Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich voiced opposition to the ceasefire deal and said the terms would amount to an Israeli surrender

Smotrich hits back: US would reject a deal surrendering to Al Qaeda and bin Laden
"Just as the US would reject international pressure to reach a deal which involves surrendering to Al Qaeda and bin Laden, so, too, Israel will not surrender to international pressure which would lead to harming Israel's security."

"An agreement of surrender to [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, which abandons most of the hostages to death, which releases mass murderers, which returns terrorists to northern Gaza, which abandons the border and allows Hamas to smuggle weapons and rebuild its power in order to attack Israel once more, as an arm of Iran - is bad for Israel and endangers its security, and we will oppose it with all our might. No criticism and no attack will distract us from the goal."

Biden recently indicated that both Israel and Hamas had agreed to the outline and reiterated his determination to implement the proposal, even though Hamas rejected the Biden outline shortly after he presented it.

Hamas recently added an additional condition for a ceasefire-prisoner swap deal, demanding that archterrorist Marwan Barghouti be released in the first stage of any deal implemented.

Interesting Barghouti has never been affiliated with Hamas but with Fatah and Tanzim, a paramilitary offshoot of Fatah.

From: Netanyahu's Time Magazine August 8, 2024 interview:

non-apology
'Deeply sorry' for October 7, but not going anywhere

Netanyahu was asked if he would apologize for how he functioned in October, “Apologize?” Netanyahu asked back. “Of course, of course. I am sorry, deeply."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to apologize for Israeli security failures that allowed for the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on October 7, in an interview published Thursday in Time Magazine

He clarified that he planned to continue to safeguard the country and did not intend to step down from office.
“Apologize?” Netanyahu asked when pressed on the issue by Time.

“Of course, of course. I am sorry, deeply, that something like this happened,” he said as he expressed regret for the event and spoke globally about how the country could have responded better without seeming to take responsibility for the failures that led to it.

October 7, 2023
When it came to mistakes, Netanyahu said he had failed to question the emphasis security officials placed on the success of their policy of deterrence, in which they theorized that Hamas feared Israel’s destructive military abilities and therefore would not launch a full-scale attack.

“October 7 showed that those who said that Hamas was deterred were wrong,” Netanyahu said. “If anything, I didn’t challenge enough the assumption [of deterrence] that was common to all the security agencies.”

Netanyahu also appeared to cast part of the blame for October 7 on those who in the first part of 2023 had threatened not to serve in the army as a protest statement against his judicial reform plan. “The refusal to serve because of an internal political debate—I think that, if anything, that had an effect.”

“You always look back, and you say, Could we have done things that would have prevented it?”

funding terrorists Hamas
I had no idea they were funding terrorists Hamas and had the opportunity to totally destroy them during the 2014 war

In selecting the question of whether Israel should have sought to totally destroy Hamas during the 2014 war, Netanyahu stated: “There was no domestic support for such an action” He added, “There was certainly no international support for such an action—and you need both.”

Netanyahu appeared to dismiss claims that his policy of sending cash to Hamas with the help of Qatar had helped set the stage for October 7, explaining that Israel’s motivation had been humanitarian.

He was referring to the argument that the cash would be used for humanitarian services that would help Hamas then quell social unrest in Gaza and thus, in gratitude to Israel, would be more amenable to reframing from rocket attacks.

“We wanted to make sure that Gaza has a functioning civilian administration to avoid humanitarian collapse,” he told Time, as he rejected claims that those funds played a significant role in helping Hamas entrench itself military in Gaza or prepare for October 7

From: The Jerusalem Post August 12, 2024
Harris shows 'more sympathy' for Gaza than Biden and Trump, says black Muslim leader

The Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund praises VP Kamala Harris for her empathetic stance on Gaza, highlighting her calls for a ceasefire and strong leadership on key issues.

Vice President Kamala Harris has displayed greater empathy for the people of Gaza than both President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump, according to Salima Suswell, the founder and chief executive of the Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund.

In a recent interview with NBC, Suswell praised Harris for her calls for a ceasefire and her efforts to ensure aid reaches Gaza, noting, “She has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and has shown deep empathy toward civilian life.”

