Latest news with #reoccupation
The National
4 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Hamas cannot be defeated by military reoccupation of Gaza, says former head of Israel's Shin Bet
As Israel's government pushes ahead with plans to reoccupy Gaza, Israeli opponents of the war are becoming more strident, with one telling The National the move would not bring further security to the country but would instead endanger it. 'From a military point of view, we've reached the point we wanted to achieve. The impact now will be that our security will be decreasing,' said Ami Ayalon, a former head of Israel 's internal security agency, the Shin Bet. Mr Ayalon argued that those who say reoccupying Gaza after 22 months of Israeli bombardment would bring an end to Hamas do not understand what occupation means, nor what eliminating the Palestinian militant group would entail. He said Israel had achieved its military goal of ensuring that Hamas was no longer a threat by killing its leadership, including Yahya Sinwar, his brother Mohammed Sinwar, and Ismail Haniyeh, but this did not put an end to the beliefs they represented. 'You cannot defeat the ideology by the use of military power, but [instead] by presenting a better horizon, which is a state for the Palestinans. Unless we do it, Israel will not be secure.' Mr Ayalon is one of 550 signatories of an open letter to US President Donald Trump, calling on him to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza immediately. The former security official acknowledged the heavy toll that Israel's actions have taken on the people of Gaza, something that many in Israel either deny or attribute to 'propaganda' by Hamas. So far, Israel has killed more than 61,000 people in Gaza, and wounded more than 152,000 others, according to local health authorities, whose figures the UN considers to be reliable. 'You have to understand the meaning of occupation. First of all, you have to kill hundreds or thousands of people,' Mr Ayalon said. 'You have to be able to control the life every person.' Israel's military now controls about 75 per cent of Gaza's territory, 20 years after it 'disengaged' from the Palestinian territory. It has forced much of Gaza's population into a small area in the south, where more than 40,000 people are living in every square kilometre, according to UN estimates. Israel's planned offensive on Gaza city, as part of its reoccupation goal, is expected to drive another one million people – half of the enclave's population – into the south. Internal divisions Mr Ayalon said a fundamental issue is that Israel views its enemies in one of two ways: either as targets that need to be destroyed, or as statesmen, who will be negotiated with at a later stage. He referred to the 1973 war in which Israel lost thousands of soldiers in exchange for control of the Sinai Peninsula and withdrew from when they established diplomatic relations with Egypt. Mr Ayalon said the Israeli government's goal of reoccupation and its conduct of the war in Gaza was causing further divisions within Israel. The government that was elected legally as part of a democratic system no longer represents the people, he said. 'The government has not presented a political goal until today. They refuse to discuss the day after [the war] because they understand that they will not get the support of the people.' Israeli polls show that at least 70 per cent of people want to bring back the hostages in Gaza and end the war. Hamas and other militant groups are believed to be still holding 50 hostages, of who 20 are alive, out of the 250 people they seized from Israel during the attack on October 7, 2003 that started the war. Mr Ayalon said the case can no longer be made that killing one person in Gaza is a means to save the lives of many. 'If you cannot prove it to yourself then it's not just. It is against human nature and humanity. So I cannot justify what we are doing today in Gaza.'
The National
5 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Why has Israel decided to reoccupy Gaza - and at what cost?
Nearly two decades after Israel withdrew from Gaza, dismantling settlements and military posts under Ariel Sharon's leadership, the Israeli government has now approved a plan to take over the Palestinian enclave again, following 22 months of its war there. What began as speculation this week quickly became official policy after a 10-hour security cabinet meeting, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gained approval to take full control of northern Gaza. The plan includes displacing up to a million people and reshaping governance in the strip under an as yet undefined 'civilian authority'. Mr Netanyahu claims this move will restore Israel's security and free Gazans from Hamas rule. But critics, including top military officials and former security leaders, warn this could destroy prospects for a ceasefire, worsen the humanitarian catastrophe and endanger remaining hostages. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher speaks to two Israeli figures on opposite sides of the debate: Yossi Kuperwasser, head of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security think tank and former head of the research division in the Israeli military intelligence; and Ami Ayalon, a former commander of the Israeli Navy and former director of the Israel security agency Shin Bet. One defends reoccupation as a necessary strategy, the other calls it a dangerous step that could cost Israel its identity, security and future.
