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☆ Cigarette Smuggling in Gaza Turns Aid Trucks Into Targets
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Natan Odenheimer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A new problem is bedeviling humanitarian aid convoys attempting to deliver relief to hungry Gazans: attacks by organized crowds seeking not the flour and medicine that trucks are carrying, but cigarettes smuggled inside the shipments. In tightly blockaded Gaza, cigarettes have become increasingly scarce, now generally selling for $25 to $30 apiece. U.N. and Israeli officials say the coordinated attacks by groups seeking to sell smuggled cigarettes for profit pose a formidable obstacle to bringing desperately needed aid to southern Gaza. But the cigarettes have managed to slip through for weeks inside aid trucks, mostly through Kerem Shalom crossing into southern Gaza. Aid trucks that set off from the crossing into Gaza were then attacked by crowds of Palestinians, some of them armed, seeking the cigarettes hidden inside, according to U.N. and Israeli officials.

Persons: —, Egypt —, Andrea De Domenico Organizations: United Nations, New York Times, Aid, Humanitarian Affairs Locations: Gaza, Kerem Shalom, Egypt, Jerusalem

☆ Hamas’s Cease-Fire Proposal Includes a Familiar Sticking Point
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-06 | by ( Ronen Bergman | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hamas has softened its position in its latest Gaza cease-fire proposal but is sticking to a key demand that has been a major hurdle to a deal, according to two senior officials from countries involved in the negotiations. That has dampened prospects for an imminent agreement, even as U.S. and Israeli officials have expressed optimism now that the talks are moving forward after weeks of deadlock. Hamas presented a counterproposal on Wednesday. In effect, Hamas wants to ensure that it does not turn over many of the hostages only for Israel to restart the war, one of the officials said. Both senior officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Organizations: Hamas Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ Talks on Gaza Cease-Fire Revive After Weeks of Deadlock
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israeli negotiators traveled to the Gulf nation of Qatar on Friday for the first time in weeks to restart contacts over a cease-fire deal that would end the war in Gaza, following weeks of deadlock in the negotiations. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the meeting as a preliminary discussion with more substantive talks to follow. David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad foreign intelligence service, led the Israeli delegation to Doha, the Qatari capital, where he was set to meet with Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister. Cease-fire negotiations had been stalled for weeks until Wednesday, when Hamas announced that it had exchanged some ideas with mediators on a new way forward. Both U.S. and Israeli officials said the revised Hamas position could allow for an agreement, but cautioned that a protracted and difficult series of deliberations lay ahead nonetheless.

Persons: David Barnea, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Organizations: Doha, Hamas, U.S Locations: Gulf, Qatar, Gaza, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani

☆ Israeli Leaders to Discuss Hamas Response on Cease-Fire Proposal
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-04 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israeli ministers were set to meet Thursday evening to discuss Hamas’s response to a new proposal for a truce in Gaza and the release of hostages, as mediators sought to revive dormant talks for a cease-fire after nearly nine months of war. On Wednesday, the Israeli government said in a statement that it was examining Hamas’s response to the latest proposal and would send its own reply to mediators. The discussions are based on a three-stage framework deal publicized by President Biden in late May and endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday night that wide gaps between the sides remained but that Hamas’s response left potential to move forward in the talks. However, wide gaps remained on major issues, and the talks had been largely at a standstill since June.

Persons: Biden Organizations: United Nations Security Council Locations: Gaza, Israel, Qatar, Egypt, United States

☆ Iran Warns Israel Against War in Lebanon Against Hezbollah: Latest Updates
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-29 | by ( Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