From: Al Arabiya US News August 8, 2024
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris does not support an arms embargo on US ally Israel, a top aide said Thursday, in one of the first substantive statements on her Gaza war policy since her July entry to the 2024 White House race

“She does not support an arms embargo on Israel,” Harris’ national security advisor Phil Gordon said on on X formerly Twitter
He added that the vice president “has been clear: she will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups.”

Smotrich, far-right politician and the leader of the National Religious Zionism Party, has also been consistently vocal about his opposition to a deal throughout negotiations and on Friday denounced the proposal as a “dangerous trap,” saying it creates a “delusional symmetry” between Israeli hostages and “despicable Jew-murdering terrorists” who would be freed

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, far-right politician and the leader of Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) a Kahanist (Religious Zionist Ideology) and anti-Arab party called for cutting off all fuel and aid to the enclave

This is the problem with a fragile coalition holding together what is widely regarded as the most right-wing government in Israel's history.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hanging onto power without ruffling the key partners' feathers though survived the June 9, 2024 resignations of Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet and Netanyahu's main putative challenger for the position of prime minister and his fellow party member Gadi Eisenkot.

It seemed to have made no impact no waves. They just disappeared without making any dent

New Iranian President vs Revolutionary Guards Over Israel Air Strikes
New Delhi: World News Edited by Samiran Mishra 10 August 2024

According to The Telegraph, the Iranian government is divided over how to retaliate against Israel
A standoff between Iran's newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian and some hardliners in the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has put the future of Iran's response to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran hanging in the balance

According to The Telegraph, the Iranian government is divided over how to retaliate against Israel following the killing

The IRGC is reportedly advocating for a direct and severe missile strike on Tel Aviv and other major Israeli cities. However President Pezeshkian, who assumed office just days before the assassination, is pushing back against this aggressive strategy

Pezeshkian, known for his relatively moderate stance and his electoral victory over a candidate backed by the IRGC, is advocating for a more calculated response

Pezeshkian, is urging for strikes on alleged Mossad bases located outside Israel, particularly in neighbouring regions such as the Republic of Azerbaijan and Iraqi Kurdistan. This approach, he argues, would minimise the risk of a full-scale war with Israel, a conflict he believes could have grave consequences for Iran

"Pezeshkian fears that any direct attack on Israel would have serious consequences," a close aide to President Pezeshkian told The Telegraph. The aide reportedly added that Pezeshkian has suggested notifying Azerbaijan and Iraqi Kurdistan before any strikes on alleged Israeli bases within their borders

The IRGC, which has historically enjoyed significant autonomy and influence within the Iranian government, is reportedly undermining Pezeshkian's efforts to avoid a major confrontation with Israel

An official from the IRGC told The Telegraph that the organization is largely dismissive of the president's more restrained approach. "The number one consideration is still striking Tel Aviv with Hezbollah and others at the same time," the official said as quoted by The Telegraph

Esmail Qaani, the commander of the IRGC's elite Quds Force, has also voiced strong support for an immediate and decisive retaliation

According to The Telegraph, Pezeshkian faces an uphill battle in asserting his authority over the IRGC, which remains loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

According to another aide close to the president, the IRGC's push for a more aggressive response is "more about undermining his week-long presidency rather than covering the humiliation they have suffered" from the assassination

US Submarine, strike group to Middle East ahead of anticipated Iran attack against Israel
CNN By Oren Liebermann August 11, 2024

US Defense secretary Lloyd Austin orders submarine to Middle East, accelerates arrival of strike group ahead of anticipated Iran attack

Austin ordered a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East and accelerated the arrival of a carrier strike group to the region ahead of an anticipated Iranian attack against Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement Sunday evening

The USS Georgia, a nuclear-powered submarine armed with cruise missiles, was operating in the Mediterranean Sea in recent days, according to the Navy, having just completed training near Italy

Austin ordered the submarine into the waters of the Middle East, the Pentagon said. The movement of US missile submarines is rarely revealed publicly and the nuclear-powered vessels operate in near-complete secrecy

The announcement of a submarine’s movement is a clear message of deterrence to Iran and its proxies, who the US and Israel believe are preparing for a potential large-scale attack on Israel

The looming Iranian attack would come in response to Israel last month killing their top military commander for Iran’s most powerful proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon. The next day, Israel is widely believed to have assassinated Hamas’ political leader in Tehran which Israel has not admitted to carrying out

The Israel Defense Forces reported Sunday evening that around 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon though some fell into open areas and no injuries were reported

