China & Russia declare joint stance on Iranian nuclear program
All Israel News by Joel C. Rosenberg 18 March 2025

Extracts:

• Iran, Russia and China 'bromance'! camaraderie

Relations between China, Russia and Iran have grown closer over the years

China and Russia are among the primary buyers of Iranian oil while Iran has supplied Russia with thousands of drones for its war in Ukraine

The countries also held a joint, annual naval drill in the northern Indian Ocean last week

Regarding the nuclear issue, China has long insisted on a return to the failed JCPOA agreement — The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement to limit the Iranian nuclear program in return for sanctions relief and other provisions

On Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi reiterated China’s commitment to the agreement as “the basis for new consensus”

Under the terms of the agreement signed in Vienna on 14 July 2015 the Western countries have until this October to activate the “snapback” of broad sanctions against Iran which were stopped as part of the JCPOA

Ahead of a special United Nations Security Council meeting on Iran’s nuclear program on Wednesday, last week China’s United Nations Ambassador, Fu Cong briefed reporters,
Meanwhile, Russia has offered to mediate in talks between the US and Iran amid a cautious thaw in the relations between Moscow and Washington

Last week, Russia announced that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov Sergei Alexeevich met with Iran’s ambassador, Kazem Jalali, to discuss Iran's nuclear program

*Joel C. Rosenberg is the co-founder and editor in chief of the news organizations, All Israel News and All Arab News and is currently on a two-month speaking and media tour across the US

No Justification for Israel to Resume Gaza War
Haaretz by Yossi Melman 19 March 2025

Extracts:

• There Is No Justification at All for Israel to Resume the War in Gaza

What will the massive aerial assault, further devastation and the elimination of a few more low-ranking Hamas leaders achieve?
Let us hope it is unconnected to Trump's dreams of a Gaza "Riviera"

With the decision in the early hours of Tuesday, to resume the war in Gaza, Israel's march of folly continues

This is yet another Israeli violation of the agreement with Hamas which began with its refusal to open negotiations as required on the two stages to immediately follow from the initial truce and to establish a permanent cease-fire

Israel Must Force Hamas To Give Up All Hostages And Then Vanquish Them Forever
All Israel News by Joel Rosenberg 19 March 2025

Extracts:

• Netanyahu's ‘brilliant move’ to go back to war in Gaza

Rosenberg tells Evangelicals, Netanyahu made ‘brilliant move’ to go back to war in Gaza, caught Hamas completely off guard

The eruption of full-scale war in the Gaza Strip once again by the Israeli Defense Forces has shocked and angered many in Europe and the Middle East
Numerous Arab countries including Jordan and Saudi Arabia, have denounced the escalation of hostilities as have China, Russia and Iran Never mind Ukraine

Rosenberg continued, “I've been warning that we were going back to war because Hamas does not want to give us back all the remaining hostages”

Rosenberg explained,

Israel Must Force Hamas To Give Up All Hostages And Then Vanquish Them Forever
All Israel News by Joel Rosenberg 19 March 2025

Extracts:

• Hamas Has Twice Rejected Trump Team Efforts To Extend The Ceasefire

Rosenberg argued that “Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government want every hostage back”

Rosenberg added, Netanyahu and all Israelis “have been very grateful for President Trump and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who negotiated the deal that has gotten all the Phase One hostages out”


The real problem is that Hamas has said no — twice — and Netanyahu said,
Rosenberg noted, he thought the decision to go back to full-scale war in Gaza “might not happen for another month or so — after Ramadan, maybe after Passover” But it’s clear now that Netanyahu did not want to wait that long

Rosenberg said,
Rosenberg thinks the prime minister, making it clear that is the absolute right decision, despite the risks

Israel Must Force Hamas To Give Up All Hostages And Then Vanquish Them Forever
All Israel News by Joel Rosenberg 19 March 2025

Extracts:

