On Friday, US President Joe Biden urged Israel to accept a three-part ceasefire and hostage deal, declaring, “It’s time for this war to end.” However, on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated there would be no “permanent ceasefire” in Gaza until Hamas’s military and governing capabilities were destroyed.
Hamas, deemed a terrorist organization by Israel, has published a video featuring what is believed to be the voice of Gaza hostage Noa Argamani in captivity, Israeli sources confirmed Friday. It came as U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled an Israeli ceasefire plan in Gaza, but Hamas did not immediately react.
In a significant development, Israel has announced that it has taken control of the strategic Philadelphi Corridor, effectively cutting off the Gaza-to-Egypt terror tunnels. According to Israel, this corridor served as an “oxygen line” for Hamas. Israeli troops have now assumed “operational control” of the Philadelphi Corridor, an 8.7-mile-long border area between Gaza and Egypt, as stated by IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari on Wednesday evening. So far, Israeli forces have uncovered 20 tunnels underneath the corridor, he added.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has expressed “extreme concern” over the Israeli government’s rejection of a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict, adding that Israel “doesn’t get to decide” whether the Palestinians can have a state or not, World Israel News (WIN) reports.
The temporary floating pier built by the US military to transport humanitarian aid into Gaza broke apart in heavy seas on Tuesday. Thousands of tons of aid that were due to come into the enclave via the pier remain blocked in Cyprus while repairs are made to get the maritime corridor up and running again.
Israeli tanks rolled into the middle of Gaza’s southern city of Rafah late Tuesday following deadly clashes just hours after three European nations formally recognized a Palestinian state.
Israeli tanks reached the center of Rafah for the first time on Tuesday, according to witnesses, as the military continued its incursion into Gaza’s southernmost city despite growing international opposition to the operation.
A new survey shows that 64% of the Israeli public is against agreeing to a Palestinian state in exchange for peace with Saudi Arabia, the Jerusalem Post reports. Conducted by the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs (JCFA), the survey focused on the views of both Jewish and Arab Israelis, JPost reports.
Israel came under world pressure Monday to halt its offensive in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah after dozens of people reportedly died in bombardments that Israel’s military said targeted senior Hamas operatives.
Israel attacked suspected Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip, including Rafah, on Saturday, a day after the top United Nations court ordered it to halt military operations in the southern city.
Israel’s government faced mounting pressure Friday to strike a deal with Hamas after an Israeli group representing the families of hostages held in Gaza released a disturbing video recording of the capture of five female Israeli soldiers.
While no plan has been advanced for the ‘day after’ Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip ends, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that future Israeli resettlement of Gaza was “never in the cards.”
Amid a war against Hamas in Gaza, defending against attacks from the Houthis in the south and Hezbollah in the north, and following the Iranian assault last month, Israel this week inaugurated the reopening of the Aerial Defense Array’s 139th Battalion to operate Iron Dome batteries as part of the Israeli Air Force (IAF).
Israeli President Isaac Herzog confirmed Tuesday that Israel is certainly open to “historic, game changing” normalized relations with its historical enemy, Saudi Arabia, Ynet News reports.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Wednesday that their forces have made significant progress in their conflict with Hamas. Reports indicate that the IDF has reached the outskirts of a refugee camp in central Rafah but has yet to enter the city center due to ongoing intense fighting. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration continues to criticize Israel’s military operation in Gaza.
Ireland, Norway, and Spain announced Wednesday that they would recognize a Palestinian state, prompting Israel to withdraw ambassadors.
Nearly one million non-combatant Palestinians have now been evacuated from Rafah, a city on the border of Egypt and the Gaza Strip which Israel believes is hiding four remaining Hamas battalions and 128 Israeli hostages.
Leaders of several countries have expressed “unease” and outrage over the International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor’s decision to seek the arrest of Israeli leaders and “Islamist terrorist organization” Hamas for atrocities.
The United States and Saudi Arabia have been discussing a “semi-final” version of draft security agreements, which would include a two-state solution that resolves the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to the Times of Israel (TOI) reports.
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz on Saturday issued Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an ultimatum, asserting that he will remove his centrist National Unity party from the government and return to the opposition unless the PM commits to an agreed-upon plan to resolve the Gaza conflict by June 8, the Time of Israel (TOI) reports.