Israel's Operation Wrath of God: do targeted assassinations work?
The parallels with the Hamas massacre of October 7 are not perfect, but Guttmann's book Operation Wrath of God, about Israel's covert assassination campaign after the Munich massacre, is a timely and worthy contribution to intelligence history. That covert campaign — ten missions to kill Palestinians linked with terrorism — has great relevance for today's counterterrorism operations. For instance, is there such a thing as 'surgical justice'?
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Telegraph
13 minutes ago
- Telegraph
The safe passage of aid must be allowed in Gaza
The dramatic shift in Israel's policy towards Gaza follows weeks of mounting international pressure for more to be done to help the Palestinian people caught in the middle of this catastrophe. The arguments over who was responsible are largely pointless now. The casus belli was the October 7, 2023 invasion by Hamas and the murder of more than 1,000 Israelis, and the kidnapping of scores more. Without that atrocity what we are now seeing would not have happened. Those who march through European capitals every week, blaming Israel for wanting peace and security free from neighbours seeking their destruction, do not have to live in the region. Nor do they consider what any country would do if its citizens were taken hostage and kept as bargaining counters by terrorists. Had they been released and Hamas accepted Israel's right to exist this could have ended months ago. But with a humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza we are past the blame game, as the Israeli government is tacitly conceding by offering 10-hour daily pauses and opening aid corridors in densely populated parts of the Strip. This is 'to enable the safe passage of UN and humanitarian aid organisation convoys delivering and distributing food and medicine to the population'. There have also been air drops of aid in recent days. Critics will say this has come a bit late in the day, although the Israelis have challenged Hamas's accounts of what has happened to past aid convoys, many of which they say have been hijacked. Nonetheless, the new, open-ended, policy is indicative of the massive pressure now being applied to Jerusalem, with countries like France proposing to recognise a Palestinian state. As more pictures emerge from inside Gaza it has become impossible for the Israelis to maintain a narrative that the privation of the people is being exaggerated. Now they have opened up the aid corridors it is imperative that the world sees it is being delivered to women and children and not being intercepted by Hamas. To that end, opening the country to the free and safe movement of foreign media representatives can only be to Israel's advantage. The fact remains, however, that Hamas is still holding at least 50 hostages, of whom 20 are thought still to be alive. Their release is essential to any chance of an agreement to end the conflict. Furthermore, apart from Jordan and the UAE, what are other Arab countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia doing to help the Palestinians?
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Hamas' exiled Gaza chief says ceasefire talks meaningless under 'blockade and starvation'
July 27 (Reuters) - The exiled head of Hamas in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, said on Sunday ceasefire negotiations with Israel were "meaningless under continued blockade and starvation". "The immediate and dignified delivery of food and medicine to our people is the only serious and genuine indication of whether continuing the negotiations is worthwhile," he said in a recorded speech.
Leader Live
2 hours ago
- Leader Live
Military pause not enough to ease Gaza suffering, Lammy warns
The Foreign Secretary welcomed the resumption of humanitarian corridors in the enclave but called for access to supplies to be 'urgently' widened over the coming hours and days. He said Israel's announcement that it would suspend fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day and open secure routes for aid delivery to desperate Palestinians was 'essential but long overdue.' 'This announcement alone cannot alleviate the needs of those desperately suffering in Gaza,' the Foreign Secretary said in a statement on Sunday. 'We need a ceasefire that can end the war, for hostages to be released and aid to enter Gaza by land unhindered. 'Whilst airdrops will help to alleviate the worst of the suffering, land routes serve as the only viable and sustainable means of providing aid into Gaza. 'These measures must be fully implemented and further barriers on aid removed. The world is watching.' Britain is working with Jordan to airdrop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance, with military planners deployed for further support. However, the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency has warned that such efforts are 'a distraction' that will fail to properly address deepening starvation in the strip, and could in some cases harm civilians. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said: 'A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will. 'Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.' On Sunday, Israel announced military pauses to enable the 'safe movement' of food and medicine to Gaza via designated UN convoys amid mounting international alarm at humanitarian conditions in the strip. Images emerging from Gaza in recent days of emaciated children have seen the country's government criticised for its conduct during the 21-month war. Food experts have warned for months of the risk of famine as Israel continued to restrict aid, which it says is because Hamas siphons off goods. Ceasefire talks between the two sides ground to a standstill this week after the US and Israel withdrew negotiating teams from Qatar, with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff accusing Hamas of a 'lack of desire' to reach an agreement. Sir Keir Starmer is expected to press Donald Trump on the revival of talks as he meets the US President during his visit to Scotland on Monday. The deal under discussion was expected to include a 60-day ceasefire, and aid supplies would be ramped up as conditions for a lasting truce were brokered. Sir Keir will raise Washington's work with partners in Qatar and Egypt during his talks with Mr Trump and seek to discuss what more can be done to urgently bring about a ceasefire, it is understood. Speaking to journalists at his Turnberry golf resort in Ayrshire on Sunday, Mr Trump said that the UK was 'very much involved in terms of wanting something to happen.' Asked about the prospect of restarting peace talks, he said: 'We're meeting about a lot of things… I think we're going to be discussing a lot about Israel. 'They're very much involved in terms of wanting something to happen. '(The Prime Minister) is doing a very good job, by the way.' Later in the week he will chair a Cabinet meeting, with further updates on the UK's next steps expected in the coming days as Mr Lammy prepares to attend a UN conference on a two-state solution in New York. Speaking to broadcasters on Sunday, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury James Murray acknowledged that airdrops come with 'real limits and drawbacks' but that the situation was 'desperate and urgent.' 'Until the restrictions are lifted, until aid is able to get in at the scale and quantity that is needed, we need to be doing everything we possibly can to help,' he told Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips show. It comes after the Prime Minister held crisis talks with French and German counterparts on Saturday, during which Number 10 said they agreed 'it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently-needed ceasefire into lasting peace'. A Downing Street readout of the call made no mention of Palestinian statehood, which Sir Keir has faced calls to immediately recognise after French President Emmanuel Macron announced his country would do so in September. Some 221 MPs from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and independents have signed a letter pressuring the Government to follow suit at a UN meeting next week. The majority of those who have signed, 131, are Labour MPs. #Gaza: airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation. They are expensive, inefficient & can even kill starving is a distraction & screensmoke. A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will. Lift the siege, open the gates & guarantee safe movements… — Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) July 26, 2025 The Government says it is a question of 'when, not if' statehood is recognised but that its immediate focus should be on getting aid into the territory. Mr Murray said on Sunday: 'As a Government, we're committed to the recognition of Palestine, but we need to work with international partners and we need to use that moment to galvanise change. 'It needs to be part of a pathway to peace.' He added: '140 countries have already recognised Palestine. 'The suffering is still continuing.' Sir Keir and Mr Trump, who is in South Ayrshire on a private visit to his Turnberry golf course, are expected to meet on Monday.
