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NZ Herald
29-07-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
War has been waged at great cost to Palestinian civilians, and to Israel's standing in the world
That's happened without a breakthrough either in the negotiations with Hamas or on the battlefield. Hamas has refused to surrender, continuing to inflict deadly attacks on Israeli soldiers. 'I have to use these words: total failure,' said Michael Milstein, an Israeli analyst and former military intelligence officer. 'We are no closer to achieving our main war goal — to erase the military and the governmental capacities of Hamas — and Hamas has not become more flexible. We find ourselves right now in a total disaster.' One American Israeli hostage has been returned alive since the war resumed, but only through a side deal between Hamas and the United States. Hamas remains in control of key urban areas in Gaza and has not compromised on its core demands. Sinwar was replaced by another hardliner, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who has maintained Hamas' position, just as Sinwar had maintained the stance of his own predecessors. Israel's blockade on food from March until May led to a rise in hunger across the territory. Since ending some restrictions in late May, Israel largely reconstituted the way that food is distributed. In doing so, Israel made it more dangerous for Palestinians to get that food. Hundreds have been shot and killed by Israeli soldiers along the routes to new distribution sites. The outcome has resulted in a rare level of censure from Israel's allies. Key partners such as Britain and Germany called for the war to end. France said it would recognise a Palestinian state. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, called the situation 'a moral crisis that challenges the global conscience'. Before Israel started the blockade and broke the truce, Palestinians in Gaza were already suffering some of the worst conditions in a century of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. A vast majority of the population was displaced, and most of the buildings in the territory were damaged, according to the United Nations. Then the resumption of war felt as if someone had 'shut off the last source of life', said Karam Rabah, a civil servant in central Gaza. 'We thought we'd survived the worst, then it got even worse.' The truce from January to March had brought some respite, said Rabah, who is paid by the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, a rival of Hamas. 'Children went back to some kind of learning; families returned to their homes,' he said. Then the fighting restarted, and 'homes that had survived were suddenly gone, and even food became scarce', he added. 'I never thought that I would fight for a kilogram of flour for my kids.' As Palestinians suffer on one side of the border, Israelis on the other side are questioning what has been achieved through the return to war. As in earlier phases of the conflict, the war's protraction has allowed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to keep his ruling coalition intact, extending his tenure. A New York Times investigation has found that Netanyahu has dragged out the war partly for political reasons, in order to avoid upsetting key far-right partners who threatened their resignation if the war ended. Netanyahu denies the accusation, saying he has continued the war in the Israeli national interest. But his critics say the war's extension is at odds with the interests of Israeli hostages. It brings added risk to Israeli soldiers, who are still regularly killed in Gaza in service of a strategy that to many feels fruitless. It is a strain on reservist soldiers, who are repeatedly called up from their day jobs. And it has heightened the risk to Israelis travelling overseas, who increasingly report hostility from the people they meet, in addition to the criticism levelled at Israel from foreign governments and officials. 'There's a diplomatic tsunami against Israel like nothing anyone has ever seen,' said Shira Efron, a Tel Aviv-based analyst for Israel Policy Forum, a research group in New York. During a recent work trip to Washington, Efron said, she detected an unusual level of frustration in meetings with officials and analysts usually supportive of Israel. 'It was very clear from American politicians on both sides of the aisle — even Republican politicians and affiliated national security experts — that there is complete disapproval of the images coming from Gaza,' she said. 'Even those who think Hamas was at fault for the situation thought that Israel needs to change its position. Whether you're Republican or Democrat you don't want to see children starve.' Even Israelis who broadly support the Government's return to war say that the approach has not achieved its goal. Their solution, however, is different: In their view, Israel should have attacked far harder than it did in the past months and must do so now. For months, the Israeli military has largely stayed away from the most densely populated areas of Gaza, where the remaining Israeli hostages are believed to be held. Right-wing Israelis say that Israel should invade and occupy those areas, even if it endangers the hostages. 