With Hostage Deal Stuck, US Won't Budge – and Is Waiting for Hamas to Crack
Haaretz by Chaim Levinson 28 March 2025

Extracts:

• With Hostage Deal Stuck, US Won't Budge – and Is Waiting for Hamas to Crack

A month has passed since the last round of hostage releases and negotiations between Israel and Hamas have stalled

Just two weeks ago, all parties were optimistic that another deal — and with it, a cease-fire lasting through Passover — was within reach
But that optimism has evaporated

Talks between Israel and Hamas are frozen

The US insists on the Witkoff framework — and if Hamas keeps saying no, Washington will let Israel act as it wishes

For now, the deal is a fading memory and Netanyahu has every reason to be satisfied

So many contradicting versions....

Hamas official: Hoping for a 'breakthrough' in coming days
The Times of Israel 29 March 2025

Extracts:

• Hamas official: Hoping for a 'breakthrough' in coming days

Hamas may be open to freeing some hostages in exchange for Eid al-Fitr truce

Israeli TV says still unclear what terror group will demand for small batch of captives, among them American-Israeli IDF lone soldier Edan Alexander;


Israeli television reported Friday that mediators see a willingness among some senior Hamas members,
1. to release a small number of hostages
2. to secure a truce during the Ramadan-ending holiday of Eid al-Fitr

Kan, the Israeli public broadcaster acknowledged that it was still unclear what Hamas will ask in return for those it releases though it did say that the freed hostages would include Alexander, with the United States and Qatar intensively involved in the proposal

Another Kan reporter said,
Hamas wants to crack down on those participating in the protests and cannot do so due to Israel’s resumed operations in Gaza as the military is targeting terror operatives that it spots out in the open, according to the report

A ceasefire, even of several days, would allow for Hamas to reign in on the protests which have been a major source for distress within the Palestinian terrorist organization, the network claimed

Hamas official: Hoping for a 'breakthrough' in coming days
The Times of Israel 29 March 2025

Extracts:

• new US proposal

Kan, the Israeli public broadcaster’s report came a day after a senior Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that Qatar presented Hamas with a new US proposal to restore the ceasefire through the release of American-Israeli IDF lone soldier Edan Alexander, in exchange for which President Trump would issue a statement,
Hamas has yet to respond to the latest US proposal

The diplomat added, Qatari mediators told the terror group,
1. compliance would create goodwill for them with Trump
2. making it more likely that Trump will push Netanyahu to agree to a permanent ceasefire

How Israel will respond to it, is also unclear

Amid the talks with mediators, a senior Hamas official said Friday,

The Times of Israel March 28, 2025
Gaza war’s first major anti-Hamas protests may not oust it, but are weakening its hold

For now, Hamas has chosen not to brutally suppress the rallies.
That may change, but it also knows the world is watching, and its gunmen know Israeli drones are flying overhead.

For nearly two days, Hamas maintained public silence regarding the protests, neither addressing them nor violently suppressing them.

This contrasted with 2019 when Hamas police quickly crushed an eruption of protest.

Dr. Harel Chorev, a senior researcher at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, believes that the roots of the protest precede the war triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 invasion and massacre:

“At least some of this resistance to Hamas’s rule has been brewing for more than a year and a half — that is, even before the war.
But the war triggered it, because of the destruction it has caused.

The last straw was this month’s resumption of the fighting.
Gazans thought they were finally done with it, only to be bombed and displaced again. It’s tremendously demoralizing.”

Chorev saw preliminary signs of the unrest online:
“Two weeks ago, when this round of fighting began, some Gazans posted strong criticism of Hamas on social media:
‘We’re sick of you; you’ve destroyed Gaza; you’re a bunch of murderers.’

These are the same messages that have now featured [on placards and in chants] at the protests.
What started online has spilled into the streets.”

The Times of Israel March 28, 2025

Hamza Hawidi, a Gazan who participated in a previous, less resonant demonstration against Hamas and is now living in Germany, said anguish and despair among participants seem to have outweighed fear of brutal Hamas retribution.

