Hamas gives 'positive response' to Gaza ceasefire mediators
'Hamas has completed its internal consultations with Palestinian factions and forces regarding the mediators' latest proposal to halt the aggression against our people in Gaza,' the Palestinian militant group said in a statement.
'The movement has submitted a positive response to the mediators,' the statement added. 'The movement is fully prepared to immediately enter into a round of negotiations on the mechanism for implementing this framework.'
The development came just days after President Donald Trump said Israel has 'agreed to the necessary conditions' to finalize a 60-day ceasefire deal in the Israel-Hamas war.
But in his first remarks since Trump's announcement on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not confirm Trump's claim and once again called for the elimination of Hamas.
'There will be no Hamas,' Netanyahu said. 'There will be no Hamastan. We are not going back to that. It is over. We will release all our hostages.'
Netanyahu is scheduled to visit to the White House on Monday, where he is expected to discuss the situation in Gaza with Trump.
Hamas has been weighing the new ceasefire proposals that it had received from the Egyptian and Qatari mediators for several days.
In a statement Wednesday, Hamas said it would be 'conducting national consultations' with the final aim of ending the fighting, ensuring the withdrawal of Israeli forces and delivering 'urgent relief' to the people of Gaza.
The war in Gaza erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, after Hamas launched a bloody surprise attack on Israel that left more than 1,200 people dead. Hamas also took 251 people hostage. And of the remaining hostages in captivity, 28 are presumed to be dead.
Meanwhile, Israel's attacks in Gaza have killed more than 56,000 people and created a humanitarian crisis in the densely populated Palestinian territory, where most of the 2 million residents have been forced from their homes.
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Iran struck five Israeli military bases during 12-day war
Iranian missiles appear to have directly hit five Israeli military facilities during the recent 12-day war, according to radar data seen by The Telegraph. The strikes have not been made public by the Israeli authorities and cannot be reported from within the country because of strict military censorship laws. They will further complicate the battle of words between the enemies, with both sides attempting to claim absolute victory. The new data were shared with The Telegraph by US academics at Oregon State University, who specialise in using satellite radar data to detect bomb damage in war zones. It suggests five previously unreported military facilities were hit by six Iranian missiles in the north, south and centre of Israel, including a major air base, an intelligence gathering centre and a logistics base. Approached by The Telegraph on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it would not comment on missile interception rates or damage to its bases. 'What we can say is that all relevant units maintained functional continuity throughout the operation,' said a spokesman. The strikes on the military facilities are in addition to 36 others known to have pierced Israeli air-defence systems, causing significant damage to residential and industrial infrastructure. Despite the considerable damage to residential property across the country, only 28 Israelis died – a testament to the country's sophisticated alert system and the disciplined use of bomb shelters and safe rooms by the population. Analysis by The Telegraph suggests that while the vast majority of Iranian missiles were intercepted, the proportion that got through grew steadily in the first eight days of the 12-day war. The reasons for this, say experts, are not clear but may include the rationing of a limited stock of interceptor missiles on the Israeli side and improved firing tactics and the possible use of more sophisticated missiles by Iran. Although the Iron Dome is Israel's best-known air-defence system, it is actually designed to protect against short-range projectiles such as mortars and is only one part of the 'layered' air-defence system the country uses. In the middle tier stands the David's Sling air-defence system, which is optimised for intercepting drones and missiles with ranges up to 300km. At the