Netanyahu sees hope for peace in Gaza after Iran war
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the outcome of Israel's war with Iran presented opportunities for peace that his country must not waste.
In a statement, Netanyahu said: "This victory presents an opportunity for a dramatic widening of peace agreements. We are working on this with enthusiasm.
"Alongside the freeing of hostages and defeat of Hamas, there is a window of opportunity that must not be missed. We cannot waste even a single day."
Earlier in the day, Israel Hayom newspaper, quoting an unnamed source, said Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call this week on a rapid end to the war in Gaza, perhaps within two weeks.
Israel Hayom said the deal could expand the Abraham Accords with Israel's Arab neighbours to include Saudi Arabia and Syria.
It said that under the deal, Israel would support a future two-state solution conditioned on reforms in the Palestinian Authority.
The prime minister's office declined to comment on the Israel Hayom report. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US-brokered Israel-Iran ceasefire announced by Trump raised hopes among Palestinians of an end to more than 20 months of war in Gaza that has widely demolished the territory and displaced most residents, with malnutrition widespread.
The war began with an October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant Hamas group, including the taking of hostages, 50 of whom remain in Gaza and only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Israeli far-right cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have called for the permanent conquest of Gaza and the re-establishment there of Jewish settlements that Israel abandoned in 2005, notions Netanyahu has rejected.
In a statement on Thursday, Smotrich said: "Mr Prime Minister, let it be clear: you do not have a mandate — not even a hint of one, or a lip-service one. If there are countries that want peace in exchange for peace — welcome. If they want a Palestinian state — they can forget it. It won't happen."
On Sunday, Netanyahu said that with a weakened Iran, he expected more countries to join the Abraham Accords.
"We have broken the axis," Netanyahu told reporters then.
"This is a huge change and Israel's status is rising, not just in the Middle East but also in the world. This is a tectonic shift."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the outcome of Israel's war with Iran presented opportunities for peace that his country must not waste.
In a statement, Netanyahu said: "This victory presents an opportunity for a dramatic widening of peace agreements. We are working on this with enthusiasm.
"Alongside the freeing of hostages and defeat of Hamas, there is a window of opportunity that must not be missed. We cannot waste even a single day."
Earlier in the day, Israel Hayom newspaper, quoting an unnamed source, said Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call this week on a rapid end to the war in Gaza, perhaps within two weeks.
Israel Hayom said the deal could expand the Abraham Accords with Israel's Arab neighbours to include Saudi Arabia and Syria.
It said that under the deal, Israel would support a future two-state solution conditioned on reforms in the Palestinian Authority.
The prime minister's office declined to comment on the Israel Hayom report. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US-brokered Israel-Iran ceasefire announced by Trump raised hopes among Palestinians of an end to more than 20 months of war in Gaza that has widely demolished the territory and displaced most residents, with malnutrition widespread.
The war began with an October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant Hamas group, including the taking of hostages, 50 of whom remain in Gaza and only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Israeli far-right cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have called for the permanent conquest of Gaza and the re-establishment there of Jewish settlements that Israel abandoned in 2005, notions Netanyahu has rejected.
In a statement on Thursday, Smotrich said: "Mr Prime Minister, let it be clear: you do not have a mandate — not even a hint of one, or a lip-service one. If there are countries that want peace in exchange for peace — welcome. If they want a Palestinian state — they can forget it. It won't happen."
On Sunday, Netanyahu said that with a weakened Iran, he expected more countries to join the Abraham Accords.
"We have broken the axis," Netanyahu told reporters then.
"This is a huge change and Israel's status is rising, not just in the Middle East but also in the world. This is a tectonic shift."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the outcome of Israel's war with Iran presented opportunities for peace that his country must not waste.
In a statement, Netanyahu said: "This victory presents an opportunity for a dramatic widening of peace agreements. We are working on this with enthusiasm.
"Alongside the freeing of hostages and defeat of Hamas, there is a window of opportunity that must not be missed. We cannot waste even a single day."
Earlier in the day, Israel Hayom newspaper, quoting an unnamed source, said Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call this week on a rapid end to the war in Gaza, perhaps within two weeks.
Israel Hayom said the deal could expand the Abraham Accords with Israel's Arab neighbours to include Saudi Arabia and Syria.
It said that under the deal, Israel would support a future two-state solution conditioned on reforms in the Palestinian Authority.
The prime minister's office declined to comment on the Israel Hayom report. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US-brokered Israel-Iran ceasefire announced by Trump raised hopes among Palestinians of an end to more than 20 months of war in Gaza that has widely demolished the territory and displaced most residents, with malnutrition widespread.
The war began with an October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant Hamas group, including the taking of hostages, 50 of whom remain in Gaza and only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Israeli far-right cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have called for the permanent conquest of Gaza and the re-establishment there of Jewish settlements that Israel abandoned in 2005, notions Netanyahu has rejected.
