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☆ US assesses Israel has amassed enough troops to launch full-scale incursion into Rafah, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Mj Lee | Kylie Atwood | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

If Israel were to proceed with a major ground operation into Rafah, it would be going against months of warnings from the US to forego a full-scale offensive into the densely populated city. Going “headlong into Rafah” could have dire consequences, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Sunday. “They couldn’t launch an attack of that scale today.”“Their weapons production factories underground have been eliminated. However, the Biden administration has been ramping up the pressure on Israel to start focusing much more in earnest on post-war Gaza plans – so far, to little effect. Blinken publicly called on Israel to engage more seriously on developing a plan for post-war Gaza over the weekend.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Joe Biden, CNN’s Erin Burnett, Jake Sullivan, Kurt Campbell, ” Campbell, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, ”, Antony Blinken, “ Israel’s, ” Blinken, Israel, Matt Miller, “, Yahya Sinwar, Blinken, “ We’ve Organizations: CNN, Israel, White, State, NATO Youth Summit, Aspen Institute, Press, Hamas, CBS Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Israel

☆ Secret Hamas Files Show How It Spied on Everyday Palestinians
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Adam Rasgon | Ronen Bergman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The unit, known as the General Security Service, relied on a network of Gaza informants, some of whom reported their own neighbors to the police. People landed in security files for attending protests or publicly criticizing Hamas. Hamas has long run an oppressive system of governance in Gaza, and many Palestinians there know that security officials watch them closely. Security officials trailed journalists and people they suspected of immoral behavior. Political protests were viewed as threats to be undermined.

Persons: Yahya Sinwar Organizations: The New York Times, General Security Service Locations: Gaza, Israel

After Hamas attacked Israel in October, igniting the Gaza war, Israeli leaders described the group’s most senior official in the territory, Yahya Sinwar, as a “dead man walking.” Considering him an architect of the raid, Israel has portrayed Mr. Sinwar’s assassination as a major goal of its devastating counterattack. Seven months later, Mr. Sinwar’s survival is emblematic of the failures of Israel’s war, which has ravaged much of Gaza but left Hamas’s top leadership largely intact and failed to free most of the captives taken during the October attack. Even as Israeli officials seek his killing, they have been forced to negotiate with him, albeit indirectly, to free the remaining hostages. Mr. Sinwar has emerged not only as a strong-willed commander but as a shrewd negotiator who has staved off an Israeli battlefield victory while engaging Israeli envoys at the negotiating table, according to officials from Hamas, Israel and the United States. Some spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence assessments of Mr. Sinwar and diplomatic negotiations.

Persons: Yahya Sinwar, Sinwar’s, Sinwar, Sinwar — Locations: Israel, Gaza, United States, Egypt, Qatar

☆ U.N. General Assembly Adopts Resolution Supporting Palestinian Statehood
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | Bilal Shbair | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The United States voted no. The 193-member General Assembly took on the issue of Palestinian membership after the United States in April vetoed a resolution before the Security Council to recognize full membership for a Palestinian state. The majority of Council members supported the move, but the United States said recognition of Palestinian statehood should be achieved through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. The Palestinians are currently recognized by the United Nations as a nonmember observer state, a status granted in 2012 by the General Assembly. They do not have the right to vote on General Assembly resolutions or nominate any candidates to U.N. agencies.

Persons: ”, Richard Gowan, Riyad Mansour, Gilad Erdan, Nate Evans, Gilad, Israel’s, Yahya Sinwar, Mr, Mansour Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, United Nations, United, United Arab Emirates, . Arab, Security, Washington, Security Council, International Crisis, Palestinian, ”, U.S, General Locations: Israel, United States, Palestinian, France, Gaza, U.S, South Sudan, Taiwan, Kosovo, Palestine, United

☆ Israel and Hamas Face Growing Pressure for a Cease-Fire Deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Husam Badran, a senior Hamas official, said in a text message that the group’s representatives were arriving in Cairo “with great positivity” toward the proposed deal. “If there is no agreement, it will be because of Netanyahu alone,” he said, referring to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. Mr. Sinwar is one of the presumed architects of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which left 1,200 dead and roughly 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. In Israel, Mr. Netanyahu faces substantial opposition within his own governing coalition to the proposed framework. Agreeing to the deal would be “humiliating surrender,” Bezalel Smotrich, the country’s finance minister, wrote on Facebook late last month.