He told The Times of Israel in a Zoom interview.
“The reason people haven’t done this for a year and a half is that they were afraid,”

“Ziad Abu Haya, a resident of Gaza, appeared in a television interview during the war and said one sentence:
‘Protect us from Hamas before you protect us from the Jews.’”

Having been beaten up for denouncing Hamas in August, Abu Haya was reportedly killed by Hamas in December.
Hamas, Hawidi charged, “beat him to death for that one sentence.”

“If I see someone speak out and then get killed, I won’t criticize Hamas,” Hawidi continued.
Now, however, he said, it seems the fear barrier has been broken.

Hawidi believes that the protests alone won’t bring down Hamas, but considers them to be highly important, including symbolically:

“We don’t want Hamas to fall while the people remain silent.
People shouldn’t think that overthrowing Hamas is an Israeli demand; it is a demand of the people in Gaza

But will it alone topple Hamas’s rule?
Based on my knowledge and familiarity with Hamas — no.”

Still, Hawidi expresses some optimism about what is playing out, including in the context of his own decision to leave Gaza in the summer of 2023:
“I didn’t leave Gaza because I hate it. I left because there was no hope for change.

Everyone treated Hamas’s rule in Gaza as the permanent reality, and that was it.

“When I left, if you said that Hamas was a terrorist organization, it meant that you would be executed.
But now I see my people saying for themselves, ‘Hamas is a terrorist organization.'”

The Times of Israel March 28, 2025

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim’s remarks, made in response to a question during an interview with a Qatari TV channel, indicated that Hamas can no longer ignore the phenomenon and that its response strategy, for now, is to try to frame the protests as anti-war and anti-Israel rather than anti-Hamas

The demonstrations have indeed included voices
1. condemning the war due to the prolonged suffering in Gaza,
2. but also direct calls for the overthrow of Hamas,
3. holding it to blame for the current situation in the Strip.

“Hamas is too smart to come out and crush the protesters with force,” Hawidi argued. “It knows the whole world is watching these protests now.
It aims to dismantle the protests by framing them as demonstrations against the war rather than against Hamas.”

The Times of Israel March 28, 2025

The chances of the protests succeeding remain unclear. There are two million residents in Gaza, with tens of thousands in the military wing of Hamas.
Overthrowing the regime would require the internal collapse of the strongest armed force in Gaza.

Chorev does not rule this out, and believes Israel’s resumed military campaign and the diminished aid influx could help

“It is possible that eventually, those currently filling the ranks of Hamas’s military wing will abandon it because the food and water they received in exchange for enlistment will run out, due to the ongoing ban on humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

Hamas has recruited individuals, some of them very young, “who are not as ideologically committed as those who came before them and were killed,”
“This could have an impact. The ongoing blockade could trap Hamas in a very difficult situation.”

Even if the current wave of protests ultimately ebbs or is suppressed, Chorev thinks it won’t be in vain:
“Hamas is a social movement that embeds itself in the hearts of people, and once its image is damaged, it loses that hold.

This has a long-term effect, a social effect that could shape Gaza’s governance after the war and influence the [Gaza] public’s willingness to accept a different government instead of Hamas.”

From: The Jerusalem Post March 29, 2025
Anti-Hamas Gaza protests face uphill battle with no leadership, allies, or leverage

Anti-Hamas protests gained fuel when Hamas went to ground on March 18 Now, they face a crossroads.

The protests that have rocked Gaza over the past week managed to maintain some momentum over the last several days.
They took place during Ramadan and continued through the symbolic Laylat al-Qadr, which occurs toward the end of the month-long holiday.

It also continued through Friday, which is of significance because Fridays have additional importance during Ramadan, even above their usual weekly relevance.

However, the protests:
1. have lacked focus and leadership,
2. making it difficult for them to advance demands or
3. put forward any kind of method of governance that might replace Hamas.

This is important. Hamas:
1. is able to hide underground and wait out the protests,
2. as well as reorganize and target specific protesters who might emerge as leaders.

Hamas does not appear to feel under pressure.

While the protests are unprecedented, Hamas does not seem open to concessions.
In addition, the Arab states do not seem to be welcoming this opportunity for leadership change in Gaza.

