Watch – A look at Israel's attack on Iran and Trump's authoritarian turn
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Eyewitness News
a day ago
- Eyewitness News
Netanyahu says Israel must complete defeat of Hamas to free hostages
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel must "complete" the defeat of Hamas in Gaza to secure the release of the remaining hostages, days ahead of a cabinet meeting to discuss an updated war plan. Recent footage of weak and emaciated captives has sparked outrage in Israel, while UN experts also warn of an unfolding famine for Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli media have said the premier is considering ordering the total occupation of Gaza, even as international pressure mounts for him to end the war, with a senior UN official warning Tuesday that expanding the fighting risked "catastrophic consequences". "It is necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, to free all our hostages and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel," Netanyahu said during a visit to an army training facility. His office later said he had held a three-hour "security discussion" with army chief Eyal Zamir, but did not disclose any new war plans. The premier's office has said the security cabinet will convene later in the week to approve new instructions. Citing cabinet members, public broadcaster Kan said Netanyahu had "decided to extend the fight to areas where hostages might be held". But some major media outlets such as Channel 12 have suggested that the rumoured expansion of operations might only be a negotiating tactic. While the reported plan has not been approved, it has already drawn angry reactions from the Palestinian Authority and Gaza's Hamas-run government. Hamas insisted such a move would not shift its position in ceasefire talks, demanding the withdrawal of all forces from Gaza. "The ball is in the hands of... (Israel) and the Americans," senior Hamas official Hossam Badran told AFP, adding that the militant group wanted to "end the war and the famine". UN assistant secretary-general Miroslav Jenca told the Security Council on Tuesday that a widening of the war "would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages". Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was also in New York attending a Security Council meeting on the plight of the hostages. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed disgust over the videos released by Hamas, one of which showed an emaciated Israeli hostage purportedly digging his own grave. "I hope a lot of people do get to see it, as bad as it is, because I think it's a horrible thing," Trump told reporters. 'AGREEMENT MUST BE REACHED' Over the war's 22 months, Israeli forces have devastated large parts of the Gaza Strip, where a humanitarian crisis has taken hold. The war was sparked by Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures. Palestinian militants also seized 251 hostages, 49 of whom remain held in Gaza including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. The Israeli offensive has killed at least 61,020 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. Netanyahu has faced growing pressure on several fronts. Domestically, families of hostages are demanding a ceasefire to bring their loved ones home. And around the world, there are increasing calls for a truce to allow food into a starving Gaza. The International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday said it was "ready to bring in medicine, food and family news for the hostages in Gaza", and to "scale up the delivery of life-saving aid safely to civilians". But "to do this, an agreement must be reached between Israel and Hamas." Meanwhile, Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners demand to keep fighting and reoccupy Gaza for the long haul, after Israel withdrew settlers and troops stationed there two decades ago. AID 'EXPLOITED' Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza in early March, which it only began easing more than two months later to allow a US-backed private agency, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), to open food distribution centres. United Nations special rapporteurs called on Tuesday for the GHF to be immediately dismantled, saying aid was being "exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas". COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said it would partially reopen private sector trade with Gaza to reduce its reliance on aid deliveries. On the ground in Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 56 Palestinians who were waiting near aid distribution sites on Tuesday. The Israeli military told AFP troops had "fired warning shots" in the direction "a gathering of Gazans advancing" towards them near one of those sites, in the territory's south, but that it was "not aware of any casualties". In northern Gaza, where the civil defence said 20 people were killed not far from an aid crossing, an AFP journalist saw bodies brought to Hamad Hospital. The army told AFP it was looking into the report.
The Citizen
a day ago
- The Citizen
History will not be kind to Netanyahu
Netanyahu is leading his people into the darkness of perpetual shame, much as Adolph Hitler did 80 years ago. History is not going to be kind to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has finally removed the mask on his ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Even as more and more people around the world are calling the slaughter in Gaza what it is – a genocide – Netanyahu is doubling down, promising a new occupation of the territory to destroy Hamas and rescue the Israeli hostages taken on that awful day on 7 October, 2023. With a death toll at 60 000 and climbing as hunger stalks the ruins of Gaza, Netanyahu and his supporters are talking about a 'total conquest' of the strip. Yet, amid that insanity, there are Israeli voices – including from experienced retired military personnel and hostage families – pleading with their prime minister for a ceasefire. ALSO READ: Israel poised to order new Gaza war plan Some wonder whether Netanyahu needs the war to avoid the uncomfortable reality of domestic politics, where his position is far from solid. And if the Israelis succeed in conquering Gaza, how long will it be before they formalise and expand their illegal seizure of Palestinian lands and homes in the occupied West Bank? Netanyahu is leading his people into the darkness of perpetual shame, much as Adolph Hitler did 80 years ago.
eNCA
a day ago
- eNCA
How Trump's love for TV is shaping US diplomacy
WASHINGTON - Donald Trump's sudden concern about starving Palestinians was a major shift for the US president, who had previously ignored the endless cries for help from aid groups. So what changed? In his words, it was images of emaciated children in Gaza that Trump saw on television -- his main window into the world that has long shaped his political and diplomatic decision-making. Trump made clear his affection for the small screen in late July when asked if he agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a major US ally, that there was no famine in Gaza. "Based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry," said Trump, a former reality TV star. "That's real starvation stuff. I see it, and you can't fake that." Since then, the 79-year-old has repeated that aid must be brought to people living in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory, though he has stopped of any major diplomatic moves. "Trump has a reputation for not reading anything, including the briefing papers that his aides prepare for him, and for always believing that he knows better than his staff or anyone else does," said Dan Kennedy, a journalist professor at Northeastern University. "So it's not surprising that he would be affected by images on television, especially since he is known to spend a lot of time watching TV." - 'I watch the shows' - Trump has attended 22 intelligence briefings since taking office in January, according to an AFP tally, despite several reports having revealed that he lacks interest in written reports. However, his love for television is well-documented -- even when it comes to major decisions. In 2015, before he first entered the White House, the billionaire told a journalist asking how he educates himself on military strategy: "Well, I watch the shows." And a New York Times report recounted how Trump spent several hours a day in his first term glued to the television, mainly watching Fox News -- his favorite channel -- but also CNN, NBC and ABC news channels. His second term has been little changed, despite Trump leading an election campaign that deployed social media and podcasts. "Trump is a product of his generation," Kennedy said. "He's not sitting around looking at TikTok." - 'Great television' - The Republican, who hosted 14 seasons of "The Apprentice" television series, knows better than most how images can be weaponized for political point-scoring. He was gleeful after his shocking clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in February, which saw the pair rowing in front of the world's press. "This is going to be great television," Trump said. And in May he gave a similar public dressing down to South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa when he sat in the Oval Office for what turned into a diplomatic ambush. Trump hijacked the meeting by playing a video montage -- one littered with inaccuracies -- that purported to prove claims of a "genocide" against white farmers in South Africa. aue/bjt/sla By Aurélia End