Persons: Haitham Imad, United States —, Antony J, Blinken, ”, ” Mr, William J, Burns, Husam, Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yahya Sinwar, Sinwar, ” Bezalel Smotrich, Biden, “ Organizations: United, McCain Institute, Central Intelligence Agency, Qatari, Hamas, Hamas’s, Facebook, Biden Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Shutterstock, Cairo, Palestinian, Israel, Qatar, Egypt, United States, Arizona, Cairo “, Washington

☆ Middle East Crisis Blinken Is Set to Meet With Top Middle East Diplomats on War
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Edward Wong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, three weeks after telling him that he could rethink U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza. An administration official said that about three-quarters of Mr. Biden’s nearly hourlong call to Mr. Netanyahu focused on the possible cease-fire and hostages deal. The two leaders also discussed hostage videos released by Hamas last week, including those showing two hostages with American citizenship. Israel, heeding pleas by Mr. Biden for restraint, fired back only a token counterattack, and both sides have indicated they want to avoid further escalation. With the immediate threat of a wider war seemingly fading, Mr. Biden and his team could shift their attention back to Gaza.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Antony J, Blinken, “ That’s, John F, Kirby, Biden’s, Netanyahu, Israel, Mr, Biden “, “, Bernie Sanders, ”, Yahya Sinwar, ” Edward Wong Organizations: Israel, Hamas, State Department, Mr, Economic, White, ABC, Biden, American, ”, CNN, “, U.S Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Washington, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Jordan, Israel, ”, U.S, Vermont, “ State, Iran

☆ Hamas to consider ceasefire-hostage release proposal that Israeli sources say could avert Rafah invasion
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Becky Anderson | Jeremy Diamond | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

A working-level Israeli delegation of Mossad, Shin Bet and the Israeli military officials is expected to travel to Cairo on Tuesday, the Israeli source and another Israeli official said. Hamas has insisted that a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza should be part of the agreement. But Israeli sources have characterized the latest Egyptian effort to broker a deal as the last chance to avert that offensive. “The only chance to stop Rafah is a deal,” the Israeli source familiar with the negotiations said. Twenty people, including at least one infant and a toddler, died following an Israeli airstrike over Rafah, Gaza, overnight into Monday, according to hospital officials.

Persons: Shin Bet, Yahya Sinwar, Antony Blinken, ”, Børge Brende, “, Sameh Shoukry, Israel, ” Shoukry, Blinken, John Kirby, Biden, we’ve, “ They’ve, Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Mahmmoud Basal, Hijazi Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, CNN, Mossad, Hamas, Economic, White, National Security Council, US, ABC, Israeli, Gaza Civil Locations: Riyadh, Jerusalem, Egypt, Israel, Gaza, Rafah, United States, Cairo, Saudi, “, Israeli, Rafah “, Gaza City

☆ Middle East Crisis Israel’s Conflict With Iran Overshadows Fighting in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Image Mourning over the bodies of relatives in Rafah, in southern Gaza, on Tuesday. Rafah’s population has swelled to over a million, as people have flocked there for shelter from fighting elsewhere, and border crossings in southern Gaza are a main conduit for humanitarian aid. Much of the north, including Gaza City, has been destroyed by airstrikes and ground combat. Image Israeli soldiers outside Al-Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, during a tour by the Israeli army last month. Credit... Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesAcross the territoryExperts say the Israeli military has had considerable success in dismantling Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades.

