The French newspaper Le Monde said that the Israeli war cabinet - which leads military operations in Gaza, on the Lebanese border and in the West Bank - maintained the illusion of unity at the head of the state, reflecting the image of the unified Israeli nation in mourning and in the largest military mobilization in its history, but it is confused and deeply divided from the inside.

The newspaper explained - in a report written by its correspondent in Jerusalem, Louis Imbert - that this body consists of 5 members, namely Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the American Ron Dermer, his deputy and his “second mind,” and 3 generals who have been wearing black clothes for a month and are constantly clarifying and contradicting Netanyahu’s statements, and they are the minister. Defense Minister Yoav Galant and former chiefs of staff Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot - who joined the opposition government on the fifth day of the war - served as security around the prime minister.

Netanyahu's second mind

The reporter stated that Florida-born Ron Dermer - who has been with Netanyahu since 2000 - was religious but did not serve in the Israeli army, and is responsible for relations with the administration of US President Joe Biden, who, like his predecessors, participates in Israeli decision-making during wartime.

Dermer - who knows officials in the Biden administration closely, due to his bitter enmities with them - was appointed by Netanyahu as ambassador to Washington in 2013, and advisors to former Democratic President Barack Obama considered rejecting his credentials, believing that he is more of a political activist in the American Republican Party than he is. He is a diplomat, and he helped persuade former US President Donald Trump to exit the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

As for the fifth member of the war government, whose decisions are taken unanimously under the guidance of the commanders of the army and security services, he is Aryeh Deri, the leader of the extremist Israeli Shas party, who was twice convicted of corruption and tax evasion. He leads a party whose majority of voters reject military service, and seeks to maintain the huge government subsidies granted in the spring.

War generals

The newspaper reviewed the biographies of the generals of the war cabinet, the first of whom was Gadi Eisenkot, who had the “suburb” military doctrine that contradicted the principle of appropriate response. He destroyed the southern suburb of Beirut with bombs during the 2006 war against Hezbollah, and his predecessor, Benny Gantz, to whom Netanyahu did not fulfill his promise that he would succeed him after he joined. To his government, he is now seeking to confront the influence of the extreme right-wing ministers whom Netanyahu refuses to get rid of, such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has questioned the legitimacy of the war government. Ben Gvir is also working with his ally, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, to fuel chaos in the West Bank.

The generals of the war government have in common that they warned the prime minister months ago of the danger of a major attack against Israel, and at a time when the country was torn by the judicial reform desired by Netanyahu, they indicated that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) believes that Israel is in an unprecedented state of weakness. For example, Netanyahu refused to receive Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy, who wanted to share with him the disturbing analyzes by military intelligence.

Last October, the generals of the war government twice stood up against the public accusations directed by Netanyahu against the heads of the security services, then against the reservists and former high-ranking officers in the army who demonstrated against his reforms, and they were now joined by important allies of the Prime Minister who were angry about these accusations, so that several Voices from the right-wing newspaper Israel Hayom long devoted to Netanyahu's defense this week called for his resignation.

Source: Le Monde

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Sunday that the administration of US President Joe Biden contacted Israeli officials and asked them to clarify what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meant when he said, “Israel will continue to have security control over the Gaza Strip.”

The newspaper said that Netanyahu kept repeating this phrase about the situation in Gaza after the end of the war several times during recent days, in a statement yesterday, Saturday, in interviews with foreign media, and in a meeting with Israeli officials.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken indicated this week the ultimate goal after ending the control of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) over the Gaza Strip.

Reuters quoted a senior American official as saying that Blinken informed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during his meeting with him in Ramallah that the Palestinian Authority must play a pivotal role in the future of Gaza.

In a statement at a press conference last night, Netanyahu addressed the issue of the “day after” the war in Gaza, and said, “We will not agree to give up security control over Gaza under any circumstances,” adding, “The next day, Gaza will be demilitarized, and there will be no... There is another threat from the Gaza Strip to Israel."

Regarding the possibility of establishing a settlement in Gaza, Netanyahu said that he "does not believe that is a realistic goal."

Source: Israeli press

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and War Council member Benny Gantz shook hands after a press conference in Tel Aviv, but ignored Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The pictures showed Netanyahu collecting his papers and about to leave the stage without comment, while Israeli media commented on this shot by saying: “Two against one, this is the focus of the war.”

It is noteworthy that signs of disagreement between the pillars of the Israeli War Council appeared during the first weeks of the war on Gaza.

In a press conference late last month, the first signs of hidden disagreements came to light, when Netanyahu refrained from answering questions from Israeli journalists regarding the news that months ago, he had obtained reports from the General Security Service (Shin Bet) and Military Intelligence (Aman), warning of the increasing possibility of... War breaks out without dealing with it.

Disagreements intensified between the Prime Minister and the National Emergency Government coalition, when Netanyahu refuted Israeli reports that stated that the military establishment and intelligence services had submitted reports to his office at the beginning of this year in which they warned of the consequences of the outbreak of war on several fronts, and did not rule out the scenario of a surprise attack that might be launched by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). On the "Gaza cover".

In a tweet on his account on the X platform, Netanyahu accused the army and intelligence services of responsibility for failing to warn and prevent the events of “Black Saturday” on the seventh of last October.

His tweet was met with strong criticism from partners in the emergency government coalition and members of the “War Cabinet,” and Gantz then addressed Netanyahu, saying, “When Israel is at war, the leadership must be responsible, take the right steps, and support the army and security forces to achieve what is asked of them.”

Gantz renewed his full support for the commanders of the army, the intelligence services, and the heads of the security services, while the opposition leader, Yair Lapid - head of the “There is a Future” party - launched an attack on Netanyahu, accusing him of evading responsibility and shifting it to the military and security leaders who are waging a war against Hamas and Hezbollah, which... It prompted Netanyahu to delete his tweet, apologize for its content, and admit that he “made a mistake.”

Source: Al Jazeera.Net

By Zvi Barel

“Pay attention to what is happening on the field, not to what we say,” this is what Hassan Nasrallah suggested to his listeners in Israel, in the Middle East, and in Washington, at the end of a speech filled with Qur’anic verses and rhetoric, as usual, and many attacks on Israel. A week after his previous speech, the first since the beginning of the war; Nasrallah appears to have absorbed the criticism directed at him over the party's limited scope of operations against Israel, his meager commitments to "the unity of the arenas," and Hamas's disappointment.

This time, from his position as a commentator, he devoted an important part to the new term he coined, “Support Front.” He praised the Houthis' decision to use missiles and drones against Israel, and in his view, the political achievement lies in the fact that for the first time, a country outside the "axis of resistance" is actually participating in the battle against Israel. Syria, "despite its 'difficult' situation, participated by allowing party forces to operate from its territory against Israel, and the Shiite militias attacking American targets make it clear who the real enemy is, and of course, Iran, 'without which there is no resistance.'" Which finances and arms the resistance. “In the past, we hid this, but today, we talk about it with our mouths full.”

