Hamas studies new Gaza Strip ceasefire proposal
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
Donald Trump meets with American citizen previously held hostage by Hamas
US President Donald Trump has met with freed US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander at the White House. Alexander was held hostage by Hamas and spent 584 days in captivity before he was released on May 12. Born and raised in New Jersey, Alexander moved to Israel at the age of 18, where he joined the IDF. Alexander was serving in the Israeli military when the was captured by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attacks. During the meeting at the Oval Office, Eden Alexander and his family were met by the US president and first lady. Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who also attended, asked Alexander to share how Trump winning the 2024 presidential race impacted Hamas. 'They [Hamas] immediately took me to a new place, a good place,' Alexander said.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The inside story of how Australia's moment to shine in the arts world went horribly wrong
The historic grip of major galleries over Australia's representatives had been broken, and the newish selection process seemed to be serving Australia well. On December 16 last year, Collette and Creative Australia's head of visual arts, Mikala Tai, conferred and the pair's selection was confirmed, the decision tightly held in the organisation for weeks for fear it would leak. Among the select few with knowledge of the successful team, the decision was regarded as 'bold' or 'courageous' – Sabsabi's Lebanese heritage and public pro-Palestinian stance connected him to the Middle East at a time when conflict in that region was emotive and polarising. But a week before the planned February 7 announcement, police lobbed their own explosive device into this febrile mix, going public with their investigations into a caravan loaded with explosives in north-west Sydney. The incident was quickly labelled a 'terrorism threat', although later the Federal Police would describe it as 'a criminal con job'. By then, a federal election was imminent and polling showed voters were starting to turn against Labor. Loading Two days after the caravan discovery, Creative Australia briefed Minister for Arts Tony Burke on its upcoming announcement. Mention was made in the ministerial dispatch that Sabsabi, along with other artists, had withdrawn from the Sydney Festival in 2022 in protest after the festival accepted funding from the Israeli Embassy, 'out of solidarity with the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause'. But the minister's office was not alerted to historical works which would later be raised in the Murdoch press and in parliament, including You (2007), a multichannel video and sound installation featuring imagery of the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art. 'That the work was seen as highly ambiguous, and already nearly 20 years old … appears to have given staff confidence that any controversy connected with the work could be managed,' the report says. A staff member later left a message with Burke's office alerting them to the work's existence but appears not to have followed that call up. A 'questionable' matter The board of Creative Australia was backgrounded on the winning team but played no direct role in the selection process. Members were not alerted to any potential controversies. Days after the team's announcement, as its sister tabloid paper defended allegations it tried to entrap a Sydney cafe in an antisemitic sting, The Australian described Sabsabi's use of imagery of Nasrallah as 'ambiguous' and 'questionable'. Collette and senior members of his team were unaware of a second sensitive work, Thank you very much (2006) featuring imagery of the 9/11 attacks and US President George W. Bush, until Senate question time two days later when the Coalition's then-shadow arts minster Claire Chandler rose to her feet. By all accounts, Chandler's questions sparked panic. Soon after, around 3pm, the CEO, chair and head of public affairs held a call with Creative Australia's external communications advisers, who concluded the negative media narrative around the artist and his prior artworks posed a significant risk to the reputation of Creative Australia if the stories continued to run. Burke then called Adrian Collette at 3.30pm asking why he was not alerted to the contentious artwork. He later insisted he did not demand Sabsabi's head. The report found that the minister's statement was consistent with the information received by the panel during its review. Loading Collette later recalled in testimony to Senate estimates: 'We anticipate always that the selection of the Venice artist will be controversial. It has been from time immemorial. 