Netanyahu’s new demands complicate potential hostage exchange, truce with Hamas: media
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has raised his demands as discussions between Tel Aviv and Hamas on a new ceasefire and hostage exchange in Gaza have resumed, Anadolu Agency reports, according to Israeli media.
According to the Israeli website Walla, Netanyahu set strict conditions for a ceasefire and a hostage exchange deal.
Netanyahu proposed that Israel retain control of Egypt’s Gaza border, known as the Philadelphia Corridor, and argued that Israeli forces should oversee the remainder of the Rafah crossing on the Palestinian side. The Israeli prime minister also expressed opposition to allowing “members of Hamas” to return to northern Gaza, even in the event of a ceasefire.
Netanyahu also argued that any deal for a ceasefire and hostage exchange in Gaza should ensure Israel’s right to resume attacks until the war’s objectives are achieved.
“Netanyahu made these tough demands in an attempt to maximize the gains from negotiations and exploit Hamas’s vulnerabilities. But there is concern that pushing too hard could lead to a breakdown in the talks,” an unnamed Israeli official told Wall.
about an hour ago
At least 7 people were killed in Gaza in Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis
At least five people, including children, were killed in an Israeli attack on Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.
In the nearby Nuseirat refugee camp, 10 Palestinians were injured after a house was targeted.
Another house was targeted in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing at least two Palestinians.
about an hour ago
Germany is blocking medical care for Gaza children, humanitarian organizations complain
German humanitarian organizations have accused the government of blocking much-needed medical aid for children badly injured by Israeli bombing in Gaza, Anadolu Agency reports.
Some 40 medical facilities have agreed to treat Gazan children in Germany and cover the costs, but the foreign and interior ministries have held back their efforts due to alleged security concerns, public broadcaster ARD reported.
Aid organizations such as the Cologne-based Refugee Foundation, along with other NGOs and the German Society for Plastic Surgery, have committed to providing medical assistance to these children for months. They organized donations for flights, visa applications and full reimbursement of hospital expenses.
But in the end the campaign was temporarily stopped because the ministries did not support the entry of one accompanying adult per child. German government circles have said that the mother or father of wounded Gazan children accompanying them for medical treatment could pose a potential security risk because they may support or sympathize with Hamas.
Daniela Neuendorf from the Refugee Foundation said in response to this government position: “It is simply inexplicable to me why other countries can do it and why we in Germany capitulate to somehow bring 20 accompanied children for three months.
about 2 hours ago
Pakistan reaffirms commitment to humanitarian aid in Gaza
Pakistan has reaffirmed its commitment to humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts in Gaza, state-run Radio Pakistan reports.
At the United Nations Relief and Works Agency Pledge Conference in New York, Second Secretary of Pakistan’s Mission to the United Nations, Rabia Ijaz, advocated for a comprehensive plan for the reconstruction of Gaza and reiterated readiness to partner in the reconstruction of educational institutions.
She noted that since October last year, Pakistan has sent more than eight planes carrying more than 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
It also called for the swift implementation of the Gaza peace plan as outlined in Security Council Resolution 2735.
about 2 hours ago
Genocide in Gaza is ‘bitter fruit’ of Israeli impunity, UN rapporteur says
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, said that the failure of the international community to stop Israel’s crimes allowed it to commit genocide.
The genocide in Gaza is the result of “decades of Israeli impunity,” Albanese wrote in a social media post.
“In this darkest hour, the international community cannot continue to ignore that it is Israel’s project to rid Palestine of Palestinians in violation of international law, and the world’s failure to hold Israel accountable has led to the genocide unfolding in Gaza,” he says.
about 2 hours ago
The Israeli army attacked the town of Tulkarem and arrested 3 Palestinians
The Israeli army arrested three Palestinians in the Iqtaba area of the occupied West Bank city of Tulkar, Al Jazeera quoted the Wafa news agency as saying.
The father and son were among three men arrested when the Israeli army stormed the area and raided homes, according to Wafa.
Israeli reconnaissance aircraft and snipers were deployed, while the Palestinian armed group al-Quds Brigades said it clashed with Israeli forces near the Nur Shams refugee camp east of Tulkarem.
about 3 hours ago
Argentina designates Hamas a “terrorist organization”
Argentina has labeled Hamas a “terrorist organization” and ordered a freeze on all of the group’s financial assets, Al Jazeera reports.
In announcing the decision, the office of far-right President Javier Milea cited the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and captured 250.
“Argentina must reconnect with Western civilization,” Mileio’s office said.
about 4 hours ago
The UN agency for the Palestinians says it has funds until the end of September
The head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees said it has enough funding to operate until September, after a pledging conference for the deployed organization where UN chief Antonio Guterres appealed for donor help, AFP reports.
“We have worked tirelessly with partners to restore confidence in the agency,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said after several countries withheld funding following Israeli allegations in January that a number of UNRWA staff were involved in the 7/7 Hamas attack.
Lazzarini said the new funding pledges will help ensure emergency operations until September.
Guterres asked donors to fund the committed UN agency and warned that without UNRWA, Palestinians would lose a “critical lifeline”.
“Let me be clear – there is no alternative to UNRWA,” he said.
“Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse in Gaza – civilians are somehow, horrifyingly, being pushed into ever deeper circles of hell,” Guterres added.
about 4 hours ago
US Senator Bernie Sanders draws attention to Gaza amid US election ‘drama’
US Senator Bernie Sanders called on the American public not to lose sight of the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, amid media attention on the US.
