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Within the course of mere days, hopes for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip have been raised, dashed and raised again, with no clear explanation. Thursday, May 2A Hamas leader said that the group would soon send a delegation to Cairo to “complete ongoing discussions” on a cease-fire deal. Sunday, May 5The talks — which are held indirectly, through mediators — hit an impasse, and Hamas said its delegation had left Cairo. An Israeli official described the negotiations as in “crisis.”Late in the day, Hamas launched rockets at a border crossing between Gaza and Israel, killing four Israeli soldiers. Then it said would send a working-level delegation back to the talks in Cairo anyway.

Persons: Israel —, —, Israel Organizations: Hamas Locations: Gaza, Gazan, Rafah, Cairo, “, Israel, Egypt, Qatar

The leader of the World Food Program said that parts of the Gaza Strip are experiencing a “full-blown famine” that is spreading across the territory after almost seven months of war that have made delivering aid extremely challenging. “There is famine — full-blown famine in the north, and it’s moving its way south,” Cindy McCain, the program’s director, said in excerpts released late Friday of an interview with “Meet The Press.”Ms. McCain is the second high-profile American leading a U.S. government or U.N. aid effort who has said that there is famine in northern Gaza, although her remarks do not constitute an official declaration, which is a complex bureaucratic process. She did not explain why an official famine declaration has not been made. But she said her assessment was “based on what we have seen and what we have experienced on the ground.”

Persons: ” Cindy McCain, ” Ms, McCain Organizations: Food Program, “, Press Locations: Gaza, U.S

☆ 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

Turkey said on Friday that it would suspend all trade with Israel until there was a “permanent cease-fire” in the Gaza Strip, the latest international sanction against Israel and one that underscores the mounting global pressure to end the war in the territory. Turkey’s announcement built on statements the previous day that it had halted all trade with Israel until “uninterrupted and adequate humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza.” But even as Turkey announced the measures, Israel continued its repeated warnings that it was preparing for an offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah that the United Nations said on Friday could result in a “slaughter” in Gaza. In announcing the trade suspension, the Turkish trade minister, Omer Bolat, spoke of Israel’s “uncompromising attitude.” Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told a business association on Friday that he anticipated backlash from Western countries but that Turkey had decided to “stand side by side with the persecuted.”

Persons: Israel, Omer Bolat, Israel’s, ”, Recep Tayyip Erdogan Organizations: Israel, United Nations Locations: Turkey, Israel, Gaza, Rafah

☆ Blinken Presses Hamas to Accept Israel’s Latest Cease-Fire Proposal
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Genevieve Glatsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

One of the Israeli officials said those returning to the north would be subject to no inspections or limitations, while the second said there would be nearly no restrictions, without elaborating. It was not clear whether Hamas would accept the most recent Israeli proposal, which is part of negotiations that the two sides are conducting indirectly through mediators from Egypt and Qatar. The cease-fire talks were a focus of Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken as he visited Israel on Wednesday. The Israeli offer, according to one of the Israeli officials, doesn’t include language that refers explicitly to an end to the fighting. On Monday, The New York Times reported that, as part of its proposal, Israel had reduced the number of hostages Hamas would need to release in the initial phase of a deal.

Persons: hadn’t, Antony J, Blinken, we’ve, ” Mr, Isaac Herzog, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, Mr, doesn’t, ”, “, Aaron Boxerman Organizations: Hamas, The New York Times, Mr, Finance Locations: Israel, Gaza, Egypt, Qatar, Rafah

☆ C.I.A. Director Blames Hamas for Stalled Peace Talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Negotiations for a cease-fire and the release of Israeli hostages have stalled because Hamas rejected the latest proposal put forth by Israel, Qatar and Egypt, the C.I.A. director said Thursday, putting the blame for a lack of progress in talks squarely on the group that led the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. director and lead American negotiator, traveled to Cairo and pushed what he called “a far-reaching proposal” that Egyptian and Qatari negotiators took to Hamas. While Mr. Burns did not describe the details of that proposal, he said that so far Hamas has not accepted it. “It was a deep disappointment to get a negative reaction from Hamas,” said Mr. Burns, speaking at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas.