• Evangelicals Should Keep Praying For The Release Of All The Hostages

The Evangelical Israeli journalist explained, “The critical question is this”

Is Netanyahu relaunching the war — with President Trump’s full blessing — to force Hamas to come back to the negotiating table and persuade Hamas to give up more hostages — even all of the live hostages and the dead bodies — so that Netanyahu can say,
Or has Netanyahu decided there's really no other option than going back to full-scale war in Gaza because Netanyahu’s concluded,
Rosenberg conceded, “I don't know the answer to that question”

While Rosenberg has urged Evangelicals for 18 months — through All Israel News, The Joshua Fund and The Rosenberg Report — to pray without ceasing that all the hostages will be released, Rosenberg said in The Family Research Council FRC interview, he believes a resumption of fighting is necessary, as painful as it is

Rosenberg explained,
President Trump has essentially said,But first, Bibi's got to win

Rosenberg explained that many in Israel are all thinking, Wow!
1. The President has made a huge commitment to helping us get Gaza right
2. It is our responsibility in Israel to win
3. And President Trump is giving us all the tools that we need

Following an announcement from the Israel Defense Forces that it had "focused ground operations" in the "center of the Gaza Strip," occupation forces dropped leaflets in Gaza overnight on Wednesday telling civilians "the world map will not change if all the people of Gaza vanish."

The harrowing message implored Gazans to leave "before the implementation of Trump’s forced plan—which will impose your forced displacement whether you like it or not."

The message continued, "We have decided to make a final appeal to those who wish to receive aid in exchange for cooperating with us. We will not hesitate for a moment to help."

Otherwise, it suggested, "No one will feel for you, and no one will ask about you. You are left alone to face your inevitable fate."

"Neither US nor Europe cares about Gaza," it stated, before concluding, "The game is almost over, and only a little remains. Whoever wants to save themselves before it’s too late, we are here to stay until Judgment Day."

https://abcnews.go.com/Internationa...ased-israeli-official/story?id=119938163

Israel Hayom March 20, 2025
IDF claims ABC report on 'harrowing' Gaza leaflets is fake news

Notably, the network failed to provide any photographic evidence of the leaflet or verification that such a document actually exists.
ABC has since issued a correction.

CORRECTION: Earlier report of leaflets with disturbing message in Gaza cannot be confirmed; the IDF has denied dropping them
— ABC News (@ABC) March 20, 2025

This correction came after the network
1. was unable to verify the authenticity of the alleged leaflets,
2. reinforcing the IDF's position that the documents were fabricated.

The Israel Defense Forces has issued a categorical denial regarding a report published by ABC on Wednesday
The report was featured in an ABC story focused on the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Social media platforms saw the circulation of what appears to be a fabricated document written in Arabic bearing an Israeli Security Agency stamp.

This document stands in stark contrast to legitimate communications issued by IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee, whose authentic messages have called on Gaza residents to evacuate from active combat zones for their safety.

The IDF has firmly rejected these reports, emphasizing that the document referenced in the ABC report is entirely fabricated.

ABC News has since issued a correction, posting on their X account that
1. an "Earlier report of leaflets with disturbing message in Gaza cannot be confirmed;
2. the IDF has denied dropping them."

BBC March 21, 2025
The IDF said late on Thursday that soldiers had begun "conducting ground activity" in Rafah, which lies in the south of the territory near the Egyptian border.

It said in a statement that troops had "dismantled... terrorist infrastructure" another one 18 months on terrorists still standing still firing
adding that IDF forces were also continuing ground activity in north and central Gaza.

Earlier, Israel's military said it had begun "targeted ground activities" to create what it called a "partial buffer between the north and south" of Gaza.
It called the action a "limited ground operation".

IDF spokesperson Colonel Avichay Adraee said forces were deployed up to the centre of a strip, known as the Netzarim Corridor, which divides northern and southern Gaza.