Illegal Israeli settlements in the Gush Etzion settlement block in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in 2020. But after the first Arab-Israeli war, Jordan took control of the West Bank, and Jerusalem became divided between Israel and Jordan. In the 1967 war, Israel annexed East Jerusalem and occupied the West Bank, which it says is disputed territory whose fate should be determined in negotiations. That appears to be the goal for Mr. Smotrich, who adamantly opposes Palestinian statehood. In a social media post on Thursday, Mr. Smotrich indicated that the latest settlement legalization was a response to those decisions.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Bezalel Smotrich, Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Smotrich, Ammar Awad, Evyatar Borovski, Givat, Assaf Hershkovitz, Sde Ephraim, Jordan, Amit Elkayam, Volker Türk, Tor, “ We’ll, ”, Yehuda Fox, “, ” Aaron Boxerman Organizations: West Bank, Authority, Palestinian, Reuters, West, Peace, United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Security Council, International Court of Justice, Bank, Geneva Convention, Criminal Court, United Nations, International Court of, The New York Times, East Jerusalem —, Mr, Israel’s, Command Locations: Gush Etzion, Bank, Israel, Jerusalem, Jabal Subeih, Nablus, West, Givat Assaf, West Bank, Ras Karkar, Ramallah, Settlers, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jordan, East Jerusalem, Palestinian, Oslo, Evyatar, Beita, Spain, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, Armenia

The United States is in the midst of an intense diplomatic push to prevent full-on war between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, as the risks rise that either side could initiate a broader regional fight. Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, met with several Biden administration officials in Washington this week, in large measure to discuss the escalating tensions along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. That visit followed one last week by Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, and its minister of strategic affairs, Ron Dermer. Also last week, a senior White House official, Amos Hochstein, who has assumed an informal diplomatic role mediating between the two sides, visited Israel and Lebanon. Mr. Hochstein warned Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, that the United States would not be able to restrain Israel should it commit to an all-out war with the militia group.

Persons: Yoav Gallant, Tzachi Hanegbi, Ron Dermer, Amos Hochstein, Hochstein Organizations: Biden, White House Locations: States, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, United States, Washington

☆ Israel-Hamas War in Gaza: Latest News and Updates
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Adam Rasgon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Image Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, center, has threatened not to renew the provision, which makes it easier for Israeli banks to work with Palestinian banks. But many called the West Bank’s current economic predicament the most difficult yet. Before the war, Mahmoud Abu Issa, 53, was earning over $2,000 a month — an enviable salary in the impoverished West Bank — as a construction worker in Israel. If Palestinian banks want to offer shekel accounts, they must maintain links with Israeli banks and rely on them to process shekel transactions. Since 2017, Israel’s Finance Ministry has issued the waiver indemnifying the Israeli banks, according to Lilach Weissman, a spokeswoman for the ministry.

Persons: Bezalel Smotrich, Smotrich, Israel, Biden, Mr, Smotrich —, —, Menahem Kahana, Mahmoud Abu Issa, “, Abu Issa, Mohammad Rabee, Shadi Abu Afifa, ”, Abu Afifa, Jake Sullivan, Lilach Weissman, Akram Jerab, Eytan Fuld, Azzam, Shawwa, Rawan Sheikh Ahmad Organizations: West Bank, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian, Agence France, Mr, Palestinian Authority’s Finance Ministry, Israel’s Finance, Quds Bank Locations: Gaza, Bank, U.S, Israel, Hebron, ”, Palestinian, Palestine

☆ Critically Ill Children Allowed to Leave Gaza for First Time Since May
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israel and Egypt agreed to allow at least 19 sick children, most of them cancer patients, to leave Gaza for medical treatment on Thursday, Israeli and Palestinian officials said, in the first major evacuation of critically ill Gazans since the Rafah border crossing shut down in early May. The Israeli military said the operation had been carried out in coordination with the United States, Egypt and the international community. In total, 68 people — sick and injured patients and their escorts — were allowed to leave, the military said. They include those wounded in airstrikes, as well as cancer patients, children with life-threatening illnesses and older people who need open-heart surgery. Even before the war, many Gazans were forced to travel abroad for lifesaving treatments, like chemotherapy, which were almost nonexistent in the Gaza Strip.