All of these things together create what he calls a “support front,” a lesser term than “empathy,” which he used in his previous speech, but without full military intervention. 

But the Palestinians in Gaza did not obtain pledges, or they felt that Nasrallah intends to change the equation he has established so far, according to which the party moves and responds to any attack on Lebanese civilians. Nasrallah, who seemed to be in the process of presenting accounts before a critical committee, went into details, and stated that for the first time, a Burkan missile had been brought into the arena; He said, "We returned to using Katyushas," helicopters, and the party's drones entered Israeli territory more than once a day...

On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian warned his Qatari counterpart, Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman II, by phone that “in light of the intensity of the Israeli attacks on Gaza, the expansion of the war will be inevitable.” His words were interpreted as a threat that Iran would join the battle directly. A short time later, clarification came from the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, in an interview with CNN, in which he explained that Iran was not the one that would expand the war, and that “its expansion, simply, is not ruled out.”

It seems that so far, these are the directives guiding Hezbollah: The confrontation between Israel and the party must maintain “the borders of a specific region,” not force Iran to enter the battle itself, which could lead to a direct confrontation with the United States. This is a delicate and fragile dividing line that forces Israel and Hezbollah to engage in a battle of precise and calculated mutual responses. Iran is not the only one that wants to maintain a declared position that it is not the one dictating their steps to Hezbollah or Hamas. Rather, the United States also wants to remain on the “support front” and hold Israel’s hand firmly so as not to drag it into a regional confrontation.

Thus, a new and more extensive deterrence equation emerged. It is not limited to the borders between Israel and Lebanon, and between the Israeli army and Hezbollah. Rather, it pits the most powerful superpower in the world against Iran over a problem that should never have concerned Washington. The potential confrontation was planned only if Iran possessed a nuclear weapon, and not because of the development of a local conflict, no matter how tragic and cruel.

Saudi Arabia is trying to curb the conventional Iranian threat that could spark a regional war. The emergency Arab-Islamic summit, which was held in Riyadh yesterday, played an important role in advancing this endeavor. For the Palestinians, the summit is useless. Dozens of such summits have been held in the past and were subject to severe criticism for “Arab impotence.”

The fact that this summit was held a month after the war indicates the gap between apparent solidarity and willingness to take practical steps, and this is not new. Initially, it was planned to hold two summits, one for the Arab League countries, and then a summit of Islamic countries. In a wise move, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman decided to combine the two summits into one summit, which was attended for the first time, since the resumption of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, by Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, whose speech, as was expected, was full of condemnations of Israel and the United States, and included far-reaching demands. , such as boycotting Israel and arming the “resistance,” but Saudi sponsorship and the position presented by Crown Prince Bin Salman in his short speech are supposed to bind Iran, which is employing intense diplomatic efforts to restore its relations with the Arab countries in the region.

The decisions taken by the summit included 31 items, including demanding an immediate ceasefire, stopping arms shipments to Israel, calling on the Security Council to condemn the destruction of hospitals in the Gaza Strip, lifting the siege and opening humanitarian aid channels, and turning to the international community to work to stop the war and release all prisoners. detainees and civilians, and other provisions relating to the international legal treatment of “war crimes” committed by Israel.

The resolutions also included two important clauses that talk about a future political solution: Clause 28, which stresses that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and that all other Palestinian factions must unite within its framework, and Clause 30, which calls for holding an international peace conference in “Soon." This means that "Hamas" and the other resistance movements do not represent the Palestinians. It is true that this clause is not new and was previously adopted 50 years ago, but at a time when "Hamas" is waging a war against Israel, this clause seems important because it ignores its existence. 

In any case, Bin Salman, along with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan, succeeded in preventing important practical decisions. No to boycott Israel, nor to prevent Israeli aircraft from crossing the skies of Arab countries, nor to call on Arab countries and others to sever their relations with Israel. The request was previously discussed in the meetings of Arab foreign ministers before the summit. These demands do not only seek to reconcile the Arab and Islamic poles, but also between what the United States can accept and the hard-line positions presented by the leaders of some Arab countries. 

Iran will be forced to make its decision: will it be satisfied with the common denominator presented by the summit, under the inspiration of Bin Salman, or will it move independently, after recording a political achievement through its attendance at an Arab forum, and not just an Islamic one?

The Prime Minister of the Israeli occupation government, Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed on Saturday night in a joint conference, with Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Minister of the “War Cabinet” Benny Gantz, that the Palestinian Authority will not return to the Gaza Strip at the end of the war, while the Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Galant, threatened Lebanese Hezbollah to attack Beirut.

During a press conference for the Israeli War Council, Netanyahu said: “We will not stop until we complete the mission. The war against Hamas is progressing with full force and its only goal is victory and nothing but victory. We will eliminate Hamas and return the kidnappers.”

Netanyahu claimed that the occupation army had completed the encirclement of Gaza City and killed thousands of resistance fighters, including those who participated in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on October 7, which was carried out by the Palestinian resistance in response to the occupation’s crimes and violations.

He also claimed that "Hamas has lost control over the northern Gaza Strip and there is no place for Yahya Al-Sinwar (Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip) and even the last gunman to hide. They will all die. Our forces are striking them from above the ground and from under the ground, and we will continue with all force until victory," as he put it. .

Regarding the war on the Lebanese front, Netanyahu said: “We are also ready on the northern front, and I warned Hezbollah not to make a mistake and enter the war, because this will be the mistake of their lives and they will decide the fate of Lebanon.”

Regarding the prisoners, Netanyahu spoke of “daily sessions” to discuss this file in the cabinet, before saying that “there will be no ceasefire without the return of our kidnappers. When we have something to say, we will inform the families and bring it to the government table, and until then it is better to remain silent.” .

Netanyahu also addressed the Americans, saying: “You also enlisted for our primary goal, which is to eliminate the Hamas movement, and this is your goal as well, and most of the American public supports us (..) From time to time there are disagreements. I tell them, our war is your war as well, and in this war we must win by “For our sake, but also for your sake.”

While he said that “there is no global pressure that will undermine our work in defending ourselves,” he announced that “Gaza will be a demilitarized Gaza,” and that “the Israeli army will continue to have security control over the Gaza Strip,” claiming that “the events of October 7 (the Al-Aqsa flood) “It has proven conclusively that we must not compromise security control under any circumstances,” he said.

Regarding what he means by security control, Netanyahu said that this means “that we enter whenever we want in order to kill those who pose a threat to Israeli security.”

He added: "What we can pledge is that there will not be Hamas that can enter and kill the Israelis, nor will there be a (Palestinian) authority, and there cannot be an authority headed by a president who has not, to this day, denounced what happened on October 7."

Source: Al-Araby Al-Jadeed

Israel has been holding talks for two weeks, in an attempt to reach the appointment of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to the position of coordinator of humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip.

The Yedioth Ahronoth website, which reported the news on Sunday, reported that the exact definition of the position is not yet clear, but it is clear that it will deal with the worsening humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, with a focus on health conditions and the possibility of wounded and sick Palestinians leaving the Strip.