Persons: William J, Burns, C.I.A, ”, George W, “ Organizations: Hamas, Qatari, Bush Presidential Center, Sunday Locations: Israel, Qatar, Egypt, Cairo, Dallas, Gaza

☆ U.N. Report Describes Physical Abuse and Dire Conditions in Israeli Detention
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Gazans released from Israeli detention described graphic scenes of physical abuse in testimonies gathered by United Nations workers, according to a report released on Tuesday by UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. Others described being badly beaten with metal bars or the butts of guns and boots, according to the report, or forced into cages and attacked by dogs. The New York Times has not interviewed the witnesses who spoke to UNRWA aid workers and could not independently verify their accounts. Israeli forces have arrested thousands of Gazans during their six-month campaign against Hamas, the Palestinian armed group. The Israeli military says it arrests those suspected of involvement in Hamas and other groups, but women, children and older people have also been detained, according to the UNRWA report.

Persons: Gazans Organizations: United Nations, UNRWA, New York Times, Times, Hamas Locations: Palestinian

Iran’s much-anticipated retaliation for Israel’s killing of senior military leaders produced a fiery aerial display in the skies over Israel and the West Bank. But in important ways, military analysts say, it was just that: a highly choreographed spectacle. Just as they did back in 2020 when retaliating for the U.S. killing of Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Iranian leaders this weekend gave plenty of warning that they were launching strikes. The result: a lot of bang, but relatively little destruction on the ground. Few of Iran’s drones and missiles found their intended targets, an inaccuracy level that military experts and defense officials say was probably by design.

Persons: retaliating, Qassim Suleimani Organizations: West Bank, Jordanian, Iranian Embassy Locations: Israel, Gen, Iran, Iranian, Syria

☆ Live Updates: World Leaders Urge Restraint as Israel Weighs Retaliation Against Iran
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Israeli military analysts are divided on whether a more direct confrontation with Iran would alter the war in Gaza. But it occurred against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, where Israel is battling Hamas, a militant group funded and armed by Iran. Some analysts argued that the implications for Gaza would depend on whether Israel responded with a major counterattack against Iran. Other military experts, however, dismissed the link between the Iranian attack and the war in Gaza. General Gilead said that Israel’s army had enough resources to fight against Iran and continue to wage war against Hamas in Gaza.

Persons: Israel, Shlomo Brom, General Brom, “ It’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, ”, Amos Gilead, General Gilead, Giora Eiland, Eiland, Mr, Netanyahu, ” Aaron Boxerman Organizations: Hamas, Israel’s National Security Council Locations: Khan Yunis, Gaza, Iran, Israel, Israeli, Damascus, Rafah, United States, Britain, Jordan, Lebanon, Jerusalem

A Palestinian man inspecting damage on Saturday after Israeli settlers attacked the village of Al Mughayir, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Israeli military announced on Saturday that it would bolster its forces in the West Bank with additional companies and police. Israeli settlers, some of them armed, entered the villages, the official added, and there were reports that they had opened fire. At one point, “rocks were hurled” at Israeli soldiers, leading them to open fire in response, the Israeli military said. Last February, an attack by Israeli settlers devastated the Palestinian town of Huwara in the northern West Bank.

Persons: Al Mughayir, Binyamin Achimair, Yesh Din, Abu Aliya —, Amin Abu Aliya, Binyamin’s, Naser Dawabsheh, “, ”, Na’asan Na’asan, Shaul Golan, Golan, Biden, Binyamin, Abu Aliya, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Yair Lapid, ” Mr, Na’asan Organizations: West Bank ., West Bank, United Nations, Duma Locations: Al, Palestinian, Ramallah, torching, East Jerusalem, Gaza, Al Mughayir, “, Israel, Huwara, West Bank

☆ Middle East Crisis Israeli Teen Whose Disappearance Led to Riot Is Found Dead in West Bank
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Image A Palestinian man inspecting damage on Saturday after Israeli settlers attacked the village of Al Mughayir, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Credit... Mohamad Torokman/ReutersAn Israeli teenager whose disappearance had led to riots by Israeli settlers in the West Bank was found dead on Saturday, the Israeli authorities said, threatening to further inflame tensions in the Israeli-occupied territory. Israeli settlers, some of them armed, entered the villages, the official added, and there were reports that they had opened fire. The Israeli police and soldiers had also removed Israeli settlers who had entered Al Mughayir, the military said. Last February, an attack by Israeli settlers devastated the Palestinian town of Huwara in the northern West Bank.

