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☆ Opinion: How an ICC arrest of Netanyahu could play out
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Opinion Dan Perry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —The signs are mounting that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is weighing an indictment against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials over Israel’s conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza. But in 2015 the ICC stepped in to decide that implicitly it is, by accepting it — without consulting the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), representing ICC member states. Could the highly respected chief prosecutor, Britain’s Karim Khan, be feeling some pressure to play his part in ramping up the pressure on Netanyahu? Netanyahu is on the ropes politically and would almost certainly be trounced in an election held today. Israel desperately needs Netanyahu to be gone, as does the region and the world.

Persons: Dan Perry, Read, Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Sudan’s Omar al, Bashir, Moammar Ghadhafi’s, Saif, Netanyahu, Israel’s, Jordan, Egypt —, Dan Perry Moreover, —, Britain’s Karim Khan, Joe Biden’s, Israel Organizations: London, Associated Press, CNN, Criminal Court, Israeli, ICC, West Bank, ISIS, UN, States Parties, West, The West Bank, Bank, Palestinian Authority Locations: Cairo, Europe, Africa, Israel, Gaza, United States, Jerusalem, Sudan, Britain, Iraq, al, Libya, Yemen, Palestine, Palestinian, West Bank, East Jerusalem, Egypt, ramping, Iran

On a visit to Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken put the onus squarely on Hamas to accept the proposal. But Israeli officials have said, consistently and emphatically, that the offensive will take place. The number of Palestinians Israel is offering to free in exchange is unclear. More than 100 were released in a weeklong cease-fire in November, and Israeli officials say they believe that more than 30 — possibly many more — are dead. Gazan health officials say that Israel’s subsequent bombing and invasion have killed more than 34,000 people, and injured far more.

Persons: Osama Hamdan, Al Manar, —, Antony J, Blinken, wouldn’t, ”, Yair Lapid, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Hamdan, Biden, Netanyahu’s, ” Mr, Netanyahu, Israel Organizations: Israel, Hezbollah, Hamas, United Nations Locations: Jerusalem, Washington, Gaza, Lebanese, Israel, United States, Qatar, Egypt, Rafah, masse

☆ Election Updates: College Democrats of America back protests and criticize Biden’s Israel policy.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Maggie Astor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

College Democrats of America, the student organization of the Democratic Party, endorsed pro-Palestinian campus protests on Tuesday and called on President Biden to support a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. It was a striking rebuke from an organization that has historically worked in tandem with the Democratic Party and whoever leads it. “As College Democrats, we are committed to the re-election of President Biden and Democrats across down-ballot races in every corner of our nation,” the statement said. “We’re realizing that our duty as College Democrats is to be representatives of college students to the party, rather than vice versa,” Mr. Muralitharan said. “As it stands right now, young people starkly differ on the issue of Palestine/Israel from the Democratic Party apparatus.

Persons: Biden, ”, “ MAGA, “, Mr, —, Netanyahu, Sunjay Muralitharan, ” Mr, Muralitharan, Joe Biden, Hasan Pyarali, Biden’s, Pyarali, Donald J, Trump, won’t Organizations: Democrats of America, Democratic Party, College Democrats, Columbia University, Students, Columbia, Protesters, Portland State University and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, “ MAGA Republicans, Jewish, “, Democratic National Committee, University of California, Muslim Caucus, Wake Forest University, Mr Locations: Gaza, United States, Israel, San Diego, Palestine, Biden’s Israel

College Democrats of America, the student organization of the Democratic Party, endorsed pro-Palestinian campus protests on Tuesday and called on President Biden to support a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. Overnight from Monday into Tuesday, protesters at Columbia took over a building on campus. “As College Democrats, we are committed to the re-election of President Biden and Democrats across down-ballot races in every corner of our nation,” the statement said. “We’re realizing that our duty as College Democrats is to be representatives of college students to the party, rather than vice versa,” Mr. Muralitharan said. And throughout the nation, we’re witnessing Joe Biden, Democrats across the ballot, losing scores of young voters over this issue.”The statement was written largely by the organization’s Muslim Caucus.

