
Netanyahu renews resolve to continue fighting in Gaza after hostage videos
Netanyahu made the statement in a video on Sunday in reaction to the release of videos showing two Israelis held captive by Hamas. The clips show two extremely skinny men. One of the clips carried a caption that says, "The occupation government has decided to starve them." Netanyahu called the videos horrifying.
Hamas was apparently attempting to pressure Israel to increase delivery of food and aid supplies to Gaza. Scores of Gazans have died from malnutrition and starvation amid acute food shortages in the Palestinian enclave.
Netanyahu asked the International Committee of the Red Cross on Sunday to swiftly provide food and medical care to hostages in Gaza.
Hamas said it is ready to cooperate with the Red Cross if Israel opens humanitarian corridors to deliver aid to all the residents in Gaza and halts airstrikes during distribution.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Japan Times
4 hours ago
- Japan Times
U.S. to ease criticism of El Salvador, Israel and Russia, says report
The Trump administration plans to scale back criticism of El Salvador, Israel and Russia over human rights, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing drafts of the State Department's annual human rights report. The draft reports related to those countries were significantly shorter than the ones prepared by the administration of Democratic former President Joe Biden, who left office in January, following Republican Donald Trump's November 2024 election win. The State Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has not yet officially released this year's report, which covers last year's incidents. A senior State Department official in a briefing with reporters declined to provide specific details about the contents of the report but said it had been restructured in a way that "removes redundancies, increases report readability." The United States has traditionally viewed the promotion of human rights and democracy as well as press freedom as core foreign policy objectives, although critics have repeatedly pointed out the double standard Washington has had towards its allies. Under Trump, the administration has increasingly moved away from the traditional promotion of democracy and human rights, largely seeing it as interference in another country's affairs. Instead, Trump officials have interfered in other ways, repeatedly weighing in on European politics to denounce what they see as suppression of right-wing leaders, including in Romania, Germany and France, and accusing European authorities of censoring views such as criticism of immigration. On El Salvador, the draft State Department report states that it had "no credible reports of significant human rights abuses" in 2024, the Post said. The previous report published under the Biden administration said there were "significant human rights issues" there including credible reports of "degrading treatment or punishment by security forces" and "harsh and life-threatening prison conditions." The Trump administration has deported people to El Salvador with help from the government of President Nayib Bukele, whose country is receiving $6 million from the U.S. to house the migrants in a high-security mega-prison. The draft report makes no mention of corruption or threats to the independence of Israel's judiciary, the Post reported. The previous report mentioned isolated reports of government corruption and cited the criminal case of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust — all of which he denies. Previous references to Israeli surveillance of Palestinians and restrictions of their movements were also not addressed in the draft report, the newspaper said. The final report on Russia issued under the Biden State Department made several references to violence and harassment faced by LGBTQ+ people in Russia. The Washington Post said the draft report removed all references to LGBTQ+ individuals or crimes against them, and descriptions of government abuses that remained had been softened. The embassies of El Salvador, Israel and Russia in Washington did not immediately respond to separate emailed requests for comment. The Trump administration has moved to reshape the State Department's human rights bureau, which it said had become a platform for "left-wing activists to wage vendettas against 'anti-woke' leaders." Usually, the annual report is released around March or April each year but has been delayed this year. The State Department official said the report would be released "in the very near future." "The report is not meant to be every single human rights abuse that's happened in every single country. It's meant to be illustrative and a broad picture of what the conditions of human rights are on the ground in each country," the official said.

Japan Times
8 hours ago
- Japan Times
Israeli military chief opposes Gaza war expansion, raising pressure on Netanyahu
Israel's military chief has pushed back against Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to seize areas of Gaza it doesn't already control, three Israeli officials said, as the Israeli prime minister faces increasing pressure over the war both at home and abroad. During a tense, three-hour meeting on Tuesday, Eyal Zamir, the military chief of staff, warned the prime minister that taking the rest of Gaza could trap the military in the territory, which it withdrew from two decades ago, and could lead to harm to the hostages being held there, the sources briefed on the meeting said. The Israeli military says it already controls 75% of Gaza after nearly two years of war, which began when militant group Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities in October 2023. It has repeatedly opposed imposing military rule, annexing the territory, and rebuilding Jewish settlements there — policies advocated by some government members. Netanyahu is under intense international pressure to reach a ceasefire in the coastal enclave, which has been reduced to rubble in the fighting. Most of the population of about 2 million has been displaced multiple times and aid groups say residents are on the verge of famine. The U.N. has called reports about a possible expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza "deeply alarming" if true. The military, which accuses Hamas of operating amongst civilians, has at times avoided areas where intelligence suggested hostages were held and former captives have said their captors threatened to kill them if Israeli forces approached. Netanyahu told Zamir that so far the military had failed to bring about the release of the hostages, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Most of those freed so far came about as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X Wednesday that the military chief has both the right and the duty to voice his opinion, but said that the military would carry out the government's decisions until all war objectives are achieved. The prime minister's office confirmed the meeting with Zamir on Tuesday but declined to comment further and the military did not respond to a request for comment. The prime minister is scheduled to discuss military plans for Gaza with other ministers on Thursday. A fourth source said Netanyahu wants to expand military operations in Gaza to put pressure on Hamas. Eyal Zamir, Israel's military chief of staff, pushed back against plans to expand the war in Gaza, warning it could trap troops in the enclave and bring harm to the