WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The chairman of the powerful House Foreign Relations Committee said he’s received signals from Israel’s leaders, the war in Gaza could wrap up in a matter of weeks.
House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas.) said he met with Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday. During that meeting, McCaul said Gallant told him Israel would move to the reconstruction and peace process after its military operation in Rafah.
“The Minister of Defense said about two weeks, they could complete Rafah, and maybe start the reconstruction,” McCaul said. “We all want this over. I said that to the Israelis.”
Rafah is the southernmost part of the Gaza strip. It’s home to more than a million people who fled other parts of Gaza. The Biden administration delayed delivering certain heavy bombs over concerns about Israel’s killing of civilians in Gaza.
The U.N.’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, ordered Israel to halt its military operations in Rafah over charges of genocide.
Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas.), who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, urged Hamas to accept a ceasefire proposal from Israel and said he hadn’t seen evidence Israel was committing war crimes.
“Based on what I’ve heard from Secretary Lloyd Austin, what I’ve heard from other military generals that have come and briefed us, they haven’t seen anything that would rise to the level of any sort of a war crime,” Veasey said.
“Stabilizing Gaza is very important right now,” said McCaul. “We have to get past the military objective and move forward to the reconstruction and the peace process.”
Late last month, Biden announced Israel and Hamas had a road map to a ceasefire deal that would release hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told an Israeli TV station on Sunday he wouldn’t agree to a permanent ceasefire until Israel eliminated Hamas.
