Israel minister says 'time to go in with full force' in Gaza
An Israeli far-right minister said on Friday it was time to use "full force" in Gaza, after Hamas said a new US-backed truce proposal failed to meet its demands.
Negotiations to end nearly 20 months of war have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming operations in Gaza in March ending a six-week truce.
Israel recently intensified its offensive in what it says is a renewed push to destroy Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war.
"Mr Prime Minister, after Hamas rejected the deal proposal again -- there are no more excuses," far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on his Telegram channel, addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"The confusion, the shuffling and the weakness must end. We have already missed too many opportunities. It is time to go in with full force, without blinking, to destroy, and kill Hamas to the last one."
The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump and US envoy Steve Witkoff had "submitted a ceasefire proposal to Hamas that Israel backed".
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added that discussions were "continuing" with the militants.
Israel has not confirmed that it approved the new proposal.
Hamas sources said last week the group had accepted a US-backed deal, but on Thursday political bureau member Bassem Naim said the new version meant "the continuation of killing and famine... and does not meet any of our people's demands, foremost among them halting the war".
"Nonetheless, the movement's leadership is studying the response to the proposal with full national responsibility," he added.
- 'Retreat' -
A source close to the group said the new version "is considered a retreat" from the previous one, which "included an American commitment regarding permanent ceasefire negotiations".
According to two sources close to the negotiations, the new proposal involves a 60-day truce, potentially extendable to 70 days, and the release of five living hostages and nine bodies in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during the first week.
It also involves a second exchange of the same number of living and dead hostages during the second week, according to the sources.
The same sources said Hamas had agreed last week to two exchanges on the same terms, but one during the first week of the truce and the other during the final week.
Out of 251 hostages seized during the October 2023 attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
The humanitarian situation in the territory remains dire despite aid beginning to trickle in after a more than two-month Israeli blockade.
Food security experts say starvation is looming for one in five people.
Medical facilities in Gaza, meanwhile, have come under increasing strain and repeated attack.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that European countries should "harden the collective position" against Israel if it does not respond appropriately to the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
With international pressure mounting on Israel over the deepening hunger crisis, Macron said action was needed "in the next few hours and days".
In its latest update Thursday, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 3,986 people had been killed in the territory since Israel resumed major operations on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,249, mostly civilians.
Hamas's attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
lma-acc/kir
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Former Beatle, 84, Reveals the Surprising Origins of His Catchphrase
Former Beatle, 84, Reveals the Surprising Origins of His Catchphrase originally appeared on Parade. When the average person hears the name Ringo Starr, a few things might come to mind: The Beatles. Drums. "Yellow Submarine." Thomas and Friends. And, of course, there's always the musician's iconic catchphrase: "Peace and love." It's long been assumed by many that Starr, 84, came up with his motto after visiting India with the other Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison — in 1968. But as he recently told the Associated Press, Starr was actually inspired to coin the phrase after spending time in a particular American city. 'It actually came, for me, from San Francisco, where the hippies were,' Starr said. 'They were, of course, great peace and lovers, and then it changed. But I found a picture the other day of the four of us [giving the peace sign]...I didn't invent it, I just picked it up. Johnwas a big proponent of peace and love, and it just came to me.' In the years since, however, Starr has come to appreciate the true value of his message, which the world might need to hear now more than ever. 'I think it's important every day — and right now the world is going through a madness. Maybe it'll help,' Starr said. Later in the same interview, the drummer admitted that he's naturally 'an optimist, not a pessimist," referencing the challenges of his early life (which included contracting tuberculosis and spending two years in a sanatorium, where he learned to play the drums). 'I just feel positive,' he explained, 'Not every day, and not all my life, but some of those things I knew I needed from what I was 13, really ill in hospital.' Starr's sunny attitude has clearly paid off — and he's apparently not slowing down anytime in the near future. Later this month, the soon-to-be 85-year-old is heading out on tour with his All Star Beatle, 84, Reveals the Surprising Origins of His Catchphrase first appeared on Parade on Jun 2, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
24 minutes ago
- USA Today
Russia's 'Pearl Harbor': What to know about Ukraine's audacious drone strike
Russia's 'Pearl Harbor': What to know about Ukraine's audacious drone strike Ukraine unleashed more than a hundred drones smuggled deep into Russia in what it called its most damaging attack yet. Show Caption Hide Caption Donald Trump 'disappointed' with Vladimir Putin President Donald Trump told reporters he was 'disappointed' with Russian President Vladimir Putin, referencing latest attacks on Ukraine. Ukraine said the strikes on Russian strategic bombers had caused $7 billion in damage. "It had an absolutely brilliant outcome," Zelenskyy said. 'It is impossible to restore these losses,' Rybar, a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel, said. WASHINGTON − Ukraine destroyed dozens of enemy bombers using a horde of drones smuggled deep into Russia in a stunning attack that Russian war bloggers are calling Moscow's Pearl Harbor. It was the most damaging Ukrainian attack on Russia in the three years since Moscow invaded. Ukrainian intelligence said the coordinated strikes on June 1 took a $7 billion toll on Russia's military and demolished more than a third of Moscow's strategic cruise missile carriers, including planes cabable of carrying nuclear warheads. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the massive attack, which he said used 117 drones, his country's "longest-range operation." More: War in Ukraine rages on as Putin's 3-day ceasefire nears: updates in maps Russia's Pearl Harbor? "It had an absolutely brilliant outcome," Zelenskyy said on Telegram. "Russia has had very tangible losses, and justifiably so." Oksana Markarova, Kyiv's ambassador to the United States, called the attack a "very successful defensive operation in Russia against Russian aircraft that, on a daily basis, bomb our hospitals and schools and kill our kids." Speaking at an AI event in Washington, Markarova said it was "the best example of how innovation can and should work in defense." With Ukraine set to meet Russia for U.S.