Why are so few countries involved in working with the protesters or leveraging them?
Many countries likely fear the street power of protesters more than they fear Hamas.

They are all too busy, too focused on Israel, taking them to task over everything they do or don't do... and letting the terrorists, off the hook

Countries such as Egypt have been accommodating to Hamas over the last several years. Countries such as Jordan may back the Palestinian Authority
But they don’t want protesters in their own country getting any ideas.

Many countries:
1. saw the success of the Syrian revolution
2. and how it led to the fall of the Assad regime — with Israel's help though
3. and they don’t want to end up like Bashar al-Assad.

Israeli views on the protests: Israel also seems skeptical of the protests.
Israel doesn’t see the protesters handing over hostages or disarming Hamas.

1. Some commentators online have spread conspiracies suggesting that the protests are actually run by Hamas.
2. They also point out that the demonstrators are not calling for peace for Israel.

When the bar is set so high for the protesters, it is unlikely they can ever please some voices in Israel.

Israeli leaders have generally preferred Hamas running Gaza over the last decade and a half, to having the Palestinian Authority run Gaza.

If the protesters were able to topple Hamas, they would likely want new leadership in the form of working with the legitimate Palestinian Authority government in Ramallah.

1. Israel is still waging a new campaign in Gaza that began earlier this month and has so far been slow and relatively limited.
2. It is similar to how Israel ran campaigns last year, going in slowly to nibble away at areas around the urban centers of Gaza.
3. Israel uses its technological advances to move slowly and make sure soldiers’ lives are not risked.


Following the October 7 attack, 300,000 reservists were called up, and it’s clear many Israelis don’t look fondly on another year of reserve duty after serving for most of 2024

In addition, the ruling government includes haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties who oppose service.

This means Israel’s government is divided between wanting to lead a new campaign against Hamas and working with haredi parties that don’t want their children serving. This puts Israel between a rock and a hard place while soldiers and civilians are held hostage in Gaza.

Nice! Their children shirk their military service even in dire straits — while other people's children serve and die for the only Jewish state... Enjoy!
For this reason, the protests in Gaza lack the ability to get to the next step that demonstrations need to reach in order to get real achievements.
Since so few countries in the region benefit from the protests, they receive no support.

Additionally, the powerful backers of Hamas in Doha and Ankara do not back the protests.
Therefore, some online commentators who back Hamas spread rumors against the demonstrators to undermine them.

Furthermore, since Hamas controls much of the media access in Gaza and only friendly media such as Al Jazeera get good access via Hamas, there is little coverage. Al Jazeera is based in Doha and only covers demonstrations in the region when Doha backs the protests.

Doha prefers Hamas in charge of Gaza, and Hamas leaders live in Doha. The protesters are an inconvenience.

It’s not clear what comes next for the protests. They have surmounted some obstacles but many remain.

If they are to achieve the next steps:
1. They will require staying power, leadership,
2. a focus for their demands,
3. and also some support

Meanwhile, Israel has to weigh whether it will expand its operations in Gaza as the protests take place. It’s difficult to navigate an army amid demonstrations, and Israel prefers to evacuate Gazans, but it’s hard to evacuate protesters who want to be rid of Hamas.

This puts the protesters also between a rock and a hard place.
If they are evacuated, they will likely stop protesting or potentially be squeezed into areas Hamas still dominates.

They gained fuel when Hamas went underground on March 18 as Israel restarted its military campaign. Now they face a crossroads.

From: Haaretz March 29, 2025
Hamas chief says group agreed to cease-fire proposal, won't disarm as long as there's Israeli occupation

Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya said on Saturday the Palestinian militant group Hamas had agreed to a cease-fire proposal it received two days ago from Egypt and Qatar, key mediators in Gaza ceasefire negotiations.

Al-Hayya also said that:
1. the group will only disarm if Israeli occupation ends
2. and a Palestinian state is established.

According to a source involved in the talks, Hamas has agreed:
1. to show flexibility and release five living hostages in phases spanning 50 days,
2. in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners serving long sentences for serious offenses.


Israel submitted its counter-proposal to the mediators earlier on Saturday, the details of which were also not immediately clear.