The website quoted an unnamed senior Israeli official as saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is interested in appointing Blair, who worked for years as a special envoy for the international Quartet for peace in the Middle East, which includes the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia, and that the Quartet office is aware of the communications.

Blair served as British Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007. Blair played a prominent role in involving Britain in the Afghanistan war alongside the United States. He was also enthusiastic about the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and always defended military action in the region.

source: AlAraby Al-Jadeed

Reuters reported on Sunday that some progress had been made towards reaching an agreement to release people held by Hamas in Gaza, citing the three main television news channels in Israel on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not discuss the details of any potential agreement, which according to Channel 12 News, would include the release of between 50 and 100 women, children and elderly people in phases during a three- to five-day cessation of fighting.

According to reports on news channels, whose sources were not mentioned, Israel will release Palestinian women and minors from its prisons, and will consider allowing fuel into Gaza, while reserving the right to resume fighting after the agreement.

Reuters quoted an Israeli army spokesman as saying, "Multiple efforts are being made to release detainees in Gaza."

For the second week in a row, thousands of demonstrators gathered, on Saturday evening, in front of the central military headquarters in Tel Aviv to express their frustration with the Israeli government’s management of the file of the kidnapped hostages in Gaza, and to urge it to work to release them immediately.

The demonstrators carried pictures of the kidnapped people and listened to speeches given by their family members, in the largest mass gathering in Israel since the Hamas attack on October 7, which resulted in the killing of about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in addition to the kidnapping of 239 people, including children, women, and soldiers.

So far, Hamas has released four kidnappers, and Israeli forces rescued another hostage.

Israeli forces, locked in a war to eliminate Hamas after its deadly cross-border attack on October 7, clashed with Hamas militants throughout the night in and around Gaza City where Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital in Gaza, is located, Gaza residents said.

An Israeli minister described the displacement of Gaza Strip residents to the south as similar to the "Nakba", referring to the mass exodus during the war that accompanied the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

In response to a question whether the scenes of the exodus of Palestinians from northern Gaza resemble the “Nakba,” Security Cabinet member and Minister of Agriculture, Avi Dichter, said that this is the case, adding: “From a practical point of view, there is no way to wage war in the way that the army seeks.” "The Israelis will not do it in Gaza with a large population of people among tanks and soldiers," according to his statements reported by Haaretz newspaper.

When asked again if this was the “Gaza Nakba,” Dichter, who previously ran the Shin Bet, said: “It will be the Gaza Nakba of 2023. This is how it will end.”

When asked again whether Gaza City residents would be allowed to return, he replied: “I don’t know how it will end since Gaza City represents a third of the Strip, half the population but a third of the territory.”

On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that after the war, which is now entering its sixth week, the Gaza Strip will be disarmed, and Israel will maintain security control there.

In response to a question about what he meant by security control, Netanyahu said that Israeli forces should be able to enter Gaza when necessary to pursue militants.

With the presence of Israeli forces deep in Gaza about two weeks after the start of a ground operation there to eliminate Hamas militants, speculation is increasing about what the future of the Strip may look like after the end of the fighting.

The United States says that the Palestinians should take over the management of Gaza's affairs after the war, but how to implement this successfully on the ground is still unclear.

At the end of last October, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken considered that the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, must regain control of the Gaza Strip when the war ends, and that other international parties could also play a role during a transitional period.

Source: Alhurra

The French official’s statements come against the backdrop of Netanyahu’s criticism of Macron: “Israel can and must do more to refrain from targeting Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” and Macron remains “steadfast in his support for Israel since the first day of the war.”

A French political official said that he rejects criticism directed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to French President Emmanuel Macron, who called on Israel to stop killing women and children in the Gaza Strip, while Netanyahu considered that Macron “is committing a catastrophic mistake in this matter, in terms of facts and morally as well”.

The French official indicated that Macron “has not changed his position” regarding the war launched by Israel on Gaza, considering it a war against the Hamas movement, and that the French President believes that “Israel can and must do more to refrain from targeting Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” as reported in Haaretz newspaper today, Sunday.

The French official added that a humanitarian truce must be followed by a ceasefire in order to allow the transfer of aid to the citizens of Gaza in parallel with the liberation of Israeli prisoners held by Hamas.

The French official continued that Macron remains "solid in his support for Israel since the first day of the war," and that during the Hamas attack, on October 7, 40 French citizens were killed and that the movement captured eight others or they are described as missing, "and France is a partner in Israel's mourning and pain."

He said that Macron was "the first international leader to propose forming an international coalition, similar to the one that fought ISIS, through security coordination and intelligence cooperation against regional terrorist organizations." He added, "Macron reiterated that Israel will not be alone in the fight against terrorism," and that Macron believes that "a political initiative is a necessity in order to create long-term stability."

The French official added that Macron believes that Israel must respect international law, and that “its right to defend itself does not exist without laws. The French president does not believe that Israeli forces are deliberately targeting civilians. He is aware of Israel’s efforts to refrain from significant harm and allow humanitarian corridors.” But he believes that more can be done about the difficult humanitarian situation among the civilian population in Gaza.”

He added that from Macron's point of view, "humanitarian truces and then a ceasefire will allow the transfer of much-needed aid to the civilian population in Gaza."

The Director of Ambulance and Emergency in Gaza sent an appeal to the world through a message that he said might be the last, before being cut off from the outside world, in light of the intense attacks and ongoing raids on the Gaza Strip, targeting civilian facilities and health facilities.

Muhammad Abu Musabah said that the Gaza Strip is on the verge of famine, and the Israeli targeting is affecting the basic necessities of life. He added that the targeting of schools and headquarters housing displaced persons is a very dangerous and disturbing indicator, and that the international silence has encouraged the Israeli occupation forces to continue targeting civilians and protected groups in Gaza.

Abu Musabih - who is also the spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent - also announced that Al-Quds Hospital was out of service due to running out of fuel and a power outage. It has been under siege for a week and Israeli tanks are about 20 meters away from it.

Abu Musabih said, "This may be our last message, and we may soon be cut off from communication with the outside world."

Doctors Without Borders warned - earlier today, Sunday - that if the bloodshed does not stop immediately through a ceasefire or the minimum evacuation of patients, these hospitals will become morgues.

In a related context, activists circulated on social media a video clip of a doctor in Britain collapsing while reading an emergency message from the director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, where health care workers gathered in front of the Prime Minister’s office in London, raising banners bearing the names of more than 200 doctors. They have been martyred so far.

Today, Sunday, settlers demanded that the Israeli occupation government erase the town of Huwara, south of Nablus, as they do in the Gaza Strip, and not allow shops to open their doors on the main Huwara Street.

During their provocative march on the Huwara Bypass Street, south of Nablus, the settlers confirmed that they would continue to pass through the main Huwara Street, despite the occupation’s construction of the Huwara Bypass Street, which will be opened this week.

It is noteworthy that the main Huwara Street has been closed for about a month and a half, and vehicles bearing Palestinian license plates are not allowed to pass, not even citizens on the main street, and any citizen who violates this is attacked.