Israeli government spokesman, David Mencer, blamed Hamas for the resumption of violence, saying
1. it had "forced this escalation,
2. it rejected every hostage deal, including the offers mediated by the U.S. and others".

Israel resumed attacks on Tuesday as talks to extend the ceasefire deal failed to progress, warning that they would intensify until Hamas released the remaining hostages.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that
1. it had "resumed combat in full force"
2. and any ceasefire negotiations would now take place "under fire".

The Jerusalem Post March 21, 2025

U.S. tells Israel: ‘Leave Houthis to us’ Neutralize all the terrorists

The U.S. has reportedly told Israel not to respond to strikes from Yemen’s rebel Houthis, saying the American military has greater capacity to hit back.

The sources added that while the IAF strikes were carried out successfully in the past, the U.S. believes it has greater capacity to conduct sustained attacks using aircraft stationed on its aircraft carriers.

Yemen's Houthi rebels fired ballistic missiles at Israel on Thursday, aiming for Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas the Iran-backed group's military spokesperson said. No injuries were reported and the IDF said the missile was stopped before entering Israel.

U.S. carrying out strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen's port city of Hodeida, local reports say
The U.S. informed Israel in advance of the attacks on Yemen.

The United States began striking Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday evening in a message to Iran, a U.S. official told The Jerusalem Post at the time.

Despite the U.S.'s actions, the Houthis said they will not "dial down" their action against Israeli shipping in the Red Sea in response to U.S. military pressure or appeals from the group's allies such as Iran.

Jamal Amer spoke to Reuters late on Monday after the U.S. launched a wave of strikes in areas of Yemen controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthis, who said last week they were resuming attacks on Red Sea shipping to support Palestinians in Gaza.

Two senior Iranian officials told Reuters that Iran had delivered a verbal message to the Houthi envoy in Tehran on Friday to cool tensions and that Iran's foreign minister asked Oman, which has mediated with the Houthis, to convey a similar message to the group when he visited Muscat on Sunday.
Both officials asked not to be named.

The Jerusalem Post March 21, 2025
Israeli UN ambassador says Hamas chose war, UN Security Council never condemned it

Danny Danon also criticized the UN Security Council, saying
"Since the October 7 you have passed 77 resolutions in this room – you have not passed a single resolution condemning Hamas."

1. "For 530 days, you have erased the hostages.
2. You have talked about Gaza without mentioning the terrible crimes of Hamas.
3. You have argued here about humanitarian aid without acknowledging —
4. the humanitarian disaster that Hamas is deliberately causing for our hostages,"

EU leaders say they 'deplore' collapse of Gaza cease-fire, Hamas' refusal to release hostages
"The European Council deplores the breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza, which has caused a large number of civilian casualties in recent air strikes.
It deplores the refusal of Hamas to hand over the remaining hostages," EU leaders said in a statement Thursday.

Hamas fires rockets at Tel Aviv as Israel renews Gaza ground campaign
Hamas says it launched three rockets at Tel Aviv - the first time the group is known to have fired back since Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza.
Israel said it intercepted one of the missiles and the others fell into uninhabited land.

a lot of open and uninhabited land in this tiny country

The Times of Israel March 21, 2025
U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz voices support for Israel’s renewed offensive against Hamas

Waltz tweets his support for Israel’s renewed military campaign against Hamas amid mounting opposition from the international community.

“Israel has every right to defend its people from Hamas terrorists,” Waltz writes.
“The ceasefire would have been extended if Hamas released all remaining hostages. Instead, they chose war,” the top Trump aide adds.

The Trump administration has quickly gotten behind Israel’s refusal to advance phase two of the hostage deal, backing the decision to resume fighting on Monday night after Hamas refused a U.S. offer to extend phase one of the deal.

The U.S. - a major weapons supplier to Israel - said that it was committed to international law regarding the supply of weapons supplies.