-brokered peace talks the next day and amid aggressive Russian advances on the battlefield, the ambitious June 1 attack showed neither side is counting on a breakthrough in negotiations. "We hope that the response will be the same as the US response to the attack on their Pearl Harbor or even tougher," Russian war blogger Roman Alekhin wrote on Telegram, comparing the Ukrainian strike to the 1941 Japanese raid on a U.S. base in Hawaii. 'It is impossible to restore these losses,' reported Rybar, a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel. Ukrainian 'Spider's Web' The operation, code-named "Spider's Web," was characteristic of the style of warfare Ukraine has made its brand as it attempts to undercut Russia's larger military – flooding the zone with cheap, deadly drones. But the scope of this attack set a new precedent. The drones, strapped with explosives, were hidden inside the roofs of wooden sheds, which were dropped off by trucks at the outer edge of Russian military bases, a Ukrainian security official told Reuters. The roofs then opened by remote control, unleashing the drones to swarm the military bases. Ukraine's intelligence service said 41 Russian aircraft were hit at four air bases stretching from the Finnish border to Siberia. One targeted base, in the Irkutsk region, lies more than 2,600 miles from the front lines, making it the farthest target Ukraine has hit during the conflict. Russia's defense ministry acknowledged in Telegram messages June 1 that drones launched "from an area in close proximity to airfields resulted in several aircraft catching fire." The operation came a day after Russia launched a massive overnight attack on Ukraine using 472 drones and seven missiles, according to Ukraine's air force – the most drones launched in one operation throughout the conflict. Separately on June 1, Ukraine struck two highway bridges in Russian regions close to its borders, killing seven people and injuring 69. One bridge collapsed on a train carrying nearly 400 passengers to Moscow, according to Russian investigators. Three of the missiles and 372 drones were downed, the air force said. Peace talks restart as Trump loses patience with Russia Ukraine launched the operation a day before Ukraine and Russia will meet for U.S.-mediated negotiations in Istanbul to end the grinding conflict. President Donald Trump has pressed both sides for a ceasefire. Earlier this year, his focus was trained on Ukraine, sparking tension with Zelenskyy that exploded into public view during a combative Oval Office meeting in late February. But in recent weeks, Trump has grown more frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin's dug-in position in negotiations. In his starkest criticism of Putin to date, Trump wrote that Putin had "gone absolutely CRAZY" after Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles into Ukrainian cities last weekend that killed a dozen people. "I've always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!" Trump wrote in a May 25 Truth Social. Trump said days later in the Oval Office that he was "very disappointed" that "people were killed in the middle of what you would call a negotiation." (This article was updated to correct the misspelling of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's last name.)
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Canada to expedite nation building projects to counter Trump
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government will start pushing legislation that would fast-track ambitious national projects to boost Canada's economy, now faced with Donald Trump's tariffs. Carney outlined his plan on Monday after a meeting - described as "very productive" - with the leaders of Canada's provinces and territories. "This has been the best meeting we've had in 10 years," Ontario premier Doug Ford told reporters. Carney said his plan is to narrow down a list of so-called "nation building" projects - like pipelines, nuclear reactors and trade corridors - and create a framework in which the projects would be approved in under two years' time. The goal, he said, is to quickly build infrastructure that will make Canada "the strongest economy in the G7," as well as strengthen the country's autonomy and resilience in the future. "This meeting demonstrated how we can give ourselves far more than any foreign government can take away," Carney told reporters. Monday's meeting marked Carney's first with Canada's premiers since his federal election win in April. He had campaigned heavily on bolstering the country's economy to counter tariff threats from the US, with whom Canada does the bulk of its trade. President Trump has imposed tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminium and its auto sector, and said he plans to double levies on steel and aluminium to 50%, starting on Wednesday to "further secure the steel industry in the United States." Carney called the latest tariffs "unjustified and unlawful". He added that Canada's minister for US-Canada trade Dominic LeBlanc will be travelling to the US on Monday evening to resume trade talks. In the meantime, Carney said his government will focus on "projects of national interest" to help Canada sell its resources in more markets, strengthen its security and reduce reliance on other nations. These projects can come from provinces or the private sector, and must meet a criteria that includes offering "undeniable benefit" to Canada's economy and having "a high likelihood" of being built successfully. They also must be environmentally clean and sustainable, and a high priority for Canada's indigenous communities, Carney said. They can include anything from highways, railways, ports, airports, pipelines, nuclear projects, clean energy projects and electric transmission lines. Another priority, Carney said, is building infrastructure in the Arctic to secure the territory and cement Canada's sovereignty in the region - where other nations, including China, Russia and the US, are fighting for dominance. Some provinces already have submitted proposals, but Carney did not indicate which, if any, would be greenlit. The premiers - including Alberta's Danielle Smith, who had been highly critical of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - appeared unified after their first meeting with Carney. Ford said there was "great collaboration" between all leaders, while Smith said she was "encouraged" by Carney's agenda. But questions remain on whether provinces will find common ground on more contentious projects, like oil and gas pipelines. First Nations leaders also have expressed concern about Carney's plan, saying they fear it will side-step their land and water rights, and have asked for more clarity on how they will be involved. US to double tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to 50%, Trump says Canada will deal with Trump 'on our terms', Carney tells BBC Faisal Islam: Carney wants to lead a G7 fightback on Trump tariffs
