Latest news with #Israelis
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- General
- Yahoo
Hamas rejects US ceasefire deal with Israel
Hamas appears to have rejected a US-led ceasefire deal with Israel, insisting that there can only be peace if Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops leave the Gaza strip. The terrorist group received a proposal from Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, which would have seen a 60-day ceasefire and an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The Witkoff proposal left details of an IDF withdrawal from combat areas ambiguous, with exact future boundaries to be discussed at a later stage. While Hamas offered to release ten living hostages and 18 bodies in return for Israel's release of a number of Palestinian prisoners, the group said it wanted a definitive answer on Israeli troops. Countering with their own offer, Hamas said: 'This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip.' It said its response came 'after conducting a round of national consultations'. 'There [are] some notes and amendments to some points, especially on the US guarantees, the timing of hostage release, the delivery of aid and the withdrawal of Israeli forces,' a Hamas official said. The Israeli prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but an official said off the record that they considered Hamas's response as an 'effective rejection' of the Witkoff deal. Israeli media reported earlier this week that Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted the deal presented by Mr Witkoff. The prime minister's office declined to comment at the time. Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March. Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely, be dismantled as a military and governing force and return all 58 hostages still held in Gaza before it will agree to end the war. Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the fighting. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack in its south on Oct 7 2023 that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Hamas-run Gaza health officials say, and has left the enclave in ruins. The World Food Programme said on Saturday that 77 trucks carrying aid, mostly flour, were stopped by hungry Gazans who took the food before the trucks could reach their destination. The nearly three-month Israeli blockade on Gaza has pushed the population of over two million to the brink of famine. While pressure slightly eased in recent days as Israel allowed some aid to enter, aid organisations say far from enough food is getting in. On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had killed Mohammad Sinwar, Hamas' Gaza chief on May 13, confirming what Mr Netanyahu had said earlier this week. Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the Palestinian militant group's deceased leader and the mastermind of the October 2023 attacks on Israel. 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.
NDTV
2 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Hamas Responds To US Proposal, Agrees To Free 10 Living Hostages
Hamas said on Saturday it had responded to a ceasefire proposal presented by US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to mediators and included a demand for an end to the war, which had previously been a red line for Israel. The Palestinian group said in a statement that under the deal, it will release ten living hostages and 18 bodies in return for Israel's release of a number of Palestinian prisoners, comments in line with Witkoff's proposal. The Hamas statement added: "This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip." It said its response came "after conducting a round of national consultations". The statement did not mention that it was seeking any changes in the proposal, but a Palestinian official familiar with the talks told Reuters that Hamas sought some amendments while its response was positive. The Israeli Prime Minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israeli media reported earlier this week that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted the deal presented by Witkoff. The prime minister's office declined to comment at the time. Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March. Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely, be dismantled as a military and governing force and return all 58 hostages still held in Gaza before it will agree to end the war. Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack in its south on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and has left the enclave in ruins.
Al-Ahram Weekly
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Hamas responds to US ceasefire proposal, outlines prisoner exchange plan - War on Gaza
Hamas announced on Saturday that it has submitted its response to US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's latest ceasefire proposal. Hamas stated that 'this proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip'. They added that the deal would include releasing 10 Israeli living captives and 18 bodies in exchange for an 'agreed-upon' but unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners. Of the roughly 250 Israelis captured on 7 October 2023, about 58 remain in Gaza, while Israel believes 35 are dead. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed uncertainty over the fate of some captives. In a prior exchange in November 2023, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners, all women and children. Of these, 107 were between 14 and 17 years old, and about three-quarters had not been convicted of any crime, though some were still awaiting trial in a military court. In exchange, Hamas released 110 captives. That temporary truce lasted seven days before Israel resumed its war on Gaza. The second truce, which went into effect on 19 January and was unilaterally ended by Israel on 18 March, called for the release of 33 Israeli captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The current US proposal reportedly offers a 60-day ceasefire with the staged release of 10 Israeli captives (four on day one, two on day 30, and four on day 60) and a phased return of Israeli bodies. However, the extension of the ceasefire