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Newsweek
4 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Arab World Reacts to Netanyahu's New Gaza Plan
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Israel's security cabinet has approved a sweeping plan to take full military control of Gaza City and the wider Gaza Strip, a move Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced amid an intensifying conflict that has devastated the besieged territory. The decision has drawn sharp rebukes across the Arab world, with regional leaders warning the operation will deepen the humanitarian crisis, risk mass displacement and undermine any prospects for peace. Newsweek has reach out to the Israeli Foreign Ministry for comment. Why It Matters Gaza, weakened by years of blockade and assaults, now faces a deepening crisis. The planned occupation could worsen shortages of food, water and medical care amid collapsing infrastructure. Israel says the operation aims to dismantle Hamas's militant network and end rocket attacks and hostage-taking. But Arab nations see it as a continuation of policies that are eroding Palestinian rights, warning it could fuel regional instability. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in Jerusalem, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in Jerusalem, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. Abir Sultan/AP Photo A Region Reacts Hamas Since the October 7, 2023, attacks—when Hamas launched a deadly assault on Israeli communities—the conflict has spiraled into a devastating war. In response to the Israeli plan, Hamas said the seizure of Gaza City would be a dangerous escalation that deliberately risks the lives of hostages held there. The group accused Netanyahu's government of showing blatant disregard for the captives, warning that the decision to occupy Gaza is essentially a death sentence for those being held. Hamas portrays the move as part of a wider campaign of Israeli aggression aimed at crushing Palestinian resistance and erasing their sovereignty. Palestinian Authority The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank condemned Israel's plan as "a complete crime," calling it part of an ongoing campaign of "genocide, systematic killing, starvation and siege," according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. President Mahmoud Abbas warned that the operation would cause an "unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe." He repeated pleas for urgent international intervention. Egypt Egypt issued a sharp rebuke, denouncing the plan as "inadmissible." Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty rejected Israel's decision to expand military operations and seize control of Gaza, calling it "extremely dangerous" and warning it would intensify the enclave's already catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Displaced Palestinians walk through a makeshift camp along the beach in Gaza City, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. Displaced Palestinians walk through a makeshift camp along the beach in Gaza City, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia strongly denounced the Israeli strategy, accusing the occupying authorities of persistent "crimes of starvation, brutal practices, and ethnic cleansing" against Palestinians. Riyadh reaffirmed its support for Palestinian rights and condemned Israel's conduct as a violation of human rights. Iran Iran condemned the plan as a sign of Israel's intent to ethnically cleanse Gaza and commit "genocide." "This decision constitutes a grave violation of international law and a deliberate attempt to expand occupation and impose new realities across the occupied Palestinian territories by force and military aggression," the Iranian Foreign Ministry said a statement released on Saturday. "Undoubtedly, the renewed displacement of Palestinians is categorically condemned," Tehran said. Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are seen from a Jordanian Air Force C-130 plane during an airdrop of humanitarian aid for Palestinians, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are seen from a Jordanian Air Force C-130 plane during an airdrop of humanitarian aid for Palestinians, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. Raad Adayleh/AP Photo Qatar Qatar warned that Israel's decision risks escalating violence and worsening the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. It urged swift international action to prevent the plan's implementation and to revive ceasefire efforts. Jordan Jordan's Foreign Ministry condemned the plan as a serious breach of international law that undermines the two-state solution and the Palestinian right to an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, according to a statement. United Arab Emirates The UAE cautioned that the Israeli move will cause "catastrophic consequences," worsening civilian suffering. It called on the United Nations and global powers to intervene, framing Palestinian rights as a moral and legal imperative. What Happens Next With Israel advancing plans to occupy Gaza City, diplomatic tensions across the Middle East are set to rise. Arab governments are expected to escalate calls for urgent humanitarian aid and political intervention. The worsening humanitarian conditions, combined with escalating violence, increase the risk of prolonged conflict and regional destabilization. The international community now faces intense pressure to respond as the situation on the ground grows ever more precarious.