U.S. President Donald Trump "made it very clear to Hamas that if they did not release all of the hostages, there would be all hell to pay.
And unfortunately, Hamas chose to play games in the media with lives,"

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump "fully supports Israel and the IDF in the actions that they've taken in recent days"

"Let's not forget that this situation is completely the fault of Hamas when they launched that brutal attack on Israel on October 7 and the president has made it very clear that he wants all of those hostages to come home," she added.

Hamas left Israel no alternative but to resume the war and this second stage of the war is different from the first because Israel no longer has to fight America, too.

From: Haaretz March 21, 2025
Israeli Air Force strikes Hamas launcher from which rockets were launched toward Ashkelon, IDF says

An Israeli Air Force fighter jet has struck the launcher from which two rockets were fired earlier on Friday toward the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said in a statement.
Hamas has positioned the launcher near a shelter in the Al-Farkan area in northern Gaza, the statement added.

According to the army, prior to the strike, numerous measures were taken to minimize the risk of civilian casualties, including the use of precision-guided munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.

Osama Tabash, Hamas' military intelligence chief in southern Gaza, was killed on Thursday, the IDF and the Shin Bet security service said in a joint statement.

Hamas said it is still discussing US envoy Witkoff's proposal and various other ideas, with the aim of reaching a deal.

Houthis say they targeted Ben Gurion Airport, will continue until Gaza siege is lifted

Yahya Saree, a spokesman for the military wing of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels said that the recent missile launch towards Israel targeted Ben Gurion Airport.
He warned airlines that the airport is "no longer safe for flights," and said that the attacks will continue "until the siege on Gaza is lifted."

UK, France, Germany urge Gaza cease-fire, ask Israel to restore humanitarian access

The governments of Germany, France and Britain called for an immediate return to a cease-fire in Gaza in a joint statement on Friday that called on Israel to restore humanitarian access.

the foreign ministers of the three countries said in the joint statement "in accordance with international humanitarian law" We call on Israel:
1. to restore humanitarian access, including water and electricity,
2. and ensure access to medical care
3. and temporary medical evacuations

The ministers said they were "appalled by the civilian casualties", and also called on Palestinian Hamas militants to release Israeli hostages.

They said the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians could not be resolved through military means, and that a long-lasting cease-fire was the only credible pathway to peace.

From: ABC News March 21, 2025
The six controversies plaguing Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel's "King Bibi" has trouble in his palace.

With protesters camping outside Benjamin Netanyahu's house and Israelis being told to return to war, the prime minister is nevertheless going further than ever in a contentious quest to remove opponents and obstacles. According to leading experts, the stakes are high.

They're outraged, and have publicly said Israeli democracy has been backsliding under Netanyahu

Constitutional law professor Suzie Navot, from the Israel Democracy Institute, wrote:
"The red flags could not be bigger — those keen on protecting the security and democracy of the state of Israel should heed the warning."

Former chief justice, the highly respected Aharon Barak, told Israel's channel 12 this week: "Israel is very close to civil war."

Here are the six main battles the country's longest-serving leader is fighting.

1. Sacking the head of the Israel Security Agency Shin Bet:
Before now, no Israeli government had fired the director of Israel's domestic spy agency.
This week, Bar wrote a letter to cabinet ministers directly linking his dismissal to the investigation into the prime minister's office.

2. Qatar-gate:
Netanyahu's former aide Eli Feldstein (also a former spokesman for National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir — more on him later) has been charged with illegally leaking classified information to a German newspaper. It was also recently revealed he had received payments from a lobbyist for Qatar while working in the prime minister's office.

3. Sacking the attorney-general:
Israel's Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara is a public servant, not a politician.

4. Reappointing Ben-Gvir to cabinet:
The controversial National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir quit the cabinet in protest at Netanyahu accepting the ceasefire deal.
Convicted of multiple charges as a young man, including supporting a terrorist organisation and inciting racism, he is now in charge of the police.