'Everyone has a view on the artist, on the art. We don't resile from any of those decisions; we haven't in the past. But what happened at that moment was a recognition by me and the board that this entire process was going to be mired in the worst kind of divisive debate.' At 6.05pm an emergency meeting of the board had been convened, and it was determined to offer the artistic team the opportunity to withdraw from the project under threat of sacking. The board did not seek the advice of the head of visual arts or its head of communications, and did not allow the artist to present his case. It was beyond the panel's terms of reference to judge the legitimacy of the board's decision, but it's clear the board acted hastily without drawing breath. The board could have announced a review of the team's selection. Instead, it brought a gun. 'Nobody except those involved can ever know how fraught and heartbreaking that meeting was,' board member and artist Lindy Lee later recalled. She resigned the next day. Officially, the board said it acted to avoid the unacceptable risk to public support for Australia's artistic community of a 'prolonged and divisive debate'. The panel found the board felt compelled by 'a strongly negative narrative [that] was expected in the media around the artworks and the artist, and the decision to select the artist had become a matter of political debate'. Another factor that may have been weighing on some board members was the potential for the controversy to be used as a battering ram to reduce the funding and independence of Creative Australia. With an election imminent, Creative Australia faced an existential threat from cuts, real or imagined, as conservatives made every noise they would follow the playbook of Donald Trump in stirring up the culture wars. Notably, it is in a more benign political environment with Labor securing a thumping majority that Sabsabi and Dagostino have now been reinstated. In any event, at 7.41pm on February 13, Collette contacted the artistic team and advised them of the board's decision. Sabsabi and Dagostino refused to resign. Forty minutes later, after the board's statement was prepared, Collette made three unsuccessful attempts to contact them. Sabsabi and Dagostino later recalled being stunned by the turn of events: 'The Venice Biennale is one of the biggest platforms in Australian art,' Sabsabi told this masthead. 'To be selected and then have it withdrawn was devastating. It was heartbreaking and has caused ongoing anxiety. It's had a serious impact on my career, my wellbeing and my family's wellbeing.' By 6pm the following day the Herald had broken the news that philanthropist Simon Mordant had resigned, along with Mikala Tai and program manager Tahmina Maskinyar. Petitions and protests followed, the outrage lasting four months until the board voted two weeks ago to rescind its decision. Had Creative Australia been as well-prepared for the public announcement as it should have been, it is possible that its senior leadership and board may have reached a conclusion that any controversy around both works could be sensibly managed, the report concluded. The organisation was caught between its conflicting desire to do right by the artists and political realities. Ultimately, the entire mess could have been avoided if cooler heads had prevailed and due processes were followed. Changes afoot Former publisher Louise Adler is not the only commentator to draw parallels between the Sabsabi debacle and Antoinette Lattouf, the radio broadcaster who was last week awarded $70,000 after a Federal Court found she was unfairly sacked by the ABC for her political opinions concerning the war in Gaza. Like Lattouf, Sabsabi's pro-Palestinian views were well known at the time of his appointment, and complaints flooded Creative Australia as soon as the appointment was publicised, cheered on by the Murdoch media. Holding or expressing a political opinion was held by the federal court as not a valid reason for terminating Lattouf's employment, even at the national broadcaster. Sabsabi and Dagostino had been selected by an open expression of interest process, by an organisation founded on the principle of artistic independence. Both stand as an abject lesson to the dangers of knee-jerk reactions to pressure tactics. Sabsabi and Dagostino speak of a sense of renewed confidence that allows them to move forward with optimism and hope after a period of significant and collective hardship. The arts world feels vindicated by their intervention. Loading It's likely there will be changes to the Venice selection process, and there is every indication that Collette, an experienced arts administrator, will seek to make things right, and then make a diplomatic exit. 'At the end of the day, Adrian became the kingmaker,' said one campaigner. 'He brought the recommendation to the board. The buck stops with him.' Mikala Tai made a rare statement via social media after a period of media silence in which she said she had come to learn why she wanted to work in the arts industry. 'I have also learnt a lot about cultural leadership. That we have conferred leadership on administrators and that this is a distraction from the fact that artists remain the heart of the industry and that the moment we forget the artist, we sacrifice the industry.'
