Latest news with #IsraelKatz
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- General
- The Guardian
Hamas submits response to US-led Gaza ceasefire proposal
Hamas said on Saturday that it had submitted its response on a ceasefire proposal presented by Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to mediators, the most concrete sign of progress towards a ceasefire since March. The Palestinian group said in a statement that under the deal, it will release 10 living hostages and 18 bodies in return for Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners. The Hamas response appears close to a previously reported version of the deal, which specified that the group would release 10 hostages, as well as a number of hostages' remains during the ceasefire in exchange for 1,100 Palestinian prisoners. The US ceasefire proposal reportedly involves a 60-day pause in fighting, a redoubling of efforts towards long-term peace as well as guarantees from Israel that it will not resume its offensive after Hamas releases hostages, which the country did in March. Israeli negotiators accepted the deal, but Hamas's initial reaction to the proposal was lukewarm. On Friday, the Palestinian militant group said it was holding consultations with other Palestinian factions over the ceasefire plan. A leading Hamas official Basem Naim said on Thursday that the US proposal 'does not respond to any of our people's demands,' including lifting the humanitarian blockade on the Gaza Strip that has led to famine like conditions among the population of 2 million. The group's reaction provoked the ire of their Israeli counterparts. Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, threatened the group on Friday with 'annihilation' if it did not accept. 'The Hamas murderers will now be forced to choose: accept the terms of the 'Witkoff deal' for the release of the hostages – or be annihilated,' said Katz. A previous ceasefire collapsed in mid-March after Israel refused to move to a planned second phase that could have led to a permanent end to the war, and instead restarted its offensive in the Gaza Strip. Negotiators have met in the months since in an attempt to reach a ceasefire, with little progress to show for it. More than 54,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its war on the besieged Palestinian terrority on 7 October 2023. The Israeli offensive was in retaliation for a Hamas attack on the same day, which saw the group kill about 1,200 people and take 250 hostages. Fifty-eight hostages are believed to still be alive and their return is a key demand of ceasefire negotiations. As negotiations over ceasefire continued, Israel's offensive in Gaza has ramped up. At least 60 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza over the last 24 hours, health officials said, while 72 people were killed on Thursday. Israel stopped allowing virtually all humanitarian aid into Gaza when it resumed hostilities in the Palestinian territory. The nearly three-month Israeli blockade on Gaza has pushed the population of more than 2 million to the brink of famine. While pressure has slightly eased in recent days as Israel allowed some aid to enter, aid organisations say far from enough food is getting in. 'After nearly 80 days of a total blockade, communities are starving – and they are no longer willing to watch food pass them by,' the World Food Programme said on Saturday. The UN aid agency had been allowed to bring 77 trucks loaded with flour into Gaza overnight, but the trucks were stopped en route by crowds of hungry people. Israel's acceptance of the US proposal is the most serious step to achieving a ceasefire since March. The UN and regional powers have urged both Hamas and Israel to agree to a deal to put an end to fighting in Gaza and its humanitarian consequences. 'Negotiations are ongoing on the current proposal,' Qatar's ambassador to the United Nations, Ayla Ahmed Saif al-Thani said on Friday, adding that Qatar was 'very determined to find an ending to the horrific situation in Gaza'. Israel prevented a delegation made up of foreign ministers from five Arab countries from visiting the occupied West Bank on Saturday as planned, where they had planned to meet President of the Palestinian State, Mahmoud Abbas, to discuss the establishment of a Palestinian state.