5. Corruption trial:
The government's breaking of the ceasefire [expired March 2 So no breaking...] on March 18 coincided with a scheduled appearance by Netanyahu in court for his long-running corruption trial. He was due to testify but requested the hearing be cancelled because of the resumption of fighting. Netanyahu is facing charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust, in three cases

6. Ceasefire, commission of inquiry and an end to the war:
Polls suggest most Israelis want the government to end the war, or at least see through the ceasefire deal, with some surveys indicating a majority want Netanyahu to resign.

There is a growing movement of reservists — critically important to Israel's military — refusing to return to duty, as well as large-scale protests.

From: Al Jazeera March 21, 2025

UN Security Council meets on Israel’s West Bank attacks
The UN Security Council will meet for a second straight day on Palestine, this time focusing on Israel’s months-long assault on the occupied West Bank.

Thursday’s council meeting tackled the grim situation in war-battered Gaza.

Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky criticised Israel’s leaders for not moving to phase two of the ceasefire deal, which calls for the release of all captives and a permanent end to the fighting.

He said it’s difficult to discuss the future when Israel’s military and political leaders appear to have made the choice in favour of war
And For the first time, Israel aligned itself with the US, Russia and a handful of other nations in voting against Ukraine...

Netanyahu says government ‘will decide’ new intel chief, ignoring court freeze

https://www.france24.com/en/middle-...es-dismissal-of-shin-bet-chief-ronen-bar

Houthis claim to have carried out fourth attack on U.S. aircraft
The Houthis conducted a "high-quality military operation" against the USS Harry S Truman, a spokesperson for the terror organization claimed on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the operation, which was the fourth in 72 hours, also involved an attack on "a number of enemy warships" and claimed that "an air attack that was being prepared against our country" had been thwarted.

A statement from Yemen's Houthis claimed that they had successfully struck Israel's Nevatim Airbase with a hypersonic ballistic missile called the Palestine 2

Houthis vow to retaliate against U.S. strikes as Pentagon says it will use lethal force to achieve objectives
Top Houthi official, Jamal Amer Houthi Foreign Minister says "we are at war with America"

They announced that they launched a missile towards Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport. The Israeli military said the missile was intercepted.

Al Jazeera March 22, 2025

‘Every shot fired’: Are Yemen’s Houthis a proxy force for Iran?
The Houthis heavily align with Iran, but they have increasingly tried to showcase their autonomy.

The United States has continued its attacks on Yemen, injuring people and causing extensive damage.

After he ordered a bombing campaign against the Houthis – which has so far killed at least 53 people since Saturday – President Donald Trump said he would hold Iran responsible for any attacks by the group against shipping in the Red Sea.

Washington will view “every shot” fired by the Houthis as a shot fired by Iran that could bring about “dire consequences”, he said.

Iran and Yemen’s Houthi movement have long been allies, part of a regional “axis of resistance” against Israel and the United States.

However, the extent of the relationship is often disputed.
Some see the Houthis as an Iranian proxy, while others view the Houthis as a group friendly to Iran, but independent.

On Friday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that his country has no need for proxies and that the Houthis act in their own interests.
According to his public comments, U.S. President Donald Trump falls in the first camp.

Al Jazeera March 22, 2025
Who are the Houthis?

Officially known as Ansar Allah (supporters of God) the Houthis are a political and military movement that emerged in the 1990s but rose to international prominence in 2014 when they took control of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

After months of fighting with the Yemeni government and other forces, a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia with support from the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates, among others, intervened militarily against the Houthis.

But the group is still in control of Sanaa and, if anything, has grown stronger over the past decade.

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, the Houthis have been attacking Israel-linked ships heading through the Red Sea, and launching direct missile and drone attacks on Israel to pressure it, to end its war on the besieged enclave.

Trump administration hopes its new campaign of airstrikes will succeed where previous campaigns failed.

