Latest news with #Israeli-American
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
When it comes to Gaza, Trump is all mouth and no trousers
Remember Donald Trump's vow that there would be 'all hell to pay' if Hamas hadn't released all the hostages by the time he took office? What happened to that? Four months later and for all his tough talk, the president is slumping into a Biden crouch. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, is poised to unveil a revised Israel-Hamas ceasefire proposal amid optimistic leaks, mainly from sources in the United States, that a larger deal may be in the offing. This will likely entail the phased release of ten hostages out of the 20 presumed still living, as well as the remains of a further 18. This will leave the jihadis in control of ten living hostages and 20 bodies, which in their depraved eyes amounts to a pretty significant hand of playing cards to keep. In return, Israel may release 125 notorious murderers with much innocent blood on their hands, not to mention military experience and an undimmed fanaticism in their souls, as well as 1,111 prisoners captured after October 7 and the remains of 180 terrorists killed in battle. The latter is an unusual demand to be emphasised by Hamas, which appears to be mimicking Jewish veneration of the dead. Aid will also be ramped up. All this will be arranged around a 60-day pause in fighting. The White House seems confident that it has reassured Israel that either the campaign or further hostage negotiations, or both, may be recommenced if the deadline passes with no progress in talks for a final end to hostilities. Israel has reportedly indicated it will accept. So far, so Joe Biden. For those Trump supporters who were looking forward to seeing Hamas blasted to kingdom come as soon as his feet hit the Oval carpet, it all looks rather flaccid. What happened to his cherished Riviera? Just like during the Biden era, we have even witnessed an extraordinary propaganda campaign waged by Hamas, the United Nations, a range of NGOs and the international media to obstruct a joint Israeli-American attempt to create a means of delivering aid directly to the people of Gaza while bypassing their jihadi overlords. As Israel has looked in danger of winning, the disinformation has hit fever pitch. Gaza, we have been told, is on the verge of famine, which quickly elides into claims of an actual famine, despite no evidence of deaths of starvation and plentiful videos on social media of reasonable conditions in the Strip. This has been accompanied by a plethora of fabricated, exaggerated or just plain fishy claims made by Hamas and magnified by a venomously Israelophobic elite and their radical progressive allies. The arts world swung into action. R&B musicians 'spoke out' and almost 400 novelists signed a letter pledging to brand Israel's campaign 'genocide'. Odd kind of genocide when the aggressor warns civilians before it attacks, fails for two-and-a-half years to complete the supposed crime despite having the firepower to do so in two-and-a-half hours, and goes out of its way to deliver aid. If anybody had been paying attention, they would have observed that Israel had been accused of 'genocide' in earnest since October 8, and in general for many decades before that. The fact that the job of a novelist is literally to make up stories was apparently lost upon them. The disinformation has been as transparent as it has been ubiquitous. Yet following in the footsteps of Joe Biden before him, Trump failed to condemn this wave of lies, instead dignifying it by adding the claim of his own that 'a lot of people are starving' while hanging out with a bunch of Arab leaders. It doesn't stop there. We had high hopes that Iran would finally meet some serious opposition when the Donald returned to office. After all, this was the man who had authorised the killing of the totemic Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani, king of overseas meddling, in 2020. Yet just as the time is ripe for denuclearising Iran by way of bunker busters – Tehran's air defences were taken out by Israel last year and Hezbollah has been decapitated and castrated – Trump seems to be bottling it. The President publicly confirmed that he had asked Benjamin Netanyahu not to launch an attack while he was negotiating with the Ayatollah, amid days of speculation about a tense telephone call between the two men and American assessments that Israel may be preparing a strike of its own. Jerusalem is deeply concerned that an impending Trump-Khamenei deal would take the threat of an assault by the United States off the table, while leaving Iran in a holding pattern that would allow the Ayatollah to advance his nuclear programme again when he's good and ready. There