Persons: Biden, ”, “ MAGA, “, Mr, —, Netanyahu, Sunjay Muralitharan, ” Mr, Muralitharan, Joe Biden, Hasan Pyarali, Biden’s, Pyarali, Donald J, Trump, won’t, Joshua Martin, you’re, we’re, Martin, Indiana University —, ’ Organizations: Democrats of America, Democratic Party, College Democrats, Columbia University, Students, Columbia, Protesters, Portland State University and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, “ MAGA Republicans, Jewish, “, Democratic National Committee, University of California, Muslim Caucus, Wake Forest University, Mr, College Democrats ’, University of Houston, Hamas, College Democrats of, Yale, New York University, Indiana University Locations: Gaza, United States, Israel, San Diego, Palestine, Biden’s Israel, College Democrats of America

☆ Middle East Crisis Army Begins Work on Floating Pier Meant to Get More Aid to Gaza, U.S. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Helene Cooper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

- [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] More than 200 aid workers have been killed in the war in Gaza, according to the United Nations. Weeks before the World Central Kitchen strike, a logistics coordinator for another American aid group called ANERA returned home after distributing supplies. Mousa Shawa was still wearing his ANERA vest when an Israeli strike hit the house, killing him; his 6-year-old son, Kareem; and several neighbors. “We’ve seen tracers going towards the sea.” At this shelter on January 8, the aid group said a projectile was fired through the building, killing a 5-year-old girl. What went wrong in the deconfliction system is still not clear to the aid group.

Persons: “, misclassification, It’s, ANERA, Shawa, Kareem, Mousa, Dua, they’d, they’ve, —, ” Israel, Israel Organizations: Central Kitchen, Washington , D.C, Israel Defense Forces, United Nations, The Times, Hamas, Times, Munitions, Sky News, International Rescue Committee, Aid, “ Locations: Washington ,, Gaza, Israel, Israeli, ANERA, British, U.S

☆ Opinion | Israel Has a Choice to Make: Rafah or Riyadh
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Thomas L. Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. diplomacy to end the Gaza war and forge a new relationship with Saudi Arabia has been converging in recent weeks into a single giant choice for Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: What do you want more — Rafah or Riyadh? Do you want to mount a full-scale invasion of Rafah to try to finish off Hamas — if that is even possible — without offering any Israeli exit strategy from Gaza or any political horizon for a two-state solution with non-Hamas-led Palestinians? If you go this route, it will only compound Israel’s global isolation and force a real breach with the Biden administration. Or do you want normalization with Saudi Arabia, an Arab peacekeeping force for Gaza and a U.S.-led security alliance against Iran? And what I find both disturbing and depressing is that there is no major Israeli leader today in the ruling coalition, the opposition or the military who is consistently helping Israelis understand that choice — a global pariah or a Middle East partner — or explaining why it should choose the second.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden, Israel, — Organizations: Israel, Hamas, Iran, Palestinian Locations: Gaza, Saudi Arabia, Rafah, Riyadh, Arab, U.S, Israel, East

The United Nations’ human rights office on Tuesday called for an independent investigation into two mass graves found after Israeli forces withdrew from hospitals in Gaza, including one discovered days ago over which Israeli and Palestinian authorities offered differing accounts. He accused Israeli forces of killing and burying them. It did not comment on the report of the mass grave at Al-Shifa. It also did not say how the bodies had been examined to determine if they were those of Israeli hostages. “Bodies examined, which did not belong to Israeli hostages, were returned to their place.”

Persons: Khan Younis, —, ” Organizations: United Nations, Palestinian Civil Defense, Nasser Hospital, Shifa, Palestinian Authority Locations: Gaza, Khan, Al, Gaza City, Mahmoud

☆ Here’s how the Israel-Iran conflict affects the oil market
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Oil prices spiked Friday to levels not seen since October in anticipation of just such an escalation but on Monday were subdued. “It is the most significant chokepoint in the global oil market,” Richard Bronze, co-founder and analyst at data firm Energy Aspects, told CNN. A renewed crackdown would, however, “create upward pressure on global prices” at an inopportune moment, Tagliapietra said. A tight oil marketDespite Iran’s barrage of drones and missiles, the conflict had a relatively muted impact on the global oil market Monday. Oil prices have already risen sharply since hitting a low in early February.