These extremist calls come within a systematic policy that seeks to disturb the conditions of citizens in Huwwara, which are exposed on a daily basis to continuous violations by the occupation and its colonialists.

It is noteworthy that the Minister of Finance in the extremist occupation government, Bezalel Smotrich, called last March for the town of Huwwara to be wiped out of existence.

Today, Sunday, the Israeli occupation court issued a 12-year prison sentence and a fine of 50,000 shekels against the detained child, Nofoze Hammad (16 years old), from the city of Jerusalem.

The Prisoner's Club reported that the detainee, Hammad, from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the city, is considered the youngest detainee in the occupation prisons, as she was arrested on December 8, 2021, and was subjected to a harsh and long interrogation, and is languishing in "Damoun" prison.

We are all completely overwhelmed in a storm of emotions – pain, anger, fear, we watch suffering every day and we are flooded with the stories of the victims. Tears fill our eyes and we are wrenching with heartbreak every time we turn on the television. There is no escape, even one month since it all began on October 7. 

Unlike most Israelis and Palestinians, I get it from both sides. I am watching the death and destruction on all of the Israeli channels, but I am also watching several Palestinian channels.  We all know people who have been killed or who are hostages now. We are all traumatized by what has happened since October 7. 

For Israelis, we are thrown back 90 years to the horrors of the Holocaust.  October 7 was not a holocaust, but more Jews were killed at one time in one place since the holocaust and perhaps even more than that, on October 7 we lost our sense of security. 

The State of Israel failed in its primary function to provide us with security, and the State failed us. So many people cried for help, and it did not come and they were butchered and abducted by an enemy so much weaker than the mighty Israeli army. Palestinians have been taken back 75 years. The Nakba is happening once again and not only in Gaza. Israeli settler and military violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has rocketed since October 7 with 128 killed in there and more than 9,000 Palestinians are dead in Gaza and about 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza have become homeless once again. Human tragedy is all around us. Most of us can only see the death and destruction on our own side, but it is happening all around us. 

When this war is over, Israelis and Palestinians are going to remain on this narrow land and we will once again have to face each other – eye to eye and maybe after all of this trauma our eyes will hopefully also see the humanity on the other side.

Like everyone, I want this war to end. Like almost every Israeli, and a lot of Palestinians that I know (in Gaza and in the West Bank), I want to Hamas to be dismantled from its ability to ever govern Gaza and threaten Israel again. I want the people of Gaza to be free from the strangle hold that Hamas had on their lives since 2006.  

I want all of the hostages to be freed immediately.  Hamas must free the babies, children, women, elderly, sick and wounded – even without a deal because that is what their holy book the Holy Quran instructs them to do.  They should never have been taken hostage, and killing women, children and elderly is explicated Haram – forbidden in Islam, even in the distorted version of Islam espoused by Hamas. 

I want there to be a ceasefire in Gaza to enable the innocent victims of this war to be able to get food, water, medical supplies and treatment, a roof above their heads, but I am very sorry to say that I don’t think that a ceasefire should be granted without the release of hostages. I want humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and I think that Israel should even allow it to enter from the Israeli side at Kerem Shalom, but I want hostages to be released first. It truly pains me to write this. I have friends in Gaza who are really suffering. 

I have friends who have lost their homes and everything they own and they are on the streets and they are writing me that they are hungry.  My heart is breaking for them. But Hamas must first release hostages – at least the infants, children, woman, elderly and sick. The world and the people in Gaza must cry out for Hamas to do this. Ceasefire yes! As soon as possible. Humanitarian aid – Yes! As soon as possible and as much as possible.  Releasing hostages – immediately, without delay comes before everything else. 

Eventually, soon, Israel will enter the tunnels. That is where everyone believes the hostages are being kept. They are not all together and the web of tunnels is enormous and every meter of the city that Hamas has built underground is a mortal danger for the soldiers who will enter. I assume that the Israeli army has detailed plans on how to minimize the danger to the soldiers. 

They will use technology, robots, explosives, maybe they will try to smoke out the Hamas commanders and leaders and armed militants. Maybe they will be able to cut off the flow of fresh air into the tunnels. But if the hostages are not released or freed by then, they will be in harms way. This must not happen. Israel has a moral responsibility to bring all of the hostages home alive. 

Israel failed to protect these citizens and Israel must bring them home. Every means in Israel’s toolbox is legitimate to pressure Hamas to release hostages, including sticks and carrots. Israel should state that it is prepared to open another corridor for humanitarian aid to end Gaza, through Kerem Shalom, but only once hostages are freed – especially the infants, children, women, elderly, sick and wounded. 

When Hamas negotiated with Israel on the Schalit deal they insisted first that Israel release all of the Palestinian women prisoners in Israeli jails, regardless of what they did that put them in prison. The final number of prisoners released in the deal was 1027.  The initial agreement was for 1000, but after the two sides agreed on the list of 1000, days before the return of Schalit, it was discovered that 27 women prisoners remained in prison that were not included on the list, so rather than argue and risk the deal falling through, Israel added the additional 27 women.  

Now it is Israel’s turn to make demands. There are no women soldiers – there are only women, and all of the women hostages must be included in the humanitarian return of the hostages.  No exceptions. If the “all for all” deal of all of the hostages for all of the Palestinian prisoners is not being considered and the sides are focusing on a partial deal, there are 43 Palestinian women prisoners and 190 Palestinian minors in prison (from before October 7). These could be considered as part of the deal.  

They are all from the West Bank, none of them are important Hamas people, and I believe that there are none who have killed Israelis. It is clear that when a release will be accepted and organized there will be a temporary ceasefire to enable the hostages to be sent home and perhaps some Palestinian prisoners released. 

If a partial deal is done and Israeli soldiers are left behind in the tunnels, negotiations could continue until Israelis forces enter the tunnels. Negotiations are taking place in what appears to be three tracks. Egypt and Qatar and a possible third track that may be working (I cannot give details). Hamas is likely to demand the release of all of the Palestinians in Israeli jails.  The number is around 7000 including at least 130 terrorists who committed the brutal crimes inside of Israel on October 7.  

There are another 559 who were sentenced to life imprisonment, and many of those with multiple life sentences. Around 25% of the prisoners are members of Hamas. More than 2000 of them are administrative detainees, meaning that they were arrested without charge and incarcerated without conviction.  The overwhelming majority of the prisoners are from the West Bank, not from Gaza. 

There are two major questions probably being discussed, if this option is on the table – will they be released in one release? This is crucial because if Hamas is planning to release them in stages, it is probably a deal-breaker for Israel.  The second question is to where would they be released?  To their homes?  Unlikely. To Gaza, perhaps. To Iran – maybe the 559 serving life sentences? Will Israeli pursue them after they are released?  I would say most definitely.  Every person who was connected to the abduction and captivity of Gilad Schalit is no longer living. 

I think it would be safe to assume that every person who is connected to the abduction and captivity of all of the Israeli hostages will find the same fate as will those who committed the horrific acts of terrorism on October 7. 

