian banks could halt the supply of essential goods such as food and fuel to the Palestinian territories, the Palestinian Monetary Authority said on Wednesday.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered the cancelation of a waiver on cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian banks on Tuesday.
This move risks the Palestinian banking system, trade, and overall economy. Israeli banks Hapoalim and Israel Discount Bank work with Palestinian banks.
Some 53 billion shekels ($15.2 billion) were exchanged at Palestinian banks in 2023, official data show.
BACKGROUND
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered the cancelation of a waiver on cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian banks on Tuesday.
Canceling the waiver would require approval by Israel’s security Cabinet. No date for a vote has been set, and it was not clear whether it would pass.
The PMA said it was following developments and warned that such disruption posed a serious threat to Palestinian access to basic goods and services.
It noted it has ongoing coordination with the political leadership and international community to safeguard correspondent banking relationships.
“These efforts are vital to ensuring the continuity of commercial transactions and the payment of essential imports and services, including food, electricity, water, and fuel,” the PMA said.
Smotrich said his decision came against the “delegitimization campaign” by the Palestinian Authority against Israel globally.
The waiver had allowed Israeli banks to process shekel payments for services and salaries tied to the Palestinian Authority, without the risk of being charged with money laundering and funding extremism.
Without it, Palestinian banks would be cut off from the Israeli financial system.
The PMA said depositors’ funds within the Palestinian banking sector are secure and that the banking system remains integrated with the global financial network through a broad range of correspondent banks and continues to provide services to individuals and businesses domestically and internationally.
Smotrich, under US pressure, had in late 2024 signed a waiver to extend cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian banks through November 2025.
In the past, Smotrich sought to end the waiver but ultimately signed it due to pressure from the US and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
His latest decision came hours after the UK and four other nations imposed sanctions on him and another far-right minister, accusing them of inciting violence in the West Bank.
The sanctions included a freeze on assets and travel bans.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the action by the five countries was “outrageous.”
Egypt backs ‘pressure on Israel’ but says Gaza actions need approval
- Foreign ministry says foreign delegations seeking to visit border area with Gaza must receive prior official approval
CAIRO: Egypt said on Wednesday that it backs efforts to put “pressure on Israel” to lift its blockade on Gaza, but added that any foreign delegations seeking to visit the border area must receive prior approval through official channels.
Egypt “asserts the importance of putting pressure on Israel to end the blockade on the (Gaza) Strip,” the foreign ministry said as hundreds of activists in a Gaza-bound convoy head to the Egyptian border on their way to the besieged Palestinian territory, but added “we will not consider any requests or respond to any invitations submitted outside the framework defined by the regulatory guidelines and the mechanisms followed in this regard.”
Israeli strike kills one in Lebanon’s south
- Health ministry says Israeli drone strike hit the town of Beit Lif
BEIRUT: One person was killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike on a village in southern Lebanon, the health ministry reported, the latest deadly attack despite a November ceasefire.
“The raid carried out by an enemy Israeli drone on the town of Beit Lif, in the Bint Jbeil district, resulted in one martyr and three people injured,” read a statement from the ministry.
The official National News Agency said the strike targeted a house’s courtyard in the town, adding that a missile hit the homeowner’s car.
Israel has regularly bombed its northern neighbor since the November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with militant group Hezbollah including two months of full-blown war.
The agreement required Hezbollah fighters to withdraw north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle all military infrastructure to its south.
It also required Israel to withdraw all of its troops from Lebanon, but it has kept them in five positions it deems “strategic.”