UPI
19-06-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Israel and Iran trade attacks as war intensifies
Israeli emergency teams work at the site of an Iranian missile strike in a residential area in Ramat Gan, central Israel, on Thursday, June 19, 2025. Photo by Abir Sultan/EPA-EFE June 19 (UPI) -- Iran and Israel traded attacks early Thursday as their war continued to intensify nearly a week after it began. Tehran's missiles struck several regions throughout Israel, the Israeli military said in a statement, adding the largest southern hospital was hit. It later published photos to its X account showing several buildings damaged in Ramat Gan, a city in the Tel Aviv District. Israel's national emergency service Magen David Adom said medics were providing care to those injured at several locations. At least three people were reported in serious condition, including a man in his 80s and two women in their 70s. Two people were listed in moderate condition and 39 were listed as lightly injured. They suffered shrapnel injuries, the agency said. An MDA spokesperson said in a statement that intensive care buses have been prepared to receive patients for evacuation to medical centers. Israel has accused Iran of targeting the hospital, posting a video showing the damage incurred by the medical facility. Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said this was the 12th wave of retaliatory strikes as part of Operation True Promise III, which began Friday in response to Israel's attack on Tehran's nuclear facilities. The statement, carried by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency, states the IRGC warned Israel and its citizens that "the thunderous missiles of the IRGC Aerospace Force will not allow you a single moment outside underground shelters." "Rest assured, the sound of red alert sirens will not cease for a moment." Israel said 40 of its fighter jets attacked dozens of military targets in Iran with more than 100 munitions, including the Arak heavy water reactor. "The attack was carried out against the component intended for producing plutonium, thus preventing its ability to be reused to produce nuclear weapons," the IDF said. A second site, in the Natanz area, was also struck, with the IDF claiming it was used to develop nuclear weapons. "The fighter jets also attacked military production sites of the Iranian regime, including factories for producing raw materials, components used to assemble ballistic missiles and sites for creating Iranian air defense systems and missiles," it added. Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, but its nuclear enrichment capabilities have greatly advanced since U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Iran and unilaterally withdrew the United States from a landmark multinational nuclear accord aimed at preventing Tehran from securing a nuclear weapon. Trump, who failed during his first term to bring Iran to the negotiating table on a new deal, was in talks with Tehran, which fell apart last week when Israel attacked Iran. Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, on Thursday said that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed the IDF to increase "the intensity of attacks" targeting government facilities in Tehran "in order to remove threats to the State of Israel and undermine the ayatollahs' regime. He also accused Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei of launching missiles at Israel's hospitals and residential buildings while hiding an a fortified bunker. "These are war crimes of the most serious kind -- and Khamenei will be held accountable for his crimes," he said. Netanyahu identified the hospital hit that was hit as Soroka Hospital in Beersheba. "We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran," he said. Iran and Israel have been in a proxy war for years, which exploded into the open on Oct. 7, 2023, when Gaza-based Hamas, an Iran-backed militant organization, attacked Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and sparking the ongoing war in the Palestinian enclave. Israel has responded by devastating Gaza, killing more than 55,000 Palestinians and injuring nearly 130,000 more. It has also attacked Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, as well as Iran and Gaza, amid the war.
UPI
14-06-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Israel, Iran resume missile exchange, threaten more attacks
1 of 2 | An Israeli police officer walks in a damaged residential area after a ballistic missile strike in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, early Saturday. Photo by Abir Sultan/EPA-EFE June 14 (UPI) -- Iran and Israel exchanged more airstrikes overnight Friday after Israel mainly attacked Iranian nuclear and military targets one day earlier. On Saturday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that "Tehran will burn" if drone and missile attacks continue as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "more is on the way" and directly addressed the Iranian people on Friday night, calling on civilians to "stand up and let your voices be heard." Iran's Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour said in a letter to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei. "Soon, the gates of hell will be opened upon this child-killing regime. The crime that the terrorist Zionist regime committed today in its aggression against the national security and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic will certainly not go unanswered," Pakpour wrote. Damage, casualties on both sides Israeli Air Force aircraft struck dozens of targets, including surface-to-air missile infrastructure, Israel Air Force Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar said. Iran's retaliatory strikes killed at least three people and injured dozens, according to Israeli authorities. Iran said it had downed Israeli drones that crossed its northwestern border near Salmas, the state-affiliated Nour News reported Saturday. Explosions could be heard in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, according to reports, as air raid sirens were activated and people took shelter. Damage was reported in Ramat Gan, a city of about 170,000 people neighboring Tel Aviv. "I feel like the collateral damage," Rony Armon told ABC News, whose family took cover in a shelter on Friday night. "The walls were shaking. We never imagined that it was so close. I look horrified at what happens in Gaza, but now it's in my back door, which is totally different story." Ifat Benjamin