Israel-Palestinian Conflict

Following a discussion with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed Hamas’ proposal for a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement, which called for a 135-day truce, a complete Israeli retreat from Gaza, and the release of over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Despite Netanyahu’s rejection of these terms, those involved in the talks maintain that there is still potential for hope.

In a show of solidarity with the Jewish people amid Israel’s war against Hamas, Argentina’s newly elected President Javier Milei announced this week that he will be moving the Argentinian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports.

Israeli scientists have developed a ground-breaking immunotherapy approach to treating cancer that is effective in preventing the growth of secondary tumors after the removal of the primary tumor, Ynet News reports. Developed by researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, the study is published in the scientific journal Cell.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has disclosed that Iran’s Islamic regime has transferred more than $150 million to the Hamas Palestinian terror organization, i24News reports. The disclosure is consistent with a 2021 report by the US State Department that Iran is the “leading state sponsor of terrorism.”

Several civilians were killed and injured in an Israeli strike on Syria’s Homs area, Syrian officials said Wednesday.

During a visit to Lebanon, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron stated achieving peace would be unattainable as long as Hamas controlled Gaza. However, he emphasized that offering Palestinians the opportunity for statehood was “absolutely vital for the long-term peace and security of the region.”

Continuing the suspension of its funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), the United States announced it is looking to provide assistance to Gaza Palestinians through other aid organizations instead, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports. Together with several other western powers, the Biden administration suspended its funding of UNRWA last month following credible allegations that 12 of the agency’s staffers had participated in the Hamas’ Oct.7 genocidal attack on Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared on Monday that Hamas has no place where they can hide and highlighted that the Israel Defense Forces has killed or seriously injured over half of Hamas’s forces. Furthermore, Gallant pointed to the fact that the IDF has dismantled 18 out of terrorist organization’s 24 battalions.

The Netherlands’ military has dropped four pallets containing medical supplies and other aid from a great height over the Gaza Strip in the first such operation by Dutch forces, several officials said Sunday.

The threat of war continues unabated with the deployment of three troop divisions to the northern border, according to an announcement from the Israeli military on Saturday. Israel has issued a stark warning to Hezbollah, elaborating on strikes that, according to Israel, have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of terrorists attempting to destabilize the already tense border.

Hamas is unlikely to reject a Gaza ceasefire proposal it received from mediators this week but will not sign it without assurances that Israel has committed to ending the war, sources say.

Seven workers seized at a Proctor & Gamble (P&G) plant in northwestern Turkey were freed after a nine-hour standoff with a gunman protesting against Israel’s war in Gaza, Turkish officials confirmed.

The Biden Administration is considering a ‘new doctrine’ to unilaterally recognize a demilitarized Palestinian State despite strong opposition to statehood within Israel.

Israel’s defense minister has urged his nation to prepare for an imminent war with the massive Iran-backed Hezbollah militia based in neighboring Lebanon and a broader armed conflict in the Middle East.

Israel confirmed Tuesday it has begun pumping large volumes of seawater into “Hamas terrorist tunnels,” defying U.S. and experts’ warnings that it may endanger hostages while threatening clean water supplies in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, during his visit to the southern border on Monday, announced that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have killed or injured approximately half of the estimated 30,000 members of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the reported agreements regarding hostages, prisoner exchanges, and a ceasefire. He asserted Israel would not release thousands of terrorists and that the conflict would not conclude until Israel achieved a complete victory, fulfilling all its objectives, including the elimination of Hamas from the Gaza Strip.

For the first time in over a month, Hamas launched a barrage of rockets into Central Israel on Monday while rejecting a hostage deal and would only accept a deal that included a full withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces from Gaza.

Archaeologists in Israel have discovered two Byzantine-era coin weights that may be evidence of a Christian presence on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount before the Islamic conquest of the city between 636–637 AD, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports. The weights are believed to be official imperial weights required by 6th-century Byzantine law to be present in major churches and may even indicate a church on the Temple Mount before the Al Aqsa Mosque was built there in the 7th-8th centuries.

Worldwide, people observed Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday to remember the 6 million Jews as well as Sinti, Roma, and millions of others killed by the German Nazis and their collaborators during World War Two at a time of growing concerns about the future of Israel. Saturday’s ceremonies came amid mounting concerns about rising antisemitism after the October 7 attack by Hamas in Israel that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and others.