The last issue I would like to discuss is can Hamas be eliminated and defeated? From a military point of view, Hamas can be destroyed – more precisely the ability of Hamas to govern Gaza and to threaten Israel in anyway is possible.  Israel can kill all of the Hamas leaders in Gaza, the military commanders and most of the Hamas fighters. Israel can destroy the Hamas infrastructure, their offices and command centers, most or all of the tunnels, their stockpile of weapons and rockets and the shops and factories where weapons were manufactured. Israel cannot destroy the idea of Hamas or its ideology. 

The only way to destroy an idea or an ideology is with better ideas and better ideologies. The post-war scenario of rehabilitation and reconstruction of Gaza after Israel turns the territory over to what I hope will be a multi-national Arab force led by Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and perhaps others (with a limited but detailed mandate), must include deep political reform in the Palestinian Authority with elections in which only political parties that support the two-states solution and a non-militarized Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem would be allowed to participate. 

In order for that to happen, the international community must get serious about peacemaking and commit itself to the two-states solution that they have put back on the agenda this past month. That commitment must include the recognition of the State of Palestine (if two states then both have to be recognized) and Palestine must be allowed to be a full member of the United Nations. Of course, we are going to need completely new leaders in Israel and Palestine to achieve this.

Replacing a bad ideology with a good one means that the distorted interpretation of Islam as espoused by Hamas which sanctifies death must be replaced with a powerful Islamic theology that sanctifies life. It is about time that the Palestinian people invest themselves in living for Palestine rather than dying for Palestine. There are voices within the Islamic world, in Palestine as well which preach the message of Peace as a central philosophy of what Islam is about. Those voices need to be heard loud and clear. 

But that will only happen once there are voices in Israel which speak loudly and clearly about the right of the Palestinian people for freedom, liberation, and self-determination. Both sides will have to make many painful compromises and it will take many years to build any kind of trust between the two sides. The regional states that surround Israel and Palestine – Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and even far away Morocco have a key role to play in helping to build that trust.   

We need regional agreements for security, economic development, water, energy, border management, peace keeping, and more. We need the international community led by the United States to be fully onboard to assure us all that we have the resources to have a restart which will enable us to begin to look forward, and not only backwards as we have done for 100 years. 

Neither side should have the notion that they have more rights than the other side. In order for us to have that restart, it must begin by accepting the principle that everyone living between the River and the Sea has the same right to the same right.  This is where our new beginning can take its first steps – and it must begin there. 

Today, Sunday, settlers uprooted dozens of perennial olive trees in the town of Kafr al-Dik, west of Salfit.

According to local sources, settlers uprooted about 70 old olive trees from his land, which has an area of 20 dunums, located in the “Khallet Abu Mazhar” area, west of the town, adjacent to the “Ali Zahav and Leshem” settlers, which are established on citizens’ lands.

The town has witnessed an escalation in attacks by the Israeli occupation forces and settler gangs recently, with the aim of seizing more lands for the benefit of settlement expansion.

The Palestinian Minister of Health, Dr. Mai Al-Kaila talked about the atrocities occurring in hospitals in the Gaza Strip, especially Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

Minister Alkaila added in a press statement, today, Sunday, that the Israeli occupation army does not evacuate hospitals, but rather throws the wounded and sick into the street to certain death, and “this is not an evacuation, but an expulsion at gunpoint.”

She added that there is a catastrophe happening in hospitals, namely patients who are now dying without receiving their treatments, such as children and adults on dialysis who die in their homes without receiving dialysis sessions.

The Minister of Health confirmed the death of 12 patients inside Al-Shifa Medical Complex, so far, due to the outage of electricity and medical consumables, including two newborn children.

She said that all 3,000 oncology patients who were being treated in Al-Rantisi and Al-Turki Hospital have now been left to die, after the occupation expelled them from the hospitals.

The Minister of Health confirmed that all pregnant women and those with dangerous pregnancies are at risk, as women do not find anyone to provide them with treatment and medical services in Gaza. Every woman about to give birth will not find anyone to provide her with any medical service.

She explained that the sick and wounded cannot reach Al-Shifa Medical Complex, and many of them lost their lives either as they were bleeding or because they did not receive their necessary medications and treatments.

The Minister of Health confirmed that the medical staff inside Al-Shifa Hospital cannot move between the departments and buildings of the medical complex, as a drone fires at everyone who moves inside the complex.

She continued: Another danger that threatens the lives of patients and threatens the occurrence of a health catastrophe, which is the inability of medical teams to bury 100 martyrs whose bodies began to decompose in the hospital courtyard and that stray dogs mauled some of them, according to the testimonies of the medical staff present there, in addition to the medical waste accumulated inside the departments.

The Minister of Health said: Patients were injured again while on Al-Shifa beds as a result of the occupation’s bombing of the medical complex, which affected water wells, oxygen stations, the complex’s gate, and other facilities, while the blood stock inside the departments was spoiled due to a power outage, as medical teams were no longer able to administer units. Blood for the sick and wounded who are bleeding.

She pointed out that the wounded, sick, and medical teams do not find anything to eat in addition to all that they are suffering, and that water is cut off in the complex.

She stressed that the solution now is to supply the medical complex with electricity, medical consumables, medicines and fuel, or to safely evacuate patients for treatment in the Arab Republic of Egypt, as the Gaza Strip’s hospitals are no longer able to receive more wounded.

Today, Sunday, a number of settlers gathered on citizens’ lands near the village of Kisan, east of Bethlehem.

According to local sources, settlers from "Gush Etzion" gathered on the settlement road called "Route 60" linking the city of Jerusalem and the Hebron Governorate, raising Israeli flags.

In a related context, the occupation forces stormed the town of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, and stationed themselves in the “Jabal al-Manzala” area adjacent to the “Migdal Oz” resistance colony on citizens’ lands. They initiated a thorough inspection campaign, and also raided the house of citizen Ali Thawabta and climbed onto its roof.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society announced today, Sunday, that Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza has been out of service due to running out of fuel and a power outage.

Mai Al-Kaila, Palestinian Minister of Health, said yesterday that the Israeli occupation forces are bombing hospitals, besieging and killing those inside them, cutting off water, fuel, and electricity, and preventing medical supplies from reaching them, according to what the Arab World News Agency reported.

Earlier today, the spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf Al-Qudra, said that Al-Shifa Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip is unable to provide any medical service, after all its capabilities had been exhausted, electricity had been completely cut off, and the complex had been surrounded by Israeli tanks.

Al-Qudra added that the situation around the hospital is a war zone. Pointing out that the conditions that patients live in in the complex “cannot be described.”

He added: “The bodies are piled up in and in front of Al-Shifa Hospital, and there is no one to bury them.”

The Ministry of Health spokesman stated that the hospital is witnessing successive announcements of new deaths, as a result of the inability to perform surgical operations or even provide oxygen to those who need it, or provide heating in children’s incubators.

He said that the Israeli army was “firing towards any object that could move” in the vicinity of the hospital, according to the Arab World News Agency.

