Gaza: Tensions escalate between the Israeli government and military leadership
The military escalation decided on by the Israeli government in the Gaza Strip, including the plan to gradually occupy the entire Palestinian enclave, has fractured the country since the security cabinet's announcement on Friday, August 8. The chief of the General Staff expressed his disagreement with this strategy both before and during the cabinet meeting, a stance deemed unacceptable by Netanyahu's supporters. "If that doesn't work for the chief of staff, he should resign," warned the prime minister's inner circle, according to Israeli media. Zamir shot back in a statement: "We will continue to express our positions without fear, in a substantive, independent and professional manner."
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LeMonde
8 hours ago
- LeMonde
Trump administration halts visas for people from Gaza
A day after conservative activist Laura Loomer posted videos on social media of children from Gaza arriving in the US for medical treatment and questioning how they got visas, the State Department said it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a review. The State Department said Saturday, August 16, that the visas would be stopped while it looks into how "a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas" were issued in recent days. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday told Face the Nation on CBS that the action came after "outreach from multiple congressional offices asking questions about it." Rubio said there were "just a small number" of visas issued to children in need of medical aid but that they were accompanied by adults. The congressional offices reached out with evidence that "some of the organizations bragging about and involved in acquiring these visas have strong links to terrorist groups like Hamas," he asserted, without providing evidence or naming those organizations. As a result, he said, "we are going to pause this program and reevaluate how those visas are being vetted and what relationship, if any, has there been by these organizations to the process of acquiring those visas." A 'national security threat' Loomer on Friday posted videos on X of children from Gaza arriving earlier this month in San Francisco and Houston for medical treatment with the aid of an organization called HEAL Palestine. "Despite the US saying we are not accepting Palestinian 'refugees' into the United States under the Trump administration," these people from Gaza were able to travel to the US, she said. She called it a "national security threat" and asked who signed off on the visas, calling for the person to be fired. She tagged Rubio, President Donald Trump , Vice President JD Vance , GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and California Governor Gavin Newsom. Trump has downplayed Loomer's influence on his administration, but several officials swiftly left or were removed shortly after she publicly criticized them. The State Department on Sunday declined to comment on how many of the visas had been granted and whether the decision to halt visas to people from Gaza had anything to do with Loomer's posts. HEAL Palestine said in a statement Sunday that it was "distressed" by the State Department decision to halt visitor visas from Gaza. The group said it is "an American humanitarian nonprofit organization delivering urgent aid and medical care to children in Palestine." A post on the organization's Facebook page on Thursday shows a photo of a boy from Gaza leaving Egypt and headed to St. Louis for treatment and said he is "our 15th evacuated child arriving in the US in the last two weeks."
France 24
11 hours ago
- France 24
Tens of thousands of Israelis protest for end to Gaza war
"We're here to make it very clear to the Israeli government that this is probably the last minute we have to save the hostages that are being held in the Hamas tunnels for almost 700 days," Ofir Penso, a 50-year-old Arabic teacher, told AFP. Demonstrations have been held regularly through most of the 22 months of war in the wake of the Hamas attacks in 2023, but Sunday's protests appeared to be one of the largest yet. The renewed energy of the movement came with the government deciding just over a week ago to seize Gaza City and nearby camps in a new offensive. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's vow to conquer the most populated swathes of the Gaza Strip has triggered an international backlash while aid agencies and UN experts have warned of unfolding famine in the territory. Recent video footage released by Palestinian militants showed hostages heavily emaciated and pale -- spurring fears that the captives' health is more fragile than ever. Many in the crowd wore makeshift patches on their shirts made with pieces of tape with the number 681 -- the number of days the hostages have been held captive in Gaza -- scrawled in marker pen. Of the 251 people taken hostage by Palestinian militants in October 2023, 49 remain in the Gaza Strip, including 27 the Israeli military has said are dead. 'Enough is enough' Snaking along downtown streets, shadowed by glass towers, the crowd converged on Tel Aviv's Hostage Square -- the focal point of movement. "The Israeli government has never offered a genuine initiative for a comprehensive agreement and an end to the war," Einav Tzangauker, whose son Matan is being held captive in Gaza, told the crowd. "We demand a comprehensive and achievable agreement and an end to the war. We demand what is rightfully ours -– our children." The war has also touched on other frustrations for many who took to the streets. "The whole country is fighting with each other, our image around the world has completely changed, worse than it ever was, and enough is enough," Nick, a 31-year-old tech worker, told AFP, asking not to use his last name. Others worried about the fate of their own children enlisted in the Israeli military who had been sent to Gaza and feared that they might soon be recalled to fight. "We are hoping and praying that our government will hear us and listen to us," said Ella Kaufman from Kadima Zoran, who has two sons serving as officers in the Israeli army. "I'm also a concerned mother." While thousands took to the streets, there were others in Tel Aviv who hoped for an end to the war but in different circumstances. "No, I won't be protesting against Bibi, because I think that he has to finish the work, he has to finish the war," said Patrick Menache, a 69-year-old real estate investor in Tel Aviv, using a common nickname for Netanyahu. Nevertheless, he admitted the war had taken a toll.
France 24
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- France 24
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