Persons: Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Biden, Avishag Shaar, Deir al, Robert Blecher, Yahya Sinwar, Mr, Blecher, ” Organizations: Hamas, United Nations, ., Agence France, Shifa, Yashuv, The New York Times, Gaza, Qassam, Group Locations: Israel, Gaza, Local, Southern Gaza Israel, Rafah, Gaza’s, Egypt, Northern Gaza Israel, Al, Gaza City, Deir, Deir al Balah

☆ Israel is struggling to find and kill the top Hamas commanders it wants most
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The IDF has managed to kill some of Hamas' top commanders, but it continues to hunt down others. AdvertisementMore than six months into its war in Gaza, Israel has little to show for its efforts. Israel has claimed that it has eliminated a significant number of mid- to senior-level commanders of Hamas' military wing, known as the al-Qassam Brigades. Related storiesAll three men were known to be Hamas military operatives, Israel said. AP Photo/Leo CorreaBut several top Hamas military leaders, including those most wanted by Israel, remain at-large.

Persons: —, Marwan Issa, Jake Sullivan, Issa, Israel, Gaza's, Khan Younis, Fatima Shbair Israel, Saleh, Israel's Shin, Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Leo Correa, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed, Mohammed Deif, Sullivan, Charlie Herbert, Herbert, Herbert said, Yoav Gallant, Biden Organizations: IDF, White, Service, Israel Defense Forces, AP, White House, Gaza's Hamas, United Nations, Hezbollah, Brigades, Hamas, 162nd Division, Israeli Locations: Israel, Gaza, Qatar, Beirut, Lebanon, Iran, Hamas, Jerusalem, Yemen, NATO, Khan, Rafah, Western

☆ Opinion | Israel’s Security Depends on Rafah
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Benny Morris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Unfortunately, Benjamin Netanyahu is right — “unfortunately,” I say, because he is the most incompetent, corrupt and divisive Israeli prime minister ever, as many in Israel believe. This week, the Biden administration strongly cautioned against a full-scale invasion of Rafah, saying it could be enormously harmful to civilians and ultimately hurt Israel’s security. Of course, there are formidable reasons for Israel to refrain from invading Rafah. Assaulting Rafah will inevitably cause many civilian casualties, despite assurances by Israel that it will move the civilians out of harm’s way before launching the offensive. Many of those were killed in ground offensives in Gaza City and Khan Younis to the north.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Yahya Sinwar, Biden, Netanyahu, Khan Younis Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, Gaza Health Ministry Locations: Israel, Rafah, Gaza, Gaza City

☆ Six months into the war in Gaza, Israel has no exit strategy and no real plan for the future
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

CNN —The war in Gaza has been raging for six months and the patience of Israel’s allies is running out. Israel launched the war immediately after the deadly October 7 terror attacks by Hamas. “There is no viable plan for the future of Gaza, not just for the day after, but even today. The number of Israeli soldiers killed in combat in Gaza since the start of the war has now surpassed 250. “He does not have a significantly different set of ideas for Gaza or for the future of Israel, Palestine or for Palestinian sovereignty.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Israel, Yayha Sinwar, ”, Khaled Elgindy, Joe Biden, ” Elgindy, –, Nathan Thrall, “, Abed Salama, ” “, ” Thrall, don’t, Thrall, Elgindy, “ It’s, Yahya Hassouna, Harel Chorev, Moshe Dayan, ” Chorev, we’ll, it’s, ” Hellyer, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s, it’s Netanyahu Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, Gaza Ministry, Health, Palestinian Affairs, Middle East Institute, Gaza, West Bank, European Union, Getty, Moshe, Moshe Dayan Center for, African, Tel Aviv University, America, “, United, United Arab Emirates, Hellyer, Royal United Services Institute, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Washington DC, Palestinian Authority, KFOR, NATO Locations: Gaza, Israel, United States, United Kingdom, Palestine, Rafah, Jerusalem, Hamas, Gaza City, AFP, Britain, Germany, France, Egypt, Palestinian, United Arab, London, Washington, Kosovo

☆ Middle East Crisis Top U.N. Court Orders Israel to Ensure Aid to Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Anushka Patil | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Mr. Conrad said he met Mr. Issa, Mr. al-Jabari and Mahmoud al-Zahar, another senior Hamas official, about 10 times between 2009 and 2011 in Gaza City. “He was the master of the data on the prisoners,” Mr. Conrad said of Mr. Issa. Mr. Awawdeh, the analyst, called Mr. Issa a man who liked to “remain in the shadows” and who seldom granted interviews to the media. Mr. Issa was born in the Bureij area of central Gaza in 1965, but his family hails from what is now the Ashkelon area in Israel. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli military, has said that Mr. Issa helped plan the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack.