top is the Arrow system, which engages long-range ballistic missiles before they re-enter the atmosphere. Importantly, the Israeli systems were backed up throughout the 12-day war by two US ground-based THAAD missile-defence systems and ship-based interceptors launched from US assets in the Red Sea. The US is estimated to have launched at least 36 THAAD interceptors during the war at a cost of some $12 million a time. In Israel, a densely packed small country of just 9.7 million people, the piercing of the country's famed missile-defence systems has come as a shock, with the authorities having to issue notices warning that they were 'not hermetic'. The 15,000 made homeless are especially conspicuous as they have been distributed to hotel accommodation throughout the country and the restriction of residential sites has been reported freely. But there has also been growing suspicion within the country that military targets were hit. Raviv Drucker of Channel 13, one of the country's best-known journalists, said last week: 'There were a lot of [Iranian] missile hits in IDF bases, in strategic sites that we still don't report about to this day... It created a situation where people don't realise how precise the Iranians were and how much damage they caused in many places'. Corey Scher, a researcher at Oregon State University, said his unit was working on a fuller assessment of missile damage in both Israel and Iran, and would publish its findings in around two weeks. He said the radar system data that they used to assess damage measured changes in the built environment to detect blasts and that absolute confirmation of hits would necessitate either on-the-ground reporting at the military sites concerned or satellite pictures. The Telegraph's data analysis shows the combined US and Israeli defence systems performed well overall, but were letting through around 16 per cent of missiles by day seven of the war. This broadly accords with an earlier IDF estimate for the defence system that put the success rate at '87 per cent'. In Iran, Islamic Republic officials and state media are using footage of missiles penetrating Israeli air defences in an attempt to convince domestic audiences they won the war. There are cartoons mocking the Iron Dome in Iranian media with revolutionary songs playing over videos of missiles hitting Israeli cities. Iranian officials say that the main way Israel's air defences were pierced was by using missiles and drones at the same time to confuse defence systems. Fast missiles mixed with slower drones confused the defences and made them split their attention, officials claim. 'The main goal of firing [suicide drones] at Israel is always to keep their systems busy,' one Iranian official told The Telegraph. 'Many don't even get through – they're intercepted – but they still cause confusion.' Maj Gen Ali Fazli, the IRGC's deputy commander-in-chief, appeared on state TV on Thursday night, claiming implausibly that Iran was 'in the best defensive position in the 47-year history of the Islamic Revolution – never before have we been at such a level in terms of military readiness, operational cohesion, and fighter morale'. This despite Israel's proven ability to strike at will over the entire country and the substantial damage caused to the country's military leadership and nuclear programme. Nevertheless, it is likely that a large part of Iran's ballistic missile arsenal remains untouched. Even by Israeli estimates, only half of its launchers were destroyed in the 12-day conflict and substantial stocks of missiles remain. 'Iran had about 400 launchers, and we destroyed more than 200 of them, which caused a bottleneck in their missile operations,' an Israeli military official said on Thursday They added: 'We assessed that Iran had approximately 2,000 to 2,500 ballistic missiles at the beginning of this conflict. However, they were rapidly moving toward a mass-production strategy, which could see their missile stockpile grow to 8,000 or even 20,000 missiles in the next few years.' Maj Gen Fazli claimed that underground 'cities' of missiles remained untouched in Iran. 'We have not yet opened the doors of even one of our missile cities,' he claimed on Thursday. 'We assess that so far only about 25 to 30 per cent of existing missile capability has been used and, at the same time, the production cycle is powerfully supporting this operational capacity.'