are also serious worries about an interim deal that would offer Iran sanctions relief before a nuclear accord is reached, hosing billions of dollars into its coffers that may be used to rebuild Hezbollah and its other devastated assets. This would allow the Iranians breathing space to do what they do best: drag on the talks while pushing their agenda forward, quietly but steadily. We have even seen growing reports of friction between Trump and Netanyahu, which is beginning to look rather like the 'daylight' famously placed by Biden between the United States and its beleaguered ally. It's all a far cry from the berserker rhetoric that Trump so loudly trumpeted before he took office. Has he been mugged by reality? Or is the 47th president all mouth and no trousers? Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Egypt Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Israel accepts new US proposal for ceasefire with Hamas, says Israeli official
Hamas wants the humanitarian assistance to be carried out through the United Nations channels. And lastly, they want the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to pull back to the positions that they held on March 2 this year, before Israel re-launched its military operations Another person familiar with the Hamas counterproposal confirmed the three points. According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the hostage families earlier in the day that he had accepted Witkoff's proposal. During her briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that 'special envoy Witkoff and the President submitted a ceasefire proposal to Hamas that Israel backed and supported' and that discussions are ongoing. 'We hope that a cease fire in Gaza will take place so we can return all of the hostages home and that's been a priority for this administration from the beginning,' Leavitt added. 'We want to stop this' The senior Hamas official told CNN that they responded to Witkoff's proposal via Palestinian-American interlocutor Bishara Bahbah, who has been in direct discussions with Hamas negotiators in Doha. The Hamas official said that two days ago, they discussed the Hamas terms with Bahbah, which were sent to Witkoff. Then, the official said, after Witkoff met with Israeli official Ron Dermer in Washington this week, 'everything changed 100%.' 'We were shocked because we were told 2-3 times from Bishara [Bahbah] he approved the framework and had no problem,' said the senior Hamas official, calling the latest Witkoff proposal an 'Israeli paper.' 'We are ready to return all the hostages in one day, just we want a guarantee that war will not come again after that,' the official said. 'Now in this paper we didn't find it,' the Hamas official said. 'They want to continue the war, we want to stop this,' he added. Naim, a member of Hamas' political bureau, wrote on Facebook that a proposal had been agreed upon with Witkoff last week and that the latest framework comes from Israel and it 'means perpetuating the occupation and continuing the killing and famine.' After this latest proposal, Hamas is ready to release half of the remaining 20 living hostages, which the first Hamas official called a 'big risk' because there's no guarantee Israel will respect the agreement. 'We know that Witkoff is a strong man he can do something. He's the only one who can impact Israel,' the official said The same official said the Trump administration reneged on terms following the release of Israeli-American Edan Alexander, including a thanks to Hamas from President Trump and humanitarian aid that didn't immediately start flowing back into Gaza. 'Hamas is very, very interested to reach an agreement to end the war and return the hostages,' said the official. Earlier on Thursday, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalal Smotrich said accepting the proposal would be 'sheer madness,' writing on social media that he 'will not allow such a thing to happen. Period.' But Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the proposal 'publicly and immediately.' He said he would support the government, even if its far-right members abandoned it.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Key moments involving Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza
-A U.S. plan for Gaza has revived hopes for securing the release of the remaining 58 hostages Hamas holds in Gaza, 21 of whom are still believed to be alive. Following are some key moments of the hostage crisis: 2023 October 7 - Hamas-led gunmen storm into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 Israeli and foreign hostages, according to Israeli tallies. October 20 - Hamas releases two Israeli-American hostages. October 23 - Hamas releases two elderly Israeli hostages. October 30 - Israeli forces rescue an Israeli soldier who had been kidnapped on Oct. 7. November 21 - Israel and Hamas announce a truce, which will last seven days, to exchange hostages held in Gaza for Palestinians jailed in Israel, and let in more aid. Around half the hostages - women, children and foreigners - are released in return for 240 Palestinian women and teenage prisoners and detainees, before war resumes on December 1. Talks on a new ceasefire take place over the following months, but do not succeed. Israel says it wants only a temporary pause to free more hostages; Hamas says it will free them only as part of a permanent deal to end the war. December 15 - Israeli forces mistakenly kill three Israeli hostages in Gaza. The incident prompts some of the strongest criticism within Israel of the conduct of the war. 2024 Throughout the year, families of hostages lead a campaign to pressure Israel's leaders to secure a deal for the hostages' release. They hold street protests, appear almost daily at parliament, meet with world leaders and are frequently interviewed in the media. February 12 - The Israeli military says it frees two hostages during a raid in Gaza's southern Rafah neighbourhood. June 8 - Israeli forces rescue four hostages held by Hamas in a raid on a residential neighbourhood in Nuseirat, Gaza, in one of the single deadliest Israeli assaults of the war. August 27 - Israeli special forces recover an Israeli hostage from a tunnel in southern Gaza. August 31 - Israel discovers the bodies of six hostages in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza. Their deaths spark mass protests in Israel demanding the government enter a hostage deal with Hamas. The six were shot dead by their captors 48-72 hours before being found by Israeli forces, according to Israeli health ministry estimates. December 2 - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says there will be "hell to pay" in the Middle East if hostages held in the Gaza Strip are not released before his Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump repeats that threat as talks in Cairo and Doha on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal gain momentum. 2025 January 8 - The Israeli military says the body of Youssef Ziyadne, an Israeli Bedouin hostage, has been found in a tunnel in Gaza. It later says the body of Ziyadne's son Hamza was found alongside him. January 19 - A ceasefire takes effect. In a six-week first phase 33 Israeli hostages, including women, children, men over 50 and ill and wounded captives, are to be freed. In return, Israel will free almost 2,000 Palestinians from its jails. In a subsequent phase, the two sides are to negotiate the exchange of remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Later that day, Hamas releases three Israeli women and Israel releases 90 Palestinian prisoners. January 25 - Hamas releases four Israeli women soldiers. January 30 - Hamas frees two more Israeli women and an 80-year-old hostage, along with five Thai hostages in Gaza. Israel releases 110 Palestinian prisoners in return, after delaying the process in anger at the swarming crowds at one of the hostage handover points. February 1 - Hamas hands over Israeli-American Keith Siegel and Israeli-French Ofer Calderon. The group also frees Yarden Bibas, whose wife Shiri and children Ariel and Kfir were seized separately from their home near Gaza. February 8 - Hamas releases three Israeli hostages. February 15 - As mediators help avert a collapse of the ceasefire, Hamas releases three hostages including an Israeli American. February 20 - Hamas releases the bodies of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, who were aged 4 years and 9 months when kidnapped, along with an unidentified body that Israel said was not of their mother Shiri Bibas. The group also hands over the body of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when abducted. February 22 - Hamas releases a fourth body, later identified by Israel as Shiri Bibas. The group frees six hostages, two of whom were captured before October 2023. Israel delays the release of more than 600 prisoners and detainees, in what was supposed to be biggest release since the ceasefire deal took effect, citing violations by Hamas. February 26 - After days of impasse, Egyptian mediators secure the handover of the bodies of the final four hostages in the deal's first phase. Israel frees about 600 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. March 1 - The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal expires after six weeks. Fifty-nine hostages remain in Gaza, 24 of whom are considered to be alive. May 12 - Hamas hands over Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, believed to be the last surviving U.S. hostage held in Gaza.