Hezbollah said overnight that the rockets were in support of “steadfast Palestinian people” in Gaza and in retaliation to Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon

Austin’s announcement came in a readout of a call between the defense secretary and his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant. The two spoke about “efforts to deter aggression by Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah and other Iran-aligned groups across the region,” the readout said

Austin also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to accelerate its transit to the Middle East, the Pentagon said

The defense secretary had ordered the Lincoln strike group to the Middle East on August 2 but its ships carried out port calls in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands along the way. The Lincoln strike group consists of the carrier, which operates with stealth F-35C fighter jets as well as several destroyers

The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group has been operating in the waters of the Middle East for several weeks, giving the US a formidable presence in the region

The USS Wasp amphibious ready group, which includes a force of thousands of Marines capable of special operations, is already operating in the Mediterranean Sea

Major General Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement that Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant earlier in the day and reiterated America's commitment
Ryder said Austin and Gallant also discussed Israel's military operations in Gaza and the importance of mitigating civilian harm

What about the other allies How are they helping or not
So Iran is waiting to attack until all the help in place and ready, to defend Israel

Following Ismail Haniyeh's assassination, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Haniyeh's death would "not pass in vain," and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that "blood vengeance" for the killing is "certain."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian furthered those threats on Monday, telling a Vatican official in a phone call that the assassination warrants Iran's right to "self defence" and to "respond to an aggressor," Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.

There have been some indications that Iran may abandon plans to attack Israel if a ceasefire deal is reached.
But the country's mission to the United Nations said on Saturday that Tehran's retaliation to Israel's suspected killing of Haniyeh is "totally unrelated to the Gaza ceasefire," adding that it has a right to self-defence.

Iran's UN mission said it hopes that its attack on Israel "will be timed and conducted in a manner not to the detriment of the potential ceasefire."

Pezeshkian is a very smart, reasonable guy, the West could deal with him. He doesn't hate Israel. Give him the chance to negogiate.

Sure thing but President Pezeshkian's hands are tied and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) undermining him as well
and the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei thinks! he can rule his empire forever

Iran weighs retaliation against Israel
The Washington Post By Susannah George, Suzan Haidamous and Mustafa Salim August 12, 2024

Beirut: Fearing war, unsettled at home, Iran weighs retaliation against Israel

Iran seeks to project a show of force while avoiding a regional war, a task that has become more difficult after its first direct attack on Israel, which occurred in April 2024

Extracts:
newly elected Masoud Pezeshkian is Iran’s first reformist president in nearly two decades and he had campaigned on greater engagement with the West, hoping to ease the burden of sanctions imposed by Washington and its allies

A regional war would further isolate Iran and deepen its economic crisis
Over the past 10 months, the value of the Iranian rial has repeatedly hit record lows

Pezeshkian also ran on moderating the enforcement of the country’s mandatory dress code for women
Now many Iranians are calling on him to act

But Pezeshkian’s first weeks have been dominated by phone calls to foreign counterparts and fears of regional escalation

Iran “supports peace and security for all countries across the globe,” Pezeshkian said in a call Sunday with the president of the European Council, according to a summary published on state media. But Pezeshkian added, “any move threatening peace in any part of the world should be halted.”

Iran seeks to project a show of force while avoiding a regional war, a task that has become more difficult after its first direct attack on Israel, which occurred in April 2024

At Friday prayers in Tehran, Ahmad Khatami, an imam allied with hard-liners, suggested that Iran’s delay in responding to the Haniyeh killing was strategic: “We keep the authorities of the Zionist regime in a state of anxiety,” he said. But analysts say it also highlights Iran’s own anxieties at a delicate moment of political transition

A response from Iranian intelligence could take the form of attacks on soft Israeli targets overseas, such as embassies, said Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA senior operations officer who served in counterterrorism roles in the Middle East

“I don’t believe the Iranians have the reach to hit Israeli security officials, for example, on Israeli soil,” he said –- Nailed it! only Hamas can and did....