Persons: Marwan Issa, Jake Sullivan, Mr, Issa, —, Mohammed Deif, Ahmed al, Yahya Sinwar, Salah al, Din, Issa’s, ” Maj, Tamir Hayman, Deif, Sinwar’s, “ There’s, ” Mr, Awawdeh, “, ” Michael Milshtein, Qassam, wasn’t, Milshtein, Gerhard Conrad, Conrad, Mahmoud al, ”, Gilad Shalit, Al Jazeera, Daniel Hagari Organizations: U.S, Hamas, Qassam, Palestinian Authority Locations: Israel, Gaza, Gaza City, Palestine, Bureij, Ashkelon

☆ Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks are ‘stuck but ongoing,’ sources tell CNN
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Alex Marquardt | Jeremy Diamond | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Talks over a hostage deal and a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas have reached another stalemate but are not over, according to three people familiar with the negotiations. Burns put forward a proposal that was accepted by Israel and sent back to Hamas, the second person and an Israeli official told CNN. “The negotiations are not only centric around the prisoner exchange deal,” Hamas senior official Basem Naeim told CNN on Monday. Those releases would take place during the first phase of a ceasefire, which would be expected to last around six weeks. The senior US officials and Gallant did not reach any agreements on how Israel will move forward with an operation in Rafah in southern Gaza, US and Israeli officials told CNN.

Persons: “, ”, Bill Burns, Burns, Israel, David Barnea, Basem Naeim, “ Israel, Amir Levy, Yahya Sinwar, Matthew Miller, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, William Burns, Anna Moneymaker, ” Miller, Biden, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, CNN’s Natasha Bertrand Organizations: Hamas, CIA, Doha, Qatari, CNN, Hamas didn’t, National Security, United Nations Security, Central Intelligence Agency, House Intelligence, Cannon, US, Biden Locations: Gaza, Israel, Doha, Qatar, Tel Aviv, Washington , DC, Rafah, Washington, US

☆ Domestic Politics Drive Divisions Between Biden and Netanyahu
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Relations between President Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel appear to have sunk to a new low, with both men pressed hard by domestic politics and looming elections. Mr. Netanyahu, however, allowed his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, to remain in Washington for talks. In a recent interview, Mr. Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, accused Mr. Biden of tacitly supporting Israel’s enemies. Mr. Biden called it “a good speech” without endorsing the call for new elections. But Mr. Biden is far more popular in Israel than Mr. Obama was and a serious break with Washington would deeply undermine Israel’s security and its future.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Mr, Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Itamar Ben, Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, Nadav, Ben, ”, Yahya Sinwar, “, ” Mr, Biden “, Smotrich, Chuck Schumer, Washington, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton —, Obama, Aaron Boxerman Organizations: Security, West Bank, Mr, Palestinian, U.S . Congress, Israel, United, Washington Locations: Gaza, United States, Washington, Rafah, Israel, New York

☆ Middle East Crisis Blinken Will Travel to Mideast Again as Cease-Fire Talks Restart
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Michael Crowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Mr. Issa assumed the role after the assassination of another top commander, Ahmed al-Jabari. Mr. Conrad said he met Mr. Issa, Mr. al-Jabari and Mahmoud al-Zahar, another senior Hamas official, about ten times between 2009 and 2011 in Gaza City. “He was the master of the data on the prisoners,” Mr. Conrad said of Mr. Issa. Mr. Awawdeh, the analyst, called Mr. Issa a man who liked to “remain in the shadows” and who seldom granted interviews to the media. Admiral Hagari has said that Mr. Issa helped plan the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack.

