Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu may be running out of ideas
's education minister Yoav Kish, in an interview with the Kan public broadcaster on Monday morning, said there was 'zero chance' of freeing the hostages via a ceasefire with Hamas.
His comments sent the families of the 50 hostages, particularly those of the 20 still believed to be alive, now in captivity for 661 days, into despair. The revelation also marked the clearest indication that the government of prime minister
Binyamin Netanyahu
has failed to bring about the release of the hostages through a combination of military pressure on Hamas and limiting the humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
Having chosen to renew the war back in March for domestic political considerations when a ceasefire looked possible, it now seems Netanyahu has run out of ideas.
Hamas has shown little willingness, despite the pressure, to reach a deal during
talks in Doha
and appears to have entrenched its negotiating position.
READ MORE
Almost 150 people, including 88 children, have reportedly died in Gaza due to starvation. The Israeli government first denied that there was famine and then tried to blame the UN and aid agencies in an attempt to deflect responsibility for the catastrophe.
With international outrage mounting by the day, Israel was fast becoming a pariah state. Intense pressure from the US and the European Union forced Netanyahu, finally, to act.
On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced a 10-hour 'humanitarian pause' in the fighting each day until further notice, in the approximately 25 per cent of the enclave where the IDF is not operating (mainly due to concern that hostages are being held in these areas). This allows UN convoys to pass through designated corridors. In parallel, airlifts were undertaken by the Israeli air force, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, and lorries were allowed to cross overland from Egypt.
'Why are there no pro-Israel voices in the Dáil?' Listener questions answered
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Netanyahu decided on the U-turn over the weekend without consulting the leaders of the two far-right parties in his coalition, who have always argued that agreeing to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza undermines the war effort and strengthens Hamas, which has been accused of stealing supplies in the past to feed its fighters and to sell for money which is used to pay the militants.
'This is a capitulation to Hamas's deceitful campaign,' Itamar Ben-Gvir, the head of Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Strength), said in a statement, repeating his call to stop all aid, conquer the entire territory and encourage Palestinians to leave. However, he stopped short of threatening to quit the government.
Despite the surge in humanitarian assistance entering Gaza, the fighting continues. Defence minister Yisrael Katz issued a threatening message, echoing past statements. 'If Hamas doesn't release the hostages, the gates of hell will open in Gaza,' he warned.
Knesset member Moshe Saada, also from Netanyahu's Likud party, said on Monday morning: 'There's no choice now but to occupy the entire Gaza Strip from end to end.' He claimed that Israel has received approval from US president
Donald Trump
for such a move.
It could be that the bellicose noises from Israeli officials are designed to exert more pressure on Hamas. Israel aims to create a credible threat, backed by Trump, in the hope of clinching the 60-day ceasefire on the table. But if the strategy fails, a devastating military escalation remains a possibility, inflicting more death and destruction on the residents of Gaza.
Hamas has also threatened to kill the captives it holds in the tunnels if IDF forces approach.