Houthis: what have two decades of regular US attacks on Yemen achieved?
The Guardian by Mohamad Bazzi 28 March 2025

Extracts:

• two decades of regular US attacks on Yemen — failed to dislodge the Houthis from power

The Signal fiasco is obscuring an essential question: why are we bombing Yemen?

Amid outrage over Trump cabinet members sharing military details, we’re forgetting to scrutinize decades of failed US policy

The Guardian's Marina Hyde said,
In the widespread outrage over the sharing of military information on a Signal chat, one essential question is getting lost:
Why is Trump bombing Yemen in the first place?

Five consecutive US presidents and administrations have ordered military attacks on Yemen, which is the poorest country in the Middle East — because Houthis takes ALL the money

1. George W Bush
2. Barack Obama
3. the first Trump administration
4. Joe Biden
5. the second Trump administration

Collectively, these leaders have continued more than two decades of failed US policies toward Yemen
1. centered on repeated bombings
2. counter-terrorism operations
3. and support for a dictator who ruled the country for decades

Trump, who portrayed himself throughout the last presidential campaign as “the candidate of peace” appears almost eager to repeat past US mistakes in Yemen

During Yemen’s long civil war, years of intense bombing by two US allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates failed to dislodge the Houthis from power

By the end of 2021 the United Nations estimated that the Yemen conflict had killed 377,000 people — nearly 60% of whom died not in fighting but from indirect causes, including famine, cholera outbreaks and destruction of the health system

Houthis: what have two decades of regular US attacks on Yemen achieved?
The Guardian by Mohamad Bazzi 28 March 2025

Extracts:

• Trump is now repeating the same failed approach to Yemen as Biden and previous US presidents

Why aren’t Democrats and other critics of the Trump administration asking this basic question: what have two decades of regular US attacks on Yemen achieved?
Beyond more death and misery in a country where Washington already helped instigate one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters?

Anyone interested in real accountability for US policy making, should see this as a far bigger scandal than the one currently unfolding in Washington over the leaked Signal chat — real accountability?! Never mind the terrorists

The Trump administration says the latest US strikes on Yemen are intended to pressure the Houthi militia to stop attacks on international shipping lanes in the Red Sea

After the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza, the Houthis began firing missiles and drones at commercial vessels sailing around the Bab el-Mandeb strait, where the Red Sea comes closest to Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen

The Houthis said they were acting in support of besieged Palestinians and pledged to stop targeting shipping lanes once Israel ended its war on Gaza — sparked by the Hamas-led brutal attack inside Israel's borders on October 7, 2023

The attacks disrupted global shipping as companies rerouted hundreds of vessels around South Africa, which can add thousands of miles to a freighter’s journey between Asia and Europe — Yes indeed


Starting in July 2024 Israel carried out four rounds of airstrikes against Yemen, including attacks on the international airport in Sana’a, power stations and several ports

Houthis: what have two decades of regular US attacks on Yemen achieved?
The Guardian by Mohamad Bazzi 28 March 2025

Extracts:

• Houthis Still standing Still firing

In January 2024 the Biden administration, along with Britain, launched missile strikes against dozens of targets in Yemen

But Houthi leaders did not back down and they stepped up their attacks on shipping vessels and continued to fire drones and missiles at Israel, most of which were shot down before reaching Israeli territory

For more than a year, Biden avoided the most clear-cut path to stopping the Red Sea attacks and US escalation against the Houthis:

Biden's administration failed to apply pressure on the Israeli prime minister Netanyahu, to end Israel’s assault on Gaza and accept a ceasefire with Hamas
Biden refused to withhold billions of dollars in US weapons or to stop providing political cover for Israel at the United Nations Security Council UNSC and other international bodies

Instead, the Biden administration continued to insist that it could bring the Houthis to heel by force
Biden’s strategy failed to secure international shipping in the Red Sea


Houthi leaders portrayed themselves as one of the few movements in the Arab world willing to defend the Palestinian cause and fight Israel and its western allies — in contrast to Arab governments that stayed on the sidelines and occasionally issued statements condemning Israel’s war