Persons: —, Tania Hary, ” Organizations: World Health Organization Locations: Israel, Egypt, Gaza, Rafah, United States, “

☆ Israel Orders Evacuations as Strikes Pound Gaza City
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Top NewsIsrael ordered people in part of eastern Gaza City to evacuate on Thursday as Palestinian officials and residents reported heavy strikes and multiple casualties. Image A wounded Palestinian boy receiving treatment at a hospital in Gaza City on Thursday. Shajaiye, one of Gaza City’s largest neighborhoods, is home to a battalion that is considered one of the strongest in Hamas’s military wing. In December, nine Israeli soldiers were killed there on what the Israeli military reported was one of the deadliest days of the war for its forces. In recent months, some residents had returned to Shajaiye as Israeli forces turned their focus to southern Gaza.

Persons: Kan, Benjamin Netanyahu, Dawoud Abu Alkas, Mohammed Qraiqea, ”, Ghazi Hamad, Shajaiye, Mohammad al, Bahrawi, “, God’s, Myra Noveck Organizations: News Israel, Civil Defense, ., Human Rights Monitor, Hamas, Ahli Arab Hospital Locations: Gaza City, Gaza, Israel, Shajaiye, Mohammad, Ahli, Jerusalem

☆ Israel’s Supreme Court Rules the Military Must Draft Ultra-Orthodox Jews
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | More About Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, a decision that threatened to split Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government amid the war in Gaza. In a unanimous decision, nine judges held that there was no legal basis for the longstanding military exemption given to many ultra-Orthodox religious students. The court’s ruling pits secular Jews against the ultra-Orthodox, who say their study of scripture is as essential as the military to defending Israel. Mr. Netanyahu has called for legislation that would generally maintain the exemption for the religious students. More than 2,000 Haredim sought to join the military in the first 10 weeks of the war, according to military statistics.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Netanyahu’s, Netanyahu, ” Yitzhak Goldknopf, Gabby Sobelman, Myra Noveck Locations: Israel’s, Gaza, Israel, The State

On Today’s Episode:Assange Agrees to Plead Guilty in Exchange for Release, Ending Standoff With U.S., by Glenn Thrush and Megan Specia4 Scenarios for Next Phase in Gaza War, With ‘Intense’ Fighting Set to End, by Patrick KingsleyIsrael’s Supreme Court Rules the Military Must Draft Ultra-Orthodox Jews, by Aaron BoxermanSurgeon General Declares Gun Violence a Public Health Crisis, by Ellen BarryJudges Block Parts of Biden’s Student Loan Repayment Plan, by Tara Siegel Bernard and Zach Montague

Persons: Assange, Glenn Thrush, Megan Specia, Patrick Kingsley Israel’s, Aaron Boxerman, Ellen Barry, Tara Siegel Bernard, Zach Montague Organizations: U.S Locations: Gaza

☆ Israeli Military Says Troops Tied a Wounded Palestinian to a Vehicle
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-23 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | More About Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israeli troops tied a wounded Palestinian to the top of a military vehicle on Saturday morning during an operation in the occupied West Bank, a scene that was captured on video and quickly went viral, prompting outrage. The Israeli military said that the act violated military procedure and that there would be an investigation. Jenin, a longtime stronghold for loosely organized armed groups, has experienced repeated crackdowns by the Israeli military over the past few months. Israeli troops arrested a Palestinian injured in the shooting. The troops handed over the wounded Palestinian to the Palestinian Red Crescent for medical care, the Israeli military said.