Persons: Al Mughayir, Mohamad Torokman, Binyamin Achimair, Yesh Din, Abu Aliya —, Amin Abu Aliya, Binyamin’s, “, ”, Na’asan Na’asan, Biden, Binyamin, Abu Aliya, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Yair Lapid, Na’asan Organizations: West Bank . Credit, Reuters, West Bank, United Nations, Duma Locations: Al, Palestinian, Ramallah, torching, East Jerusalem, Gaza, Al Mughayir, Israel, Huwara, West Bank

American intelligence analysts and officials said on Friday that they expected Iran to strike multiple targets inside Israel within the next few days in retaliation for an Israeli bombing in the Syrian capital on April 1 that killed several senior Iranian commanders. The United States, Israel’s pre-eminent ally, has military forces in several places across the Middle East. Any Iranian strike inside Israel would be a watershed moment in the decades of hostilities between the two nations that would most likely open a volatile new chapter in the region. And an Iranian attack would heighten the risk of a wider conflict that could drag in multiple countries, including the United States. In remarks to reporters on Friday, President Biden said that he expected a military attack against Israel “sooner rather than later,” and that his message to Iran was “don’t.”

Persons: Israel’s, Biden, Israel “, “, ” Locations: Iran, Israel, United States

Some 4,000 revelers gathered on the night of Oct. 6 at a field in southern Israel, mere miles from the Gaza border, for the Tribe of Nova music festival. At dawn, thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed Israel’s defenses under the cover of a rocket barrage. About 1,200 people were killed that day, the deadliest in Israeli history according to the Israeli authorities, including 360 at the rave alone. Many of the ravers were under the influence of mind-altering substances like LSD, MDMA and ketamine as they witnessed the carnage or fled for their lives.

Locations: Israel, Gaza

☆ Middle East Crisis Famine Has Begun in Northern Gaza, U.S. Official Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Liam Stack | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Facing international condemnation after an Israeli airstrike killed seven workers for an international aid group, Israel said last week that it would reopen the Erez crossing between Israel and northern Gaza for aid delivery. A spokeswoman for the defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said on Wednesday that another crossing into northern Gaza, near Zikim, a kibbutz, would open instead, and not the one near Erez. ISRAEL Erez crossing GAZA Damage Road to Gaza City Erez crossing Gaza City Damage Damage GAZA STRIP Rubble from destroyed building ISRAEL Erez crossing GAZA Damage Road to Gaza City Damage Damage Erez crossing Rubble from destroyed building GAZA STRIPMr. Gallant told reporters that the government had approved a new border crossing and the use of the port of Ashdod, around 20 miles northeast of Gaza, for aid shipments, but he did not offer a time frame for either. U.N. figures show that an average of about 110 aid trucks have entered each day since Oct. 7. Credit... Mahmoud Essa/Associated PressBy contrast, U.N. data shows that a total of 533 aid trucks entered Gaza in the three days after Saturday.

Persons: Israel, Erez, Yoav Gallant, ISRAEL Erez, Gallant, Mahmoud Essa, Jens Laerke, Trucks, Laerke, COGAT, ”, Kerem Shalom, Aaron Boxerman Organizations: United Nations, Oxfam, Aid, Associated, U.S, UNRWA Locations: Gaza, Israel, Zikim, Erez, GAZA, ISRAEL, Ashdod, ”, Gaza . Credit, Kerem

An Israeli airstrike on Wednesday killed three sons of one of the most senior leaders of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, who said the strike would not weaken the group’s negotiating position or its resolve in its fight against Israel. Mr. Haniyeh, who leads the Hamas political bureau from exile, is a longstanding leader of the group. He is also engaged in the stalled negotiations with Israel through international mediators who are seeking to broker a cease-fire and secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “The enemy is delusional if it thinks that by killing my children, we will change our positions,” Mr. Haniyeh said in a statement. “We shall not give in, no matter the sacrifices.”

Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, ” Mr, ” Organizations: Israel Locations: Israel, Gaza

☆ Opinion | Israel Is Making the Same Mistake America Made in Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-07 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As the war in Gaza reaches its six-month mark, I’m getting a disturbing sense of déjà vu. Israel is facing many of the same challenges that America faced in Iraq, and it is making many of the same mistakes. The terrible civilian toll and looming famine in Gaza are a human tragedy that should grieve us all; they are also directly relevant to the outcome of the war. A modern army like Israel’s can absolutely defeat Hamas in a direct confrontation, regardless of whether it provides aid to civilians. But as we’ve learned in our own wars abroad, it cannot preserve its victory unless it meets Gazans’ most basic needs.

Persons: Aaron Boxerman, Iyad, Al Shifa, “, isn’t, we’ve Organizations: America, Palestinian Locations: Gaza, vu, Israel, Iraq

☆ String of Errors Led to Fatal Attack on Aid Convoy, Israeli Military Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Adam Rasgon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A series of failures, including a breakdown in communication and violations of the rules of engagement, led to the deadly Israeli strikes that killed seven humanitarian aid workers in Gaza this week, senior Israeli military officials said on Friday. “It’s a tragedy,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military’s chief spokesman, told reporters in a briefing on Thursday night. “It’s a serious event that we’re responsible for, and it shouldn’t have happened.”On Friday, the Israeli military announced that two officers — a colonel and a major — would be dismissed from their positions. Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the Israeli military chief of staff, also decided to formally reprimand the head of Israel’s southern command, the military said in a statement. Israeli forces, the military said, began striking the convoy, belonging to the relief group World Central Kitchen, at 10:09 p.m. on Monday as the cars made their way along Gaza’s coast.

Persons: “, ”, Daniel Hagari, —, Herzi Halevi Locations: Gaza, Gaza’s

Lalzawmi Frankcom’s text message was short and sweet: a heart emoji reply at 10:38 p.m. on Sunday to her friend Josh Phelps, who had sent along photos of their humanitarian work together on a reservation in South Dakota. Ms. Frankcom, an Australian known as Zomi, had a big day ahead on Monday. She and her colleagues from World Central Kitchen in Gaza were waiting for a ship to arrive at their newly built jetty so that they could unload hundreds of tons of sorely needed humanitarian aid. They “were so excited, like they were going to a wedding,” said Shadi Abu Taha, whose brother, Saif, was among them. Israeli strikes hit their convoy that night, killing Ms. Frankcom and six of her colleagues from World Central Kitchen, the charity group founded by the chef José Andrés that has been delivering millions of meals in Gaza.

Persons: Josh Phelps, Frankcom, Deir al Balah, ”, Shadi Abu Taha, Saif, José Andrés Locations: South Dakota, Gaza, Rafah, Deir

Israeli strikes on an aid convoy run by the charity group World Central Kitchen killed seven of its workers in the Gaza Strip, setting off international outrage and underscoring the risks to humanitarian workers trying to alleviate a looming famine. The aid workers — a Palestinian, an Australian, a Pole, three Britons and a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen — were traveling in two armored vehicles clearly marked with the World Central Kitchen logo and a third vehicle when they came under fire late Monday night, according to the charity. The convoy was hit despite having coordinated its movements with the Israeli military, the group said. The workers were leaving a warehouse in Deir al Balah, in central Gaza, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid that had arrived by boat on Monday, World Central Kitchen said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who rarely comments on deadly strikes in Gaza, released a videotaped statement on Tuesday in which he appeared to acknowledge that the Israeli military was responsible.