In a statement on Thursday, Smotrich said: "Mr Prime Minister, let it be clear: you do not have a mandate — not even a hint of one, or a lip-service one. If there are countries that want peace in exchange for peace — welcome. If they want a Palestinian state — they can forget it. It won't happen."
On Sunday, Netanyahu said that with a weakened Iran, he expected more countries to join the Abraham Accords.
"We have broken the axis," Netanyahu told reporters then.
"This is a huge change and Israel's status is rising, not just in the Middle East but also in the world. This is a tectonic shift."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the outcome of Israel's war with Iran presented opportunities for peace that his country must not waste.
In a statement, Netanyahu said: "This victory presents an opportunity for a dramatic widening of peace agreements. We are working on this with enthusiasm.
"Alongside the freeing of hostages and defeat of Hamas, there is a window of opportunity that must not be missed. We cannot waste even a single day."
Earlier in the day, Israel Hayom newspaper, quoting an unnamed source, said Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call this week on a rapid end to the war in Gaza, perhaps within two weeks.
Israel Hayom said the deal could expand the Abraham Accords with Israel's Arab neighbours to include Saudi Arabia and Syria.
It said that under the deal, Israel would support a future two-state solution conditioned on reforms in the Palestinian Authority.
The prime minister's office declined to comment on the Israel Hayom report. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US-brokered Israel-Iran ceasefire announced by Trump raised hopes among Palestinians of an end to more than 20 months of war in Gaza that has widely demolished the territory and displaced most residents, with malnutrition widespread.
The war began with an October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant Hamas group, including the taking of hostages, 50 of whom remain in Gaza and only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Israeli far-right cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have called for the permanent conquest of Gaza and the re-establishment there of Jewish settlements that Israel abandoned in 2005, notions Netanyahu has rejected.
In a statement on Thursday, Smotrich said: "Mr Prime Minister, let it be clear: you do not have a mandate — not even a hint of one, or a lip-service one. If there are countries that want peace in exchange for peace — welcome. If they want a Palestinian state — they can forget it. It won't happen."
On Sunday, Netanyahu said that with a weakened Iran, he expected more countries to join the Abraham Accords.
"We have broken the axis," Netanyahu told reporters then.
"This is a huge change and Israel's status is rising, not just in the Middle East but also in the world. This is a tectonic shift."
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At least 118 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since Wednesday, local health authorities said, including some shot near an aid distribution point, the latest in a series of such incidents. with AP An Israeli strike has hit a street in central Gaza where people were getting bags of flour from a Palestinian police unit, killing 18 according to hospital officials. The strike was the latest violence surrounding the distribution of food to Gaza's population, which has been thrown into turmoil over the past month. After blocking all food for two and a half months, Israel has allowed only a trickle of supplies into the territory since mid-May. Efforts by the United Nations to distribute the food have been plagued by armed gangs looting trucks and by crowds of desperate people offloading supplies from convoys. The strike in the central town of Deir al-Balah on Thursday appeared to target members of Sahm, a security unit tasked with stopping looters and cracking down on merchants who sell stolen aid at high prices. The unit is part of Gaza's Hamas-led Interior Ministry, but includes members of other factions. The dead included a child and at least seven Sahmt members, according to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital where casualties were taken. The US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates aid distribution sites in southern and central Gaza, said on X that it was the only humanitarian organisation permitted on Thursday to distribute food in Gaza. A spokesperson said the foundation was exempt from a two-day suspension of humanitarian aid deliveries into the territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint statement with Defence Minister Israel Katz, said he'd ordered the military to present a plan within two days to prevent Hamas from taking control of aid. They cited new unspecified information indicating that Hamas was seizing aid intended for civilians in northern Gaza. But clan leaders say Hamas is protecting the aid deliveries into Gaza, not stealing from them. The Higher Commission for Tribal Affairs, which represents influential clans in Gaza, said that trucks had been protected as part of an aid security process managed "solely through tribal efforts". The commission said that no Palestinian faction, a reference to Hamas, had taken part in the process. Hamas, the militant group that has ruled Gaza for more than two decades but now controls only parts of the territory after nearly two years of war with Israel, has denied any involvement. There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies after the nearly two-year military campaign by Israel that has displaced most of Gaza's two million inhabitants. Aid trucks and warehouses storing supplies have often been looted, frequently by desperate and starving Palestinians. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. A video shared on X by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, showed dozens of masked men, some armed with rifles but most carrying sticks, riding on aid trucks. "The clans came ... to form a stance to prevent the aggressors and the thieves from stealing the food that belongs to our people," Abu Salman Al Moghani, a representative of Gazan clans, said, referring to Wednesday's operation. The war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing nearly 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage into Gaza. In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to local health authorities in Gaza. At least 118 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since Wednesday, local health authorities said, including some shot near an aid distribution point, the latest in a series of such incidents. with AP An Israeli strike has hit a street in central Gaza where people were getting bags of flour from a Palestinian police unit, killing 18 according to hospital officials. The