Persons: London CNN —, Brent, Israel —, Simone Tagliapietra, ” Richard Bronze, Tagliapietra, Joe Biden’s, WTI, Russia — Organizations: London CNN, West Texas Intermediate, CNN, International Energy Agency, Hamas, Organization of, Petroleum, United Arab Emirates, Traders Locations: Israel, Iran, Syria, Paris, Gaza, Tehran, Hormuz ‘, Hormuz, Brussels, China, Strait, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United States, Ukraine, Washington, Damascus, OPEC, Russia, Brazil, Guyana, Canada

☆ Opinion | Israel: Cease-Fire, Get Hostages, Leave Gaza, Rethink Everything
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Thomas L. Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It is so dangerous and troubling that Israel’s best option, when all is said and done, might be to leave a rump Hamas leadership in power in Gaza. I argued in October that Israel was making a terrible mistake by rushing headlong into invading Gaza, the way America did in Afghanistan after 9/11. I thought Israel should have focused first on getting back its hostages, delegitimizing Hamas for its murderous and rapacious Oct. 7 rampage, and going after Hamas’s leadership in a targeted way — more Munich, less Dresden. That is, a military response akin to how Israel tracked down the killers of its athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, and not how the U.S. turned Dresden into a pile of rubble in World War II. That approach would have won the support, funding and, I think, even peacekeeping troops of moderate Arab states like the U.A.E.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden, Israel, “ Organizations: U.S, Hamas, Hamas Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Palestinian Authority Locations: Israel, Gaza, Afghanistan, Munich, Dresden, U.S

☆ 6 months since Oct. 7, the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza has produced no winners
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Civilians in the southern part of the country, areas near the border with Gaza, were under a brutal, ongoing attack. Frida Ghitis CNNSix months after Hamas launched that deadly rampage, knowing that Israel’s response would be ferocious, there are only losers in this terrible war. It’s hard now to find many winners with the death toll mounting among Gazans and hunger growing in the strip. For Hamas, the fact that war continues may count as a victory, but thousands of Hamas’ fighters — the exact number is disputed — have been killed. Hamas — the Iran-allied group that rules Gaza — killed more than 1,200 Israelis and dragged back hundreds more as hostages.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden, José Andrés, Israel, Ahmad Gharabli, Israel —, ”, Netanyahu —, —, Netanyahu, Benny Gantz, Abraham Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Frida Ghitis CNN, Hamas, Israeli, vise, —, Gaza, IDF, Getty, Israel, Abraham Accords Locations: Gaza, Israel, Europe, Iran, AFP, Egypt, United States

☆ Middle East Crisis C.I.A. Director Is Heading to Cease-Fire Talks as Pressure Grows on Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

During the call, Mr. Biden threatened to condition future support for Israel on how it addresses his concerns about civilian casualties and the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The Israeli statement did not give a timing for when the crossing would be reopened. Mr. Biden has grown increasingly critical of Israel’s approach to the war against Hamas in Gaza, saying that more must be done to protect civilians. Image Palestinians gathering to receive food in the town of Jabaliya in northern Gaza last month. Israel has rejected accusations that it is responsible for delays in the delivery of aid.

Persons: Israel, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jordan — “, Erez, Adrienne Watson, “, ”, Netanyahu, —, Ms, Watson, Mahmoud Issa, Kerem, Lloyd J, Austin III, Patrick Kingsley Organizations: Israel, National Security Council, United, Defense, Pentagon, International Court of Justice Locations: Gaza, Ashdod, Israel, United Nations, “, Jabaliya, Kerem Shalom, Rafah, The Hague

☆ Syria Blames Israel for Deadly Attack in Aleppo
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Gaya Gupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the strikes, but it has previously acknowledged carrying out hundreds of assaults on Iran-linked targets in Syria. Friday’s attack was at least the second deadly attack in Syria in less than a week. On Tuesday, airstrikes in eastern Syria killed several people. The Iranian state news media said that Israel was responsible, while the Syrian state news agency attributed it to American forces. The Tuesday strikes killed a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, according to Iranian state news media reports.