Persons: —, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Netanyahu, ”, Herzi Halevi Organizations: Kitchen Locations: Gaza, Australian, U.S, Deir al Balah, Israel

☆ What We Know About the Israeli Strike That Killed 7 Aid Workers in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Adam Rasgon | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen were killed in the Gaza Strip when their convoy came under fire on Monday night, according to the aid organization and Gazan health officials. The disaster relief organization, founded by the Spanish chef José Andrés, said the convoy was hit in an Israeli strike. The Israeli military had been informed of the aid workers’ movements, the charity said. Aid workers had just unloaded more than 100 tons of food brought to Gaza by sea at the warehouse, according to the group. The imagery shows three destroyed white vehicles, with the northernmost and southernmost vehicles nearly a mile and a half apart.

Persons: José Andrés, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, ” Organizations: Central Kitchen, The New York Times Locations: Gaza, Spanish, Deir al Balah

is a Times political correspondent covering Donald J. Trump, the Make America Great Again movement and other federal and state elections.

Persons: Donald J, Trump

At least three senior commanders and four officers overseeing Iran’s covert operations in the Middle East were killed on Monday when Israeli warplanes struck a building in Damascus that is part of the Iranian Embassy complex, according to Iranian and Syrian officials. The strike in Damascus, the Syrian capital, appeared to be among the deadliest attacks in a yearslong shadow war between Israel and Iran that has included the assassinations of Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists. That covert war has moved into the open as tensions between the countries have intensified over Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip against Hamas, the Iranian-backed militia that led the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Four Israeli officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters, confirmed that Israel had been behind the strike in Damascus, but denied that the building had diplomatic status.

Persons: Israel Organizations: Iranian Embassy, Hamas, Israel . Locations: Damascus, Iranian, Israel, Iran, Gaza

☆ Middle East Crisis Israeli Military Withdraws From Al-Shifa Hospital After Raid
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Iyad Abuheweila | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

The protest in Jerusalem is expected to last four days, with some demonstrators planning to stay in a cluster of tents near Parliament. But some worried that the protests could revive conflicts inside Israel that the war had temporarily smoothed over. In the months preceding Oct. 7, Israel had experienced immense domestic strife over a plan backed by Mr. Netanyahu to limit the influence of the judiciary. Mr. Netanyahu has consistently repelled criticisms of his administration, including its handling of the war. The Israeli police said they had dispersed a crowd of protesters blocking traffic, making one arrest.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s, can’t, Elad, “, ”, Michal Begin, Israel, Mr, Eitam Harel, Harel, ” Moshe Radman, Johnatan Reiss Organizations: Hamas, ” Locations: Jerusalem, Israel, Tel Aviv, “, Gaza, Israel’s

☆ Protesters Call for Netanyahu to Leave Office
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Adam Rasgon | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Thousands of Israelis filled the streets outside the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, in Jerusalem on Sunday to call for early elections, in one of the most significant demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. It also came as he went into surgery to treat a hernia Sunday night. The protest in Jerusalem is expected to last four days, with some demonstrators planning to stay in a cluster of tents near Parliament. On Sunday, several carried signs calling for Mr. Netanyahu’s “immediate removal” while others held posters calling for elections, saying “those who destroyed can’t be the ones to fix.”Elad Dreifuss, a 25-year-old student, said protesting against the government in the midst of wartime was a difficult decision. But, he added, “if the government can’t live up to its responsibility, something has to change.”

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s, can’t, Elad, ” Locations: Jerusalem, Israel, Tel Aviv

☆ U.N. Peacekeepers Injured in Lebanon Blast as Tensions Rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Euan Ward | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The Israeli authorities have denied blocking UNRWA, but Israel and the aid agency have been locked in a dispute over not only responsibility for the crisis, but also the status of UNRWA itself. UNRWA suspended the staff members and opened an investigation, but some of its biggest donors have since suspended funding. U.N. officials and international aid groups have reported severe and deadly malnutrition in Gaza and have blamed Israel, which inspects every truckload aid. In some cases, crowds of people have swarmed the trucks, stripping them of supplies. The World Food Program said that only 11 of its convoys carrying food had reached the north since the start of the year.

Persons: Philippe Lazzarini, Israel, Lazzarini, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Natalia Kanem, “ Organizations: Nations, International Court of Justice, United Nations, UNRWA, “, Food Program Locations: Israel, Gaza, The Hague

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