'We need to stop everything, occupy the strip from end to end,' Moshe Saada, a lawmaker from Netanyahu's party, said in a television interview yesterday. Others say that Israel was right to break the truce in March, but wrong to do so without a clearly communicated plan for how Gaza would be governed in the future. 'Israel needs to fight until Hamas is defeated,' said Jonathan Conricus, a former Israeli military spokesperson. It is failing to do so, Conricus said, because of 'an incoherent Israeli strategy, tremendous international and regional pressure against Israel, and Hamas' willingness to leverage the suffering of the civilian population for its own cynical benefit'. Israel needs to 'strategically regroup, formulate a plan to defeat Hamas and provide a regionally and internationally acceptable solution for the future of the Gaza Strip', said Conricus, an analyst for the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, a research group in Washington. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Patrick Kingsley Photographs by: Saher Alghorra ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
New York Times
28-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
‘Total Failure': Israel's Return to War Heaped Ruin on Gaza and Did Little for Israelis
When Israel broke its cease-fire with Hamas in March and returned to all-out war in Gaza, the country's leaders said that the new military campaign and blockade on food would force Hamas to release more Israeli hostages in exchange for fewer Israeli concessions. Four months later, that campaign is now increasingly perceived, in Israel and beyond, as a strategic, diplomatic and humanitarian failure, especially as starvation rises in Gaza. In the last four months, Israeli troops have advanced farther into Gaza, mostly recapturing areas they relinquished earlier in the war. They recovered the bodies of eight slain hostages; killed more Hamas leaders, including the group's top military commander, Muhammad Sinwar; and destroyed more of Hamas's underground tunnel network. The move has come at great cost, first and foremost to Palestinian civilians, but also to Israel's standing in the world — without a breakthrough either in the negotiations with Hamas or on the battlefield. Hamas has refused to surrender, continuing to inflict deadly attacks on Israeli soldiers. 'I have to use these words: total failure,' said Michael Milstein, an Israeli analyst and former military intelligence officer. 'We are no closer to achieving our main war goal — to erase the military and the governmental capacities of Hamas — and Hamas has not become more flexible. We find ourselves right now in a total disaster.' One American-Israeli hostage has been returned alive since the war resumed, but only through a side deal between Hamas and the United States. Hamas remains in control of key urban areas in Gaza, and has not compromised on its core demands. Mr. Sinwar was replaced by another hard-liner, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who has maintained Hamas's position, just as Mr. Sinwar had maintained the stance of his own predecessors. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Guardian
12-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Depleted Hamas focuses on desperate new aim: capturing an Israeli soldier
As Hamas intensifies its insurgent campaign against Israeli forces in Gaza, it is focusing on a new aim: capturing an Israeli soldier. Last week, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sergeant was killed in Khan Younis in southern Gaza in an attempted abduction. Hamas militants also tried to take away the remains of 25-year-old Abraham Azulay but abandoned the effort when attacked by other Israeli forces. The capture of a soldier or their remains would offer significant new leverage for Hamas as indirect negotiations continue over a ceasefire deal, and have a major impact on public opinion in Israel. 'This attempt failed. [But there is] no doubt Hamas will increase its attempts to take new hostages, including bodies of dead soldiers and civilians,' said Michael Milstein, the head of the Palestinian studies forum at Tel Aviv University. Hamas is still holding 50 of the 250 hostages seized during its surprise attack on 7 October 2023, when militants killed 1,200, mostly civilians, and triggered the conflict in Gaza. More than half are thought to be dead, and the release of 28 is being discussed in the ceasefire talks in Qatar. 'Hamas may release captives to have a ceasefire, at least for now, but is also attempting to capture more … so is signalling that any agreement is not going to be a permanent end to the overall conflict,' said Abdeljawad Hamayel, a Ramallah-based political analyst. Hamas has proved to be adept at exploiting the propaganda value of successful attacks, and its media channels broadcast a video of the attempted abduction last week. Other images showed militants attacking Israeli armoured vehicles and bulldozers. One Qatar-based Palestinian analyst familiar with Hamas's strategic discussions said: 'It's not just about gaining a card to play in negotiations but is a key part of the psychological battle. Hamas aim to boost their own fighters and demoralise both Israeli soldiers in Gaza and civilians in Israel.' Israeli officials have repeatedly described how Hamas's military strength has been degraded, and few analysts doubt the heavy casualties suffered in Gaza by the military wing of the organisation. The IDF claims to have killed up to 23,000 militants, out of about 30,000 at the beginning of the war, without providing evidence. Hamas's leadership losses are clearer. Most senior and middle-ranking commanders active in 2023 are now dead. The Qatar-based analyst said Hamas might only be deploying a 'couple of hundred' of fighters in Gaza but that this was sufficient for its strategic purposes. 