Hamas cease-fire counteroffer: Let us survive
Hamas on May 31 announced it had 'responded to' the latest ceasefire proposal from US envoy Steve Witkoff, apparently seeking assurances that Israel won't simply go back to eliminating it when the 60-day pause is up.
Reality check: The terrorists are only talking because they're losing, badly — losing whatever support they had from ordinary Gazans as well as militarily. NY Post editorial page editor Mark Cunningham shares this story.
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Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Large majority of Germans want tighter controls on arms exports to Israel
BERLIN (Reuters) -Some 73% of Germans want tighter controls on arms exports to Israel, including 30% who favour a total ban, a poll showed on Wednesday, reflecting growing public unease over the government's Israel policy. Since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Germany has remained one of Israel's staunchest allies and its second largest arms supplier, despite Israel's increasing international isolation and rising criticism over its devastating war in Gaza. Between Hamas' attack and mid-May this year, Germany approved military equipment exports to Israel worth 485 million euros ($553.72 million), according to a response to a parliamentary inquiry published on Tuesday. The deliveries included firearms, ammunition, weapons parts, special equipment for the army and navy, electronic equipment, and special armoured vehicles. No lawsuit challenging German arms exports to Israel has yet succeeded, including a case brought by Nicaragua at the International Court of Justice. But Germany's stance shifted last week when new Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticised Israel's intensified airstrikes in Gaza, calling them no longer justified or comprehensible. His foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, warned of possible consequences - hinting at steps towards arms export sanctions. Three out of four Germans back Merz's criticism of Israeli actions in Gaza, according to a poll by public broadcaster ARD. The survey, conducted among 1,292 respondents on June 2-3, also found that 55% reject the idea that Germany bears a special responsibility to protect Israel due to the legacy of the Nazi-era Holocaust of European Jews. Thirteen percent of those surveyed believe Germany should stand unconditionally with Israel in the Middle East conflict, while 74% opposed such a stance. Additionally, 63% said Israel's military response in Gaza has gone too far, an increase of six percentage points since August, while 73% consider Israeli military actions unjustified. ($1 = 0.8759 euros)
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
U.S. and Israeli-backed group pauses food delivery in Gaza after deadly shootings
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli- and U.S.-backed group paused food delivery at its three distribution sites in the Gaza Strip after health officials said dozens of Palestinians were killed in a series of shootings near the sites this week. Israeli strikes across the territory, meanwhile, killed 26 people overnight and into Wednesday, officials said. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it was in discussions with the Israeli military on better guiding foot traffic near the distribution hubs and enhancing military training procedures to promote safety. The move came a day after Israeli forces acknowledged opening fire as people headed toward a GHF site in the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah, a military zone off limits to independent media. Gaza health officials, the Red Cross and the U.N. rights office said 27 people were killed on Tuesday, and witnesses blamed Israeli forces. Israel's military said it fired near people it described as suspects who it said approached its forces and ignored warning shots. It says it is looking into reports of casualties. At least 80 people have been killed in the vicinity of the sites or heading to them since they opened last week, according to hospital officials, including dozens in similar shootings at roughly the same location on Sunday and Monday, when the military also said it had fired warning shots. GHF says there has been no violence in the aid sites themselves but has acknowledged the potential dangers people face when traveling to them on foot. Thousands of Palestinians walk to the sites early each morning, desperate for food and hoping to beat the crowds, and pass near Israeli forces in the predawn darkness. GHF said it asked Israel's military, the Israel Defense Forces, to 'introduce measures that guide foot traffic in a way that minimizes confusion or escalation risks near IDF military perimeters; develop clearer IDF-issued guidance to help the population transit safely; enhance IDF force training and refine internal IDF procedures to support safety.' In a separate development, Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 26 people late Tuesday and into Wednesday, according to hospital officials. One of the strikes hit a tent in Gaza City, killing seven people, including two women and a 7-year-old girl, according to Shifa Hospital. The military said it was looking into the reports. Israel says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because the militant group is entrenched in populated areas. Israel and the United States say they supported the establishment of the new aid system to prevent Hamas from stealing aid and selling it to finance its militant activities. Israel has not claimed that Hamas fired in the area of the GHF sites. The United Nations, which operates a longstanding aid system that can deliver to hundreds of locations across the territory, denies there has been any systematic diversion of aid by Hamas, saying it has mechanisms to prevent that. The U.N. has refused to take part in the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to control who gets aid and by forcing Palestinians to travel to just three distribution hubs, two of which are in the southernmost city of Rafah. 'The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat,' U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement. He called for a flood of aid to be let in and for the world body to be the one delivering it. Israel imposed a complete ban on food and other imports for 2 1/2 months before easing the restrictions in May. U.N. agencies say lingering restrictions, the breakdown of law and order inside Gaza, and widespread looting have made it difficult to deliver assistance. Experts warned earlier this year that Gaza is at risk of famine if Israel does not lift its blockade and stop the military campaign it renewed in March, when it shattered a ceasefire with Hamas. Israel has since ramped up its offensive, in what it says is meant to pressure Hamas to agree to a ceasefire more favorable to Israel's terms. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The ministry is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government. Its toll is seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts, though Israel has challenged its numbers. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. The offensive has destroyed vast areas, displaced around 90% of the population, and left people almost completely reliant on international aid. Shurafa writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
German foreign minister backs down on review of Israeli arms exports
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has promised Israel further arms deliveries ahead of a visit by his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar, despite growing international calls for a weapons embargo amid the ongoing war in Gaza. "Germany will continue to support the state of Israel, including with arms deliveries," Wadephul told lawmakers in parliament on Wednesday. He argued that providing weapons to Israel was necessary in view of the terror waged by the Islamist group Hamas as well as the ongoing attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia. Wadephul's latest comments seem to contradict recent remarks he made to the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, suggesting further shipments to Israel were dependent on a government review of whether Israeli actions in Gaza comply with international humanitarian law. The statements caused a stir among Wadephul's conservative colleagues, who agreed with him on Monday that criticism of Israel should be voiced, but that arms embargos and sanctions were not on the agenda, according to senior lawmaker Steffen Bilger. In response to a question from the Greens in parliament on Wednesday, Wadephul stressed that the coalition stands united by Israel's side. However, the fact that German policy is also oriented towards international humanitarian law "applies to all policy areas, including, of course, the area of arms deliveries," he added. When asked what impact this would have on arms export policy, the minister once again referred to the Federal Security Council, which meets in secret and decides on arms deliveries. Wadephul is due to receive his Israeli counterpart in Berlin on Thursday, with both ministers set to visit the Holocaust memorial in the German capital.