Persons: Marwan Issa, Jake Sullivan, Mr, Issa, Daniel Hagari, Mohammed Deif, Ahmed al, Yahya Sinwar, Salah al, Din, Issa’s, ” Maj, Tamir Hayman, Deif, Sinwar, “ There’s, ” Mr, Awawdeh, “, ” Michael Milshtein, Qassam, wasn’t, Milshtein, Gerhard Conrad, Conrad, Mahmoud al, ”, Gilad Shalit, Al Jazeera, Hagari Organizations: U.S, Hamas, Qassam, Palestinian Authority Locations: Israel, Gaza, U.S, Gaza City, Palestine, Bureij, Ashkelon

☆ Middle East Crisis Israel Is Said to Change Strategy in Cease-Fire Talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Ronen Bergman | Patrick Kingsley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held since the Oct. 7 attacks gathered Saturday in Tel Aviv to call for their return. International efforts to reach a truce had stalled over Israel’s refusal to release Palestinians convicted of murder and to commit to a permanent cease-fire, two of the measures that Hamas is holding out for. They include five female Israeli soldiers and civilians, including sick, wounded and older people. It does not include male Israeli soldiers, whose release will be the subject of a separate negotiation, one of the officials said. For each of the five female Israeli soldiers in captivity, Israel would release three “heavy” prisoners — those believed responsible for major attacks — and 15 others.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Yahya Sinwar, Israel, —, Gilad Shalit, Julian E, Barnes Organizations: Hamas Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, Gaza, U.S, Egypt, Qatar, United States, Paris, Washington

☆ Israel's Six-Week Drive to Hit Hamas in Rafah and Scale Back War
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +10 min

Gaza's ruling group can keep fighting and is prepared for a long war in Rafah and Gaza, said the official, who requested anonymity. A senior regional security official said Israel believed some Hamas commanders and hostages were in Rafah. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron also told lawmakers that Britain and its allies "will look at the issue of recognising a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations". Yet for Netanyahu and many other Israeli officials, talk of a two-state solution amounts to a betrayal of the people killed on Oct. 7. "I say clearly to anyone still stuck in October 6: We will never lend a hand to the creation of a Palestinian state," Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar said on social media last month.

Persons: Samia Nakhoul, Jonathan Saul, Humeyra Pamuk, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Avi Melamed, Yoav Gallant, Joe Biden, Netanyahu, Biden, Gaza's, hasn't, Israel . Fighting, Khan Younis, Emad Joudat, Gallant, Israel, Yahya Sinwar, Antony Blinken, Washington, David Cameron, Britain haven't, Miki Zohar, Dan Williams, Nidal Al Mughrabi, Andrew Hay, Jeff Mason, Pravin Char Organizations: Humeyra Pamuk DOHA, Reuters, Military, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, Israeli, America, . Senior, Palestinian Authority, State Department, Israel, United Nations Locations: Israel, Gaza, Rafah, Washington, Qatar, RAFAH, Hamas, Khan, Gaza City, Egypt, Cairo, U.S, Palestinian, Britain, Palestine, Doha, London, Jerusalem

☆ IDF has CCTV footage of Hamas leader Sinwar in tunnel under Khan Younis, official says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Lauren Izso | Vasco Cotovio | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

CNN —The Israeli military has obtained CCTV footage showing the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar inside a tunnel below the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, with his wife, children and another unidentified man, an Israeli security official told CNN on Tuesday. Israel has publicly accused Sinwar of being the “mastermind” behind Hamas’ terror attack against Israel on October 7 – though experts say he is likely one of several – making him one of the key targets of its war in Gaza. It was unclear when the video was recorded, when it was obtained, and what condition Sinwar was in. CNN has asked the IDF for comment but has yet to hear back. This is a developing story and will be updated.