Saba Yemen
2 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Al-Arosh tribe in Khwlan District holds armed rally in support of Gaza & denounces traitors
Sana'a - Saba: Members of Al-Arosh tribe in Khwlan District, Sana'a province, organized an armed tribal rally on Thursday in solidarity with Gaza and to declare their disavowal of traitors and collaborators. The rally, held in Qaa Al-Souq area of Al-Arosh Sub-District, was attended by District Director Raad Al-Jamli, Mobilization Official Nabil Al-Shazabi, as well as tribal sheikhs, dignitaries, local security and military leaders. Participants affirmed their full readiness to confront any emergency or escalation by the Zionist and American enemy in defense of the nation's security and stability. A statement issued during the rally granted absolute authorization to the Revolution Leader, Sayyed Abdulmalik Badruddin Al-Houthi, to take all necessary measures to deter Israeli-American aggression and their regional allies. It also reiterated the tribe's disavowal of traitors and collaborators, as well as anyone complicit in external aggression against Yemen. The statement called on judicial and security authorities to prosecute traitors , collaborators and impose the harshest penalties under Islamic law , tribal norms for their collusion with global arrogance against their homeland and people. It emphasized the unwavering stance of the Yemeni people in supporting Gaza, the Palestinian resistance, and the Palestinian people, while rejecting the genocidal crimes and violations committed against defenseless Palestinian civilians. The statement further stressed that the Yemeni people, their revolutionary , political leadership, and armed forces will not remain idle in the face of the brutal crimes committed by the Zionist enemy in Gaza. It expressed pride in the Yemeni Armed Forces' operations deep inside the criminal Zionist entity. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Egypt Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Netanyahu says Israel killed elusive Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in recent Gaza strike
Jerusalem CNN — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that a recent airstrike killed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that a recent airstrike killed Mohammed Sinwar , Hamas' elusive de facto leader in Gaza, the latest in a string of assassinations that have dealt a serious blow to the group's top brass but are yet to break its grip on power. Sinwar is the brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the Israeli military in southern Gaza in October. Netanyahu made the announcement during a speech in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, as the country marked 600 days since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. CNN has reached out to Hamas for comment. 'We changed the face of the Middle East, we pushed the terrorists from our territories, we entered the Gaza Strip with force, we eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, we eliminated (Mohammad) Deif, (Ismail) Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar,' he told lawmakers. Netanyahu's unilateral declaration, which was made without any supporting statements from the Israeli military or the defense minister, came as he faces ongoing nationwide protests around over his determination to continue the war in Gaza until the complete defeat of Hamas. On the 600th day of the war, protesters called for a comprehensive deal to end the fighting and free the hostages, but Netanyahu remained adamant that he would pursue what he has called 'complete victory.' 'We will defeat Hamas, dismantle its leadership, and demilitarize Gaza – that is what will happen,' he said in his Knesset speech, a goal which includes eliminating Hamas' top leaders. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a massive strike on the European Hospital in Khan Younis on May 13 — a day after Hamas released Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander. At the time, the IDF said it had struck 'Hamas terrorists in a command-and-control center' in underground infrastructure at the hospital, and senior Israeli official and two sources familiar with the matter told CNN that the strike targeted Mohammed Sinwar. The strike killed several dozen people and wounded dozens more, the health ministry in Gaza said at the time. Hamas had rejected claims about Sinwar's death when the strike occurred, saying in a statement that only it is 'authorized to confirm or deny what is published.' A view of a decimated street near the European Hospital following the Israeli attack in Khan Younis on Tuesday May 13. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images Sinwar's death would deprive Hamas of an able and determined commander. But many analysts say it won't bring the end of the conflict any closer. It may even complicate negotiations with Israel if a new leader doesn't emerge and Hamas mediators are left without a Hamas interlocutor inside Gaza. Israeli officials considered Mohammed Sinwar just as hardline as his brother, Yahya, but much more experienced militarily. According to the IDF, he commanded the group's Khan Younis Brigade until 2016. Since the start of the war, he had remained largely hidden, along with many of Hamas' senior leaders in Gaza. In December 2023, the IDF released video of what it said was Mohammed Sinwar driving through a tunnel in Gaza. In February 2024, the IDF said it had located his office in western Khan Younis. Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Israel has destroyed Hamas' military capacity and ability to govern. To that end, Israel has gone after Hamas' top leaders in Gaza, and Sinwar is the latest target. In July, the IDF killed the group's military leader, Mohammed Deif, in a strike on an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza. Two weeks later, Israel assassinated Hamas' political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran. Then, in October, Israeli forces killed Yahya Sinwar in Rafah in southern Gaza. His death left his younger brother, Mohammed, as the de facto leader of Hamas in Gaza, which put him squarely in Israel's crosshairs. Ever since his brother's death, Sinwar had been pre-eminent among the leaders of Hamas' military wing inside Gaza. He was intimately involved in the planning for Hamas' October 7 attacks, which saw more than 1,200 people in Israel killed and another roughly 250 taken hostage. A video of him in the tunnels purportedly leading towards Israeli territory surfaced several weeks after the attacks. By most accounts, Sinwar was ruthlessly determined to keep up the fight, despite the loss of thousands of fighters in Hamas military wing and the deepening suffering of Gaza's civilians, as well as sporadic street protests in Gaza against Hamas. Some commentators believe that Mohammed Sinwar lacked the broader authority enjoyed by Yahya. Haaretz security analyst Amos Harel writes that he shared 'leadership responsibilities in Gaza with Az al-Din al-Haddad, a commander whose power base lies in the north of the Strip.' Impact on ceasefire negotiations Muhammad Shehada at the European Council on Foreign Relations says his death would complicate the negotiation process as Hamas reorganizes a shrinking leadership within Gaza. Without those leaders, he says, Hamas becomes more de-centralized and a ceasefire is more difficult to enforce. Avi Issacharoff, a commentator with media outlet Ynet, says Sinwar's death 'may open the door for more pragmatic voices within Hamas' leadership, such as Khalil al-Hayya and others currently involved in negotiations with Qatar and the Americans.' The balance between that leadership and its negotiators abroad has always been hard to assess, but Shehada says the Hamas negotiators 'perfectly represent the movement' and had already made countless concessions on a much-diminished post-conflict role, including allowing an international peacekeeping force and giving up governance. 'They are at their most lenient now' in the face of an Israeli government that is not prepared to negotiate beyond a temporary ceasefire, says Shehada. There is plentiful evidence that Mohammed Sinwar was as hardline as his brother, perhaps even more so. In a rare interview with Al Jazeera in 2021, Sinwar said: 'We know how to identify the pain points of the occupation, how to pressure it.' He was speaking after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) launched more than 4,000 rockets toward Israel. Speaking in silhouette, Sinwar spoke of expanding Hamas' ambitions. 'Tel Aviv has been placed on the table since the first day of the battle… Striking Tel Aviv is easier than taking a sip of water.' By the time he was killed he had accumulated 30 years of military experience. A destroyed bus after the Israeli attack in Khan Younis, Gaza on May 13. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images Living in the shadows Sinwar was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp in 1975 and was first arrested for militant activities as a teenager. He became the leader of Hamas' Khan Younis brigade and is said to have played a key role in the Hamas operation that captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006, according to the Counter Extremism Project, and in insisting on his brother's release from an Israeli prison in return for Shalit's freedom. Muhammad Shehada says Sinwar lived more in the shadows than his brother and others in Hamas' leadership and had a more rigid security environment, almost to the point of paranoia. 'After an assassination attempt in 2003 he vanished, and did not take a public role in his father's funeral' in 2022, according to Michael Barak, head of the Global Jihad Research Program at the International Institute for Counter Terrorism in Israel. The evidence of the past few months suggests he was an able tactician. Time and again, the Israeli military had to return to areas of Gaza it had previously scoured for Hamas fighters. While Hamas has lost as many as 20,000 fighters, according to an assessment by the Israeli military in January, it has maintained its presence in many parts of Gaza, even occasionally firing rockets towards Israel. In a report last month, the International Crisis Group think tank said that despite those losses, Hamas had managed to recruit thousands more fighters. However, Shahada says that the Israeli campaign has seriously degraded Hamas and it is now more of a guerrilla group than a threat to its neighbor. Killing Sinwar won't change that, he says. Despite Sinwar's death, Yaakov Amidror, a former National Security Advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said: 'It is likely that we will need to continue fighting for at least a year, in order to clean the Strip of remnants of Hamas rule, terrorists, and infrastructure.' Only then, Amidror told the Jewish News Syndicate, could a new form of government be introduced to Gaza. Shehada believes that Israel's attempt to kill Sinwar the day after it released US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander will 'make it harder for Hamas to trust anything the mediators or the US says…. it's the perfect signal that no amount of guarantees from the mediators will suffice to enforce a ceasefire even if one is reached.' But what happens in Gaza next may depend as much as on the pressure being exerted by Washington on the Israeli government to end the conflict as on the leadership of Hamas. Amos Harel at Haaretz believes that 'whether he lives or dies is no longer the central question. The course of the war now hinges on a different factor entirely: what (US) President (Donald) Trump does next – and whether he succeeds in imposing his terms on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.'
