Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu are trapped
After October 7, 2023, Israel has sought to achieve two goals, each one entirely reasonable on its own. First, it has sought to eliminate Hamas in Gaza, ending its 18-year rule of the enclave. And second, it has sought to liberate the 251 Israelis abducted into Gaza on the morning of the October 7 attack.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
9 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Big call on Albo after Palestine pledge
Anthony Albanese is neglecting Australians because he is focused on matters abroad rather than at home, Sussan Ley says. The criticism comes after the Prime Minister pledged to recognise Palestine at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) next month. Since announcing it on Monday, Mr Albanese has been both accused of 'rewarding terrorists' and praised for joining the global push to realise the rights of Palestinians. In an op-ed published on Wednesday, the Opposition Leader repeated her criticism of Mr Albanese's declaration and said Australians 'expect their government to put their jobs, families and future first'. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is too focused on issues abroad. Martin Ollman / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia 'Australians are enduring the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, yet you would not know it from the Prime Minister's priorities,' Ms Ley wrote in the Herald Sun. 'Mortgage repayments are up around $1800 a month, power bills have soared and groceries cost more and more. 'But Anthony Albanese seems more focused on foreign conflicts than the crisis in our own backyard.' Ms Ley acknowledged the enormous number of deaths caused by the war in Gaza, where Israeli forces have been relentlessly pursuing Islamist militants behind the October 7, 2023 attacks. Hamas, the group responsible, killed more than 1200 in the shock assault and took hundreds hostage. The ensuing 22-month conflict has killed tens of thousands of people. 'The Coalition's position is clear: Israel has the right to defend itself, Hamas must release all hostages, humanitarian aid should reach those in need and the war must end,' Ms Ley said. 'Recognising a Palestinian state before hostages are freed and Hamas is defeated rewards terrorism, not peace. 'These are serious matters, but Australians expect their Prime Minister's first priority to be the kitchen tables of this country, not negotiating tables 12,000km away. 'Day after day, he appears fixated on one foreign policy issue to the exclusion of everything else.' The Albanese government has passed several major pieces of legislation since winning re-election. Martin Ollman / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Ms Ley's criticisms come a day after the Reserve Bank cut interest rates a further 0.25 percentage points to 3.6 per cent amid the lowest inflation figures since 2021. The Albanese government has also committed record funding to Medicare and passed both its signature student debt-slashing Bill and snap childcare safety reforms. The war in Gaza has proven a major issue for Australians, many of whom have family members affected on both sides. Just less two weeks ago, more than 100,000 protesters marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge calling for an end to the bloodshed. Ms Ley's op-ed also comes ahead of summit season – the final quarter of the year in which a series of major global meetings take place, such as the UNGA. As a middle power with deep trade, defence and diplomatic ties spanning Asia to North America, it is normal for Australia to attend these summits.
West Australian
39 minutes ago
- West Australian
Australian news and politics live: Ley pledges to overturn Albanese's recognition of Palestine, Hamas concerns
Scroll down for the latest news and updates. There are growing concerns this morning about whether Hamas will truly be disarmed in Gaza, despite key assurances from its leader, assurances that formed the basis of Anthony Albanese's decision to recognise a Palestinian state. According to a survey published today, support for the Palestinian Authority stands at just 22 per cent, while nearly 60 per cent of Palestinians express support for Hamas. 'It will not make the world a safer place and it will not help deliver aid to who desperately need the Prime distracted by wars overseas and why we care very deeply about suffering, there are Australians at home who are really struggling right now, struggling with the basics and they need a Prime Minister whose first duty should be to them,' Ms Ley told Sunrise on Wednesday morning. 'One of the conditions is that Hamas will be dismantled and taken out, and clearly, that's not happening, which is why the Coalition opposes this.' 'There can be no recognition peace. There can be no reward for terror. And we will reverse this decision.' 'This is not in the interests of the Palestinian people and it's not in the interests of peace in the region, which we all want.'
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
Netanyahu says he 'will allow' Palestinians to leave Gaza as mediators renew truce push
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he would "allow" Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip, as the military prepares a broader offensive in the territory. Past calls to resettle Gazans outside of the war-battered territory, including from US President Donald Trump, have sparked concern among Palestinians and condemnation from the international community. Netanyahu defended his war policies in an interview with Israeli media, broadcast shortly after Egypt said Gaza mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce. Netanyahu told Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS that "we are not pushing them out, but we are allowing them to leave". "Give them the opportunity to leave, first of all, combat zones, and generally to leave the territory, if they want," he said. In the Gaza Strip, Israel for years has tightly controlled the borders and barred many from leaving. "We will allow this, first of all within Gaza during the fighting, and we will certainly allow them to leave Gaza as well," Netanyahu said. Netanyahu has endorsed Trump's suggestion earlier this year to expel Gaza's more than two million people to Egypt and Jordan, while far-right Israeli ministers have called for their "voluntary" departure. Cairo ceasefire talks Israel's plans to expand its offensive into Gaza City come as diplomacy aimed at securing an elusive ceasefire and hostage release deal in the 22-month-old war has stalled for weeks, after the latest round of negotiations broke down in July. Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty announced that Cairo was "working very hard now in full cooperation with the Qataris and Americans", aiming for "a ceasefire for 60 days, with the release of some hostages and some Palestinian detainees, and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance to Gaza without restrictions, without conditions". Two Palestinian sources told the Agence France-Presse news agency that a senior Hamas delegation was due to meet Egyptian officials for talks on Wednesday. One of the Palestinian sources earlier said that the mediators were working "to formulate a new comprehensive ceasefire agreement proposal "that would include the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza "in one batch". Mediation efforts led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have failed to secure a breakthrough since a short-lived truce earlier this year. Intensified strikes News of the potential truce talks came as Gaza's civil defence agency said Israel has intensified its air strikes on Gaza City in recent days, following the security cabinet's decision to expand the war there. Netanyahu's government has not provided an exact timetable on when forces may enter Gaza City, but civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said on Tuesday that air raids had already begun increasing over the past three days. "The bombardment has been extremely intense for the past two days. With every strike, the ground shakes," said Majed al-Hosary, a resident of Gaza City's Zeitun neighbourhood. An Israeli air strike on Sunday killed four Al Jazeera employees and a freelance reporter outside a Gaza City hospital. Gaza's civil defence agency says Israel has increased its bombardment of Gaza City in recent days. Source: AP / Jehad Alshrafi Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas' October 7 attack in 2023, in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government. More than 60,500 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the health ministry in Gaza. The October 7 attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu is under mounting domestic pressure to secure the release of the remaining hostages — 49 people including 27 the Israeli military says are dead — as well as over his plans to expand the war.