The Houthis also used the Gaza conflict to elevate their profile within the so-called “axis of resistance” a network of regional militias supported by Iran

Two of the main factions in this alliance, Hamas and the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, were decimated by the Israeli military over the past 18 months, providing a new opening for Houthi leaders to enhance their popularity throughout the Middle East

Houthis: what have two decades of regular US attacks on Yemen achieved?
The Guardian by Mohamad Bazzi 28 March 2025

Extracts:

• ceasefire collapse — Houthis resumed attacks

The Biden administration — along with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy — finally persuaded Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas which took effect on 19 January, a day before Trump’s inauguration

After the truce in Gaza, the Houthis stopped their attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea as they had promised for more than a year
— Wow! terrorist integrity

But as the ceasefire’s first phase expired on 2 March, Netanyahu refused to start the second phase of negotiations which required,
1. a complete Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza
2. and talks over a permanent truce

Instead, with the Trump administration’s support, the Israeli government imposed a new siege on Gaza, banning all food and other aid deliveries
Netanyahu backed out of the deal he had initially agreed to and tried to pressure Hamas into accepting a six-week extension of the ceasefire’s first phase

By 18 March, Israel resumed its brutal war on Gaza with airstrikes that killed more than 400 Palestinians in a single day
[according to the Hamas-controlled local authorities]

In the days leading up to the ceasefire’s collapse, Houthi leaders warned that they would restart their attacks on shipping vessels if Israel resumed its war
And that’s when the Trump administration began threatening renewed US military strikes against Yemen

Houthis: what have two decades of regular US attacks on Yemen achieved?
The Guardian by Mohamad Bazzi 28 March 2025

Extracts:

• Take terrorists at their terror word — Let's dance to terrorists tune!

Trump is now repeating the same failed approach to Yemen as Biden and previous US presidents

In the Signal group chat messages revealed this week by the Atlantic’s editor, Trump cabinet members — who included the vice-president, JD Vance; the secretary of state, Marco Rubio; and the CIA director, John Ratcliffe — expressed disdain for European allies and debated the timing of US attacks on the Houthis

But none of these top officials raised the possibility that pushing for a renewed ceasefire in Gaza would remove the Houthis’s rationale for their aggression against commercial shipping in the Red Sea

The most senior officials on Trump’s national security team did not seem to consider the idea of taking the Houthi leaders at their word: that they would cease disrupting global trade once Israel stops bombing Gaza as they had done in January — Thanks! White House and Israel considering! your Gem of an advice!

Instead, the US security establishment continues bombing Yemen as it has done for two decades — and somehow hoping for a different outcome this time
*Mohamad Bazzi is the director of the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern studies and a journalism professor at New York University

From: The Times of Israel March 30, 2025
High Court says petitioners ‘not even close’ to showing Israel starving Gazan civilians

In ruling written before latest halt on aid, court says Israel has not violated legal prohibitions on collective punishment;
human rights group slams ‘green light to continue war crimes’

The High Court of Justice ruled unanimously on Thursday that:
1. Israel has taken a variety of steps to provide for the humanitarian needs of Gaza’s civilian population during the current war with Hamas,
2. and that there was no cause for the court to order the government and the army to take any additional action.

Critically, the court stated that the human rights groups which petitioned the court over the humanitarian situation in Gaza had “not even come close” to showing:
1. Israel had violated legal prohibitions on starving a civilian population as a tool of war or
2. as a form of collective punishment.

The court also ruled against the petitioners’ claim that Gaza is now under what is known as a “belligerent occupation” by Israel, which would apply heightened responsibilities for Israel to Gazan civilians.

The court found that:
1. at least two out of the three conditions for establishing a belligerent occupation have not been met by Israel,
2. in particular that the IDF still does not have effective control of the territory and is unable to exercise governing authority.

Additionally, the court asserted that Hamas and other terror groups:
1. have deliberately hidden among the civilian population during the war;
2. carried out terror activity from the Israel-designated humanitarian zone
3. including from inside civilian facilities such as hospitals and schools;
4. and seized humanitarian aid destined for civilians for its own use, to the detriment of the civilian population.