beyond 60 days is not guaranteed. The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, citing a senior Israeli source, reported that Tel Aviv received the US proposal on Wednesday evening calling for the release of 10 live Israeli captives and the remains of 10 others in two phases in exchange for a 60-day temporary ceasefire. The proposal did not guarantee that the ceasefire would continue beyond 60 days if talks were still underway. Meanwhile, Israel's Channel 13 reported that Hamas is proposing a different schedule: the release of Israeli captives in three stages over 60 days—four on day one, two on day thirty, and four on day sixty. Hamas also suggested transferring the bodies of the deceased Israelis in three phases—on days ten, thirty, and fifty. The Israeli news website Walla quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that the latest proposal was more in line with Israel's interests than previous ones, but still lacked explicit US guarantees for a permanent ceasefire. Meanwhile, Al Arabiya reported that Hamas would reject the absence of such guarantees and warn against any deal that would allow Israel to resume hostilities at will. According to the report, Hamas is demanding firm US assurances for the implementation of any agreement, including a commitment to a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. A Hamas source also told Al Arabiya that 'all factions' had agreed on the observations submitted in response to Witkoff's proposal. Hamas had announced earlier that it accepted a general framework proposed by Witkoff, which includes a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the delivery of humanitarian aid, and the formation of a professional committee to manage Gaza's affairs following the agreement. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Mint
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Mint
Hamas insists on full end to Gaza conflict in reply to US ceasefire proposal
Hamas said on Saturday that it has responded to the United States ceasefire proposal for Gaza while seeking amendments which included release 10 living hostages and 18 bodies in return for a number of Palestinian prisoners. In its amendment to the ceasefire proposal, according to the reports, Hamas has demanded Israel's complete withdrawal from Gaza strip as it reiterated its call to end the war. The Hamas statement added, 'This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip.' It said its response came 'after conducting a round of national consultations'. Palestinians in Gaza are facing severe hunger, as Israel has largely blocked humanitarian aid since March, allowing only a limited amount to enter last week. A senior Hamas official told AP that 'there some notes and amendments to some points, especially on the US guarantees, the timing of hostage release, the delivery of aid and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.' While there has been no response from PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli media said earlier this week that he told the families of Israeli hostages that Tel Aviv had accepted the deal presented by President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Israel has constantly insisted that Hamas disarm completely, be dismantled as a military and governing force and return all 58 hostages still held in Gaza before it will agree to end the war. The militant group has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack in its south on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and has left the enclave in ruins.
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Tehran recruited Israelis to spy on their homeland
Last week, news broke of the arrest in Israel of two 24-year-old Israelis, Roy Mazrahi and Almoog Attias, on charges of spying for the Islamic Republic of Iran's intelligence services. The two were childhood friends, residents of the town of Nasher near the Israeli port of Haifa, had become addicted to gambling and amassed a lot of debt, the Jerusalem Post reported. According to the report, Mazrahi met an unknown person through an Internet group, who offers him good money in exchange for doing seemingly irrelevant and harmless things. This young Israeli sees the situation as an opportunity to escape his financial crisis. At first, Mazrahi was asked to photograph the areas around his home and then document the sales sign of a car dealership. His next assignment was to burn a note containing a message against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As the missions went on, police said, they found more dangerous aspects, and Mazrahi realised at some point that his employers were Iranian. On another mission, he moved a briefcase, which he thought contained a bomb, from place to place. Then came the main mission. He bought CCTV cameras and rented a room in a hotel in Tel Aviv, along with Almoog Attias, who had been attracted by the same unidentified person. The two then went to the village of Kfar Ahim, the residence of Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz in the south of the country. Their mission was to install the camera facing the entrance road to Mr. Katz's home, which was not successful due to the presence of security forces. Israeli defence officials told the court that the CCTV work was part of a larger operation to assassinate Katz. However, although Roy Mazrahi and Almog Attias are the latest reported case of such espionage operations, several other cases had already been recorded. In fact, almost every few weeks, there is a new report of Israeli citizens being recruited as spies by Iranian intelligence forces. According to a report by Israel's Internal Security Agency (SHINBET), espionage cases in Israel will increase by about 400 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year. The detention of Roy Mazrahi and Almoog Attias was the 20th case linked to espionage for Iran's intelligence services in Israel in the past year, and Tehran appears to be seizing the opportunity of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in their efforts to recruite Israeli citizens, said Maor Goren, head of the security department of the Israeli police's National Crime Combating Unit (Lahav 433). Spying has increased