Organizations: West Bank, Palestinian, Crescent, United Nations Locations: Wadi, Palestinian, Jenin, Gaza

☆ Netanyahu’s Growing Rift With Israel’s Military Raises Questions About Gaza War’s Future
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Growing divisions between Israel’s military commanders and the civilian government over the war in Gaza spilled into the open this week, raising questions about how Israel will conduct the next phase of the war. “If we do not bring something else to Gaza, at the end of the day, we will get Hamas,” he said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 13. But in order to reach a situation in which we really weaken Hamas, that is the path.”Admiral Hagari also appeared to criticize Mr. Netanyahu’s oft-repeated call for “absolute victory” over the Palestinian armed group. “The idea that it is possible to destroy Hamas, to make Hamas vanish — that is throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” he said. That prompted a swift rejoinder from Mr. Netanyahu’s office, which said that the Israeli cabinet had set “the destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities” as one of the war’s aims, and that the Israeli military was “of course committed to this.”

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, ’, Daniel Hagari, ”, Hagari, Mr, Netanyahu’s Organizations: Israel’s, Palestinian Locations: Gaza, Israel

Israel’s defense minister on Friday rejected a diplomatic effort by France aimed at ending months of cross-border strikes between Israel and Hezbollah that have been intensifying this week and raising fears of a full-blown war. More than 150,000 people on both sides of the border have been displaced by the fighting. And Israel has warned that it is prepared to take stronger action to dislodge Hezbollah militants from southern Lebanon. On Thursday, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said France and the United States had agreed in principle to establish a trilateral group with Israel to “make progress” on a French proposal to end the violence. But Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, who has called for Israel to take a harsher tack against Hezbollah, rebuffed Mr. Macron’s overture on Friday.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Yoav Gallant, Mr, Gallant Organizations: Hezbollah, Hamas Locations: France, Israel, United States, Iran, Lebanon, Gaza

It was not immediately clear how many weapons Hezbollah, a powerful militia and political faction backed by Iran, launched into Israel on Thursday. The assault included a number of drones aimed at Israel’s northern military headquarters, Hezbollah said. Israel’s military said in the afternoon that Hezbollah had sent more than 40 rockets across the border, but the barrage continued well into the evening. Hours later, Israel had not updated that number, but a military spokesman called it Hezbollah’s most serious attack since October. At least four people were injured in the assault on Thursday, according to Israel’s military and its emergency service, Magen David Adom.

Persons: Israel, Magen David Adom Organizations: Hamas Locations: Lebanon, ramped, Gaza, Iran, Israel

☆ Middle East Crisis U.S. Says It Is Trying to Bridge Gaps on Gaza Truce
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Erica L. Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

But after more than eight months of war in Gaza, Israel and Hamas still appear to be far apart on an agreement. On Tuesday, Hamas issued a formal response to the cease-fire proposal to Qatari and Egyptian mediators, which officials in the Palestinian armed group said included some amendments. In the second phase, both sides would declare a permanent cease-fire, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza, and more hostage-for-prisoner exchanges would take place. Mr. Biden described the proposal as an Israeli initiative, and Israeli officials confirmed it was approved by the country’s top leadership. Asked about the ambiguous Israeli public stance, Mr. Sullivan said he could confirm that Israel stood behind the proposal.

Persons: Jake Sullivan, Biden, Mr, Sullivan, Israel, Hamas’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s, Farnaz Fassihi Organizations: U.S, Hamas, United Nations Security, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, Revolutionary Guard Locations: Egypt, Qatar, Israel, Gaza, Italy, Hamas, United States

A day after the Israeli military rescued four hostages held by Hamas militants in Nuseirat, Gazans described an intense bombardment during the raid, followed by chaos in the streets from an operation that killed and wounded scores of Palestinians. Bayan Abu Amr, 32, was carrying her 18-month-old son Mohammad on the edge of Nuseirat’s main marketplace on Saturday when she was surrounded by the heavy booms of strikes from aircraft, which Israel’s military said targeted militants in an effort to ensure the safe extraction of the hostages and special forces. “People were rushing like the day of judgment; I did not know where to run,” said Ms. Abu Amr, who was on her way to pay a condolence call to her uncle’s family after two of his sons had died. “Kids were screaming, women were falling down while running.”Along with other Gazans, she managed to clamber onto a passing pickup truck that was trying to ferry people safely out amid the strikes, she recalled. One girl was separated from her mother in the confusion, while an old man lost his grip and fell off the truck onto the ground, she said.