He explained that international institutions working in the health field, such as the World Health Organization and the Red Cross, as well as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA), “are all unable to do anything, and have lost their ability to work.”

The Government Media Office called on all international institutions in the Gaza Strip, without exception, to immediately go to Al-Shifa Medical Complex in order to protect it and the medical teams and everyone inside it, as it is being subjected to siege, targeting, and killing in a clear war crime.

In a statement today, Sunday, the office held the Israeli occupation and the international community, especially the United States of America, fully responsible for this ongoing crime and for the lives and safety of all medical staff, the wounded, the sick, and the displaced inside the Shifa Medical Complex.

We salute all the medical teams for their heroic, brave and legendary role and for carrying out their historic national role towards our great Palestinian people.

He stressed that the occupation is committing an organized crime against Al-Shifa Medical Complex and then spreading false information.

He said: Israel continues to commit an organized crime that was planned in advance against the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, which includes hundreds of wounded, displaced people, and medical teams, in front of the world.

He pointed out that the Israeli occupation is besieging Al-Shifa Medical Complex, and deploying many drones in the airspace of the complex, and these drones are firing intensely inside the hospital’s courtyards at everyone who moves inside, which led to the injury of a number of those inside.

He stated that one of the displaced families tried yesterday to take the risk and leave the Shifa complex in the hope of surviving, but the occupation army bombed this family, which led to their death.

He also pointed out that after the power outage in Al-Shifa Complex, one of the workers wanted to inspect the electric generator to operate it and save the lives of dozens of patients living on ventilators, but the occupation army targeted him and shot him directly, wounding him in the neck.

He confirmed that many injuries were bleeding inside the Shifa Medical Complex as a result of being hit by gunfire from occupation drones in the complex’s courtyards, and medical teams were unable to save these cases due to the occupation army’s siege of the complex and the teams’ inability to move between the internal buildings.

He refuted what one of the occupation army officials said in a video message yesterday in which he claimed that they were not targeting Al-Shifa Medical Complex and that what was published in the media in this regard was merely a “lie.”

Al-Ban asked: Who are the drones that shoot at everyone who moves in Al-Shifa Medical Hospital for? Who is the army that bombed one of the families who left the Shifa Medical Complex yesterday and killed them as martyrs?

He added, wondering: Who is the army that shoots at everyone who moves inside the Shifa Medical Complex? Who is the army that bombed the fifth floor of the Shifa Medical Complex? Who is the army that bombed the outpatient clinic in the Shifa Complex, causing many martyrs and wounded, and who is the army that fired shells in the courtyard of the Shifa Complex, near the journalists’ tent, and injured a number of those present there?

He stressed that the occupation army is carrying out massacres and crimes in an organized, thoughtful and pre-planned manner, and is currently preparing and planning to commit a new massacre in the Shifa Medical Complex, and then after that practices lies, spreads fake news, fabricates stories that have no basis in truth, and says that it does not target the hospital, and this If this indicates, it indicates the failure of his narrative and its lie in the face of the facts on the ground.

Secretary of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Hussein Al-Sheikh, said that failure pushes the head of the occupation government, Benjamin Netanyahu, to moral, humanitarian and political blindness, and to more killing, destruction and displacement.

The sheikh added: Yesterday, Netanyahu came out announcing his strategic goal in the war to completely reoccupy the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, forgetting that his occupation is gone and we will stay.

The official spokesman for the presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeina, said that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the Palestinian territories, and it is the responsibility of the PLO, and that Israeli attempts to separate it from the West Bank will fail, and this will not be allowed, no matter the ongoing pressures and threats, and that consolidating the occupation in the West Bank and Gaza And East Jerusalem will not bring security to anyone.

Abu Rudeina added that Israel must stop the aggression it is carrying out against our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and the American administration must move immediately to stop the war of genocide that Israel is carrying out in the Gaza Strip.

He stressed that security and stability in the region and the world will not be achieved except by ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, which includes the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

The official spokesman for the presidency stressed that ending the occupation is what achieves security and stability, and that any international efforts will be useless as long as the occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem continues, and the end of the occupation is the only solution to restore stability and prevent the continued eruption of the situation in the entire region.

On Sunday morning, a special force from the occupation army executed former prisoner Montaser Muhammad Saif (34 years old) from the town of Burqa, Nablus district, after they shot him and arrested him. He was later declared dead, and the occupation continues to detain his body until now.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said that  Muntaser Saif, was arrested as a minor and was 17 years old at the time. He spent his sentence of about 17 years in the occupation prisons, and was released in February of this year. 

The Prisoner's Club explained that field executions constituted and continue to be the most prominent crimes committed by the occupation over many decades, but it has regained its strength since last year, and during the current year with the escalation of resistance operations, reaching its peak after the seventh of October, including executions of Former prisoners in the West Bank, and many of them were assassinated during the genocide operations in Gaza.

It is worth mentioning that during the arrest campaigns and raids it carries out at night, the occupation deliberately fires live bullets with the aim of killing.

The extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, called for the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, justifying this by saying that if Israel had been in the Strip, the “massacre” of October 7 would not have occurred, in reference to the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation announced by the “Hamas” movement.

The minister, who is affiliated with the extremist movement in Israel, considered that former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to disengage from Gaza in 2005 was a grave mistake.

Ben Gvir said in his interview with the “This Morning” program on the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (Kan) with journalist Aryeh Golan, that “following the evacuation of Gush Katif, reality changed.”

“Gush Katif” was considered the largest Israeli settlement complex in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, which included approximately 21 settlements, before the implementation of the disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip in 2005 during Ariel Sharon’s presidency of the Israeli government, a plan that Ben Gvir sees as a grave mistake. .

The minister, who heads the radical extremist coalition "Otzma Yehudit" party, added: "If the settlers were there (in Gaza), it would not have been possible to carry out such a massacre. When you are in the square, you will have intelligence and control, because you are the owner of the house at that time."

Ben Gvir wrote on his account on the "Liquidate them."

The Israeli Minister of National Security, whose party belongs to the religious Zionist movement, criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, Saturday, on the "Meet the Press" program on the "News 12" channel.

Ben Gvir said that the Israeli Prime Minister marginalized him after he demanded the implementation of a policy of organized assassinations against Hamas officials.

He stated that Netanyahu and those close to him accused him of seeking to keep the situation burning in the region all the time, adding: "I hope they realize that their concept was not correct."

Ben Gvir admitted, saying: “I bear responsibility because I am a member of this government, but they (the government) did not listen to me. They marginalized me.”

When the interviewer asked him whether Netanyahu should submit his resignation in light of the miserable failure on October 7, Ben Gvir said, “I am certain that in the wake of the war, an account will be opened against everyone, and Netanyahu will provide clear responses. Now I demand the occupation of the Gaza Strip.” .

Amnesty International collected one million signatures from people around the world on a petition demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The organization's director of research, advocacy activities, policies and campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas, said in a statement issued today, Sunday, that the world is watching with horror more loss of civilian lives in the midst of the ceaseless Israeli bombing and ongoing ground operations.