CNN
5 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Protesters and police clash as Netanyahu weighs Gaza reoccupation
Protesters and police clash as Netanyahu weighs Gaza reoccupation Protesters across Israel rallied for an end to the war in Gaza as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with his security cabinet over potentially expanding Israeli occupation of the enclave. 00:44 - Source: CNN Vertical World News 16 videos Protesters and police clash as Netanyahu weighs Gaza reoccupation Protesters across Israel rallied for an end to the war in Gaza as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with his security cabinet over potentially expanding Israeli occupation of the enclave. 00:44 - Source: CNN Imagine Your City Split in Two: This Is Kherson, Ukraine Russia has launched a new push for control in southern Ukraine, using drones to target key access roads and strike a vital bridge in Kherson. The goal: to split the city in two. Civilians are caught in the middle, facing constant drone attacks as they try to escape or survive in a divided city. 01:44 - Source: CNN CNN gets aerial view of Gaza destruction CNN's Matthew Chance joins the Jordanian air force in a flight over Gaza and gets an aerial view of the destruction on the ground after almost two years of war. 00:47 - Source: CNN CNN joins aid drop over Gaza Jordanian planes have dropped 6.6 tonnes of aid over Gaza such as tinned food and baby formula. Israel began allowing airdrops of aid into the enclave in late July, but aid groups have criticized the delivery method as impractical and potentially dangerous. CNN's Matthew Chance joined one of the planes as it flew over Gaza. 00:40 - Source: CNN Nicaraguan migrant escapes ICE, barricades himself at home Fontana resident Robert Reyes, his three children, his wife and mother-in-law have remained inside their apartment after security cameras captured the moment Reyes sprinted through his apartment door just moments before a California Border Patrol agent could apprehend him. CNN is trying to verify the status of the case with authorities in California. 02:17 - Source: CNN New US tariffs are now in place A new wave of tariffs on exports to the US have come into effect. CNN's Marc Stewart explains the latest and what they mean for US consumers. 01:39 - Source: CNN James Cameron's planned film on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 'a sacred duty' to survivors Film director James Cameron tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour he is adapting the book, "Ghosts of Hiroshima" by Charles Pellegrino into a film that he "has to make" partly because of a pledge he made to Tsutomu Yamaguchi, a survivor of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. 02:55 - Source: CNN US special envoy Witkoff meets Putin in Russia US special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump threatened to impose punishing new sanctions on Russia. The meeting, which lasted around 3 hours, was described as 'constructive and useful' by Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, according to Russian state media TASS. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports. 01:49 - Source: CNN Mudslide engulfs Indian village after deadly flash floods Flash flooding struck northern India on Tuesday prompting at least 70 people to be evacuated while dozens remain missing, according to officials in Uttarakhand. At least four people have died in the flooding, which triggered a mudslide that was caught on video as it engulfed a Himalayan village. 00:46 - Source: CNN Women in Gaza face their periods without adequate supplies Women in Gaza say they feel "embarrassed" and degraded by the dire hygiene situation in the enclave. Israel's aid blockade has deprived women of essential supplies like sanitary pads, tampons and soap while access to clean water remains scarce. Mother of six, Ghadeer Nassar told CNN how she has been forced to cut up pieces of old cloth to fashion makeshift sanitary pads for her teenage daughter. 01:44 - Source: CNN A 12-year-old girl's quest to find food in Gaza CNN first met 12-year-old Jana in May months after her older brother was killed by Israeli fire, according to her family. Now, we follow her quest to find food as even the soup kitchens have become dangerous. As starvation and desperation has deepened in the enclave, the family's health has also deteriorated. The IDF did not respond to a request for comment on the death of Jana's brother. CNN's Abeer Salman reports. 01:22 - Source: CNN Japanese firework festival ends with barges on fire A firework festival in Japan's Yokohama went awry on Monday when fireworks landed on the barges they were being launched from, setting two of the barges on fire. The event organizer told police a fireworks launch system went out of control, Reuters reported citing local media. 00:27 - Source: CNN Great Barrier Reef sees record coral bleaching According to the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), parts of the Great Barrier Reef suffered their biggest-ever declines last year after a marine heatwave bleached vast swaths of hard coral. 00:55 - Source: CNN How to spot a North Korean operative on LinkedIn North Korean operatives are using fake identities to secure remote tech jobs at US companies and make millions for Kim Jong Un's regime. CNN's Teele Rebane breaks down how the scheme works and what to look for online. 03:07 - Source: CNN The apartment she bought is perfect. The owner just has to die first There is a morbid loophole that could get you a Paris apartment for half the price. The French viager system is a real estate deal where buyers essentially bet on how long the seller has left to live. 01:50 - Source: CNN Tornado hits Inner Mongolia Footage shows a tornado hitting Inner Mongolia on Monday. No casualties were reported from the incident, according to a state media report. 00:29 - Source: CNN
The National
5 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Netanyahu seeks full control of Gaza under Israeli plan to force half its population south