hostages. | REUTERS Netanyahu, who in May said that Israel would control all of Gaza, leads the most right-wing coalition government in Israel's history and some of his key partners have in the past threatened to quit if the government ended the war. Following a 40-minute meeting with the prime minister on Wednesday, opposition leader Yair Lapid told reporters he had advised Netanyahu that the public was not interested in continuing the war and that a full military takeover would be a very bad idea. A public poll last month by Israel's Channel 12 also showed support for a diplomatic deal that would end the war and secure the release of the hostages. There are 50 hostages still being held in Gaza, of whom at least 20 are believed to be alive. Videos released by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group in Gaza, last week of two extremely emaciated captives triggered international condemnation. Close to 200 Palestinians have died of starvation in Gaza since the war began, about half of them children, according to Gaza's health ministry. More than 20 died on Wednesday when a truck believed to be carrying food overturned as it was swarmed by a desperate crowd, according to local health authorities. The latest ceasefire talks in Qatar broke down last month. Hamas insists any deal must lead to a permanent end to the war, while Israel accuses the group of lacking sincerity about giving up power afterward and must be defeated. An expansion of the military offensive in heavily populated areas would likely be devastating. "Where will we go?" said Tamer Al-Burai, a displaced Palestinian living at the edge of Deir Al Balah in central Gaza. "Should people jump into the sea if the tanks rolled in, or wait to die under the rubble of their houses? We want an end to this war, it is enough, enough," he said by phone. The war in Gaza has also overextended Israel's military, which has a small standing army and has had to repeatedly mobilize reservists. It is not clear if more reservists would be needed to expand operations and take more territory. The military continued to carry out airstrikes across Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 135 people in the past 24 hours, the Gaza health ministry said, with the death toll since the beginning of the conflict now at more than 61,000, mostly civilians, it says. About 1,200 people were killed, including more than 700 civilians, and 251 hostages taken to Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israel, according to Israeli tallies.


Japan Today
14 hours ago
- Japan Today
Israel orders army to carry out gov't decisions on Gaza
A Palestinian girl at the site of an overnight Israeli strike in Gaza City By Herve Bar and Gianluca Pacchiani Israel's military will have to carry out any government decisions on Gaza, the defense minister said Wednesday after reported disagreements over the prospect of a full occupation of the Palestinian territory. As the war nears its 23rd month, signs of a rift over Israel's strategy have emerged with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu preparing to announce a new plan. Netanyahu is expected to convene his security cabinet on Thursday to finalise a decision on the expansion of the offensive, Israeli media reported. He has said Israel must "complete" the defeat of Palestinian militant group Hamas in order to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza since the October 2023 attack that triggered the war. The Israeli press, citing officials speaking on condition of anonymity, has predicted an escalation of operations, including in densely populated areas where hostages are believed to be held, such as Gaza City and refugee camps. On Wednesday, the military issued a fresh evacuation call for parts of Gaza City, in the north, and Khan Yunis in the south, where a spokesman said ground troops were preparing to "expand the scope of combat operations". Media reports in Israel have said Netanyahu and his cabinet may order a full military occupation of Gaza, allegedly sparking dissension from armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir. On Tuesday, Netanyahu held a three-hour meeting with security chiefs including Zamir to discuss options for the continuation of the war, the premier's office said in a statement. At the meeting, Zamir warned that a full occupation would be like "walking into a trap", public broadcaster Kan reported. Channel 12 television said the armed forces chief suggested alternatives to a full occupation, such as encircling specific areas where Hamas militants are believed to be hunkering down. Defence Minister Israel Katz said in post on X that while "it is the right and duty of the chief of staff to express his position in the appropriate forums", the military is bound by any decisions made by the government. "Once decisions are made by the political echelon, the IDF will execute them with determination and professionalism," Katz said, using an acronym for the Israeli military. Trump says 'up to Israel' Opposition leader Yair Lapid said he told Netanyahu in a Wednesday meeting that "occupying Gaza is a very bad idea... operationally, morally and economically". U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday he was not aware of plans to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, but said that such a decision would be "up to Israel". The Israeli government is under growing pressure to bring the war to an end, with mounting concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and increasing alarm among Israelis about the fate of the remaining hostages. Out of 251 hostages seized during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. International criticism has surged over the suffering of the more than two million Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza after the United Nations warned that famine is unfolding in the territory. According to the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization, just 1.5 percent of Gaza's farmland is accessible and undamaged -- less than a square mile -- according to the latest satellite survey published Wednesday. "Gaza is now on the brink of a full-scale famine," the FAO's director-general Qu Dongyu said in a statement. "People are starving not because food is unavailable, but because access is blocked, local agrifood systems have collapsed and families can no longer sustain even the most basic livelihoods." Gaza's civil defence agency said that at least 22 people were killed overnight when an aid truck overturned onto a crowd of people hoping to collect food rations. "The truck overturned while hundreds of civilians were waiting for food aid" in central Gaza, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. He said that "the truck had been forced by the Israeli army to take dangerous roads" that had been damaged in bomardments. The Hamas-run government accused Israel of "deliberately obstructing the safe passage and distribution of the aid". Asked by AFP, a military official said the army was not involved in the incident. At the end of May, Israel eased the aid blockade it had imposed in early March. But the United Nations says the quantities of aid being allowed into Gaza are still insufficient. The October 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, the majority of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The Israeli offensive has killed at least 61,158 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry which are considered reliable by the United Nations. © 2025 AFP