The director will discuss prisoner exchanges between Israel and Hamas
Israeli military attacks on Gaza: State of the affairs in the Middle East and implications for the israel-Israeli dialogue on a cease-fire
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to keep fighting in Gaza, even as anguish over the Israeli military’s accidental killings of three hostages in the enclave raised new questions about how his government is prosecuting the war.
The defense secretary of the United States is traveling to the Middle East this week. Mr. Austin is expected to voice support for Israel’s campaign to destroy Hamas in Gaza but also to reinforce the importance of taking civilian safety into account during operations, according to a senior Pentagon official said.
Mr. Netanyahu began a government meeting in Tel Aviv on Sunday by reading from a letter that he said came from families of Israeli soldiers killed fighting in Gaza.
“You have a mandate to fight; you do not have a mandate to stop in the middle,” Mr. Netanyahu read in Hebrew, according to a statement from his office.
The message coming from relatives of Israelis still held hostage in Gaza is in sharp disagreement with the letter which appears to be against the principles of the cease-fire called for by them.
Hundreds of protesters gathered on a central boulevard in Tel Aviv to demonstrate against the government before marching through the city to join the hostage rally.
The current approach is not working according to Deborah Galili. She said she wanted Mr. Netanyahu’s government to pursue a peaceful resolution that would bring the hostages home and end the fighting.
Israel says that in the attack on October 7, 1200 people died and a number of hostages were taken. In exchange for about 100 hostages being freed and 300 Palestinians being freed from Israeli jails, there was a cease-fire at the end of November. More than 18,000 people have died since Israel launched an air- and ground offensive in response to the Hamas attack, according to the Gaza health ministry.
But since then, Ms. Galili said, “we’re not seeing more hostages coming home alive.” Several hostages have been confirmed dead by Israel’s military in recent weeks.
Ahal Besorai’s brother-in-law is still held while his niece and nephew were released. Mr. Besorai said in a phone interview on Sunday that he understood why people were demanding a cease-fire, especially after the deaths of three hostages, but worried that only military pressure will bring the rest of his family home.
“It’s a very, very, very, difficult spot because on the one hand, you want your loved one to be released, and on the other hand, you want Hamas eliminated,” said Mr. Besorai, whose sister was killed in the Oct. 7 attacks, which left roughly 1,200 dead and 240 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. There are two goals of the war that appear at times in conflict.
Efi Toledano, another demonstrator from Tel Aviv, had protested Mr. Netanyahu’s government before the war. He stopped protesting after the attack on Israel, but resumed on Saturday night when the hostages died.
Israel Wargaza Lot Lotin: The Fate of Three Hamas Hostages Revealed by the Israeli Defense Secretary
The Israeli military said that it had hit the infrastructure of Hamas where explosives, rocket-propelled grenades, and a cache of mortars were found.
On Monday, Israel’s military said it was continuing combat operations to eradicate Hamas in Gaza. During a raid at the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, the military says it located the equivalent of $1.37 million in funds inside a senior Hamas leader’s house. “The funds were found in suitcases alongside numerous weapons,” the IDF said. The money was labeled for terrorist activity.
The escaped captives took a risk by coming to the army in order to avoid being charged and they took off their shirts so that no one would think they were in trouble when they showed up, he said.
Lieutenant Gen. Halevi was asked about the accidental killing of three Israelis during a news conference Sunday evening. He called the incident “very difficult and painful” and acknowledged that it “very easily” could have been avoided.
The citizens of Israel. We are fighting a war for our existence, in which we are committed to fight until victory, despite international pressure, and the unbearable heavy prices that the war is exacting from us in our precious sons and daughters,” Netanyahu said, mourning the deaths of the three hostages, all men in their 20s.
Jordan’s War in Gaza: A U.S. Mission to the United Nations and its Effort for Diarising Palestinian Refugees
The UN Security Council is expected to vote Monday on a new proposal for a cease fire to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered. The United States has used its veto on the Security Council before to block a resolution.
Holy Family Parish, which also came under rocket attack, is one of just two churches in Gaza, both of which are sheltering internally displaced people. Israel’s military has not responded to repeated requests for comment on the shootings.
At the Vatican, Pope Francis is working to draw the attention of the world to the deaths of civilians in Gaza. In written remarks that followed news of an Israeli sniper killing two Palestinian Christian women sheltering at Holy Family Parish in northern Gaza, Francis said there are no terrorists at the church but rather children, nuns, families and people who are sick or have disabilities.
TEL AVIV, Israel — Pressure was mounting on Israel Monday to begin bringing the war in Gaza to a close, with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expected to relay Biden administration concerns over the heavy death toll for Palestinian civilians. The United Nations Security Council was also gearing up for yet another vote this week on a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
In an earlier post, Austin said he also plans to travel to Bahrain and Qatar “to underscore U.S. commitments to strengthening regional security and stability, and working with partners and allies to advance defense capabilities.”
According to U.S. officials, the C.I.A. director met on Monday with Israeli and Qatari officials in Warsaw for talks aimed at restarting hostage and prisoner exchanges.
There are many reasons to think that the new talks will be fruitful. The Israeli government is under more pressure to get the remaining people from Gaza freed after the deaths of three hostages. The United States is also increasing pressure on Israel to scale back its major combat operations in Gaza and transition to a new phrase in the war.
Mr. Burns is set to meet with David Barnea, the head of Mossad, Israel’s spy agency. Mr. Barnea has been leading the Israeli negotiation efforts, and the White House tapped Mr. Burns to work with him.
The two men will speak in Warsaw with Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani of Qatar. The Qataris host Hamas’s political wing in Doha and Efforts have been made to facilitate negotiations.
Resummation of Talks with the C.I.A. Director of the Center for Microwave Anisotropy and Teleparallel Symmetry Breaking
The resumption of talks was earlier reported by Axios. A spokeswoman for the C.I.A. declined to comment, citing the agency’s policy of not discussing the travel of the director.