Benjamin Netanyahu Time Magazine interview
By Eric Cortellessa in Jerusalem August 8, 2024

Extracts:
For the past 10 months, Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to apologize for leaving Israel vulnerable to Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack

After the deaths of 1,200 people and the abduction of hundreds more, a traumatized Israeli public heard abject admissions of responsibility from the heads of the Israel Defense Forces [The intelligence chief resigned] and Shin Bet, the country’s domestic security service but none from Netanyahu, who had been Prime Minister for almost a year when the attack happened and had presided over a more than 10 year strategy of tacit acceptance of Hamas rule in Gaza

Netanyahu's only apology was for a social media post blaming his own security chiefs for failing to foil the assault

Benjamin Netanyahu Time Magazine interview
By Eric Cortellessa in Jerusalem August 8, 2024

Extracts:
When it came to mistakes, Netanyahu said he had failed to question the emphasis security officials placed on the success of their policy of deterrence, in which they theorized that Hamas feared Israel’s destructive military abilities and therefore would not launch a
full-scale attack -- News Flash! Hamas did

Delusional and in Denial

I wouldn't have thought it was ?common? for security agencies to assume? anything, making an ass of.... but in fact, they did
News Flash! Israeli officials dismissed it [the blueprint for the 07 October 2023 attack] as aspirational and ignored specific warnings

and now escalating conflict on even more terrorist fronts: including

• in Gaza with Hamas
• in the north with Hezbollah in Lebanon
• in the Gulf with the Houthis in Yemen
• and with Israel’s nemesis Iran “a full-fledged Iranian axis”
• network of non-state actors throughout the Middle East with a collective arsenal of rockets trained on Israel
• collective terrorism, antisemitism
• destabilisation of Israel's economy, political turmoil, civil unrest
• Israel forced to negotiate with terrorists Hamas

Israel overestimating themselves and underestimating the terrorists, was under the impression they were invulnerable being guarded by, among others
1. Iron Dome
2. vaunted security barrier which terrorists Hamas just breezed through....
3. and lulled into a false sense of security [of deterrence]

Didn't Israel learn?! anything from The Godfather

Netanyahu clarified that he planned to ?continue? to safeguard the country....

Right to Pray at their Most Holy Site.

Here's The Deal: Israel gets their Most Holy Site, and, Islam gets to keep their Most Holy Site...

Ben Gvir, fellow minister visit Temple Mount; Jews filmed praying in their presence

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveb...t-jews-filmed-praying-in-their-presence/

Yes, but also don't forget the civil unrest and protests against the government by the Iranian people. That would be unheard of back in the days. The regime's greatest victims are the Iranian people.

After Israel bombed Iranian consulate in Damascus, Iran vowed "revenge." But they gave plenty of notice of their intent, giving Israel and its alliies plenty of time to put defenses in place. Almost all of the 300 drones and missiles Iran aimed at Israel were intercepted. Israel retaliated with a small attack on an Iranian military airbase. This was strictly face-saving on both sides, and neither wanted a wider war.

This time Iran is giving even more notice of its intent to attack. If it happens, it'll probably be bigger than in April. But if Israel believed it was under a mortal threat, it probably would have attacked Iran pre-emptively, as it did Egypt and Syria in '67.

I've read in US media that Iran is very close to making nuclear weapons, and is producing weapons-grade material at a deep-undergound complex. The US is said to have developed "bunker-buster" bombs. What if the US has supplied those bombs to Israel--and Israel is waiting for Iran to attack first so it can retaliate by bombing out the nuclear complex--with America's silent approval?

True but the civil unrest and protests are more in respect of their local issues

I reckon, faces a near impossible uphill battle when it comes to -- antisemitism, deep rooted hatred, baying for Jewish blood, openly and violently calling for the annihilation of Israel and rejecting Israel's right to even exist

According to Iran, Israel has to 'answer' for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, on Iranian soil though it has not claimed responsibility. Fearing war, unsettled at home No more No less retaliation Very challenging and delicate balance indeed

Hezbollah has many things to lose if they go to war many modern moderateLebanese are no supporters of them. Israel will make another Gaza if they are not careful.

