Full-Time Occupation: Netanyahu approves Gaza takeover
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Axios
5 minutes ago
- Axios
Trump doesn't oppose Netanyahu plan for full Gaza occupation: U.S. officials
President Trump does not oppose Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to launch a new military operation to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, U.S. and Israeli officials say. Why it matters: The Israeli Security Cabinet is expected to approve on Thursday a highly controversial plan to expand the war. According to the sources, Trump has decided not to intervene and to let the Israeli government make its own decisions. The big picture: The new operation to occupy additional areas of central Gaza, including Gaza City, is expected to take at least several months and involve displacing around 1 million Palestinian civilians. The Israel Defense Forces would also be moving into areas where Israel believes hostages are being held, possibly risking their lives. Netanyahu is poised to escalate the war despite massive international pressure to stop the fighting and prioritize the humanitarian crisis in the enclave — and over the objections of his own top generals. What they're saying: Two U.S. officials tell Axios Trump won't intervene in the Israeli decision-making around the new operation. When asked on Tuesday about a possible Israeli full occupation of Gaza, Trump said: "I really can't say. It is going to be pretty much up to Israel." Netanyahu and his aides claim Hamas isn't interested in signing a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage deal on terms Israel can accept, and that only military pressure can change that. "We are not willing to remain in the current limbo and we are not willing to surrender to Hamas' demands — so essentially only one option is left, to take a drastic step. This is the last card we have left," a Netanyahu aide told Axios. Behind the scenes: One U.S. official said Trump was moved by the video released by Hamas of an Israeli hostage digging his own grave. "It influenced the president, and he is going to let the Israelis do what they need to do," the official said. At the same time, the U.S. official said the Trump administration doesn't support Israeli annexation of parts of Gaza — another possibility discussed by Israeli officials. Between the lines: The IDF has been reluctant to attack the areas in Gaza that the new plan focuses on for fear of accidentally killing hostages. According to Israeli officials, IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Eyal Zamir told Netanyahu such a move would endanger the hostages and could lead to Israeli military rule in Gaza with full responsibility over 2 million Palestinians. "You are walking into a trap," Zamir told Netanyahu in a meeting on Tuesday, according to multiple reports in the Israeli press. It appears that Netanyahu was unmoved. Split screen: The White House plans to focus in the coming weeks on addressing the starvation crisis in Gaza, though the expansion of the war would make that more difficult. In a meeting Monday evening at the White House, Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff discussed plans for the U.S. to significantly increase its role in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. "The United States remains committed to helping alleviate the situation in Gaza and is supportive of efforts to increase humanitarian aid. However, the United States is not 'taking over' the aid effort," a U.S. official told Axios. What to watch: The Trump administration plans to increase its funding to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in order to open new aid centers in parts of Gaza to which displaced Palestinians will be relocated, both in north and central Gaza, sources say.
Axios
5 minutes ago
- Axios
Cambridge doubles down on sanctuary city policy
The city of Cambridge has reinforced its stance as a sanctuary city for immigrants amid renewed federal enforcement, elevating its protections for migrants to among the strongest in Massachusetts. Why it matters: One of the most proudly progressive communities in the state — perhaps the country — is telling President Trump the city won't lift a finger to assist immigration enforcers. Driving the news: The Cambridge City Council unanimously amended its 40-year-old Welcoming Community Ordinance on Monday night to further restrict police cooperation with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The council vote came after the Department of Homeland Security initially named Cambridge among more than 200 cities accused of "defying federal immigration law," a list that was later retracted. What they're saying:"Cambridge is not going to lock down or make a deal with the Trump administration and weaken our protections. In fact, we're going to bolster them," said Councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, who championed the changes. Zoom in: With the council vote, Cambridge eliminated language allowing police to provide traffic control or escorts for federal agents. The updated ordinance states that Cambridge police will focus solely on public safety and not on assisting federal agents. Cambridge officers must now verify federal agents' identities during immigration operations. City employees will work to document any federal immigration action in Cambridge and identify any ICE agents, "including with masked individuals," Sobrinho-Wheeler said. Between the lines: The updated policy is the result of a compromise between councilors and the Cambridge police union over concerns about officer safety. Police also worried about potential federal obstruction charges if they got in the way of ICE. The bottom line: Cambridge, where 91.7% of voters supported a candidate other than Trump in the 2024 election, wants to be on the vanguard of the immigration issue. "What we're doing is something that's very responsible and also very clear that we are standing up ... and we're moving forward with a strong ordinance to ensure that our safety is protected," Councilor Patricia Nolan said.