in the country. Although the stories of the cases vary, there are clear patterns in all of them, the Jerusalem Post reported. The targetted persons are all facing financial difficulties and looking for a shortcut way to pay off their debts. Many of these people are immigrants who have recently arrived in Israel and have less national and patriotic belonging than older Israelis. Yossi Mellman, an expert on espionage affairs and author of the book 'Spies Against Armageddon,' said, 'Most of the people being recruited are worthless and from the fringes of Israeli communities. But the worrying thing is that a country that is constantly calling for the destruction of Israel has been able to infiltrate its society.' He said of the reason for the success of the Islamic Republic of Iran: 'This is linked to the social collapse of Israel in recent years. The society has lost its sense of solidarity and cohesion. Even the government is only concerned with its own survival. People say to themselves that now that government officials are working for Qatar, why not work for Iran?' Maor Goren stressed, however, that many of the people who contact Iranian agents cut off contact after a while, and then brief the police. The method of recruiting forces by the intelligence services of the Islamic Republic of Iran is also relatively simple and does not require complex planning or macro-investment. Iranian agents mostly carry out the recruitment process through social networks and with simple messages. According to the report, Iranian agents typically target specific groups such as fundamentalist orthodox Jews opposed to Zionism, new immigrants, former criminals, and ordinary citizens mired in financial hardship. Some of those detained were immigrants from former Soviet states, and this may have led to a general distrust of certain strata of society. In fact, social media has given Iranian agents access to a part of Israeli society that was previously unavailable or unknown to them. According to the Jerusalem Post, the Islamic Republic of Iran's intelligence services have contacted Israelis via WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, LinkedIn, Instagram and X, promising large sums in exchange for doing simple things such as photographing specific locations or people or writing graffiti. They have also occasionally published private detective search ads to gather intelligence from Israeli officials. Iranian agents have also launched phishing campaigns to collect information from Israeli citizens in the form of surveys. In none of the recruitment methods has there been a sign of Iran at first, and most intrigued Israelis have said they did not know at first that they were working for Tehran. Israel's Internal Security Agency (SHINBET) has had a successful performance in deterring the actions of Iranian agents, and so far it appears that no serious damage has been done to Israel's security. However, spying operations continue and many may still have not been identified. Some critics of Israel's legal system believe that the punishment for the perpetrators attracted is too light, and that a few years in prison is not a deterrent for people who have engaged in such acts in exchange for receiving sums of money. Also, the exposure and detention of these individuals has no particular consequences for Tehran. Iranian agents are only waiting for the next victim to respond to their message. In another case, Moshe Attias, an 18-year-old from Yabneh in central Israel, received such a message: 'Thank you for contacting Iranian intelligence. Message the user account below to speak to our experts on Telegram.' Mr. Attias had received about $1,800 in his digital wallet for documentation from the hospital in Maier, where Naftali Bennett, the former Israeli prime minister, was hospitalized. He identified himself as a relative of Mr Bennett and gave information, including details of the security measures adopted at the site, to Iranian agents. Yossi Mellman commented: 'Getting this close to Mr Bennett is an achievement for the Iranian agents and it shows that they are still continuing their actions. But their influence in Israel is still negligible compared to Israel's influence in Iran.' In August last year, Israeli police detained Moti Maman, a 73-year-old Israeli citizen on suspicion of plotting to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the indictment, he travelled secretly to Iran twice to meet with Iranian relations and requested $1 million in advance payments in Iran to carry out the assassination. 'Moti Maman had told his contacts that he had no access to high-level officials and had offered to target the mayor of Aka or Nahariya,' Mellman said. He was sentenced to ten years in prison for espionage and plotting assassinations last month. Last year, an Iranian intelligence network focusing only on Jewish immigrants from the Caucasus region managed to attract a couple through an Israeli citizen from Azerbaijan. According to the indictment, the couple received $600 a day for gathering information about potential targets, including surveillance of Mossad's main headquarters. A seven-member network dubbed the 'Haifa Cell' is also accused of imaging dozens of military bases, Iron Dome systems and other strategic targets across Israel in exchange for $500 to $1,200 per mission. According to the indictment, one of their surveillance targets was Navatim Air Base, which was later targeted by an Islamic Republic of Iran missile attack. Not everyone attracted by Iranian agents, of course, is Jewish. Last October, seven Palestinians living in East Jerusalem were detained on suspicion of planning to assassinate a nuclear scientist and the mayor of one of Israel's major cities. To date, Iran's intelligence efforts in Israel do not appear to have achieved much success. Because no senior Israeli official has been assassinated, and even if on occasion live and simultaneous information has been passed to Tehran, this information appears to have been superficial and did not lead to any specific action. However, as Yossi Mellman warns: 'We are ignorant of what we don't know, and the most worrying thing is that some Israelis are willing to betray their homeland for a fistful of dollars.'
