Trump visits provide a “window of opportunity” for hostage trade, Israeli officials say
Israeli Defense Secretary said Monday that there will be a “window of opportunity” for hostage contracts in Gaza when President Donald Trump visits the area next week.
However, Reuters reports that if Israel has not agreed to launch new operations at the enclave.
“Without a hostage deal, Operation Gideon Chariot starts at a very strong point and will not stop until all goals are achieved,” he said following his decision to approve the expanded operation of the security cabinet.
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The Israeli Parliamentary Committee is discussing a law that imposes an 80% tax on non-governmental organizations that receive most of the funds from foreign companies, Reuters reports.
Under the proposed law, these NGOs cannot petition the Israeli courts. However, Israel’s finance ministers can grant tax exemptions.
Knesset’s constitutional, law and Judicial Committee discussions were sometimes heated and divided along the Union. The panel prepares the bill for the first reading in the main plenum.
“The law will maintain a Jewish state and democratic regime and prevent inappropriate foreign interference,” said Ariel Karner, the bill’s sponsor, during the discussion.
Opposition politicians criticized the proposed law and said the state was trying to curb voices, including media outlets who disagree with Israeli policies. Some people said that if the government attempts to prevent foreign influence, businesses should also be targeted.
Adara, Israel’s Arab Minority Rights Law Centre, sent letters signed by nine NGOs to the head of the committee, urging them to suspend the bill.
“This bill is a direct attack on civil society, the rule of law, and the fundamental constitutional structure of Israel’s democracy,” the letter states. “It threatens the rights of individuals and communities and silences legitimate objections under the guise of sovereignty.”
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The AFP spoke to the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, who criticized Israel’s plan to take over humanitarian distribution to Gaza in a military-controlled hub.
“We cannot and will not do anything that fundamentally opposes humanitarian principles,” said Jan Egland.
He said “the United Nations agencies, all other international humanitarian groups, and NGOs are not part of this idea coming from the Israeli Cabinet and the Israeli military.”
Egland said he wanted the Israeli government to “a scheme that is a system in which people cannot fully operate by politicizing militarization, manipulation and aid, allowing only assistance to a small number of centralized hubs in the south.”
“It would force people to move to get help and it would continue to starve civilians,” he said.
“If one of the fierce armed conflicts attempts to assist in control, manipulation and distribution among the civilians on the other side, that is contrary to everything we stand,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordination Agency (OCHA) states that the Israeli scheme “means most of Gaza, which has fewer mobile and includes the most vulnerable people.
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Defence officials also explained to the Associated Press, saying new plans to intensify the attack on Gaza will not be launched until Donald Trump concludes his expected visit to the Middle East this month.
It is not clear whether this is the same official who explained to Reuters (see previous post).
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Updated to 09.02 EDT
Trump visits provide a “window of opportunity” for hostage trade, Israeli officials say
Israeli Defense Secretary said Monday that there will be a “window of opportunity” for hostage contracts in Gaza when President Donald Trump visits the area next week.
However, Reuters reports that if Israel has not agreed to launch new operations at the enclave.
“Without a hostage deal, Operation Gideon Chariot starts at a very strong point and will not stop until all goals are achieved,” he said following his decision to approve the expanded operation of the security cabinet.
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Israel aims to “conquer” Gaza, officials say
Jason Burke
Israel aims to expand its military operations in Gaza in the coming weeks, “conquering” the territory and establishing a “sustainable existence” there, Israeli officials said.
The plan, which was unanimously approved at a security cabinet meeting late Sunday, goes beyond the objectives outlined so far in attacks on Palestinian territory that have been destroyed so far, could spur deep international concerns and fierce opposition.
Officials told Israeli reporters that the plan would include “new and violent attacks that would lead to Gaza’s conquest and territorial retention, and that Gaza’s population would move south for protection. [and] …A powerful blow to Hamas.”
After the collapse of a fragile ceasefire in mid-March, Israel renewed its shelling in Gaza, strengthening its deep “buffer zones” along the Gaza border, expanding most of the territory north and south.
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The European Union is seeking detention from Israel after it approved the expansion of military operations in Gaza.
“The European Union is concerned about the planned extension of Israeli military operations in Gaza, and will bring further Palestinian casualties and suffering. We urge Israel to exercise maximum restraint.”
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The AP will provide some analysis of Israel’s new plans to expand its operations in Gaza, potentially gaining the entire territory.
The new plan, intended to help Israel defeat Hamas and achieve the war’s objective of liberating hostages held in Gaza, calls for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to move south of Gaza.
Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 after decades of occupation and later imposed a blockade on its territory along with Egypt. Reaching and potentially occupying the territory again indefinitely will raise questions about how Israel plans to govern its territory, not only as hopes for a further dash for a Palestinian state, but also as Israel is embedded in a deeply hostile population to it, particularly when it considers how it takes the vision of President Donald Trump to Gaza.
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The Israeli Defense Forces said yesterday that a strike against Gaza’s Khan Eunice destroyed the Hamas rocket’s location.
IDF posted a video of the strike on X. The secondary explosion of the clip stated that it “the presence of a rocket prepared for launch towards Israeli territory.” The Guardian was unable to independently verify the footage or IDF claims that destroyed Hamas’ location.
The overnight attack on the Khan Eunice refugee camp killed at least 11 people, including three babies up to the age of one year, Gazan officials said. It is not clear whether the strikes in IDF footage are related to these victims.
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Bezarel Smotrich: Israelis should accept the word “profession”
Israel will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip if another hostage trade arrives. Bezarel Smotrich insisted when he called on Israelis to accept the word “profession.”
“We will finally occupy the Gaza Strip. We will stop fearing the word ‘profession’,” Smotrich told Channel 12 journalist Amit Segar at a meeting hosted by Israeli right-wing Besheva newspaper.
“We are finally controlling all humanitarian aid, so we are making sure it doesn’t become Hamas supplies. We are separating Hamas from the population, purifying the strips, returning hostages, defeating Hamas,” he said.
“The only way to free the hostages is to conquer Hamas. The retreat will bring the next October 7th,” he said. “When we occupy and stay, once [in Gaza] You can talk about sovereignty. However, I did not demand that this be included in the goal of war. First, defeat Hamas and block him from being. ”
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The AFP provides further details about Israel’s plan to strengthen its operations in Gaza, saying Israel is planning to “conquer” its territory.
Israeli officials said plans for the expanded operation “in particular, include conquest of the Gaza Strip and keeping the territory, and that the Gaza population will move south for protection.”
The majority of Gaza’s population lives north of its territory, particularly in Gaza city, and has been evacuated almost at least once since the war began.
The cabinet, which includes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several ministers, “unanimously approved” a plan aimed at defeating Hamas, the ruler of Gaza, and ensuring the return of hostages held in the territory.
Official sources said the plan included a “strong strike against Hamas” but did not specify its nature.
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