Persons: Yahya Sinwar, Khan Younis, Israel, ”, Sinwar Organizations: CNN, Israel Locations: Gaza, Khan

☆ Unimaginable devastation seen inside Khan Younis, the southern Gaza city once a safe haven for the displaced
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Khan Younis CNN —Scattered around a huge crater are the remnants of a life that is gone. Destroyed buildings and roads seen after the Israel Defense Forces withdrew from the areas in Khan Younis on February 02, 2024. PlanetLabs An aerial view of Khan Younis, Gaza, on January 19, 2024. PlanetLabs Aerial views of Khan Younis, Gaza, on November 30, 2023, and January 19, 2024. “I’ve (been) asked many questions about the price that Gaza, Khan Younis pays, the houses… yes, definitely, there is a price that has been paid,” Goldfuss said.

Persons: Khan Younis, Yahya Sinwar, It’s, Abdulqader, Ivana Kottasová, Dan Goldfuss, Goldfuss, “, ” Goldfuss, ”, Israel doesn’t Organizations: Khan Younis CNN, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, Getty, CNN, IDF, Local, United Nations, Nasser, Al Amal Hospital, Palestine Red Crescent Society, UN, Islamic Jihad, Sunday Locations: Khan, Gaza, Israel, Anadolu, United, Palestine, United States, Brig

These families argue that the price to be paid in any hostage deal — the release of large numbers of Palestinian militants held by Israel — would endanger the country in the future. Protests calling on the government to reach a deal with Hamas have grown in size and intensity as the crisis has dragged on. The Mor family and two other hostages' families founded the Tikva Forum, a loosely organized group whose public members are mostly religious and right-wing. They share the belief that military pressure, not an immediate cease-fire or hostage release deal, is the best way to bring their loved ones home. “We see that when there’s a deal, hostages return, and in between, when there isn’t, only bodies come back,” said Berman.

Persons: Israel —, ”, Tzvika Mor, Eitan, ” Mor, Mor, Benjamin Netanyahu, Alon Nimrodi, Tamir Nimrodi, “, Israel's, ” Netanyahu, Adina Moshe, Netanyahu, Gilad Shalit, Shalit, Yehya Sinwar, “ Eitan, Avinatan, Noa Argamani, Avinatan’s, Shimon, Liran Berman, Israel, Gali, Ziv Berman, there’s, Berman, ” Berman Organizations: JERUSALEM, Nova, Associated Press, Hamas, Israel’s, Tikva, West Bank, AP, “ Locations: Israel imploring, Israel, Gaza, Cairo, United States, Kiryat Arba, Hebron, Palestinian, Kfar Aza

☆ Gaza Ceasefire Hopes Alive With More Talks Planned
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

"Continued military pressure is a necessary condition for the release of the hostages," Netanyahu said. Israel began its military offensive after Hamas militants from Gaza killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Netanyahu rejects a Palestinian state, which Saudi Arabia says is a requirement for the kingdom to normalise relations with Israel. But last week Israel said it would expand its campaign into Rafah, where about half the enclave's 2.3 million people are penned against the border with Egypt. On the ground in southern Gaza, residents said Israel stepped up its assault on Rafah in the early hours of Thursday.

Persons: Nidal, Humeyra Pamuk, Antony Blinken, Khalil Al, Hayya, Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken, Netanyahu, Yahya Sinwar, Israel, Washington, Khan Younis, Nidal al, Andrew Mills, Bassam Massoud, Cynthia Osterman, Howard Goller Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Israeli, Hamas, NBC News, Israel Democracy Institute, Nakhoul Locations: Humeyra Pamuk DOHA, TEL AVIV, U.S, Qatar, Egypt, Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Cairo, Tel Aviv, Saudi Arabia, ISRAEL, RAFAH Israel, Gaza's, Rafah, Tel Al, Doha

☆ Khan Younis: Inside the underground compound where Israel says hostages were held
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Khan Younis CNN —The stale, damp air inside the tunnel smells of sewage. Inside this maze of tunnels under Khan Younis, there is a narrow room with an arched ceiling, divided in half by a barred metal gate. Any hostages held here would have had limited sense of time or place. The southern city of Khan Younis, which Israel considers one of the “main strongholds” of the group, is the current epicenter of fighting. Israel believes 132 hostages are still being held in Gaza in compounds like the one CNN was escorted to under Khan Younis.

