Israel’s military said Tuesday it killed a Hamas militant who participated in the October assault on Israel and was seen in a widely viewed video drinking soda in front of two kids who were wounded in a grenade attack that killed their father.
The Israel Defense Forces identified the militant as Ahmed Fozi Wadia and said he paraglided into the Netiv HaAsara community during the October attack.
Wadia was among eight militants killed in a Saturday airstrike in Gaza City, the Israeli military said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Tuesday it will win its war against Hamas with or without arms from Britain, a day after the British government announced it would suspend some arms exports to Israel due to concerns about their use in Gaza.
“Instead of standing with Israel, a fellow democracy defending itself against barbarism, Britain’s misguided decision will only embolden Hamas,” Netanyahu’s office said.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said there was a “clear risk” that some of the weapons could be used to “commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
British Defense Secretary John Healey told Times Radio on Tuesday that the suspension of 30 of 350 arms export licenses to Israel “will not have a material impact on Israel’s security.”
Netanyahu is also facing pressure at home after several days of protests calling on him to agree to a cease-fire with Hamas in order to bring home hostages still being held by the militants in Gaza.
“No one is more committed to freeing the hostages than me. … No one will preach to me on this issue,” Netanyahu said Monday, according to The Associated Press.
Among the sticking points in negotiations is Netanyahu’s push for Israel to retain control of the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border. Israel claims Hamas uses tunnels along the corridor to smuggle weapons into Gaza. Egypt and Hamas deny the claims.
On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of Israelis marched in the streets to mourn the news that the bodies of six slain hostages were found in southern Gaza.
At a televised news conference Monday, Netanyahu said he sought forgiveness for failing to save the slain hostages.
“I ask for your forgiveness for not bringing them back alive,” he said. “We were close, but we didn’t succeed. Hamas will pay a very heavy price for this.”
Late Monday, several thousand demonstrators gathered outside Netanyahu’s private home in central Jerusalem, chanting, “Deal. Now.”
A general workers’ strike Monday also disrupted Israel as the largest Israeli trade union and businesses sought to pressure the government to reach a cease-fire deal with Hamas to end fighting in Gaza as the war nears the 11-month mark.
Advocates for the hostages and critics of Netanyahu argued that a cease-fire to halt the war in Gaza could have saved the hostages’ lives. But Netanyahu’s partners in the Israeli government’s ruling coalition mostly oppose a compromise with Hamas.
Netanyahu has refused to agree to a cease-fire deal calling for an Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza that would lead to a permanent halt to the fighting — for fear that Hamas could rearm itself and endanger Israel’s long-term security.
Hamas has accused Israel of dragging out negotiations by issuing new demands, including that Israel remain in control of the Philadelphi corridor and a second corridor running across Gaza.
Hamas has held to the broad agreements of a three-phase plan put forth by the Biden administration in July: Hamas would release all hostages in return for an end to the war, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners.
In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden rebuked Netanyahu for his handling of the hostage situation and cease-fire negotiations.
As he arrived Monday back at the White House after a vacation, Biden was asked whether he thought the Israeli leader was doing enough to free the 100 or so remaining hostages, a third of whom Israel believes are dead. Biden responded simply, “No,” but said he would have more to say after meeting with his security advisers.
Biden, who has closely followed the fate of the hostages, said Sunday he was “devastated and outraged” by the discovery of more dead captives.
The hostages were apparently shot to death by the militants just as troops were zeroing in on their location in Gaza. Israel’s foreign ministry said early Monday a forensic examination showed the hostages were killed by gunshots at close range, and within 48-72 hours before the examination.
A spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing said in a statement Monday that if Israel remains committed to using military pressure to free hostages, then those being held will be returned to their families “in shrouds.” The spokesperson said those guarding the hostages were given new instructions regarding what to do if Israeli troops approach them, and that the instructions were conveyed after a June Israeli raid that freed four hostages.
Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and captured about 250 hostages during the October 7 attack on southern Israel. The Israeli counteroffensive has killed nearly 41,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to Gaza health officials, while the Israeli military says the death toll includes several thousand Hamas combatants.
Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