'Hamas only have a few cells here, but they are very careful and precise with their resources,' they said. Military experts say Hamas has made a 'military transformation' during the 21-month conflict, from a quasi-conventional force to one that is suited to guerrilla warfare, and that its new strategy is better adapted to the devastation in Gaza, where the Israeli offensive has killed 57,000, mostly civilians, and reduced vast swaths to ruins. An ambush last week killed five soldiers and injured nine in what is left of Beit Hanoun, once a thriving town in the north of Gaza that has been reduced to smashed masonry and twisted metal by successive Israeli offensives. Some of Hamas's extensive tunnel network is still intact, too, offering a means of escaping Israel's air power and surveillance capabilities. Guy Aviad, a former IDF military historian and expert on the group, said: 'It's a very complicated battlefield for the IDF. Hamas are taking advantage of all the rubble. They are experts in guerrilla warfare and have been fighting Israel for 20 years.' Channels remain open between military leaders in Gaza and the political leadership of Hamas in Qatar and Istanbul, experts said. Only two significant political leaders – including the then leader Ismail Haniyeh – have been killed since the war began. The group's network of envoys, officials, clandestine operatives and sympathisers across much of the Islamic world and elsewhere also remains largely intact and continues to raise funds for the organisation. Hamas ruled Gaza from 2007 and its officials still nominally run ministries, municipal authorities and much else, though its grip on the territory is slipping as other actors including criminal gangs, coalitions of community leaders and new militia backed by Israel contest its remaining authority. Aid workers in the territory say Hamas officials and security personnel are less present than they were even six months ago. Casualties continue to mount in the territory. Hundreds of civilians have been killed since the latest round of ceasefire talks began on Sunday. Ten IDF soldiers have been killed this month and 20 in July. 'We are now seeing a form of attritional warfare which is placing some limits on Israel's power and is also having some effect on public opinion across the world,' said Hamayel. Milstein said Hamas was eager for a ceasefire but not at any cost. 'Here in Israel, we have had an experiment with the idea that more and more pressure on Hamas means they will [eventually] give up. Well, how much more pressure can you imagine?,' he said. 'We have killed their leaders. We have destroyed Gaza. But we have not changed the basic attitudes and demands of Hamas.'
The Guardian
12-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Depleted Hamas focuses on desperate new aim: capturing an Israeli soldier
As Hamas intensifies its insurgent campaign against Israeli forces in Gaza, it is focusing on a new aim: capturing an Israeli soldier. Last week, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sergeant was killed in Khan Younis in southern Gaza in an attempted abduction. Hamas militants also tried to take away the remains of 25-year-old Abraham Azulay but abandoned the effort when attacked by other Israeli forces. The capture of a soldier or their remains would offer significant new leverage for Hamas as indirect negotiations continue over a ceasefire deal, and have a major impact on public opinion in Israel. 'This attempt failed. [But there is] no doubt Hamas will increase its attempts to take new hostages, including bodies of dead soldiers and civilians,' said Michael Milstein, the head of the Palestinian studies forum at Tel Aviv University. Hamas is still holding 50 of the 250 hostages seized during its surprise attack on 7 October 2023, when militants killed 1,200, mostly civilians, and triggered the conflict in Gaza. More than half are thought to be dead, and the release of 28 is being discussed in the ceasefire talks in Qatar. 'Hamas may release captives to have a ceasefire, at least for now, but is also attempting to capture more … so is signalling that any agreement is not going to be a permanent end to the overall conflict,' said Abdeljawad Hamayel, a Ramallah-based political analyst. Hamas has proved to be adept at exploiting the propaganda value of successful attacks, and its media channels broadcast a video of the attempted abduction last week. Other images showed militants attacking Israeli armoured vehicles and bulldozers. One Qatar-based Palestinian analyst familiar with Hamas's strategic discussions said: 'It's not just about gaining a card to play in negotiations but is a key part of the psychological battle. Hamas aim to boost their own fighters and demoralise both Israeli soldiers in Gaza and civilians in Israel.' Israeli officials have repeatedly described how Hamas's military strength has been degraded, and few analysts doubt the heavy casualties suffered in Gaza by the military wing of the organisation. The IDF claims to have killed up to 23,000 militants, out of about 30,000 at the beginning of the war, without providing evidence. Hamas's leadership losses are clearer. Most senior and middle-ranking commanders active in 2023 are now dead. The Qatar-based analyst said Hamas might only be deploying a 'couple of hundred' of fighters in Gaza but that this was sufficient for its strategic purposes. 