Boston Globe
5 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Dozens killed seeking aid in Gaza as Israel weighs further military action
Advertisement Another escalation of the nearly 22-month war could put the lives of countless Palestinians and around 20 living Israeli hostages at risk and would draw fierce opposition both internationally and within Israel. Netanyahu's far-right coalition allies have long called for the war to be expanded and for Israel to eventually take over Gaza, relocate much of its population, and rebuild Jewish settlements there. President Trump, asked by a reporter Tuesday whether he supported the reoccupation of Gaza, said he wasn't aware of the 'suggestion' but that 'it's going to be pretty much up to Israel.' Of the 38 Palestinians killed while seeking aid, at least 28 died in the Morag Corridor, an Israeli military zone in southern Gaza where UN convoys have been repeatedly overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds in recent days, and where witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire. Advertisement The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots as Palestinians advanced toward them, and that it was not aware of any casualties. Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies, said another four people were killed in the Teina area, on a route leading to a site in southern Gaza run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an American contractor. The Al-Awda Hospital said it received the bodies of six people killed near a GHF site in central Gaza. GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites and that the one in central Gaza was not open on Wednesday. It said the violence may have been related to the chaos around UN convoys. Two of the Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza City, in the north of the territory, killing 13 people there, including six children and five women, according to the Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the bodies. The Israeli military says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because its militants are entrenched in heavily populated areas. Israel facilitated the establishment of four GHF sites in May after blocking the entry of all food, medicine, and other goods for 2 1/2 months. Israeli and US officials said a new system was needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off humanitarian aid. The United Nations, which has delivered aid to hundreds of distribution points across Gaza throughout the war when conditions allow, has rejected the new system, saying it forces Palestinians to travel long distances and risk their lives for food, and that it allows Israel to control who gets aid, potentially using it to advance plans for further mass displacement. Advertisement The UN human rights office said last week that some 1,400 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid since May, mostly near GHF sites but also along UN convoy routes where trucks have been overwhelmed by crowds. It says nearly all were killed by Israeli fire. This week, a group of UN special rapporteurs and independent human rights experts called for the GHF to be disbanded, saying it is 'an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in serious breach of international law.' The experts work with the UN but do not represent the world body. The GHF called their statement 'disgraceful' and urged the UN and other aid groups to work with it 'to maximize the amount of aid being securely delivered to the Palestinian people in Gaza.' The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots when crowds threatened its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray and fired into the air on some occasions to prevent deadly crowding at its sites. Israel's air and ground war has destroyed nearly all of Gaza's food production capabilities, leaving its people reliant on international aid. A new report by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN satellite center found that just 8.6 percent of Gaza's cropland is still accessible following sweeping Israeli evacuation orders in recent months. Just 1.5 percent is accessible and undamaged, it said. The military offensive and a breakdown in security have made it nearly impossible for anyone to safely deliver aid, and aid groups say recent Israeli measures to facilitate more assistance are far from sufficient. Advertisement Hospitals recorded four more malnutrition-related deaths over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 193 people, including 96 children, since the war began in October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Jordan said Israeli settlers blocked roads and hurled stones at a convoy of four trucks carrying aid bound for Gaza after they drove across the border into the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli far-right activists have repeatedly sought to halt aid from entering Gaza. Jordanian government spokesperson Mohammed al-Momani condemned the attack, which he said had shattered the windshields of the trucks, according to the Jordanian state-run Petra News Agency. The Israeli military said security forces went to the scene to disperse the gathering and accompanied the trucks to their destination.