Spectator
an hour ago
- Spectator
How a history festival became a forum of fear
'Defence needs to be our number one priority.' This sounds like the sort of thing you'd hear at a Nato summit, or a Chatham House conference, but it was the plea of Colin Bell, a 104-year-old second world war RAF veteran, as he was interviewed at Chalke Valley History Festival last weekend. The Wiltshire festival was the brainchild of historian James Holland (second world war specialist; brother of Tom). Originally designed as a fundraiser for his local cricket club, the weeklong event is now in its tenth year. Speakers at last weekend's event ranged from Max Hastings and Alice Loxton to Al Murray and Peter Frankopan, and were complemented by live re-enactments and activities. I attended the festival on the penultimate day, saw a guillotine and battle tanks and heard about everything from the origins of the name 'Charing Cross' to the five partitions of the British Raj. But despite the fun, I noticed a darker tone running through many of the talks. Discussion of Donald Trump dominated. Talks by the historian Niall Ferguson and the peer and former Supreme Court judge Jonathan Sumption drew the biggest audiences of the day, and both focused on the American president. Sumption focused on the challenges facing American democracy, while Ferguson put the present-day concerns over Taiwan into historical perspective. This was Glastonbury for history nerds. The music festival was taking place only an hour west away the same weekend, but this crowd was more red corduroy and linen suits than vest tops and baggy shorts. Though judging by the queue for Ferguson to sign his books, he was the festival's rockstar. Ferguson's talk was stark. He said he put the chance of a US-China conflict over Taiwan at 50 per cent over the next three years, and that Trump's presidency raises the likelihood of such a conflict happening sooner. President Xi (potentially ill or on his way out), could seek to secure a legacy, Ferguson argued, and exploit a Trump administration that looks increasingly disinterested in Taiwan. Ferguson imagined a scenario where a blockade of Taiwan begins and Trump is presented with two options: attack the Chinese fleet and defend the island, with consequences that could escalate to a third world war, or concede. Which would he pick? We are already living through Cold War Two, Ferguson continued, and it probably started in the early 2010s. The West's dependency on semi-conductors from Taiwan could see a crisis akin to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, he said, except this time the island is off the coast of the other superpower. 'Do we really want Trump in Khrushchev's position?' Ferguson asked. Sumption – promoting his new book The Challenges of Democracy – took an even more pessimistic view of Trump than Ferguson, arguing that the President had all the hallmarks of an authoritarian leader. Democracy is a fragile thing, he told us. Much of Sumption's talk focused on the merits and pitfalls of the American constitution versus its European counterparts. Britain's unwritten constitution somehow survived the tests of the Johnson and Truss premierships, he said. We should consider ourselves lucky: the American system is more easily dismantled. For a day, Chalke was no longer a history festival, but a forum of fear. Leaving Ferguson's talk, I couldn't help but think again of the RAF veteran, Colin Bell. Throughout his talk, the TV screens in the tent displayed the phrase 'We Will Remember', over the backdrop of a poppy. Surrounded by his interviewers, young historians and broadcasters in their twenties and thirties, he declared that 'to avoid a third world war, we must focus on defence'. War, warned Ferguson and Sumption and Bell, is not just a thing from history.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Trump says Iran has not agreed to inspections, give up enrichment
July 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium. He told reporters aboard Air Force One that he believed Tehran's nuclear program had been set back permanently although Iran could restart it at a different location. Trump said he would discuss Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits the White House on Monday. "I would say it's set back permanently," Trump said as he traveled to New Jersey after an Independence Day celebration at the White House. "I would think they'd have to start at a different location. And if they did start, it would be a problem." Trump said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him. The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Friday it had pulled its last remaining inspectors from Iran as a standoff deepens over their return to the country's nuclear facilities bombed by the United States and Israel. The U.S. and Israel say Iran was enriching uranium to build nuclear weapons. Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Israel launched its first military strikes on Iran's nuclear sites in a 12-day war with the Islamic Republic three weeks ago. The International Atomic Energy Agency's inspectors have not been able to inspect Iran's facilities since then, even though IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said that is his top priority. Iran's parliament has passed a law suspending cooperation with the IAEA until the safety of its nuclear facilities can be guaranteed. While the IAEA says Iran has not yet formally informed it of any suspension, it is unclear when the agency's inspectors will be able to return to Iran. Iran has accused the agency of effectively paving the way for the bombings by issuing a damning report on May 31 that led to a resolution by the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations. The U.S. and Israeli military strikes either destroyed or badly damaged Iran's three uranium enrichment sites. But it was less clear what has happened to much of Iran's nine tons of enriched uranium, especially the more than 400 kg (880 pounds) enriched to up to 60% purity, a short step from weapons grade.