These terrorists modus operandi Hit and Run terror

If only Israel's mighty and powerful allies had aided, backed, helped, supported Israel unconditionally, standing shoulder to shoulder, together, to protect Israeli people, Israeli territorial integrity and sovereignty, including boots on the ground [even if unofficial] fighting alongside IDF nipped it in the bud this bloodied, brutal, monstrous, violent multi-pronged Guerilla warfare terror would not be raging on over ten months

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was inaugurated on 20 May 2019
On 12 June 2020 Ukraine joined NATO's enhanced opportunity partner interoperability program but not yet a Full member

Ukraine very commendable keeping the big bad wolf Russia, with Russia's mighty and powerful Military, at bay for more than two years Extraordinary indeed and now invasion into Russia itself -- dishing out a taste of Russia's own medicine

• What the terrorists are doing to Israel, Hit and Run terror is worse than what Russia is doing to Ukraine
• terrorists Hamas invaded Israel same as Russia invaded Ukraine

Israel is not a member of NATO due to Israel's geographic location:
Israel isn’t in Europe and isn’t in the “North Atlantic” as NATO’s name states

Israel's unique location makes it prone to armed conflict with its neighbours
NATO is in direct contact with Israel and as a partner nation the Middle East country provides updates and overviews of its defense strategy with the US and other member countries

Israel is a major strategic partner of NATO which has strengthened cooperation and increased defense support and infrastructures in the Middle East country

Israel is an active partner with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and in 2017 established a permanent and official mission to NATO headquarters

Please! More love for Israel

Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving Israeli prime minister, first came to power 29 May 1996 election [sitting Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated 04 November 1995 by Yigal Amir, an Israeli extremist Jew] Netanyahu's almost 17 year cumulative tenure is longer than that of anyone else who has led Israel, a country only two years older than he is, governing what is widely regarded as the most right-wing government in Israel's history and a polarizing figure on the world stage "who has led Israel to the terrible place they are now in” -- Global pariah on the world stage


A Tale of Two Netanyahus: Brotherhood
Daily Beast by Jay Michaelson Published March 16, 2018

Extracts:
If Yoni Netanyahu died too young, Bibi Netanyahu seems never to die at all

There was Netanyahu: young, handsome, heroic. And tragically, the only Israeli soldier to die in operation Thunderbolt
And then there was his brother Benjamin

Yoni was Joe Kennedy Jr.; Bibi was Jack. Yoni was Sonny Corleone; Bibi was Michael.

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination November 4, 1995 by Yigal Amir, an Israeli extremist Jew, who was opposed to the Oslo Accords and the handing over of control of parts of the West Bank to the Palestinians as a part of a landmark peace agreement with Palestine Liberation Organization President Yasser Arafat

As Rabin and the Labor Party’s fortunes sank, those of the Likud and its followers rose and they stood by as Rabin was vilified.

Journalist Dan Ephron places Benjamin Netanyahu at a rally, about a month before Rabin’s murder, where crowds spent two hours chanting “Death to Rabin.” Netanyahu did nothing to discourage them.

Rabin’s widow blamed Netanyahu, then head of Israel’s conservative Likud party, for contributing to the atmosphere that led to her husband’s death — and said so on worldwide television.

But Netanyahu’s close aide at the time disputed that in an interview with FRONTLINE. “The attempt to pin on him the murder of the prime minister is a cheap, political propaganda trick that was taken by his political opponents, mostly from the left, in order to delegitimize Netanyahu,” former Netanyahu advisor Eyal Arad tells FRONTLINE.

Others see it differently:
“There were moments when Netanyahu was advised that there are real nutcases in the national religious camp that we see, that we need to calm down, even gesturally,” David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker tells FRONTLINE. “Netanyahu never did that, he never did that, to his enormous discredit.”

As the nation mourned Rabin’s assassination, FRONTLINE reports, Netanyahu talked about the political costs of Rabin’s death.
“I remember Netanyahu saying to me, ‘Look, look at this. He’s a hero now. But if he had not been assassinated, I would have beaten him in the elections and then he would have gone into history as a failed politician,'” Martin Indyk, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel

They are sitting on their hands and parroting ceasefire which “would only give Hamas time to regroup and launch a new October 7 style attack.”

if history has taught us anything -- women and children can be careless, but not men.

U.S. proposes final Gaza cease-fire plan, seeking agreement by next week
The United States, Qatar and Egypt said in a joint statement that a new cease-fire proposal was on the table, but they did not include any specifics on the deal.

JERUSALEM — The United States and its allies said Friday that they have presented a final proposal to Hamas and Israel for a cease-fire and hostage deal that they hope can be agreed upon by the end of next week.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/08/16/israel-gaza-war-ceasefire-news-hamas/

From: BBC August 16, 2024
A Palestinian man was shot dead as dozens of Israeli settlers attacked a village in the north of the occupied West Bank overnight, setting fire to houses and cars, Palestinian officials say.