She added that the continued shooting means the continuation and expansion of the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.

In non-final statistics, the Ministry of Health announced that the toll of martyrs and wounded as a result of the ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip since the seventh of last October has risen to 11,025 martyrs and more than 27,000 injured.

Rosas continued: Israel's tightening of its siege on Gaza left two million people without access to drinking water, food, medical supplies, and fuel, which led to the collapse of the health system at a time when the number of wounded exceeded 25,000 people. At least 1.5 million were forcibly displaced from their homes to the south of the Strip.

She added: The signatories of the petition called for the protection of civilians, at a time when hundreds of thousands continue to protest around the world to demand a ceasefire, yet their calls have not fallen on deaf ears by the international community.

Rosas pointed out that the occupation authorities continue to dehumanize the Palestinians in their speech while their forces bomb densely populated refugee camps, hospitals, UN-run schools, bakeries, mosques, churches, roads, and civilian homes, eliminating entire families.

She stressed that the international community's inaction is a disgrace to humanity in light of more than a month of civilian bloodshed, destruction, and unimaginable human suffering in Gaza.

She called for international action to achieve an immediate ceasefire, prevent further loss of civilian lives and allow aid to reach those who need it most.

Today, Sunday, Israeli occupation forces arrested 27 citizens from the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The Israeli occupation army claimed, on Saturday, that it would help evacuate infants from Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in the Gaza Strip, in an attempt to appear humanitarian before the international community and humanitarian organizations, which have sharpened their statements in condemning the occupation and its violations against civilians in Gaza.

Earlier, Saturday, medics said that two premature infants died in hospital in Gaza City when the neonatal intensive care unit stopped working due to a power outage.

The Israeli NGO Physicians for Human Rights reported that there was “a real danger to the lives of 37 other premature infants.”

The surgeon at the hospital, Muhammad Obaid, confirmed the death of the two premature babies, adding that an adult patient also died due to the lack of electricity for a respirator.

He said, in an audio recording published by Doctors Without Borders: “We want someone to guarantee that we can evacuate patients because we have about 600 patients.”

Eyewitnesses in the hospital confirmed that continuous gunfire, air strikes, and artillery shelling prevented people from moving even inside the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

Dr. Nidal Abu Hadros, head of the surgical hospital and consultant neurosurgeon at the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, sent an urgent message to international medical institutions and world governments.

Dr. Abu Hadros said, "The situation in Al-Shifa Hospital now is very dangerous. We, as medical staff, want to leave, but we cannot."

"We may not be able to survive until the morning... We don't want to be killed here, just because we remain committed to our patients and our medical profession," he said.

He continued, "I am urgently calling for assistance. Please do everything you can through your government or the International Committee of the Red Cross to arrange safe passage for the medical staff."

"Please treat this matter as extremely urgent," he concluded his message.

Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert wrote on the X platform: “39 infants were removed from incubators due to the destruction of the oxygen device and the cutting of electricity. They are now being treated in another department for security reasons, but they are now without the oxygen and thermostat they need.”

The Norwegian doctor sent a message to US President Joe Biden yesterday, Friday, saying: Do you hear me? Can you hear the screaming from Al-Shifa Hospital?”

The World Health Organization announced the loss of contact with the people it deals with at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

The organization said in a statement that it "lost contact with people it deals with at Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza."

It stressed, "As horrific reports continue to emerge about the hospital being subjected to repeated attacks, we assume that those we deal with there have joined tens of thousands of displaced people who have fled the area."

Earlier on Saturday, Gaza Health announced that it had been decided to dig a mass grave inside the campus of the Shifa Medical Complex to bury 100 wounded people who died in the besieged complex, the surroundings of which are subject to continuous Israeli bombing.

Director General of the Ministry of Health, Mounir Al-Barsh, said: “The bombing has not stopped in the vicinity of the hospital for 3 nights. There is very violent shelling almost every minute, with the aim of paving the way for entering the complex.”

The Israeli army has continued its war on the Gaza Strip since the seventh of last October, amid a tightening siege on the residents of the Strip, a depletion of food and medical supplies, and Israeli aircraft bombing hospitals and schools.

So far, the aerial bombardment and ground operation carried out by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip has resulted in the death of 11,078 Palestinians, including 4,506 children, and the injury of 27,000 others since October 7.

The Israeli newspaper "Maariv", through a lengthy report entitled "Scary cracks in relations", warned the Israeli government of the deterioration of relations with Egypt due to the continuing fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Michael Harari, an Israeli political analyst in the Hebrew newspaper, said that Tel Aviv must pay attention to its relations with Egypt after the war, and Israel must think very seriously about the consequences of the war on its relations with Egypt.

The Israeli analyst pointed out that October 7 surprised a long series of countries, one of which is Egypt, which considers that the developments of the conflict in the Gaza Strip have direct consequences for it, stressing that unlike previous rounds of conflict in the Gaza Strip, when Egypt was able to put an end to the round of violence. Continuing, things look different this time.

The Hebrew report explained that there are three main factors behind the deep anxiety in Egypt: The first relates to the strength of the Israeli response, which resulted in the largest number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip and a large amount of destruction, perhaps unprecedented, and this relates primarily to the Egyptian street. And fear of internal pressures that have already begun to boil, at a time when presidential elections are expected to be held in Egypt next month.

He continued: “The second relates to the fear, which we are not able to express publicly, of course, that Hamas will emerge from the war with great achievements, in a way that strengthens political Islam in the region in general, and in Egypt in particular (even though the Egyptian regime has weakened the Muslim Brotherhood significantly.” Large in recent years), and although there is a certain contradiction between the first and second factors, this tension only leads to the intensification of the strait in which Cairo is located.

He continued: “Thirdly, there is a new development. Reports related to Israel’s interest in immigration from the Gaza Strip to Sinai, including what resembles a (comprehensive deal) according to which Egypt’s burdensome financial obligations are erased in exchange for Egypt’s agreement to receive refugees, but in Cairo, this is being interpreted.” Although it is a solution to the Palestinian problem in Gaza at the expense of Egypt, the Israeli statements, including the Ministry of Intelligence report which stated that the migration of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt serves Israel’s long-term interest, has put Cairo in real turmoil, and President Sisi has stated firmly that Egypt will not allow this, and that if the Egyptian people call for protecting the national interest, “millions will do so.”

An Israeli political analyst doubted the possibility of achieving victory in the Gaza Strip, and stressed that the Hamas movement had prepared well for the battle, noting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s talk about a long-term war “is a marketing alternative to a victory that does not exist.”

Nahum Barnea said in an article in the weekly supplement of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, on Saturday, referring to the Israeli ground operation in Gaza: “The progress allows for more intensive treatment of the tunnels and the Hamas members who guard them, but it also includes difficult battles with the militants.”

He added: “Hamas has prepared for this battle. It is true that it lost many of its warriors and leaders, but it continued to fight. The backbone of the Supreme Command, headed by (Yahya) Sinwar, is still working.”