Persons: Gazans, Bayan Abu Amr, Mohammad, ”, Abu Amr Organizations: Hamas, “ Locations: Nuseirat

A day after Israeli forces bombed a U.N. school complex in central Gaza that had become a shelter for displaced Palestinians, some of the facts remain unclear or under contention. The multistory building was one of several that made up the UNRWA Nuseirat Boys’ Preparatory School. It was one of the many schools in Gaza run by the main U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants. Like all of the territory’s schools, it stopped operating as a school in October, after Hamas led an assault on Israel, and Israel began its retaliatory bombing campaign. Philippe Lazzarini, the director of the U.N. aid agency for Palestinian refugees, said 6,000 people had been living in the school.

Persons: Israel, Philippe Lazzarini Organizations: UNRWA, Boys ’ Preparatory, Israel Locations: Gaza, Israel, Nuseirat

☆ Biden’s Announcement Puts Netanyahu on the Spot
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

But he has been put on the spot this weekend by President Biden’s announcement outlining a proposal for a truce. Mr. Netanyahu, a conservative, has long juggled competing personal, political and national interests. Now, analysts say, it is crunch time for Mr. Netanyahu, or Bibi, as he is popularly known. Mr. Biden “booted Netanyahu out of the closet of ambiguity and presented Netanyahu’s proposal himself,” Ben Caspit, a biographer and longtime critic of Mr. Netanyahu, wrote in Sunday’s Maariv, a Hebrew daily. Instead, they were conditional and open to interpretation — seemingly designed to leave Mr. Netanyahu’s options open.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Biden’s, Mr, Netanyahu, Biden, Bibi, Biden “, ” Ben Caspit, Sunday’s, Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben, Gvir, —, Netanyahu’s, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, Ophir Falk, Falk, “, ” Organizations: American, Qatari, Mr, Hamas, National Unity, Britain’s Sunday Times Locations: Gaza, Israel, Sunday’s Maariv

☆ Israel-Gaza War: Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Two Israeli officials confirmed that Mr. Biden’s proposal matched an Israeli cease-fire proposal that had been greenlit by Israel’s war cabinet. “Put your money where your mouth is.”But at home, Mr. Netanyahu faces a host of competing pressures. Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel’s parliamentary opposition, also urged Mr. Netanyahu to take the deal as outlined by Mr. Biden. He repeated that his party would back Mr. Netanyahu’s government if hard-liners like Mr. Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, left over a hostage release deal. Political analysts said Mr. Netanyahu has tried to avoid that scenario, as it would make him dependent on some of his harshest critics.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s, Biden’s, ” Mr, Mr, — Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben, Gvir, Ben, ”, “ Biden, ‘, Uzi Arad, “, Cheriss, Gil Dickmann, Carmel Gat, Kibbutz, Dickmann, Benny Gantz, Gantz, Yair Lapid, Mr . Biden Organizations: Hamas, ”, Gaza Health Ministry, Palestinian, White, ., The New York Times, Kibbutz Be’eri, Mr Locations: Israel, Gaza, Tel Aviv

President Biden on Friday outlined a road map put forward by Israel that would begin with an immediate, temporary cease-fire and work toward a permanent end to the war and the reconstruction of Gaza. Israel would withdraw from major population centers in Gaza, and a number of hostages would be released, including women, the elderly and the wounded. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinian civilians would also be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza. During the first phase, Israel and Hamas would continue to negotiate to reach a permanent cease-fire. If the talks take more than six weeks, the first phase of the truce will continue until they reach a deal, Mr. Biden said.