If Trump can't trump them -- Israel is Hamased, Houthised and terroristed U.S. too

Ynet news March 22, 2025
Trump releases U.S. restraint, empowers Israel to confront Iran

POTUS's unprecedented threat to hold Tehran accountable for Houthi aggression marks a strategic shift, empowering Jerusalem to act against Iranian proxies amid renewed Gaza fighting

While our attention is understandably focused on the renewed fighting in Gaza, we could easily overlook one of the most transformative moments in the Middle East.

The president who ordered the liquidation of Qassem Sulimani, the commander of Iran’s al-Quds force, in 2020 is now threatening to do what no American leader has ever dared. He is not only putting a credible military option back on the table but waving it in the Ayatollah’s face.

The threat represents a radical departure from longstanding American policy going back to Iran’s Islamic revolution in 1979
Not since 1988 when Ronald Reagan ordered the U.S. Navy to sink the Iranian ships that shot at Kuwaiti oil tankers, has Washington retaliated for Iranian attacks against American targets.

The list of such aggressions, from the kidnapping of American sailors in the Persian Gulf to the killing of American soldiers in Iraq, is very long.

Ynet news March 22, 2025

In 2023-2024 pro-Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq launched some 180 rocket and drone attacks against American bases causing dozens of casualties while the Houthis in Yemen essentially blocked international shipping through the crucial Mandeb straits.

In spite of this flagrant aggression, the Biden administration refused to approve the firing of a single bullet at Iran.

Instead, Washington officials constantly broadcast fear of a war with Iran—a war which Iran, lacking an air force, had no ability to wage—and of becoming entangled in a regional conflict.

Not surprisingly, the Ayatollahs concluded that they and their proxies could continue to attack the U.S. and its allies with impunity.

In such circumstances it was extremely difficult to contemplate an Israeli military initiative against Iran and its nuclear facilities.
Even the two retaliatory strikes undertaken by the Air Force in 2024 were limited in scope due to intense American pressure.

All that is now about to change. The red light that Trump is projecting to Iran is a green light for Israel.

Now, before Iran, with the help of Russia and China, restores its air defenses, Israel must act.

While there may be reluctance to take on Iran while Israel is once again taking on Hamas, the IDF has proven its ability to fight simultaneously on multiple fronts at the same time -- Maybe so but Day 533 No wins

In response to the next Houthi rocket or drone fired at the Negev or Tel Aviv, Israel must quote President Trump and deliver dire consequences to Iran.

President Trump has once again demanded Iran cease its support and wrote the Houthis “will be completely annihilated.”

From: The Times of Israel March 22, 2025
Houthi media reports US strikes on Hodeida airport

Houthi rebel media in Yemen accuses the United States of striking the airport in Hodeida, the latest such claim since Washington announced heavy strikes against the rebels one week ago.

Al-Masirah TV blaming “American aggression,” says three attacks targeted the airport in Hodeida on the Red Sea coast.

The US struck targets in Yemen's As-Salif port, located at the coastal area of the Red Sea, according to a Saturday night report by the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese news channel Al Mayadeen.

US beefs up warship presence in Mideast, will have 2 aircraft carriers in region. Amid operations against Houthis and in apparent message of deterrence to Iran:
1. USS Harry S. Truman will remain in Red Sea
2. and USS Carl Vinson will head to region

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a rare move, is beefing up the Navy warship presence in the Middle East, ordering two aircraft carriers to be there next month as the US increases strikes on the Yemen-based Houthis, according to a US official.

Lebanon restarted too...

From: BBC March 22, 2025
several rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, in the worst violence since a ceasefire came into effect in November.

Several armed groups operate in Lebanon, including Hezbollah and Palestinian factions, and no-one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Hezbollah said it had no involvement, and it remained committed to the ceasefire.

The Lebanese military said it had dismantled "three primitive rocket launchers" in the south, and the country's defence minister said an investigation had been launched into the attack.