It also stated that:
1. the Palestinian terror groups in Gaza were responsible for civilian suffering in the war-torn territory,
2. although the court added that Israel was not permitted to ignore that suffering.

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, a liberal, wrote the primary opinion for the court, while conservatives Noam Sohlberg and David Mintz backed his decision.

Amit noted that the ruling was written:
1. before the government’s decision on March 2, 2025 to halt the transfer of all aid to Gaza,
2. and said that the ruling could not address the new circumstances.

It relates only to the petitions filed back in 2024 and the hearings that had been held for them

The ruling is significant coming against the background of the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court ICC against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant on charges of crimes against humanity for using starvation as a means of warfare against the Gazan civilian population.

The International Court of Justice ICJ is also considering a suit filed by South Africa against Israel on charges of genocide, relating in large part to accusations that Israel’s policies regarding the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza have been deliberately designed to create conditions to bring about civilian deaths in the territory.

The Gisha human rights group, the primary petitioner in the case, denounced the decision, saying it gave Israel “a green light to continue committing war crimes” in Gaza.

In his written opinion, Amit asserted that:
1. the IDF had taken steps during the war to reduce the harm done to Gaza’s civilian population,
2. but acknowledged that the “fierce and protracted fighting” had exacted a heavy price from the civilian population in the strip.

“There is no dispute, and there can be no dispute, that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is not easy, to put it mildly,” wrote Amit.
however, that “the suffering of the civilian population does not in itself indicate a breach of [its] obligation by the State of Israel,”

Amit said that the transfer of humanitarian aid in all its forms had been allowed into Gaza for the majority of the war, and that Israel and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a unit of the Defense Ministry, had conducted numerous activities to facilitate the entry of aid into Gaza and to help coordinate its distribution.

This included:
1. opening new goods crossings into Gaza,
2. upgrading the roads leading to the crossings and inside Gaza itself,
3. as well as coordinating collection and distribution operations of the aid inside Gaza —
4. by humanitarian organizations operating in the territory to the civilian population.

Amit wrote that during the course of the war and the courts’ hearings on the petitions COGAT was in constant contact with the humanitarian organizations on the ground to understand the needs of the population and to improve its response to those needs.

“Throughout the hearing of the petition, we were presented with a variety of steps that the respondents were taking to help humanitarian aid reach the uninvolved civilian population in the Gaza Strip,”

These steps were taken “while balancing the State of Israel’s humanitarian obligations with operational security considerations,” including the fear that aid would be diverted by terror groups.

“In doing so, the respondents showed attentiveness to the changing reality and the needs anticipated by the aid organizations, and a willingness to become more efficient in the manner of their activities,”

As a result, Amit wrote, he did not see a need for court intervention.

“Taking into account the totality of the actions taken by the respondents with the aim of improving the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip throughout the period of time examined in the petition, as detailed above, I do not believe that the petitioners were able to establish – not even close – a violation of the prohibitions on starvation of a population as a method of warfare and on collective punishment,” he added.

Amit concluded:
1. “It is the terrorist organizations that bear responsibility for the suffering of the uninvolved population,”
2. however, that “this human suffering is not something that the State of Israel is entitled to ignore.”

Regarding the claims of Gisha and the other petitioners that Gaza is under belligerent occupation, Amit wrote that three conditions must be fulfilled for such a finding, including:
1. a physical presence of the foreign force in the territory in question;
2. the ability of that force to function as a governing authority there;
3. and the loss of the previous rulers of their ability to exercise government authority.

Amit ruled that neither the second nor the third conditions have been met, and that therefore Israel cannot be said to be in a belligerent occupation of Gaza, with the accompanying legal obligations to its civilian population.

Gisha and the other human rights organizations which petitioned the court said the ruling:
1. “reads like a hymn of praise to the State of Israel and its army during the darkest period in their history,”
2. and “conveniently” determined the time period for the petition to stop at the beginning of this March —
3. when Israel halted the transfer of aid to Gaza.

“The ruling thus gives the State of Israel a green light to continue committing war crimes and harming civilians in Gaza,” Gisha stated.

From: Reuters March 30, 2025

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Hungary this week, his office said on Sunday defying an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court issued over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.