Barnea continued: “The next few days may be the final and decisive stage in both efforts, the battle against Hamas and the American-Qatari attempt to reach a deal to release the hostages. After this period, it is doubtful that Israel will be able to withstand American pressure for a ceasefire, especially if a hostage deal is on the table.”

He went on to ask: “Will Israel be able to resume ground maneuvers after the ceasefire?”

He added, “Previous experience, whether in Gaza or Lebanon, does not give much opportunity for this. The day after the ceasefire agreement, children return to school, residents return to work, settlement reconstruction begins, the world expects a different agenda, and reservists want to return to their homes, to their families, to their work.”

Barnea stressed that “it is important to maintain realistic expectations: it is not certain that the Israeli army will be able to reach Sinwar and his colleagues in the current round. Even if they are eliminated, Hamas will not disappear; It is important to remember that we are not alone. In this drama, we need the American administration and we must listen to it.”

He pointed out that “the votes that (US President Joe) Biden is losing in his country exacerbate his need for an imminent ceasefire in Gaza.”

The Israeli writer touched on the ground operation in the Gaza Strip and the talk about the expected victory by saying, “Unfortunately, there is no such victory on the horizon,” considering that Netanyahu’s talk about a long-term war (..) is a marketing substitute for a victory that does not exist.”

He considered that in light of this situation, “it is correct to view every person who is released alive from there (Gaza) as a victory, and every day that the forces advance in the field without incurring many losses is a victory.”

Source: Sama News

Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi confirmed (Saturday) that his country "does not see any obstacle to expanding relations with Egypt."

This came during a meeting between Raisi and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, on the sidelines of the joint Arab-Islamic summit on the Palestinian issue, which was held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, today, according to a statement published on the website of the Iranian president’s office.

The Iranian President described Egypt as a "friendly country," stressing the need for greater unity among Islamic countries.
Regarding the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, Raisi said that the popular demand around the world is to open the Rafah crossing in Egypt so that supplies can be sent to the Palestinian coastal enclave.

He held the presidents of the United States and Israel responsible for "obstructing" the opening of the Rafah crossing.

For his part, the Egyptian President said that his country has the political will to establish “real relations” with Iran.

Al-Sisi said that to achieve this goal, the relevant Egyptian ministers were assigned the task of pursuing the establishment of deep relations between the two countries.

Regarding the Palestinian issue, Al-Sisi said that Egypt was more affected than any other country by the repercussions of the ongoing situation in Gaza.

Earlier today, Raisi also met with the head of the Sudanese Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and expressed Tehran’s readiness to exchange diplomatic delegations with Khartoum and expand relations in various fields.

Al-Burhan also expressed his country's readiness to rebuild and resume relations with Iran, which he said would "be in the interest of the entire Islamic world."

Iran and Egypt severed diplomatic relations in 1980. In recent months, the two countries have expressed their willingness to repair bilateral relations by resolving differences on certain issues.

Last month, Iran and Sudan announced the resumption of their diplomatic relations, seven years after severing them in 2016 after Saudi Arabia moved to sever relations with Tehran in the same year.

This evening (Saturday), a high-ranking Israeli official revealed to Channel 13 that negotiations on a major prisoner exchange deal have witnessed significant progress, stressing at the same time that it does not include soldiers.

According to the Israeli Channel 13, the Israeli source confirmed that “no final agreement has been reached yet,” adding that the deal includes the release of dozens of hostages in the Gaza Strip, in exchange for Israel releasing female prisoners and minors from Israeli prisons and allowing fuel to enter the Strip.

The publication on Channel 13 comes at a time when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed during a press conference held this evening (Saturday) at the headquarters of the Israeli Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, that the issue of returning the hostages constitutes the first priority of the Israeli government, while the head of the Israeli Mossad, David Barnea, is working together. With the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Prisoner Affairs, coordinating efforts to do so.

As for Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, it was reported by prominent political sources that the deal would include, in addition to the release of children and women, several days of ceasefire, in addition to the introduction of fuel, provided that it reaches the places that were previously agreed upon.

The newspaper added, quoting the same source, that no agreement had been reached on the number of prisoners who would be released, “but we aspire to release the largest possible number.” The source confirmed that finalizing the deal requires several more days until it is presented to the Israeli government for approval.

A number of countries, including Qatar and Egypt, play the role of mediator between Israel and Hamas in order to reach a prisoner exchange deal between the two parties.

The Hamas movement has expressed its willingness to conclude an exchange deal that includes “all Israeli prisoners” in Gaza, in exchange for all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, who number more than 7,500. But at the same time, it stressed that it will not take place under fire.

The Prime Minister of the Israeli occupation government, Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed on Saturday night in a joint conference, with Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Minister of the “War Cabinet” Benny Gantz, that the Palestinian Authority will not return to the Gaza Strip at the end of the war, while the Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Galant, threatened, Lebanese Hezbollah attacked Beirut.

During a press conference for the Israeli War Council, Netanyahu said: “We will not stop until we complete the mission. The war against Hamas is progressing with full force and its only goal is victory and nothing but victory. We will eliminate Hamas and return the kidnappers.”

Netanyahu claimed that the occupation army had completed the encirclement of Gaza City and killed thousands of resistance fighters, including those who participated in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on October 7, which was carried out by the Palestinian resistance in response to the occupation’s crimes and violations.

He also claimed that "Hamas has lost control over the northern Gaza Strip and there is no place for Yahya Al-Sinwar (Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip) and even the last gunman to hide. They will all die. Our forces are striking them from above the ground and from under the ground, and we will continue with all force until victory," as he put it. .

Regarding the war on the Lebanese front, Netanyahu said: “We are also ready on the northern front, and I warned Hezbollah not to make a mistake and enter the war, because this will be the mistake of their lives and they will decide the fate of Lebanon.”

Regarding the prisoners, Netanyahu spoke of “daily sessions” to discuss this file in the cabinet, before saying that “there will be no ceasefire without the return of our kidnappers. When we have something to say, we will inform the families and bring it to the government table, and until then it is better to remain silent.” .

Netanyahu also addressed the Americans, saying: “You also enlisted for our primary goal, which is to eliminate the Hamas movement, and this is your goal as well, and most of the American public supports us (..) From time to time there are disagreements. I tell them, our war is your war as well, and in this war we must win by “For our sake, but also for your sake.”

While he said that “there is no global pressure that will undermine our work in defending ourselves,” he announced that “Gaza will be a demilitarized Gaza,” and that “the Israeli army will continue to have security control over the Gaza Strip,” claiming that “the events of October 7 (the Al-Aqsa flood) “It has proven conclusively that we must not compromise security control under any circumstances,” he said.

Regarding what he means by security control, Netanyahu said that this means “that we enter whenever we want in order to kill those who pose a threat to Israeli security.”

He added: "What we can pledge is that there will not be Hamas that can enter and kill the Israelis, nor will there be a (Palestinian) authority, and there cannot be an authority headed by a president who has not, to this day, denounced what happened on October 7."