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Irish Times
19 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Binyamin Netanyahu set for ministerial talks regarding further Gaza land seizures
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu was due to meet a small group of senior ministers on Thursday to discuss plans for the military to take control of more territory in Gaza , despite mounting criticism at home and abroad over the nearly two-year-old war there. Mr Netanyahu will convene the security cabinet following a three-hour meeting this week with the head of the military, which Israeli officials described as tense, saying the military chief had pushed back on expanding the campaign. Opinion polls show that most Israelis want the war to end in a deal that would mean the release of remaining hostages. Mr Netanyahu's government has insisted on total victory over the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which ignited the war with its deadly October 2023 attack on Israel. The idea of Israeli forces pushing into areas they do not already control in the shattered Palestinian enclave has generated alarm in Israel. The mother of one hostage on Thursday urged people to take to the streets to voice their opposition to expanding the campaign. READ MORE 'Someone who talks about a comprehensive deal doesn't go and conquer the Strip and put hostages and soldiers in danger,' Einav Zangauker wrote on X in comments directed at Mr Netanyahu. The Hostages Families Forum, which represents captives held in Gaza, urged military chief of staff Eyal Zamir to oppose expanding the war and called on the government to accept a deal that would bring the war to an end and free the remaining hostages. Defence minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the military would carry out the government's decisions until all war objectives were achieved. Israeli leaders have long insisted that Hamas be disarmed and have no future role in a demilitarised Gaza and that the hostages be freed. The UN has called reports about a possible expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza 'deeply alarming' if true. There are 50 hostages still held in Gaza, of whom Israeli officials believe 20 are alive. Most of those freed so far came about as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Talks toward a ceasefire that could have meant some hostages released collapsed in July. A senior Palestinian official said Hamas had told Arab mediators that an increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza would lead to a resumption in ceasefire negotiations. Israeli officials accuse Hamas of seizing aid to hand out to its fighters and to sell in Gazan markets to finance its operations, accusations that the organisation denies. Videos released last week of two living hostages showed them emaciated and frail, triggering international condemnation. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but now controls only parts, insists any deal must lead to a permanent end to the war. Israel says the group has no intention of going through with promises to give up power afterwards. The Israeli military says it controls about 75 per cent of Gaza. Most of the enclave's population of about two million has been displaced multiple times over the past 22 months and aid groups are warning that the enclave's residents are on the verge of famine. 'Where should we go? We have been displaced and humiliated enough,' said Aya Mohammad (30), who, after repeated displacement, has returned with her family to their community in Gaza City. 'You know what displacement is? Does the world know? It means your dignity is wiped out, you become a homeless beggar, searching for food, water and medicine,' she said. Close to 200 Palestinians have died of starvation in Gaza since the war began, nearly half of them have been children, according to Gaza's health ministry. Rabeeha Jamal (65), a mother of six, has remained in her house in Gaza despite warnings in the past from the Israeli military to leave. For now, she said she intends to stay. 'Not until they force us, if the tanks roll in, otherwise, I will not go running in the street to be killed later,' she said, calling for an end to the war. 'We don't have anywhere to go.' Mr Netanyahu is under intense international pressure to reach a ceasefire agreement, but he also faces internal pressure from within his coalition to continue the war. Some far-right allies in his government have pushed for a full occupation of Gaza and for Israel to re-establish settlements there, 20 years after it withdrew. Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said yesterday that he hoped the government would approve the military taking control over the rest of Gaza. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages taken to Gaza in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities, according to Israel. More than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's assault on Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry, which said 98 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire across the enclave in the past 24 hours. – Reuters
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
John Hume's life provides lessons for addressing Palestine-Israel conflict