Israel plans to push half of the population of Gaza to the south of the territory as part of a new campaign to fully reoccupy the enclave, a source told The National. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News that Israel intends to retake control of Gaza before turning it over to "civilian governance", as he prepared to meet his security cabinet to discuss war plans on Thursday. Mr Netanyahu said reoccupation would "ensure our security" and "enable the population to be free" of Hamas rule in Gaza. "We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life. That's not possible with Hamas." The expected move comes as concern grows within Israel and abroad that a comprehensive military campaign would dash ceasefire talks, kill more Palestinians and endanger hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Israel plans to 'gradually' send four to five divisions for the campaign, the source added. Reoccupying Gaza in its entirety will need an estimated force of 25,000 to strike into main urban areas, military experts say. The Israeli military is widely reported to be against the plans in large part for the strain it would put on the army, which is buckling under the pressure of more than 670 days at war. Army chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said troops "will continue to express our position without fear". Israeli media said Mr Netanyahu was meeting his security cabinet on Thursday evening to discuss the plans. A Hamas official warned on Thursday that an expansion of the war would destroy any remaining prospects for a political resolution. "It is Hamas that has continuously pushed for the success of a ceasefire deal, and expanding the war will also destroy prospects for a political solution, one that won't bring Israel security, even at the regional level,' they said. 'Every additional day of this war is a testament to Netanyahu's political failure. Withdrawal and de-escalation would cost him politically. So instead, he fuels the conflict to shore up far-right support and keep his coalition alive.' The Israeli source did not elaborate on how long the operation is expected to take, but Israeli media reports say about five months. Israeli outlet Channel 12 reported that the operation would start with an invasion of Gaza city. Israel was expected on Thursday to approve the plan. As talk of an invasion of Gaza city intensifies, one resident, Mahmoud Al Burbar, 40, said he has yet to decide whether to flee again after being displaced five times already during the war. 'I'm exhausted – mentally, physically. This could be just another tactic to pressure for a ceasefire, I try to tell myself,' the father of two told The National. 'I don't know where to go. The last time I left the city, the experience was bitter. I returned to find destruction. I honestly don't know if I'll leave this time. It all depends on how large the operation will be.' Wa'ad Abu Zaher, 31, also from Gaza city, said an Israeli invasion 'could absolutely be implemented' because destruction means 'it's easier for them to enter its centre now'. The city has been damaged by Israeli air strikes throughout the war. 'Even if the occupation is temporary, they'll do it for the sake of claiming a military achievement,' said Ms Abu Zaher, who is also unsure whether to flee. 'Leaving is hard. I already left my home once. When I returned, it was destroyed, but its smell was enough for me to stay.' At least 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war with Hamas and other factions, authorities in Gaza say. Most of the enclave's 2.3 million residents have been displaced, many more than once, and large swathes of its built-up areas have been razed. At least 193 people have now died of starvation – 96 of them children – under Israel's blockade of the coastal territory, Gaza health authorities say. Major losses The plan has been condemned across Israeli society, mainly because of the risks it could pose to hostages. Most of the captives have been released through deals with the militant group Hamas, with military rescue operations proving far more hazardous. In August last year, six hostages were killed by their captors as Israeli troops closed in. In December 2023, Israeli soldiers killed three hostages, mistaking them for enemy combatants. The Hamas source urged the administration of US President Donald Trump to 'stop granting Israel carte blanche on military operations and territorial occupation, if it wants its mediation efforts to carry any weight' Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the 'direction in which the Cabinet and the Israeli government are heading will lead to all the hostages dying of hunger, beatings and torture'. A forum representing most of the families of Israeli hostages was holding a demonstration outside the cabinet meeting, calling on the public to join an 'outcry and call to stop the catastrophic decision to occupy" Gaza. Military officials also fear the move will lead to major losses, public broadcaster Kan reported, with 'dozens' of soldiers killed. Israel's military chief, Lt Gen Zamir, is widely reported to be against the reoccupation, chiefly because of exhaustion and low army morale. 'We will continue to express our position without fear – in a professional, independent, and substantive manner … We are not dealing with theory — we are dealing with matters of life and death, in the defence of the country,' Mr Zamir said on Thursday in remarks released by the army. Israel is also under massive international pressure to ease a hunger crisis in Gaza. UN officials have reported modest progress in bringing food and supplies into Gaza but say far more is still needed. 'After months of killing, starvation, and destruction, today we finally had feta cheese,' Mr Al Burbar said. 'Away from the threats and the anticipation of a new military operation, we savoured something so ordinary … it felt like a miracle.' Ms Abu Zaher said it was a moment of 'celebration' after she enjoyed her first cup of tea with sugar in three months. But she is not optimistic about the coming days. Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip began in 1967 after it seized the territory from Egypt during the Arab-Israeli war. For nearly four decades, Israel maintained military control over Gaza and established illegal settlements. In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza under then-prime minister Ariel Sharon's 'disengagement plan'. All Israeli settlers left and the military dismantled its bases and departed the territory. However, while the withdrawal ended Israel's ground presence, Israel retained control over Gaza's airspace, coastline and borders, leading the UN and international legal bodies to continue considering Gaza as occupied territory under international law. Another Gaza city resident, Amira Nassar, 28, recently returned to her home in the Al Zaytoun area to find it burnt to the ground. 'All my memories, my books, everything I owned, it's all gone. They stole my life,' she told The National. 'I don't care about anything now.' She refuses the idea of fleeing south. 'I'd rather die than flee. The only thing I still have is that I'm in Gaza. If they take that away from me, there's nothing left to live for.'