The developments put pressure on a fragile truce, brokered by the US and France, that ended more than a year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Saturday's attack is further proof of the challenges facing the Lebanese army, as it tries to exert control over southern areas where Hezbollah has traditionally had a strong presence and support.

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun, who came to power in January, has said only the state should have arms in the country, in what is seen as a reference to Hezbollah's arsenal.

On Saturday, he condemned "attempts to drag Lebanon into a cycle of violence", while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the escalation carried the "risk of dragging the country into another war".

The group faces the huge challenge:
1. of providing financial help to its communities affected by the war,
2. and pressure from its opponents to disarm.

Lebanon's international partners say they will only help the country if the government acts to curb Hezbollah, the most powerful group in Lebanon.

Finally some sense from within...

From: The Times of Israel March 22, 2025
Fatah urges Hamas to cede power in Gaza to safeguard ‘Palestinians’ existence’

1. Hamas spokesman says terrorist organization has ‘no aspiration to govern Gaza’;
2. group’s control of enclave remains major obstacle in negotiations over permanent ceasefire

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement on Saturday called on its Islamist rivals in the Hamas terror group to relinquish power in the Gaza Strip in order to safeguard the “existence” of Palestinians in the coastal enclave.

Fatah spokesman Monther al-Hayek said: “Hamas must show compassion for Gaza, its children, women and men,”

He called on Hamas to “step aside from governing and fully recognize that the battle ahead will lead to the end of Palestinians’ existence” if the group remains in power in Gaza.

Netanyahu ordered the resumption of fighting in Gaza overnight Monday-Tuesday, saying talks moving forward would be held under fire after Hamas rejected proposals to extend phase one of the ceasefire.

He also insisted that Israel will not leave Gaza until Hamas’s military and governing capabilities have been dismantled.

Day 533 No wins on any fronts

A spokesman from Hamas responded to al-Hayek’s comments, saying that the terror group “is prepared to accept any arrangement regarding the administration of Gaza that garners agreement.”

He added that Hamas has “no aspiration to govern Gaza” and is instead concerned with “national consensus.”

Hamas’s refusal so far to relinquish its control of the Strip and to disarm has been the main sticking point in negotiations with Israel over a permanent ceasefire.

1. The terror group seized power in Gaza in 2007 from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority after a violent coup,
2. and subsequent attempts at reconciliation have failed.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 59 hostages, including 58 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023
They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF

Trump uncuffing Israel
Israel National News Arutz Sheva by Melanie Phillips 21 March 2025

Extracts:

• Israel no longer has to fight America

Hamas left Israel no alternative but to resume the war and this

• Israel's agonizing dilemma

The resumption of Israel’s war in Gaza has produced a predictable reaction in a world that remains determined to malign the Jewish state

A host of Western media declared that Israel had ended the ceasefire
In fact, the ceasefire had ended more than two weeks earlier

1. Although Israel had agreed to a further US-brokered deal
2. Hamas, rejected it and refused to release any more hostages

Hamas left Israel with no option but to resume the war, which it did with an aerial bombardment of Gaza

The terror group instantly stated that the bombardment had killed 400 Gazan civilians
This was absurd because Hamas couldn’t have known the number of casualties so fast and as usual, it omitted any Hamas operatives in the total

Yet in typically reflexive fashion, the Western media parroted this incredible figure without questioning it

No less predictable have been the Israeli protests that by resuming the war Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has abandoned the hostages — of whom 24 are said still to be alive

The most bitter and agonizing reproach has been voiced by some of the former hostages who have accused Netanyahu of ignoring everything they’ve been telling the world about the horrific conditions in which the captives are being held

There can hardly be a single person in Israel who doesn’t desperately want the hostages back home
And there’s no denying the genuine anguish at the failure to get them all back

Their plight is beyond horrific and the profound emotionalism of the public response is entirely understandable
Unfortunately, such emotion is a barrier to clear and unavoidably brutal thinking