The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
‘Everything will turn to dust': As Gaza crumbles, its fate lies knotted to that of one man
And there are. In securing US involvement in last month's strikes on Iran, Israel has managed to further weaken and isolate Hamas, an Iranian proxy, beyond the wrecked cities and towns of Gaza. 'This has to be the window to use the leverage that's been created to drive towards the end of the war and getting all the hostages home,' former US Pentagon official and ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro told the Israeli journalist Neria Kraus on Tuesday. 'Iran is weaker than it's ever been, exposed in ways it has never been before – that should be leveraged, and I think can be leveraged, to get Hamas to be more flexible on the terms of the hostage deals.' That same day Trump issued another social media declaration, saying that Israel had 'agreed to the necessary conditions to finalise the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War'. Hamas confirmed it was considering the proposal. Tellingly, though, in its statement the terrorist group emphasised that it wants a US commitment that the ceasefire would lead to a permanent end to the war. This position has been a sticking point in previous rounds of negotiations, with Israel determined that the war should not end before it achieves what it views as a complete victory. This would include a return of all remaining hostages and the removal of Hamas from Gaza. 'There will not be a Hamas,' said Netanyahu at a public meeting on Wednesday. 'There will not be a Hamastan. We're not going back to that. It's over. We will free all our hostages.' Observers within Israel note that there is more in play than the competing demands of Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu is also concerned with his own political future and the personal legal threats he faces. Rhynold believes Netanhayu sees the maintenance of power not only as goal in its own right, but as a shield against prosecution, and that this will have an impact on peace negotiations. To maintain power Netanyahu must balance the demands of the parliamentary coalition he has stitched together, which includes not only his own right-wing Likud party, but members of far right and Orthodox parties. 'I don't think he can distinguish between what's good for him and what's good for the state of Israel. He just thinks whatever's good for him is good for the state of Israel.' Rhynold believes that even if Netanyahu could secure a comprehensive enough victory in Gaza to allow him to consider a peace deal, supported by the majority of voters, he might still perceive a political threat within his coalition. This could be an incentive for him to draw out negotiations. There is an irony here. As Rhynold notes Netanyahu built a strategy of tacitly supporting Hamas before the war in order to divide Palestinian power blocs. As the politics plays out the carnage in Gaza has only intensified. In January Israel banned the United Nations' lead relief agency for Palestinians, UNWRA, from operating and between March and May it blocked all food aid to Gaza in an effort to force Hamas to negotiate, driving more than 2 million people towards starvation. Last month the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private organisation backed by the US and Israel took over food relief operations. GHF is now led by the American evangelical leader and businessman Johnnie Moore Jr, who once praised Trump's proposal to take over the Gaza Strip, saying, 'The USA will take full responsibility for [the] future of Gaza, giving everyone hope and a future.' GHF has limited distribution to four sites, rather than the hundreds the UN had used. Those sites soon became killing zones, with the IDF firing machine guns and mortars at starving civilians gathering at the sites before they opened. According to a report by Haartz last Friday, which quotes multiple unnamed IDF soldiers, some senior offices gave orders to shoot. One soldier described how civilians were shot as they approached the distribution centres in the pre-dawn darkness, and when they sought to flee. Netanyahu has denied the report. 'These are malicious falsehoods designed to defame the IDF [Israel Defence Forces], the most moral military in the world,' he said. AP has reported that American contractors guarding aid distribution sites are using live ammunition and stun grenades as hungry Palestinians scramble for food. 'There are innocent people being hurt. Badly. Needlessly,' a contractor said. According to the UN over 410 people were killed at GHF food distribution sites by June 24, while local health authorities say 600 have now been killed and more than 4000 wounded. Israeli airstrikes and shootings killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza late on Wednesday and on Thursday, including 45 who were seeking humanitarian aid, hospitals and the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said on Thursday according to a Washington Post report. It describes families weeping over the bodies from a strike that hit a tent camp during the night as displaced people slept in southern Gaza. At least 13 members of a single family were killed, including at least six children under 12, reports the Post. 'My children, my children … my beloved,' wailed Intisar Abu Assi, sobbing over the bodies of her son and daughters and their young children, says the report. Loading Netanyahu is expected to travel to Washington, DC, on Monday as part of Trump's intensifying efforts to secure a ceasefire, though his government appears determined to maintain its assaults in Gaza as a potential peace deal nears. 'We'll do to Gaza City and the central camps what we did to Rafah. Everything will turn to dust,' a senior Israeli official told Axios. 'It's not our preferred option, but if there's no movement towards a hostage deal, we won't have any other choice.'