LeMonde
7 hours ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
Israel launches unprecedented verbal escalation against Macron
The defense minister struck first. On Friday, May 30, Israel Katz visited the north of the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967. In a video, he addressed French President Emmanuel Macron directly: This serves as "a clear message to Macron and his friends. They will recognize a Palestinian state on paper — and we will build the Jewish-Israeli state on the ground."He added: "That paper will be thrown into the trash bin of history, and the state of Israel will prosper and flourish." These comments confirmed, incidentally, Israel's policy of annexation of the West Bank. Katz spoke from the former settlement of Sa-Nur, dismantled along with three other Jewish settlements surrounding the Palestinian city of Jenin as part of the 2005 disengagement plan, which also led to the withdrawal of the Israeli army and settlers from the Gaza Strip. However, the Israeli government has moved to massively accelerate settlement expansion throughout the West Bank, approving on Thursday the construction or legalization of 22 settlements, including Sa-Nur, all considered illegal by the international community.
NDTV
8 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Israel Warns Hamas To Accept US Envoy's Gaza Ceasefire Deal 'Or Be Destroyed'
Jerusalem: Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas to accept the Gaza ceasefire deal proposed by US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, "or be destroyed." Witkoff's proposal includes the release of 10 living Israeli hostages and 18 bodies in two phases in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza as well as the release by Israel of 1,236 Palestinian detainees and prisoners, along with the bodies of 180 Palestinians, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the media reports. In a statement issued by his office, Katz said the Israeli military continued its operations in Gaza with full force, carrying out attacks by air, land, and sea on an unprecedented scale "for maximum protection of our soldiers in preparation for the entry of the maneuvering forces in each area." In a statement issued on Friday, the Israeli military said that since Thursday, its air force, alongside ground forces, had struck dozens of targets across the Gaza Strip, which "eliminated terrorists, dismantled weapons, terrorist infrastructure, and underground infrastructure sites." It added that during the military operations, two rocket-propelled grenades were fired at Israeli troops, lightly wounding three soldiers. Of the 251 hostages seized during the October 2023 Hamas attack, 57 remain in Gaza, of whom 34 are believed to be dead, according to the Israeli military. Earlier on Friday, the White House said that Israel has signed off on a 60-day Gaza ceasefire proposal as Israeli army continues its military actions in the war-torn area. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed at a press briefing that US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump "submitted a ceasefire proposal to Hamas that Israel backed and supported."
Daily Tribune
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Tribune
Israel minister says 'we will build Jewish Israeli state' in West Bank
Undefined Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed yesterday to build a "Jewish Israeli state" in the occupied West Bank, a day after the government announced the creation of 22 new settlements in the Palestinian territory. He said the move was a "clear message" to French President Emmanuel Macron, whom Israel's foreign ministry accused of carrying out a "crusade against the Jewish state." "This is a decisive response to the terrorist organisations that are trying to harm and weaken our hold on this land," Katz said in a video published by his office. "It is also a clear message to Macron and his associates: they will recognise a Palestinian state on paper -- but we will build the Jewish Israeli state here on the ground," he added. "The paper will be thrown into the trash bin of history, and the State of Israel will flourish and prosper." During a visit to Singapore on Friday, Macron asserted that recognition of a Palestinian state, with some conditions, was "not only a moral duty, but a political necessity". He also said that European countries should "harden the collective position" against Israel if it does not respond appropriately to the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Roya News
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Roya News
'Israeli' strikes hit Syrian coast, Damascus reports civilian killed
An 'Israeli' airstrike on Syria's western coast killed one civilian and injured three others on Friday, according to Syrian state media. The strikes targeted military facilities in the Latakia region, marking the first such attack in nearly a month. Syria's official news agency SANA reported that the attack hit near the village of Zama in the Jableh countryside, south of Latakia. Syrian state television described the incident as an 'Israeli occupation airstrike.' The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes targeted military positions and weapons depots in both the Latakia and Tartus governorates. In a statement Friday night, 'Israeli' Defense Minister Israel Katz said 'Israel' destroyed strategic weapons across Syria that posed a 'direct threat' to the country. 'There will be no immunity for anyone,' he said. 'We will not allow threats to the State of Israel and will continue defending its security.' The escalation comes just weeks after reports emerged of indirect negotiations with Israel in May aimed at reducing tensions.