Persons: —, SANA, Ali Abdulhassan Naim, Yoav Gallant, “, ”, Firas Makdesi, Saleh al, Bashar al, Assad, al, Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir V, Putin, Israel, Johnatan Reiss Organizations: Syrian Observatory, Human Rights, —, Lebanese, Hezbollah, Reuters, United Nations, Pentagon, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, World Health Organization Locations: Syrian, Aleppo, Britain, Syria, Lebanese, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria’s, Israeli, Damascus, Beirut, United States, Russia

☆ Middle East Crisis Hezbollah and Israel Trade Fire Across Lebanon Border
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | Hwaida Saad | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Remarks by Mr. Gallant and Mr. Austin before the meeting underscored the divide. Image People recovering items from their homes after Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Gaza, on Tuesday. Speaking with reporters after his meeting with Mr. Austin, Mr. Gallant said Israel would not be deterred in its war aims. And Mr. Gallant said he and Mr. Austin talked about the urgency of efforts to recover more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas and the increasingly dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza. “We discussed the humanitarian efforts in Gaza — not only in terms of bringing the aid in but the real issue of distribution,” Mr. Gallant said.

Persons: Yoav Gallant, Lloyd J, Austin III, Benjamin Netanyahu, Gallant, Austin, Mr, ”, Mohammed Salem, Israel, Gallant —, William J, Burns, —, Netanyahu, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Angela Weiss, Burns — Organizations: U.S ., Pentagon, ., Reuters, senior Defense Department, Biden, Apache, Hamas, Mr, . Security, Agence France Locations: Gaza, Rafah, U.S, Washington, Egypt, Israel, ”

☆ Rafah airstrikes: Israeli attacks kill more than 100 in Rafah as international alarm mounts over anticipated ground offensive
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Smoke billows during Israeli bombardment over Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2024. In a statement Monday, Hamas condemned what it said was a “horrific massacre” by Israel against civilians in Rafah. ‘The dead are better than us’For the more than one million Palestinians in the southern city, the expected push into Rafah is causing alarm and fear. Rafah is the last major population center in Gaza not occupied by the Israeli military. Olfat Hamdan said she had witnessed dead bodies on the streets of Gaza City, noting that “nobody was able to drag them or move them.”“What have I seen?

Persons: Abu Yousef Al, Rafah’s, Fernando Simon Marman, Louis Har, Nir Yitzhak, Smoke, Said Khatib, Danial Hagari, …, Jens Laerke, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Stéphane Dujarric, Israel’s, Netanyahu, Joe Biden “, Israel, ” Netanyahu, We’re, ”, ‘, ” Mohammad Jamal Abu, Khan Younis, El, ” Mahmoud Khalil Amer, Al, Tal, ” Abdul Kareem Al, Qaseer, Olfat Hamdan Organizations: CNN, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Najjar Hospital, Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency Shin Bet, Police, Getty, UN Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Human Rights, United Nations, UN, United Kingdom, Sunday, UN’s Security, Maxar Technologies, ABC News, IDF, “, Hamas, of Health Locations: Palestine, Gazan, Rafah, Shaboura, Gaza, AFP, Sheba Tel Hashomer, Israel, Israeli, Hamas’s, ”, Aqsa, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United, Saudi, Gaza City, Al Shati, “, People, Tal El Hawa, Khan

☆ Chairman of the Joint Chiefs says ‘US credibility is at stake’ when asked about Trump’s NATO comments
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Haley Britzky | Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“I think we have a responsibility to uphold those alliances,” Brown told NBC’s Lester Holt in an interview airing Monday evening. “US credibility is at stake with each of our alliances, and US leadership is still needed, wanted, and watched.”“The US is committed,” Brown added. “We don’t take an oath to a king, or a queen, or a tyrant or a dictator. And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator,” Milley said at the time, in a veiled reference to Trump. The Pentagon said Monday that those attacks have resulted in 186 wounded or killed in action — including 130 traumatic brain injuries.

Persons: CQ Brown, Donald Trump, ”, Brown, “, ” Brown, NBC’s Lester Holt, that’s, ” Brown’s, Trump, Mark Milley, ” Milley, Joe Biden, Milley, Robert Hur’s, Biden, “ He’s, — Brown Organizations: CNN, Joint Chiefs, Staff, NATO, “ NBC, Trump, Republican, South Carolina, NBC, White, America, Pentagon Locations: Russia, “, South, Milley, ” Iran, —, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Gaza, United States, Jordan

☆ A Blinken Visit Puts U.S.-Israeli Tensions on Full Display
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Zolan Kanno-Youngs | Patrick Kingsley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But just hours after speaking to Mr. Blinken, Mr. Netanyahu appeared more intent on delivering a fiery message aimed at his domestic audience. Meeting on his own with reporters, he denounced the very proposal the Americans saw as a potential opening to a negotiated solution. “Surrender to the ludicrous demands of Hamas — which we’ve just heard — won’t lead to the liberation of the hostages, and it will only invite another massacre,” Mr. Netanyahu said. On Thursday, as Mr. Blinken ended his fifth visit to the Middle East in the four months since the war in Gaza began, it was clear that relations between the Biden administration and Mr. Netanyahu have become increasingly fraught. That raised questions about how drawn out the process might be to reach an agreement to end the conflict.

