Latest news with #SteveWietcuff
Al Bawaba
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
'Our Weapons Stay': Hamas rejects reports of willingness to disarm
ALBAWABA - Reports say that Hamas is ready to give up its weapons, but the group has said that disarming will not be considered until a fully independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital has been established. On Saturday, the statement came in reaction to comments said to have come from U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Wietcuff and were spread by Israeli media. These comments said the group had shown willingness to disarm. Hamas says that having weapons is a "national and legal right." As long as Israel occupies the Palestinian territories, Hamas said in its formal statement that armed resistance is both a national and legal right. It did this by quoting international agreements and laws. The movement said, "We cannot give up our weapons until all of our national rights are restored. Most importantly, we demand the creation of a separate Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital." Hamas refuses to disarm until Palestinian state established — BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 2, 2025 How Wietcuff Got to See Gaza and Israel Friday, Wietcuff went on a tour of a center in Rafah, southern Gaza, where food aid is distributed. He did this while under high security. He looked at the humanitarian situation and how relief was being delivered while global hunger watchers warned of an impending famine in the Gaza Strip. The U.S. representative had met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the day before to try to restart peace talks that had been held up and to talk about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The uproar over Wietcuff's comments comes at a time when diplomacy attempts to end the war are still stuck. Hamas has said over and over that it will only agree to the full release of the hostages if the war ends, Israeli troops leave the area, and Palestinian prisoners are freed.
Al Bawaba
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
"Stop the Madness": Israelis demand immediate hostage deal after shocking Gaza footage
Published August 2nd, 2025 - 10:16 GMT ALBAWABA - On Saturday, hundreds of Israelis gathered in the middle of Tel Aviv to demand that the government make a deal right away to free the prisoners being held in Gaza. Newly leaked films from Palestinian resistance groups showed prisoners who were severely malnourished because Israel was still blocking the Gaza Strip. This made people want to met at "Hostage Square" and held a symbolic sit-in inside a barbed-wire fence to bring attention to the pain of their family members who are being held captive. A lot of people said that the government was ignoring the hostage situation for political mother of a hostage told Haaretz that the war and the pain of families could have stopped if the government hadn't chosen to keep it going. She said that when she told the person in charge of hostage situations that her son had turned into "skin and bone," they told her that this was "Hamas propaganda."Channel 13 in Israel reports that when U.S. representative Steve Wietcuff visited the protest site, people met him with songs calling for the prisoners to be released right away. The Israeli Hostage Families Forum had earlier asked people to join the protest through X, stressing how important it was to reach a deal Al-Qassam Brigades posted a video on Friday that showed Israeli hostage Avitar David sitting on a bed in a small room and looking very thin. On a separate note, Al-Quds Brigades of Palestinian Islamic Jihad posted video of Israeli soldier Rom Barslavsky begging for food right away: "I'm not eating or drinking." I'm dying of hunger, so please bring me food. Mass protests in Tel Aviv demanded an end to the war, the release of hostages, and accountability for actions in Gaza. The protests reflect deep anger from many Israelis toward the government's handling of the crisis #CeasefireNow — Liam Carnegie ll (@DDHonors) August 1, 2025 The protests happened just a few days after Israel pulled out of informal truce and hostage talks in Doha, which were led by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the US. Reports say that Tel Aviv has become more firm in its demands for pulling troops out of Gaza, stopping the war, freeing Palestinian prisoners, and setting up ways to send aid to those in need. Hamas has said again that it is ready to free all Israeli hostages in return for stopping the war, pulling Israeli troops out of Gaza, and freeing all Palestinian inmates. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