Persons: Biden, Mr Organizations: Hamas Locations: Israel, Gaza, U.S

☆ After Biden’s Push for Truce, Netanyahu Calls Israel’s War Plans Unchanged
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In his statement, Mr. Netanyahu did not explicitly endorse or reject a proposed cease-fire plan that Mr. Biden had laid out in an unusually detailed address on Friday. Two Israeli officials confirmed that Mr. Biden’s proposal matched an Israeli cease-fire proposal that had been greenlit by Israel’s war cabinet. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations. But the timing of Mr. Netanyahu’s remarks, coming first thing the next morning, seemed to put the brakes on Mr. Biden’s hopes for a speedy resolution to the war, which has claimed the lives of more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. “Israel’s conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel,” Mr. Netanyahu’s office said in the statement released on Saturday morning.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s, Biden’s, ” Mr Organizations: Hamas, ”, Gaza Health Ministry Locations: Israel, Gaza

☆ Israel Pushes Into Central Rafah in Southern Gaza Offensive
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Lauren Leatherby | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Credit... Jehad Alshrafi/Associated PressThe Israeli military said on Friday that its forces had advanced into central Rafah, pushing even deeper into the southern Gaza city despite an international backlash and pressure from allies to scale back the latest offensive. Israeli commandoes backed by tanks and artillery were operating in central Rafah, the Israeli military said in a statement, without specifying precise locations. GAZA STRIP Area of image Central Rafah GAZA Israeli military vehicles EGYPT GAZA STRIP Area of image Central Rafah GAZA Israeli military vehicles EGYPT Much of eastern Rafah has been devastated since the offensive began in early May, particularly around the border crossing with Egypt, according to satellite photos from May 22. Israel captured the Rafah crossing in an overnight operation on May 7 that marked the beginning of their assault on the area. May 5 RAFAH Rafah crossing 1 mile May 22 GAZA STRIP Area of image Area of most damage Rafah crossing Source: Satellite imagery from Planet Labs The Rafah crossing has served as a vital conduit for getting humanitarian aid into Gaza amid widespread deprivation and hunger.

Persons: Jehad, Israel Organizations: Associated Press, United Nations, International Court of Justice, Planet Labs, Labs Locations: Rafah, Israel, Gaza, Egypt, United States, GAZA, Rafah GAZA, EGYPT GAZA, EGYPT, RAFAH Rafah, Palestinian

☆ Egypt Faces Hard Choices After Israeli Seizure of Gaza’s Southern Border
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Thomas Fuller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel announced plans late last year to occupy a sensitive corridor of land in the Gaza Strip, along the border with Egypt, the response from Cairo was public, explicit and ominous. Egypt said that an Israeli military presence there would violate the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries. This week, the Israeli military announced that it had seized “tactical control” of the corridor. Yet despite the Egyptian government facing domestic pressure to take a harsher stance on Israel following its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, there has been no public Egyptian comment on the seizure of the corridor. The silence may be a reflection of the dilemma Egypt finds itself in after nearly eight months of war in Gaza.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu Organizations: Israel Locations: Gaza, Egypt, Cairo, Israel, Rafah

☆ Gaza Offensive Will Last at Least Through End of Year, Israeli Official Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

U.S. officials said on Tuesday that the Israeli strike that killed dozens of Palestinians in southern Gaza was a tragedy but that it did not violate President Biden’s red line for withholding weapons shipments to Israel. The United States is by far the biggest supplier of weapons to Israel, which raises questions about American responsibility as the death toll mounts. She did not answer a follow-up question about whether the strike crossed a red line for Mr. Biden. A State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, said the United States was watching Israel’s investigation of the incident closely. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 36,000 people, many of them women and children, according to health officials in Gaza.

Persons: John F, Kirby, —, they’re, Biden, Israel, ” Mr, “, Mr, Kamala Harris, Benjamin Netanyahu, Matthew Miller, Miller, ”, Daniel Hagari, Khan Younis, Khaled Elgindy, Elgindy, ” Erica L, Green, Michael Crowley Organizations: Mr, European Union, United, CNN, United Nations, State Department, Middle East Institute Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Israel, United States, United Nations, Egypt, China, “, Hamas, Washington, New York

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