Persons: Antony J, Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, we’ve, —, ” Mr, Biden Locations: Israel, Gaza, Jerusalem

☆ Some Hostages’ Families Say Israel Should Keep Fighting Hamas
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Johnatan Reiss | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Family members of three hostages say that Israel should not agree to a deal with Hamas before the Israeli military has achieved its objectives in the war. That puts them at odds with the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, the main alliance of hostages’ families, which has forcefully urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to give priority to the captives’ release. His comments are a reflection of the emotionally charged debate in Israel around the fate of the hostages as the war in Gaza enters its fifth month. At least 30 of the roughly 136 remaining hostages captured Oct. 7 are believed to be dead, according to an Israeli intelligence assessment. As hostages’ families mount more aggressive protests to demand that Israel secure their release, a rift has deepened among Israelis about the cost the country is willing to absorb to have the remaining captives brought home.

Persons: —, ”, ’, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Tzvika Mor, Eitan, Mor Organizations: Hamas, Tikva Locations: Gaza, Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, dashing hopes that a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip might be close, on Wednesday spurned a proposal from Hamas and said that Israel had directed its forces to prepare to operate in a Gazan city that has become a refuge for more than one million Palestinians. His comments came a day after Hamas delivered a plan to mediators that called for Israel to withdraw from Gaza, abide by a long-term cease-fire and free Palestinians held in Israeli jails in exchange for the release of Israelis being held hostage in Gaza. “Surrender to the ludicrous demands of Hamas — which we’ve just heard — won’t lead to the liberation of the hostages, and it will only invite another massacre,” Mr. Netanyahu said at a news conference in Jerusalem. Word that Israel was preparing a possible expansion of its operation came as American officials said they had killed a senior leader of an Iraqi-based militia they blame for recent attacks on American military personnel. The Pentagon said that a strike in Iraq had killed a commander of Kata’ib Hezbollah, the militia they say was responsible for a drone attack in Jordan last month that killed three American service members and injured more than 40.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, we’ve, —, ” Mr, Netanyahu, Antony J, Blinken, Kata’ib Organizations: Hamas, Mr, Pentagon, Kata’ib Hezbollah Locations: Gaza, Israel, Jerusalem, ”, Rafah, Egypt, Iraqi, Iraq, Jordan

☆ Widening Mideast Crisis Drone Strike Kills 3 U.S. Soldiers in Jordan, White House Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

The allegation, made by Israel, is a serious blow to the reputation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, generally known as UNRWA. The agency looms especially large in Gaza, where most of the population of more than two million people are registered as refugees. “Behind the scenes Israel has often favored UNRWA’s work,” said Anne Irfan, an expert on Palestinian refugee rights at University College London. Many settled in refugee camps that the agency helped create, which have since become built-up, mostly impoverished urban areas. Palestinians are the only refugee group whose support is not handled under the global mandate of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Persons: Here’s, —, “, ” Hector Sharp, Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Ahron Bregman, Israel, Anne Irfan, Megan Specia, Ben Hubbard Organizations: United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Israel, United Nations, UNRWA, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, Department, King’s College London, University College London, Refugees, European Union Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Israel, United States, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria

☆ U.N. Pleads With Major Donors to Not Cut Aid for Palestinians
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Hiba Yazbek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

The allegation, made by Israel, is a serious blow to the reputation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, generally known as UNRWA. The agency looms especially large in Gaza, where most of the population of more than two million people are registered as refugees. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has gone so far as to blame the agency for perpetuating rather than alleviating the plight of Palestinians and has called on the United Nations to disband it. “Behind the scenes Israel has often favored UNRWA’s work,” said Anne Irfan, an expert on Palestinian refugee rights at University College London. Palestinians are the only refugee group whose support is not handled under the global mandate of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