Having worked for and with the former leader of the SDLP , John Hume , I often get asked about how he might respond to the challenges of today. On the fifth anniversary of Hume's death, a new appreciation of the transformation he brought to the lives of so many offers space to consider how his political ethic and method could be used to address the appalling situation in the Middle East . In response to doubts, frustration and the emotional impact of atrocious events, Hume would revert to: 'If the underlying problem has not changed then the underlying solution has not changed.' He would stress that the dimensions of the problem had to be at least matched by the dimensions of any purported solution. Hume looked at problems through two lenses – rights and relationships. He also applied the light of responsibility to better discern salient issues and duties – both moral and legal – of agency. READ MORE He used the line 'you cannot be reconciled with someone whose boot is on your neck' to stress the essential requirement for the protection of rights, equal human dignity and respect for difference. [ John Hume: His life and times Opens in new window ] He would also allude to the maxim of Olof Palme that we cannot really be secure against each other, we can only achieve true security with each other. Such ethical instincts would, I believe, have guided (in his thinking prime) Hume's empathy, analysis and laser logic if looking at the dire suffering of Palestine today. Like others, he cautioned against superficially equating different situations and conditions of conflict but he would cite some comparable precepts. I think that Hume's strong lines on the global community's obligations of human solidarity and international law against Apartheid in South Africa would be amplified in the current context. (Kader Asmal acclaimed Hume's groundbreaking justification of sanctions against Apartheid South Africa as not just means of marking moral distance and/or trying to exert some economic leverage but also to manifest solidarity with the struggle for democracy in South Africa). If 'the underlying solution' that has not changed in the Middle East is a two-state solution, would that not have better chance of advancement if there was more semblance of a two-state process? The Hume-promoted schema for our peace process saw negotiations convened by both governments, deliberately inclusive of all parties, in an absence of violence, framed on three institutional strands, also addressing rights, equality and the valid democratic contest of legitimate constitutional preferences. That delivered an agreed outcome which spanned all those ambits even though different parties had rejected various inherent premises. It might be observed from Irish experience that qualitative 'givens' of a diplomatically desired solution gain better prospect of agreed outcome if they are insinuated as working givens of the negotiating process. Hume knew the folly of parties turning objectives into their preconditions. However, he strongly canvassed the conditioning value for dialogue of key affirmations by duly involved governments and authoritative indications from other international actors. Lateral interests leaning in supportively with valid, balanced and principled influence proved to be beneficent even though their motivation or modes were rejected or resented by given parties. Hume's dictum that 'the framework of the problem has to be matched by the framework for a solution' could usefully extend to include 'the framework of the process'. This can provide a distinctive accent on Ireland's cogent rationale for state recognition. It might be commended to a UK government which claims part credit for our Belfast Agreement. Recognising the state of Palestine is one way of other states leaning in to underscore a fundamental premise for a solution rooted in international law. [ Gaza is also a war on the human instinct for compassion Opens in new window ] Many tributes after Hume's death on August 3rd, 2020 recognised a resilient single-mindedness, both in repudiation of violence from any source and steadfast pursuit of political developments which could bring us out of the deepening rut of division and destructive conflict. However, Hume never really saw his work of leadership towards dialogue and agreement as a single-handed role or achievement. His Nobel Prize acceptance speech paid tribute to other party leaderships, both Irish and British governments – including successive administrations – US and EU support and the people's resilience. This showed an ethic that believed in the efficacy of dialogue and the value of inclusion underpinned by the compelling assertion of rights. That generous acknowledgment understandably sidestepped the frustrating and tragic reality that many of those parties had persistently repudiated his analysis of the 'three sets of relationships'; rejected his regard to the equal legitimacy of nationalist and unionist aspirations; dismissed the value or validity of signal engagement between the two governments; and/or resisted concepts around institutional democratic partnership and North-South political co-operation. All of these precepts – plus more that Hume had long espoused – were framed into the Belfast Agreement. Stones that wreckers had rejected from the builder had become the cornerstones. The agreement was capstoned by its overwhelming ratification in island-wide referendums: the form of articulated self-determination conceived by Hume to endorse a model of agreed Ireland that could allow further democratic change. [ From the archive: Nationalist leader who championed 'agreed Ireland' Opens in new window ] The Belfast Agreement embodies much more than a few days' word-craft from 'the hand of history' in April 1998. It compacted layers of understanding achieved in many earlier initiatives, events or efforts, including some tagged 'failed' in media commentary. Indeed more of its text is upcycled from earlier process drafts, previous documents or formal declarations than is often acknowledged. Perhaps in Beckett's spirit of 'Try again. Fail again. Fail better', numerous hands and strands should be credited for