The settlers - some wearing masks - also threw rocks and Molotov cocktails in the village of Jit, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, adding that one was arrested.

The Palestinian health ministry said Rashid Sedda, 22, was killed by gunfire from the settlers and another man was seriously wounded in what it condemned as an act of “organised state terrorism”. The IDF said it was looking into the reports of a fatality.

It is the latest in the series of attacks by extremist settlers on Palestinian villages in the West Bank, where there has been a spike in violence since Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on 7 October and the ensuing war in Gaza.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land the Palestinians want as part of a future state - in the 1967 Middle East war.

The vast majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Token rare condemnation from Israel....
Israel’s prime minister said he viewed the incident with “utmost severity”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that he took “seriously the riots that took place this evening" and promised that “those responsible for any criminal act will be caught and prosecuted".

President Isaac Herzog wrote in a post on X: "This is an extreme minority that harms the law-abiding community of settlers and the settlement as a whole and in the name and status of Israel in the world during a particularly sensitive and difficult period.

Middle East crisis — explained
NPR npr.org by Aya Batrawy August 16, 2024 Abu Bakr Bashir contributed reporting from London

DOHA, Qatar — A Hamas leader says they will give up governing Gaza but won’t lay down arms

• A far-right government had taken power in Israel

Extracts:
Hamas is willing to concede on governing the Gaza Strip after the war but will not lay down arms against Israel, one of the group’s leaders says

Basem Naim, a leader in Hamas’ politburo, met with NPR in Qatar for a wide-ranging interview about the war with Israel, prospects for a cease-fire deal and how the Palestinian group now views its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel

Palestinian militants used parachutes, speed boats and explosives to infiltrate Israel’s border in the attack.
Naim says Hamas was surprised by how quickly Israel’s defenses crumbled

Israel says around 1,200 people were killed that day. Another 250 people, including soldiers, were taken hostage


We were living in a prison. And we have tried to knock the doors of this prison.”

Israel published body cam video footage that Hamas militants filmed during the operation. Scenes show hundreds of bodies at a music festival, the blood of people killed in their homes and terrified Israelis being dragged off to captivity

Israel’s punishing retaliation upends life in Gaza

Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israel’s military retaliation — now in its 11th month — has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, with thousands more unaccounted for. It says entire families have been buried under the rubble of Israeli airstrikes

Israel says its military operations have been precise and targeted at Hamas. It blames Hamas for operating in civilian areas

Gaza’s Health Ministry count does not distinguish between militants and civilians killed, but has identified most as women and children. The ministry has identified nearly 11,000 children among the dead.

"They are creating walls of blood, walls of aggression, which I am sure the next generation will not be ready to compromise on anything,” Naim says

“It is a matter of time. When is the next round [of fighting] unless they give us our genuine rights as Palestinians,” he says

Some internally displaced civilians in Gaza have expressed anger not only at Israel for its offensive but at Hamas’ leaders for not protecting them against Israel’s retaliation

Naim says Palestinians have tried all means, peaceful and armed, to achieve an independent state

Before the October 7 attack, Jewish settlements were expanding alongside what Palestinians saw as growing encroachment in East Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war

Arab governments, including the United Arab Emirates that has close ties with Israel, had been condemning lethal Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, which had reached their highest levels in almost 20 years

Naim says an entire generation of Palestinians was losing everything “No vision, no horizon … no scenario that this will end soon.”

Middle East crisis — explained
NPR npr.org by Aya Batrawy August 16, 2024 Abu Bakr Bashir contributed reporting from London

DOHA, Qatar — A Hamas leader says they will give up governing Gaza but won’t lay down arms

Extracts:

• Hamas survives assassinations

Basem Naim, a leader in Hamas’ politburo, met with NPR on July 13 in Hamas’ office, in a villa in the suburbs of Qatar’s capital, Doha

The group’s presence there is part of a long-standing arrangement backed by the United States to keep a channel of communication open through Qatar as a mediator

The United States, European Union and Israel label Hamas a terrorist group

Two weeks after Naim spoke with NPR, Hamas’ top leader based in Qatar, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated during a visit to Iran

The killing of a top Hamas leader brings new uncertainties about cease-fire talks
Israel informed the US it was behind his killing, a US official told NPR on condition of anonymity! in order to discuss details of the sensitive operation