☆ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hits out at hostages' families for helping Hamas, say reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu criticized protests by the families of hostages in Gaza. Hamas took around 240 hostages during its October 7 attacks on Israel. AdvertisementIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said protests organized by families of hostages in Gaza were helping Hamas, say reports. The hostages' families hit back in a statement, per The Jerusalem Post. A destroyed Israeli tank in Gaza City, Gaza on October 7, 2023.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, —, Netanyahu, Jonathan Pollard, Israel, Hani Alshaer, Gazans Organizations: Jerusalem Post, Service, Anadolu Agency, US, Getty, United Nations, Human Rights Locations: Gaza, Jerusalem, Israel, Tel Aviv, Turkish, Gaza City

☆ U.N. Pleads for Aid to Not Be Cut to Palestinians: Israel-Hamas War Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Vivek Shankar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

WASHINGTON (AP) — By any standard, the past 18 months have been remarkable for getting wrongfully detained Americans home. For all the releases of wrongly detained Americans, several dozen remain imprisoned or held hostage, often by a hostile government. In some instances, there have been few signs of progress, and families have sometimes seen the foreign countries that are holding their loved ones release other detainees — but not yet their relatives. In September, five Americans jailed for years in Iran walked free in a deal that saw the release of nearly $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets. Despite the administration’s recent spate of success with other detainees, he said he was pragmatic about the absence of an obvious solution.

Persons: Brittney Griner, Harrison Li, Kai, Li, ”, he’s, “, ” Li, Roger Carstens, ” “ There’s, ” Carstens, Biden, Leonard ”, Nicolas Maduro, Paul Rusesabagina, Joe Biden, Kai Li, Xi Jinping, you’re, Maryam Kamalmaz, Majd Kamalmaz, Austin Tice, Carstens, there’s, He’s, Paul Whelan, we’re, Whelan’s, David, Whelan, don’t Organizations: WASHINGTON, Stanford, Biden, ., U.S, U.S ., FBI, United, Michigan Locations: Iran, Russia, Venezuela, China, Rwanda, ”, Israel, Gaza, U.S, Shanghai, United Nations, Washington, Beijing, Texas, Syria, United States, America, Kremlin

☆ What to Know About the U.N. Aid Agency for Palestinians
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Monika Pronczuk | Richard Pérez-Peña | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The U.N. agency that provides aid to Palestinians has been a vital lifeline in the Gaza Strip for generations — and it was a point of contention with Israel long before some of the agency’s employees were accused of involvement in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 assault on Israel. The allegation, made by Israel, is a serious blow to the reputation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, generally known as UNRWA. The claim was acted on by both the United Nations, which said on Friday that it had fired the accused workers and was investigating, and the United States, which said it was suspending some funding for the agency. The agency looms especially large in Gaza, where most of the population of more than two million people are registered as refugees. Gaza has been under a longstanding Israeli blockade, and Hamas — considered a terrorist group by much of the world — wields control.

Persons: Here’s, — Organizations: Israel, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, United Nations, UNRWA, West Bank, Palestinian Authority Locations: Gaza, Israel, United States, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria

America’s weak.”Neither Casey nor McCormick are likely to face serious opposition in Pennsylvania's April 23 primary before facing off against each other in November's general election. The Biden administration's support for Israel has been complicated politically in other states the president is counting on in his reelection bid. “Israel needs America's firm and unequivocal support,” McCormick wrote. Jewish voters typically vote overwhelmingly Democratic, and Democrats right now are trying to balance their interest in protecting Israel with that of younger voters, who have been sympathetic to Palestinians, he said. “Jewish voters have been one of their most loyal supporter groups.

Persons: —, Biden, hasn't, David McCormick, Joe Biden, Democratic Sen, Bob Casey, McCormick, Casey, Donald Trump, West Virginia Sen, Joe Manchin, persuadable, Hillel, “, ” McCormick, Barack Obama, Israel's, ’ ” Casey, Israel, Israel ”, George W, Bush, Christopher Borick, ” Borick, it’s, Marc Levy Organizations: U.S . Senate, Democratic, Israel, Biden, Trump, Senate, West, Republicans, Hamas, CBS, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Foreign, Jewish Community Center, Army, Pennsylvania, Jewish, Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Locations: HARRISBURG, Pa, Pennsylvania, Israel, Gaza, Iran, U.S, Afghanistan, Pennsylvania's, Michigan, Wisconsin, Rust, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Allentown

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