Japan deploys its first F-35B fighter jets to bolster defenses in the south
The new arrivals are three of the four F-35Bs scheduled for deployment at the Nyutabaru Air Base in the Miyazaki prefecture. The fourth jet is set to arrive at a later date, the Air Self-Defense Force said.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Netanyahu's unclear occupation strategy risks leaving Israel trapped in Gaza, former NSC head says
Former NSC head Giora Eiland warns that confusion between Netanyahu and the IDF on Gaza strategy is weakening Israel's position and endangering outcomes. Confusion stemming from the government's lack of a coherent military strategy forthe Gaza Strip is undermining Israel's position and endangering the hostages, former head of the National Security Council (NSC), Maj.-Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland told 103FM on Sunday. Eiland, who served as head of the NSC during the 2005 disengagement from Gaza, said the cabinet's latest decision on the territory was unprecedented in its ambiguity. 'This is the first time, not only during this war, that a decision has been made, and I don't know what it is, so I don't have a complete opinion about it,' he said. 'Unlike all previous matters, this is something that, in my opinion, even those who made the decision have no idea what they actually decided. It truly reflects the great confusion that Israel is in.' He noted that before the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu had spoken of a full occupation of Gaza aimed at 'absolute victory.' However, he said, Netanyahu later retreated under pressure from the IDF and other ministers, leaving Israel 'in a very strange situation where it's not clear what the decision is.' He also criticized Netanyahu's recent comments in English about besieging Gaza City, calling them disconnected from operational reality. 'I doubt anyone in the IDF General Staff would be able to turn them into any kind of coherent plan – good or bad,' he said. According to Eiland, mediators are working on a new deal to end the war in exchange for the return of all hostages. 'I hope the mediators are doing this after receiving some kind of green light from Israel,' he said. 'In the current situation, this is the most reasonable way out for Israel from the deadlock we are in.' Assessing the chances of such a deal, Eiland was blunt. 'It was already small six months ago,' he said. 'We wasted half a year, not only in terms of another six months of miserable people in Gaza's tunnels and other costs, but also in January–February when Trump stormed into the White House and made various threats, such as that the Gazans' fate would be in Jordan or Egypt. That put the Arab states under pressure. There was a huge opportunity for Israel – not only to go for a different deal that would end the war, but also to do so from a position of strength. Netanyahu, as usual, didn't want to. So now he might end up accepting what he absolutely refused to even consider before.' Eiland: Israel should have implemented "General's Plan" earlier on in Gaza war Eiland contrasted the government's approach with his own 'generals' plan,' which he said was ignored. At the start of the war, he argued, the cabinet adopted three flawed assumptions: that only military pressure would bring back the hostages and ensure victory; that victory could be achieved through high-intensity fighting; and that the population could be separated from Hamas. 'All three of these assumptions were wrong from the beginning,' he said. By late November 2023, Eiland noted, Israel had taken control of the Netzarim Corridor, effectively annexing the entire northern Gaza Strip – a third of its territory. He said this was the moment to tell the 300,000 residents there to move south, allow them to leave safely, and then cut off supplies. The approach, borrowed from the US Pentagon's siege manual, would have minimized both military and civilian casualties by enabling the population to evacuate. 'If that had happened, the northern area would be in our hands, but without a civilian population,' he said. Instead, Eiland argued, the IDF tried to fight inside a hostile civilian population, a strategy he said has failed. His plan, he added, would then have allowed Israel to tell Hamas: 'If you don't release all the hostages, you will permanently lose a third of the Strip's territory.' Looking ahead, Eiland said the best outcome would be for Israel to acknowledge that while it has severely damaged Hamas militarily, it has not met all its objectives. 'If Netanyahu had the mental strength to declare: 'Israel is ready to end the war, withdraw all IDF forces, and we have no further conditions except one – the immediate return of the hostages,' and Hamas accepted – great, we'd end the war,' he said. 'If Hamas said no, then at least we could tell the international community: What do you want from us – to accept the loss of the hostages in Gaza?'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
IDF confirms killing Al Jazeera journalist, claims he was a Hamas member
The IDF confirmed killing Anas Al-Sharif, a Hamas terrorist who also worked as an Al Jazeera correspondent inside the Gaza Strip. The IDF killed Anas Al-Sharif, a Hamas terrorist who also worked as an Al Jazeera correspondent inside the Gaza Strip, on Sunday, the military announced. Al-Sharif was responsible for advancing rocket attacks and had served as a member of Hamas ever since 2013, the IDF said. Documents shared by the IDF Spokesperson Unit include personnel rosters, lists of terror training courses, phone directories, and salary documents for the terrorist. 'Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,' the statement also shared. Reports from Gaza claim several casualties Reports in Gaza claimed five people were killed during the attack, including two journalists from the Al Jazeera network. According to the Qatari network, four people from their staff were killed in the IDF strike near the Shifa Hospital. The network also confirmed that Al-Sharif was among those killed by the strike. Al-Sharif also posted on social media minutes before being targeted, with an X/Twitter post saying that "bombings had been going on for the last two hours." A press freedom group and a UN expert previously warned that Al Sharif's life was in danger due to his reporting from Gaza. "UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan said last month that Israel's claims against him were unsubstantiated," the agency informed. The IDF didn't share details about the site of the strike, while it claimed that the documents shared were "proof of the integration of the Hamas terrorist within the Qatari Al Jazeera network." The Hamas terror group said that the killing may signal the start of an Israeli offensive. "The assassination of journalists and the intimidation of those who remain paves the way for a major crime that the occupation is planning to commit in Gaza City," they said in a statement. Reuters contributed to this report.
CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
Netanyahu defends Gaza City takeover as UN warns of ‘calamity' and international condemnation grows
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended his planned military takeover of Gaza City in the face of growing international condemnation and anger, with United Nations officials warning Sunday the move would lead to 'another calamity' in the embattled, starving enclave. In a rare news conference with international media, Netanyahu said the controversial operation to take over what was once Gaza's largest city, which faces tremendous internal and international opposition, is the fastest way to end the war. 'Contrary to false claims, this is the best way to end the war and the best way to end it speedily,' he said. 'This is how we bring the war to an end.' In the early hours of Friday morning, Israel's security cabinet approved plans to capture Gaza City, claiming it is part of its goals to destroy Hamas and rescue the hostages being held in the enclave. But the move raised fears that further fighting will only endanger captives – and worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis. Israel faced condemnation at the UN on Sunday, with the United Kingdom, Russia, China and France among others expressing their strong opposition to Netanyahu's military plan for Gaza that would constitute 'further violations of international law.' 'If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction – compounding the unbearable suffering of the population,' said Miroslav Jenča, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas. Ramesh Rajasingham, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva said what is unfolding in Gaza 'is no longer a looming hunger crisis – this is starvation, pure and simple.' Hunger-related deaths are rising in the enclave, especially among children with severe malnutrition, Rajasingham said. Since October 2023, 98 children have died from severe acute malnutrition — 37 since July 1 alone, he told the security council, citing health authorities in Gaza. 'We have frankly run out of words to describe' the humanitarian conditions, which 'are beyond horrific,' Rajasingham said. Israel's expanded military operation is 'not a path to resolution but a path to more bloodshed,' the UK said. Russia condemned Israel's plan to bring Gaza under the control of its security forces as 'dangerous steps which undermine the already fragile prospects for the peaceful settlement to the Middle East conflict.' Denmark, South Korea, Greece, Slovenia and Guyana were among those adding their voices to a chorus of opposition and called on Israel to reverse course. 'After twenty-two months of forced displacement, starvation and ethnic cleansing, such an operation would not merely ruin Gaza, it would annihilate what remains of it,' Algeria said. The United States, which is becoming increasingly isolated on the world stage in its defense of Israel's actions in Gaza, said it was 'working tirelessly' to free the hostages and end the war. US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea accused members of the security council of 'actively prolonging the war by spreading lies about Israel' and 'handing propaganda victories to terrorists.' 'The simple truth is this war could end today if Hamas let the hostages and all of Gaza go free,' Shea said, adding that genocide accusations against Israel 'are politically motivated and categorically false.' Israel is facing global condemnation over its conduct in Gaza, with growing protests breaking out in major cities as people demonstrate their horror and anger over starvation in the territory. Tens of thousands of people marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge last week to protest the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. And police in London arrested 466 people on Saturday during a protest against the British government's decision to ban the pro-Palestinian direct action group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws. Inside Israel itself families of Israeli hostages kept captive in Gaza are calling for a nationwide general strike next Sunday. Netanyahu's plan also brings Israel closer to fully occupying Gaza, something it has not done for nearly 20 years. Israel's military already controls approximately 75% of Gaza after nearly two years of war. Analysts argue that the plan, which was initiated and pushed by Netanyahu himself, arguably reveals more about his domestic political maneuvering than evidence of any well-thought-out military strategy. The plan, analysts say, gives Netanyahu time to fight for his political survival. Netanyahu described Gaza City and the central camps in the besieged enclave as the 'two remaining strongholds' of Hamas. 'Given Hamas' refusal to lay down its arms, Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas,' he said. In response, the militant group on Sunday said that the only way to ensure the 'survival' of Israeli hostages is by halting the military campaign in Gaza and reaching a peace deal. 'Netanyahu continues to manipulate the issue of (Israeli hostages) as a pretext to continue the aggression and to mislead public opinion,' Hamas said in a statement. 'The only way to ensure their survival is to halt the aggression and reach an agreement, not to continue bombing and blockade,' it added. Also on Sunday, Netanyahu asserted once again that there is no starvation crisis in Gaza, despite contrary reports from international organizations including the United Nations. The UN's International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said on social media that the number of malnutrition cases amongst children in Gaza was 'staggering.' Nearly 12,000 children were identified as acutely malnourished in July alone, according to UNICEF, which is 'the highest monthly figure ever recorded.' Netanyahu blamed Hamas for food shortages and accused the group of looting aid, saying that it 'deliberately created a shortage of supplies.' Asked about US President Donald Trump saying two weeks ago that there was 'real starvation' in Gaza, the Israeli leader dodged the question, saying he appreciates Trump's support. Netanyahu and Trump spoke on Sunday about Israel's plans for the war in Gaza, according to a short readout from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. 'The two discussed Israel's plans to take control of the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza in order to end the war with the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas,' the readout said. 'The Prime Minister thanked President Trump for his steadfast support of Israel since the beginning of the war,' it continued. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