'Hamas only have a few cells here, but they are very careful and precise with their resources,' they said. Military experts say Hamas has made a 'military transformation' during the 21-month conflict, from a quasi-conventional force to one that is suited to guerrilla warfare, and that its new strategy is better adapted to the devastation in Gaza, where the Israeli offensive has killed 57,000, mostly civilians, and reduced vast swaths to ruins. An ambush last week killed five soldiers and injured nine in what is left of Beit Hanoun, once a thriving town in the north of Gaza that has been reduced to smashed masonry and twisted metal by successive Israeli offensives. Some of Hamas's extensive tunnel network is still intact, too, offering a means of escaping Israel's air power and surveillance capabilities. Guy Aviad, a former IDF military historian and expert on the group, said: 'It's a very complicated battlefield for the IDF. Hamas are taking advantage of all the rubble. They are experts in guerrilla warfare and have been fighting Israel for 20 years.' Channels remain open between military leaders in Gaza and the political leadership of Hamas in Qatar and Istanbul, experts said. Only two significant political leaders – including the then leader Ismail Haniyeh – have been killed since the war began. The group's network of envoys, officials, clandestine operatives and sympathisers across much of the Islamic world and elsewhere also remains largely intact and continues to raise funds for the organisation. Hamas ruled Gaza from 2007 and its officials still nominally run ministries, municipal authorities and much else, though its grip on the territory is slipping as other actors including criminal gangs, coalitions of community leaders and new militia backed by Israel contest its remaining authority. Aid workers in the territory say Hamas officials and security personnel are less present than they were even six months ago. Casualties continue to mount in the territory. Hundreds of civilians have been killed since the latest round of ceasefire talks began on Sunday. Ten IDF soldiers have been killed this month and 20 in July. 'We are now seeing a form of attritional warfare which is placing some limits on Israel's power and is also having some effect on public opinion across the world,' said Hamayel. Milstein said Hamas was eager for a ceasefire but not at any cost. 'Here in Israel, we have had an experiment with the idea that more and more pressure on Hamas means they will [eventually] give up. Well, how much more pressure can you imagine?,' he said. 'We have killed their leaders. We have destroyed Gaza. But we have not changed the basic attitudes and demands of Hamas.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Oregon seal pup stabbed multiple times as NOAA seeking to track down person of interest
An elephant seal pup suffered "multiple stab wounds" in an attack at an Oregon beach, prompting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to launch a search for a person of interest. The NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement said this week that the incident happened on March 16 in Neskowin, Oregon, along a stretch of shoreline in front of the Proposal Rock Condominiums. "While the young elephant seal survived, it sustained multiple stab wounds. The Marine Stranding Team monitored and evaluated the animal before relocating it," the NOAA said in a statement. The agency released a sketch of a person of interest, described as a White male "Approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a standard build, black and white hair, a groomed beard, and a large gap between his front teeth." 'Odd-looking' Deep Sea Fish Washes Up On Beach, Surprising Locals The NOAA, citing a witness, added that the individual was wearing a "black cap with a flat front and a logo depicting an orange four-track excavator with the word 'Timber'." Read On The Fox News App "We are also seeking information about the owner of a vehicle that may be associated with the person of interest," the NOAA also said, describing it as a cluttered-looking dark blue 1990s Dodge or Chrysler van that had the rear passenger window on the driver's side covered in plastic. Pet Raccoon Caught With Meth Pipe In Its Mouth When Cops Pulled Over Ohio Woman Following the attack, the seal's wounds were healing, it had grown to about 300 pounds and there were no signs that the stabbing was going to have "lasting effects," Michael Milstein, a spokesperson for NOAA Fisheries West Coast region, told The Associated Press. The seal that was stabbed likely left its mother very recently and was on its own to learn to hunt, Milstein said. Once it had grown a bit more, it would have likely made its way back to breeding areas around the Channel Islands off Southern California. The NOAA said "Harassing, harming, killing or feeding wild elephant seals is prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act" and "Violations can be prosecuted civilly or criminally and are punishable by up to $100,000 in fines and up to 1 year in jail per violation." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Oregon seal pup stabbed multiple times as NOAA seeking to track down person of interest