such milestones. Not for today a cast and credits list for such as Sunningdale, the New Ireland Forum, Anglo-Irish Agreement, Hume-Adams dialogue/papers, the Brooke/Mayhew talks, Downing Street Declaration, Forum for Peace and Reconciliation, framework documents, Mitchell principles, ground rules (renegotiated) for multi-party talks etc. The single common determinator in all these – and more – was Hume. His long pathfinding mission that entailed close collaboration with successive governments and serious engagement with his political counterparts also personally cultivated influential US involvements and harnessed EU relevance and effectiveness. That knack of purposeful partnership and productive rapport with other political and diplomatic players can be overlooked in some appraisals of his singular contribution. It was interactive as well as iterative. His constancy of robust analysis did allow for adjustment or refinement of argument, hearing other takes and refiling his ordered ideas. No account could exaggerate the partnership importance of his wife Pat Hume – an alchemist of optimism – to John's famous 'stickability'. [ John Hume: The mesmerising persuader the public rarely got to see Opens in new window ] Scanning today's wider political domain, it would be hard to speculate how a leader who used to warn us about the risks of 'falling into reacting to reaction' might cope in an age where prejudicial political communication sets agendas and narrows debate. A Denis Lehane line observes that people like sides, not subtleties. John Hume could both address sides and express subtleties in a way that few could match. If infective invective sets the heat and beat of polarising exchange rather than respectful, cooler, logical challenge, such signal leadership as Hume's will struggle for traction in what still passes for public discourse. Mark Durkan is a former leader of the SDLP and served as Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister between 2001 and 2002.
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Netanyahu to seek approval for expanded Gaza military operations
The meeting comes on a day when at least 29 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes and shootings across southern Gaza, according to local hospitals. Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis said 12 of the fatalities were from people attempting to access aid near a distribution site run by a US and Israeli-backed private contractor. At least 50 people were wounded, many from gunshots, the hospital said. Neither the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation nor the Israeli military, which helps secure the group's sites, commented on the strikes or shootings. The Israeli military has accused Hamas of operating in densely populated civilian areas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been meeting top advisers and security officials to discuss what his office said are ways to 'further achieve Israel's goals in Gaza' after the breakdown of ceasefire talks last month. An Israeli official said the Security Cabinet is expected to hold a lengthy debate and approve an expanded military plan to conquer all or parts of Gaza not yet under Israeli control. The official said that whatever is approved would be implemented gradually and in stages, with the idea of increasing pressure on Hamas. Such a step would trigger new international condemnation of Israel at a time when Gaza is plunging towards famine. It also has drawn opposition across Israel, with hostage families saying it could threaten their loved ones. Israel's army chief, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, has warned that the plan would endanger the hostages and further strain Israel's army, which has been stretched thin during a nearly two-year war, according to Israeli media. The comments appear to have exposed a rift between Mr Netanyahu and his army. Demonstrations were planned across Israel on Thursday to protest against the expected Cabinet decision. Earlier on Thursday almost two dozen relatives of hostages being held in Gaza set sail from southern Israel towards the maritime border with Gaza, where they broadcast messages from loudspeakers on boats to their relatives in Gaza. The families denounced Mr Netanyahu's plan to expand military operations. Yehuda Cohen, the father of Nimrod Cohen, an Israeli soldier held hostage in Gaza, said from the boat that Mr Netanyahu is prolonging the war to satisfy extremists in his government and to prevent it from collapsing. 'Netanyahu is working only for himself,' he said, pleading with the international community to put pressure on Mr Netanyahu to stop the war and save his son. Meanwhile Israeli authorities returned the body of a Palestinian activist allegedly killed by an Israeli settler last week, after female Bedouin relatives launched a hunger strike in protest at the authority's decision to hold his body in custody. The hunger strike was a rare public call from Bedouin women who traditionally mourn in private. Witnesses said Awdah Al Hathaleen was shot and killed by a radical Israeli settler during a confrontation caught on video last month. Israeli authorities said they would only return the body if the family agreed to certain conditions that would 'prevent public disorder'. Despite dropping some of their demands, family members said Israel set up checkpoints and prevented many mourners from outside the village from attending. Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 in the October 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. They still hold 50 hostages, about 20 of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count but says about half the dead have been women and children.