During the visit, due to begin on Wednesday and run until Sunday, Netanyahu will meet his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban, who invited him in November, soon after the ICC issued the arrest warrant.

There was no immediate comment by Hungary about this week's visit.

It will be Netanyahu's second trip abroad since the ICC announced the warrants, following a visit to Washington in February to meet US President Donald Trump.

Don't know — Risky until he is safely back in Israel...

From: The Times of Israel March 30, 2025
Gazan man murdered by Hamas after joining protests against terror group, family says; dozens seen at funeral chanting ‘Hamas out’

Relatives say Oday Nasser Al Rabay was:
1. kidnapped, tortured and executed for demonstrating,
2. body left at family doorstep;

Hamas operatives kidnapped, tortured and executed a 22-year-old Palestinian man who participated in last week’s wave of protests against the terror group, according to his family.

Oday Nasser Al Rabay’s body was left in front of his family’s home over the weekend.
On Saturday, many dozens were filmed participating in his funeral procession, shouting, “Hamas out!”

Hamas has reportedly been threatening Palestinians who participate in the protests against the terror group, but this appears to be the first time that anyone has been killed in connection to them.

The protests were held for three straight days last week, but none were held over the weekend, amid assessments in Israel that Hamas was intimidating protesters.

A Gazan man who now lives in Turkey, who had published most of the footage of the demonstrations, recently said senior Hamas officials threatened him over his activities.

The terror group, which has ruled Gaza since 2007 said on Thursday that the protests were against Israel rather than Hamas, despite reports, interviews and footage to the contrary.

The family of 22-year-old Odai Nasser Saadi Al-Rubai, who was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by Hamas militias, opened fire during his funeral and vowed to avenge his death.

Mourners turned the funeral into a protest against Hamas, chanting: "Hamas out, out!"

According to the Kan public broadcaster, partially out of a desire to quash the demonstrations, some senior Hamas members have shown willingness to release a small number of hostages to secure a truce during the Ramadan-ending holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which begins Sunday evening.

Hamas wants to crack down on those participating in the protests but cannot do so due to Israel’s resumed operations in Gaza, as the IDF is targeting terror operatives that it spots out in the open, according to the report.

From: The Times of Israel March 30, 2025
Trump to fly to Saudi Arabia in May in first trip abroad this term; no word on Israel visit

US President Donald Trump will visit Saudi Arabia in May on the first foreign visit of his second term Axios reports, citing two US officials with knowledge on the matter.

At the same time, the report notes that plans for Israeli-Saudi normalization are currently “on the back burner” due to Riyadh’s insistence that such a plan must include Palestinian statehood, a non-starter for Israel.

The report cites Israeli officials saying the White House has not to date discussed including a stop in Israel on the May trip.

Trump is expected to advance economic cooperation between the countries, including hundreds of billions of dollars of Saudi investment in American companies.

The Right idea, the Wrong execution: Chikli’s antisemitism conference controversy
The Jerusalem Post 30 March 2025

Extracts:

• The Right idea, the Wrong execution: Chikli’s antisemitism conference controversy

Israel's antisemitism conference, led by Amichai Chikli, was overshadowed by controversy over its speaker list, missing a chance for inclusive dialogue

• International Conference on Combating Antisemitism in Jerusalem

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli’s International Conference on Combating Antisemitism this past Thursday should have been an event to celebrate Israel’s government making a stand against antisemitism

It should have been an opportunity for people from all over the world to come together in Israel and discuss how best to combat antisemitism since October 7

And October 7 is a crucial point. The Hamas terror attacks changed everything, not just in Israel but for Jews worldwide

In the three months post-October 7 US antisemitic incidents skyrocketed to a total of 3,291 between October 7 and January 7 according to the Anti-Defamation League, representing a whopping 361% increase from the same period the year prior

However the conference ended up a farce – beginning weeks prior to its doors even opening
Anti-Israel forces spread lies about the right-wing European politicians who attended the conference, Chikli said in a speech at the Thursday convention

Chikli thanked the politicians who had attended the conference, which had bled high-profile participants since the announcement of the attendance list