told the BBC that she, her husband Zion and their six younger relatives are moving their possessions out of the home they've lived in for 29 years in Ramat Gan. "We closed the door, and suddenly there was such a big boom," Benjamin said. "I thought all the house fell on us." In Iran, at least 78 people died in the Israeli strikes, including senior military officials, Iran's UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani said Friday. More than 320 people were injured, most of them civilians. Israel said "over 20 commanders in the Iranian regime's security apparatus" have been killed since the start of the attacks. Iranian state media reported 60 people, including 20 children, were killed after an Israeli strike hit a residential building in Tehran's Shahrak-e Shahid Chamran residential compound, while Iranian television showed workers removing debris from the site of a 14-story building. Israel's military said nine scientists and experts involved in Iran's nuclear program died. Nuclear facilities in Fordow and Isfahan were not extensively damaged, the spokesperson of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said. According to the spokesperson, there is no concern for contamination. The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is buried deep in the mountains near Qom in northern Iran and is one of the locations that Israel and its allies have feared Iran is developing a nuclear weapon. Iran's Taekwondo Federation said three of its members were killed in Israeli attacks on Tehran, which Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which lost several of its leaders during the first Israeli airstrikes, said it targeted Israeli military centers and air bases. A missile struck in the vicinity of the Kirya, an area of Tel Aviv that's home to the military headquarters housing the Israel Defense Forces and the Ministry of Defense, according to video obtained by CNN. Nations on high alert Airspace in Iran and Israel remains closed, meaning commercial flights can't take off and land there. No damage was reported to Tehran airport's runways and main buildings, although smoke was seen at the airport. On Saturday morning, Tehran's air defense system was active after Israel continued strikes on the Iranian capital, state media reported. Israel targeted provinces that included East Azerbaijan, Lorestan and Kermanshah, according to state-affiliated Fars news agency. Israelis are prepared to go into bomb shelters when strikes are imminent. Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said he had to head to bomb shelters five times overnight. "Been rough nite in Israel," Huckabee, who is in Israel right now, said in a post on X on Saturday morning after he had to seek cover in bomb shelters five times during the course of the night. Huckabee added that Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, which occurs from sundown Friday though sundown Saturday, should be quiet, but "probably won't be." Most businesses closed one day earlier than the Sabbath in Israel as people stocked up on essentials in preparation for possible retaliatory attacks from Iran. Sheba Medical Facility in the Tel Aviv area treated dozens of patients injured in the Iranian strikes, where many suffered shrapnel wounds, is one of several hospitals that have been relocating patients underground for protection. In Tehran, residents were also fearful of more attacks. "We're hearing that tonight Israel will be hitting more densely populated parts of Tehran in retaliation for the strike that hit Tel Aviv, which is really terrifying," a 24-year-old woman told CNN. There were also demonstrations in Tehran against Israel and residents oppose Netanyahu's call to rise up against the regime, the network reported. "Do I wish the regime wasn't in power? Absolutely. Do I want my city bombed by another dictator? Absolutely not," Neda, a 28-year-old, told CNN. Another 36-year-old man told CNN that "Israel is underestimating our love for our country, the idea that bombing us, our homes, killing our children would send us to the streets is shocking. We want to live peacefully whether we like the regime or not." Nuclear negotiations called off The sixth round of talks between the United States and Iran in Oman on a nuclear deal scheduled for Sunday have been canceled. "The United States has supported the Zionist regime's aggression, including the targeting of Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities," Esmaeil Baghaei said Saturday, according to Iranian state media Mehr News. "Participating in talks with a party that is the principal supporter and accomplice of the aggressor is fundamentally meaningless." On Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social: "Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to 'make a deal.' They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn't get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!" Other nations react The United States helped Israel intercept Iranian missiles, U.S. officials and a White House official confirmed to CBS News. During Israel's airstrikes on Iran, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. wasn't involved. Iran will target the regional bases of any country that tries to defend it, a senior Iranian official told CNN. The United States has bases in Qatar, where U.S. Central Command is based, as well as in Bahrain, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. "We are robustly postured to ensure that our people -- our bases, our interests -- are safe and we're continuing to monitor any, any forces we would need to do that, capabilities we would need to do that, we will, we will keep Americans safe," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Saturday. "The U.S. is postured to defend our people in the region. We've got significant assets in the region." "I wouldn't say we were really surprised by any dynamic of the back and forth," Hegseth added. "That's been ongoing, but we're monitoring it closely." The British government has said its forces had not provided any military assistance to Israel as its prime minister, Keir Starmer, has emphasized the need for de-escalation. The prime minister spoke to Netanyahu on Friday afternoon during, according to an official readout, he emphasized that "Israel has a right to self-defense" but the conflict needed a diplomatic solution. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday again called for an end to the fighting. "Enough escalation. Time to stop," he wrote on X. "Peace and diplomacy must prevail."