The only way Hamas will return all the hostages is if Israel surrenders and leaves it in power
The reason it took the hostages in the first place was to ensure that Israel could never win against it

Trump uncuffing Israel
Israel National News Arutz Sheva by Melanie Phillips 21 March 2025

Extracts:

• If Hamas sees the IDF reaching the hostage locations, Hamas would murder them

If Hamas gives up all the hostages, Hamas will be left with no means of holding off the Israelis It will be finished

By keeping hold of its captives, Hamas doesn’t just have the upper hand;
it holds all the cards because it knows that to Israel, every life is important and thus Israel feels under a sacred duty to retrieve them

While Hamas keeps them under its brutal imprisonment, it will continue to spin out negotiations over releasing them to paralyze Israel’s military options


The released hostages say that a deal is the only way to bring the rest of them back The terrible truth is,
1. no deal will bring them all back
2. Only Israel’s total capitulation will do that

That would mean,
1. Hamas would survive
2. more hostages would be taken
3. more Israelis would be murdered


So now, Israel is going all out to destroy Hamas as a military and governing force

This second stage of the war is different from the first because Israel no longer has to fight America, too
Unlike the Biden administration, the Trump administration is backing Israel to win this war

Trump uncuffing Israel
Israel National News Arutz Sheva by Melanie Phillips 21 March 2025

Extracts:

• Day 534 Hamas continues to fight because of aid supplies continuing throughout the war

Biden administration and Western governments provided Hamas with the means to continue to fight, by insisting on aid supplies continuing throughout the war

Indeed, that is a key reason this war,
1. has lasted for 17 months
2. why so many IDF soldiers have fallen
3. why the hostages have been incarcerated for so long in such lethal conditions
4. why so many Gazan civilians have been killed

Israel says the only way to get the hostages back is through military pressure
According to Israeli Brigadier General (res.) Amir Avivi, head of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, this pressure will be ramped up in stages


If Hamas still refuses to release the hostages, says Avivi, the next stage will be the ground war, which has now started
This, Avivi states, will be a decisive attack of a type not seen before to force the release of all the hostages and “create a new reality” in Gaza

US President Donald Trump is not only providing Israel with the weapons to do so but Trump is also supporting Israel’s ban on further humanitarian aid supplies going to Gaza which was how Hamas was able to keep going

Trump uncuffing Israel
Israel National News Arutz Sheva by Melanie Phillips 21 March 2025

Extracts:

• Israel's agonizing dilemma

But the great dread is that, if Hamas feels its back is to the wall, it will murder all the living hostages It can’t be denied that this is a very real possibility

So, to some people, doing a deal to get all the hostages back seems a no-brainer Despite the suicidal price of allowing Hamas to return to power
In Israel, a majority of the public strongly favors this option

The redemption of captives is viewed as an absolute obligation of the state, rooted in Jewish principles

However, those Jewish principles also hold that while the redemption of hostages is a sacred duty, this must not be achieved if the price to be paid is the capture and killing of more innocents

This is the terrible dilemma Israel has faced from the start of this war

Trump uncuffing Israel
Israel National News Arutz Sheva by Melanie Phillips 21 March 2025

Extracts:

• diabolical Hamas controlling the agenda

Taking Israeli hostages was a diabolically brilliant tactic through which Hamas is, even now, controlling the agenda, not least by whipping up overwhelming and uncontrollable emotion among Israel’s deeply traumatized population

From the start of the war however Netanyahu has made a bad mistake in not being honest with the public


Netanyahu should have said that while no effort would be spared to return the hostages, it might not be possible to achieve both those goals;
and that if a terrible choice had to be made, it would have to be to win the war and protect Israel’s population of 10 million people

Netanyahu didn’t say that. Netanyahu still maintains that both goals can be achieved through military means
(Perhaps Netanyahu cannot bring himself to say that)