On Monday's NBC Today, chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel worried that Hamas was not getting enough out of a temporary cease-fire agreement with Israel: "What is Hamas getting in return? So far, nothing. No deal, no immediate lifting of the closure of the Gaza Strip. Just a reprieve from Israel's assault that has flattened entire Gaza neighborhoods and killed more than a thousand Palestinians, many of them civilians, many of them children." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
Engel continued to outline the demands from the Palestinian terrorist organization: "The war could easily escalate again. Hamas wants an agreement to end the fighting, not for Israel to unilaterally scale back the assault on its own terms."
All three network morning shows on Monday touted President Obama scolding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the civilian death toll in Gaza.
At the top of Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie proclaimed: "Pressure's on. The President calls Israel's prime minister to push for a cease-fire but the fighting goes on today. The death toll now topping 1,000. And the U.N.'s overnight call for an immediate and unconditional stop to the bloodshed goes unheeded."
During his report, Engel declared:
The U.N. Security Council held this emergency meeting overnight, calling on both sides to stop their hostilities to implement this unconditional cease-fire. President Obama, in what has been described to us as a especially blunt conversation, spoke with Israel's prime minister to stress the same point....After this harsh and blunt phone call from President Obama, Israel said it will stop taking unilateral action and only respond to attacks.
In a news brief on ABC's Good Morning America, anchor Amy Robach noted: "And we begin with an emergency midnight meeting here in New York at the United Nations, calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Middle East....President Obama spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, expressing concern about Palestinian casualties now topping 1,000."
Unlike Engel, she mentioned the strong support among Israelis for continuing military operations: "A new poll finds 87% of Israelis oppose a cease-fire."
On CBS This Morning, correspondent Don Dahler announced that "the international community has had enough" of the conflict, and stated:
After twenty days of death and destruction with over a thousand lives lost, a third of those children, the world is pleading with both parties to stop. President Obama called Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and urged him to find a way to end the war. During his weekly address, Pope Francis, his voice cracking, said, "I ask you with all my heart, stop, please."
Like Robach, Dahler noted: "Polls show that most Israelis want this war to continue until Hamas is severely crippled."
Here is a full transcript of Engel's July 28 report on Today:
7:00 AM ET TEASE:
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Pressure's on. The President calls Israel's prime minister to push for a cease-fire but the fighting goes on today. The death toll now topping 1,000. And the U.N.'s overnight call for an immediate and unconditional stop to the bloodshed goes unheeded.
7:05 AM ET SEGMENT:
WILLIE GEIST: Now to the heavy fighting in the Middle East. Israel and Hamas exchanged new attacks overnight following a temporary truce. And with the death toll now topping 1,000 people, the U.N. Security Council is calling for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire. NBC's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel is in Gaza City for us. Richard, good morning.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Fragile Cease-Fire; Shelling Stops As UN Call for Truce]
RICHARD ENGEL: Good morning, Willie. The U.N. Security Council held this emergency meeting overnight, calling on both sides to stop their hostilities to implement this unconditional cease-fire. President Obama, in what has been described to us as a especially blunt conversation, spoke with Israel's prime minister to stress the same point. Israel has agreed to stop most of its offensive operations in Gaza, but this conflict is certainly, and by no certain terms, over yet.
After three weeks of punishing air strikes against the Gaza Strip, nearly 2,500 Palestinian rockets lobbed at Israeli cities, and a twelve-day ground operation into Gaza in which at least forty-three Israeli soldiers were killed in close combat – now, the most promising sign yet that this war could be turning a corner.
Israel says it wants to trade quiet for quiet. But Israel isn't stopping its Gaza mission entirely. The army said it will continue to destroy Hamas tunnels along Gaza's perimeter. It gave no time limit for how long that might take.
What is Hamas getting in return? So far, nothing. No deal, no immediate lifting of the closure of the Gaza Strip. Just a reprieve from Israel's assault that has flattened entire Gaza neighborhoods and killed more than a thousand Palestinians, many of them civilians, many of them children. The war could easily escalate again. Hamas wants an agreement to end the fighting, not for Israel to unilaterally scale back the assault on its own terms.
After this harsh and blunt phone call from President Obama, Israel said it will stop taking unilateral action and only respond to attacks. Hamas has rejected that. It says that it will probably hold the cease-fire for twenty-four hours. This is a Muslim holy day across the Arab world, across the Muslim world. But it is very likely once this holiday ends, tomorrow or the next day Hamas rocket attacks in Israel could resume.
GEIST: Alright, Richard Engel in Gaza City this morning. Richard, thank you.