Persons: Khan Younis, CNN Israel, Dan Goldfuss, Goldfuss, “, ”, Israel, Ivana Kottasová, – Sahar Calderon, Yaakov, Sapir Cohen, Nir Oz, ’, Yahya Sinwar, ” Goldfuss Organizations: Khan Younis CNN, CNN, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, Gaza, of Health, Hamas, United Nations Locations: Gaza, Khan, Israel, Israeli, Israel’s, ”

☆ More than a million Palestinians are trapped in Rafah. As Israeli troops approach, there’s nowhere left to run
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Rob Picheta | Paul P. Murphy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“We hear (drones) very, very loud, and we hear the sounds of bombing at night,” Kareem Dahman, a displaced Palestinian in the city, told CNN. He said conditions in Rafah are “very difficult,” describing a “large number of people, chaos, and high prices.”A satellite image from Maxar Technologies shows Rafah, Gaza, on October 26, 2023. Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies A satellite image from Maxar Technologies shows Rafah, Gaza, on February 3, 2024. Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies Rafah's makeshift tent city Satellite image ©2024 Maxar TechnologiesDahman, like countless others, found himself in the city after a “very arduous” journey through the besieged enclave. Water is available but we need an hour to fill water from a water station,” Dahman told CNN.

Persons: ” Kareem Dahman, Khan Younis, “, ” Dahman, Abed Rahim Khatib, Yahya Sinwar, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, Sinwar, ” Gallant, Raed, Ismail Al, Belal Khaled, OCHA, Dahman, Youssef Abu Kwaik, ”, Jens Laerke Organizations: CNN, Maxar Technologies, Israel Defense Forces, “, Anadolu, Getty, Israeli, Hamas, Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Media Office, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, UN Office Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Palestinian, Gaza City, Egypt, ”, Israel, Mawasi

Now Marwan Barghouti's freedom is at stake in cease-fire negotiations between Hamas and Israel. Hamas leaders demanded Friday that Israel release Barghouti, a leader of the militant group’s main political rival, as part of any deal to end the fighting in Gaza. Israel is seeking the release of more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. With the lives of over 100 hostages now hanging in the balance, there is more pressure than ever on Israel to release Palestinian prisoners. That may make conditions ripe for a deal that could simultaneously win Barghouti’s release and bolster Hamas’ standing among Palestinians.

Persons: — He's, Nelson Mandela, He's, Marwan Barghouti's, Barghouti, “, ”, Qadoura, Osama Hamdan, Benjamin Netanyahu, HaMoked, Hamdan, — Barghouti, Ahmad Saadat, Saadat, Mahmoud Abbas ’ Fatah, Abbas, Fatah, Ismail Haniyeh, Yehya Sinwar, Fares Organizations: JERUSALEM, Israel, Palestinian Ministry of Prisoner Affairs, West Bank, Hamas, Palestinian Authority, West, Bir Zeit University Locations: Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Hamas, West Bank, Jerusalem —, Kobar, Bir, Jordan

In southern Gaza, Israeli forces pushed further into the city of Khan Younis, where the intensity of the fighting has increased in recent days. The Israeli military on Friday ordered residents of three neighborhoods and the Khan Younis refugee camp to evacuate to a coastal area. The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yehya Sinwar, and the commander of the group’s military wing, Mohammed Deif, both grew up in the Khan Younis refugee camp. Israel blames Hamas for the high civilian death toll for positioning fighters and military hardware in dense residential neighborhoods. “We grind it and bake it.”All supplies enter Gaza in the south, either through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing or Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing.

Persons: Khan Younis, Khan, Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Israel, Ashraf al, Qidra, Uday Samir, ”, Samir, ___ Jeffery Organizations: United Nations ’, Court of Justice, Gaza’s Health, Hamas, ’, United Nations Locations: DEIR, Gaza, Khan, South Africa, The Hague, Netherlands, Israel, Israel's, Gaza City, “, Rafah, Shalom, Deir al, Nuseirat, London, israel

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