Despite the simmering of media reports on recent disagreements over the direction of Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Washington and Jerusalem remain aligned on its core objectives, Danny Danon, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, said during a press briefing on Monday at the world body’s headquarters in New York City.
Danon told JNS that while the United States may have made mistakes in the past by trying to dictate Israel’s actions, the Trump administration shares the Jewish state’s goal of fully removing Hamas from Gaza.
“The current administration still believes Hamas should not be part of the equation,” he said. “If you speak privately with my colleagues from the Arab League in this building, they’ll say the same.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit this week to the Middle East, where he plans to meet with officials in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, will underscore this point to him, according to Danon.
“The United States continues to support Israel’s two main goals of dismantling Hamas and bringing the hostages home,” he said.
Danon also stated that he hopes the release of 21-year-old Israel-American Evan Alexander from captivity will help pave the way for a more comprehensive deal regarding the other 58 hostages, about half of whom are believed to be alive.
‘Entire country on alert’
At the same time, Danon condemned the recent Houthi attacks on Israel as clear acts of terror. “You have to understand that whenever the Houthis send their missiles to Israel, it puts the entire country on alert,” he said. “It sends millions of people to shelters.”
He said that Trump’s traveling to the region does not mean that Israel will halt retaliatory strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.
“Unfortunately, the Houthis continue to attack Israel with no reason,” he said, despite the fact that “we have no dispute with them. We have no border with them. We sent them a clear message that we will retaliate—and we did. We attacked the international airport in Sana’a, and now we issued a warning for three ports in Yemen.”
Israel has made efforts to minimize civilian casualties in Yemen, according to the ambassador.
Still, he noted, “if they continue to send ballistic missiles into Israel, we will get into Sana’a, and they will pay a very heavy price.”