strike was the latest violence surrounding the distribution of food to Gaza's population, which has been thrown into turmoil over the past month. After blocking all food for two and a half months, Israel has allowed only a trickle of supplies into the territory since mid-May. Efforts by the United Nations to distribute the food have been plagued by armed gangs looting trucks and by crowds of desperate people offloading supplies from convoys. The strike in the central town of Deir al-Balah on Thursday appeared to target members of Sahm, a security unit tasked with stopping looters and cracking down on merchants who sell stolen aid at high prices. The unit is part of Gaza's Hamas-led Interior Ministry, but includes members of other factions. The dead included a child and at least seven Sahmt members, according to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital where casualties were taken. The US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates aid distribution sites in southern and central Gaza, said on X that it was the only humanitarian organisation permitted on Thursday to distribute food in Gaza. A spokesperson said the foundation was exempt from a two-day suspension of humanitarian aid deliveries into the territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint statement with Defence Minister Israel Katz, said he'd ordered the military to present a plan within two days to prevent Hamas from taking control of aid. They cited new unspecified information indicating that Hamas was seizing aid intended for civilians in northern Gaza. But clan leaders say Hamas is protecting the aid deliveries into Gaza, not stealing from them. The Higher Commission for Tribal Affairs, which represents influential clans in Gaza, said that trucks had been protected as part of an aid security process managed "solely through tribal efforts". The commission said that no Palestinian faction, a reference to Hamas, had taken part in the process. Hamas, the militant group that has ruled Gaza for more than two decades but now controls only parts of the territory after nearly two years of war with Israel, has denied any involvement. There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies after the nearly two-year military campaign by Israel that has displaced most of Gaza's two million inhabitants. Aid trucks and warehouses storing supplies have often been looted, frequently by desperate and starving Palestinians. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. A video shared on X by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, showed dozens of masked men, some armed with rifles but most carrying sticks, riding on aid trucks. "The clans came ... to form a stance to prevent the aggressors and the thieves from stealing the food that belongs to our people," Abu Salman Al Moghani, a representative of Gazan clans, said, referring to Wednesday's operation. The war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing nearly 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage into Gaza. In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to local health authorities in Gaza. At least 118 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since Wednesday, local health authorities said, including some shot near an aid distribution point, the latest in a series of such incidents. with AP An Israeli strike has hit a street in central Gaza where people were getting bags of flour from a Palestinian police unit, killing 18 according to hospital officials. The strike was the latest violence surrounding the distribution of food to Gaza's population, which has been thrown into turmoil over the past month. After blocking all food for two and a half months, Israel has allowed only a trickle of supplies into the territory since mid-May. Efforts by the United Nations to distribute the food have been plagued by armed gangs looting trucks and by crowds of desperate people offloading supplies from convoys. The strike in the central town of Deir al-Balah on Thursday appeared to target members of Sahm, a security unit tasked with stopping looters and cracking down on merchants who sell stolen aid at high prices. The unit is part of Gaza's Hamas-led Interior Ministry, but includes members of other factions. The dead included a child and at least seven Sahmt members, according to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital where casualties were taken. The US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates aid distribution sites in southern and central Gaza, said on X that it was the only humanitarian organisation permitted on Thursday to distribute food in Gaza. A spokesperson said the foundation was exempt from a two-day suspension of humanitarian aid deliveries into the territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint statement with Defence Minister Israel Katz, said he'd ordered the military to present a plan within two days to prevent Hamas from taking control of aid. They cited new unspecified information indicating that Hamas was seizing aid intended for civilians in northern Gaza. But clan leaders say Hamas is protecting the aid deliveries into Gaza, not stealing from them. The Higher Commission for Tribal Affairs, which represents influential clans in Gaza, said that trucks had been protected as part of an aid security process managed "solely through tribal efforts". The commission said that no Palestinian faction, a reference to Hamas, had taken part in the process. Hamas, the militant group that has ruled Gaza for more than two decades but now controls only parts of the territory after nearly two years of war with Israel, has denied any involvement. There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies after the nearly two-year military campaign by Israel that has displaced most of Gaza's two million inhabitants. Aid trucks and warehouses storing supplies have often been looted, frequently by desperate and starving Palestinians. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. A video shared on X by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, showed dozens of masked men, some armed with rifles but most carrying sticks, riding on aid trucks. "The clans came ... to form a stance to prevent the aggressors and the thieves from stealing the food that belongs to our people," Abu Salman Al Moghani, a representative of Gazan clans, said, referring to Wednesday's operation. The war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing nearly 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage into Gaza. In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to local health authorities in Gaza. At least 118 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since Wednesday, local health authorities said, including some shot near an aid distribution point, the latest in a series of such incidents. with AP