Hamas chose Yahya Sinwar, the group’s Gaza chief thought to have directed the October 7 attack, as Haniyeh’s successor
It was seen as a message of defiance to Israel and the US which has supported Israel with weapons throughout the war

As part of Hamas’ top political leadership, Naim could also be targeted

Israel has vowed a worldwide manhunt to kill Hamas leaders
Hamas says assassinations only harden support for the group, giving figures like Haniyeh the badge of martyrdom among supporters

Founded as an Islamist Palestinian movement in 1987 Hamas has been governing Gaza since seizing control in 2007 and has fought multiple wars with Israel since then. The group has survived decades of high-profile killings

“Hamas is a Palestinian national movement working for and struggling for the liberation of Palestine” Naim says
“It is an institution. It is not a one-man show."

Hamas remains defiant even as it acknowledges losses

Middle East crisis — explained
NPR npr.org by Aya Batrawy August 16, 2024 Abu Bakr Bashir contributed reporting from London

DOHA, Qatar — A Hamas leader says they will give up governing Gaza but won’t lay down arms

Extracts:

• Palestinian unity government

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on continuing the war in Gaza until Hamas’ military and governing abilities are eliminated
Netanyahu has also vowed to block the establishment of a Palestinian state, saying it would harm Israeli security

Analysts say Hamas has been severely degraded from Israel’s punishing military campaign
Israel says it has dismantled nearly all of the group’s battalions in Gaza
But Naim says the group cannot be eradicated. He says Hamas will not lay down arms — something Netanyahu has insisted must happen

“Why not ask the other party to be this disarmed at the same level?” Naim says, referring to Israel. “We will be disarmed if you can guarantee that we will not be attacked”

Experts say it will take years to rebuild Gaza and clear the munitions left behind by the war. Nearly all of Gaza’s roughly 2 million residents are now displaced from their homes and most of the Gaza Strip’s buildings, including schools and hospitals, have been damaged, according to the UN

In order to achieve a cease-fire deal that leads to international funds to rebuild Gaza, Hamas understands it must make concessions.
“We are not willing to come back to govern the Gaza Strip” Naim says though he doesn’t say for how long

“What we are calling for is a Palestinian unity government, formed from technocrats who are not affiliated to any faction but supported from all factions … to run the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank” he says

Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah which has a bigger presence in the West Bank, struck a deal recently, with China as a broker, that calls for the creation of a unity government. It’s unclear when or if this will happen

The two factions fought one another for control of Gaza in 2007 leading to Hamas’ takeover of the territory and an Israeli-led blockade strictly controlling movement in and out of the enclave

Hamas claims very costly wins against Israel

Middle East crisis — explained
NPR npr.org by Aya Batrawy August 16, 2024 Abu Bakr Bashir contributed reporting from London

DOHA, Qatar — A Hamas leader says they will give up governing Gaza but won’t lay down arms

Extracts:

• October 7, 2023 operation and objectives

Basem Naim, a leader in Hamas’ politburo, says the October 7 operation which Hamas dubbed Al-Aqsa Flood, had several objectives, including to kidnap Israeli soldiers in exchange for Palestinian prisoners serving long terms

Palestinian detainees from Gaza say they are facing abuse in Israeli prisons

Thousands more Palestinians have been detained throughout the war, however Forty-four detainees from Gaza have died in Israeli military custody since the beginning of the war, according to a document the military provided to Physicians for Human Rights Israel and reviewed by NPR

Naim says Israel’s image as a nation representing “Western values of human rights and democracy” has been shattered by the war.
He says the war also showed Israel’s reliance on the United States, including in shooting down Iranian aerial strikes in April 2024

“I think yes, we have achieved a lot” he says before adding: “It is very costly. It is very expensive”

The German-educated surgeon, who once served as a minister of health and of youth and sports in Gaza, says Israeli airstrikes earlier this year killed his mother and grandchildren in Gaza

“Anyone who has chosen this way of life, he is aware that he might pay some prices” he says
“And I'm not more precious than all these children, including my children, my mother who has been killed”

Unlike other Hamas leaders long in exile in Qatar, Naim had always been in Gaza

He left Gaza shortly before the October attack for a meeting in Turkey, unaware of the operation’s timing, he says
Had he known? he says, he wouldn’t have left Gaza City, where his wife and children are struggling on their own