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
The Latest: Netanyahu facing opposition to reported plan for reoccupation of Gaza
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has scheduled a meeting with security officials to discuss a possible expansion of Israel 's military operation in Gaza after the breakdown of ceasefire talks last month. The meeting could result in an order for the full reoccupation of Gaza for the first time since Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers two decades ago. Such a move would be aimed at boosting Israel's security, but is fraught with humanitarian and diplomatic risks. The meeting was scheduled for Thursday evening, but it is not clear if it will lead to any immediate decision. Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 in an Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. They still hold 50 hostages, around 20 of them believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Here's the latest: The Israeli airline's Paris office is vandalized with graffiti Vandals have sprayed red paint on the Paris office of El Al, the Israeli airline. El Al said the offices were unoccupied at the time of the vandalism, which was discovered Thursday morning, and no one was harmed. Red paint and the words 'El Al genocide airline' were sprayed across the glass doors and walls of the airline's office. El Al called the incident 'deeply disturbing.' It occurred as tensions are running high between France and Israel over France's decision to recognize a Palestinian state. Israel's Foreign Ministry condemned what it called an antisemitic attack and urged the French government to ensure the safety of El Al staff and offices and to bring the perpetrators to justice. Indonesia offers help to Palestinians Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, is preparing Galang, an uninhabited island on the northwest side of the country, to treat around 1,000 wounded people from the Gaza Strip. The announcement was made Thursday by Indonesia's Foreign Minister Sugiono, who like other Indonesians uses one name only. Indonesia's president first announced in April a plan to temporarily house and treat wounded Palestinians, particularly women and children. The country's top clerics have criticized the plan due to a lack of guarantees that evacuated Gazans would be able to return home, something they worry could partly enable the depopulation of Gaza. Wounded Palestinians would be taken to a medical facility where COVID-19 patients and Vietnamese refugees have been treated in the past. Thursday's announcement marks the first time the location was named, but no other details were given. The relatives of hostages protest Almost two dozen relatives of hostages being held in Gaza set sail from southern Israel on Thursday towards the maritime border with Gaza, where they broadcast messages of protest from loudspeakers. The families denounced Netanyahu's reported plan to expand military operations. Yehuda Cohen, the father of Nimrod Cohen, an Israeli soldier held hostage in Gaza, said from the boat that Netanyahu is prolonging the war to satisfy extremists in his government and to prevent it from collapsing. 'Netanyahu is working only for himself,' he said, pleading with the international community to put pressure on Netanyahu to stop the war and save his son. More death in Gaza At least 29 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes and shootings across southern Gaza on Thursday, according to local hospitals. Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis said 12 of the fatalities were from people attempting to access aid near a distribution site run by a U.S. and Israeli-backed private contractor. At least 50 people were wounded, many from gunshots, the hospital said. Neither the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation nor the Israeli military, which helps secure the group's sites, immediately commented on the strikes or shootings. The Israeli military has accused Hamas of operating in densely populated civilian areas. Palestinians receive body of a slain activist and mourn him Israeli authorities returned the body of a Palestinian activist allegedly killed by an Israeli settler last week, after female Bedouin relatives launched a hunger strike to protest the authority's decision to hold his body in custody. The hunger strike was a rare public call from Bedouin women who traditionally mourn in private. Witnesses said Awdah Al Hathaleen was shot and killed by a radical Israeli settler during a confrontation caught on video last month. Israeli authorities said they would only return the body if the family agrees to certain conditions that would 'prevent public disorder.' Despite dropping some of their demands, family members said Israel set up checkpoints and prevented many mourners from outside the village from attending.
