Israel’s New Military Plan for Gaza is Incredibly Dangerous, Substack
J Street Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg writes: “Israel’s plan to reoccupy Gaza is doomed to fail without a legitimate local force trusted by Palestinians. Without such legitimacy, the IDF risks fueling a prolonged insurgency, draining Israeli society, and leading to a disastrous, unsustainable occupation — or worse, the temptation to pursue a brutal, Assad-style campaign that would devastate Gaza and irreparably damage Israel’s global standing and moral fabric.”
If the ADL Thinks Trump’s Thuggery Is Protecting Jews, It’s Wrong, The Washington Post
Matt Bai writes: “Speaking out for Jewish students who feel silenced on campus while simultaneously cheering or ignoring the arrests of immigrants for expressing contrary views is not only un-American; it also mocks the core Jewish value of intellectual debate, and it’s painfully ahistorical. Find me a moment in history when Jews anywhere benefited from a mix of rampant nationalism and repression. J Street, put it in a statement last week: ‘The administration seems hell-bent on destroying all that has made this country a secure and welcoming home for Jewish Americans for generations.’ I agree. The ADL should make clear that it does, too.”
Israel Announces Expansion of Military Operation in Gaza To Seize ‘Large Areas’ of Land, Ordering Residents To Leave, CNN
“Signs of the operation’s expansion are yet to be seen on the ground, although the enclave saw heavy airstrikes overnight that have so far killed at least 17 people, according to local health authorities. […] According to the defense minister’s statement, the military operation would expand to ‘crush and clear the area of terrorists and terror infrastructure, while seizing large areas that will be incorporated into Israel’s security zone.’ The Israeli military’s spokesperson for Arabic media late on Tuesday ordered residents in Gaza’s southern Rafah area to leave their homes and move north.”
On Eve of Trump’s Tariffs Announcement, Israel Says It Will Lift All Duties on U.S. Imports, The New York Times
“Israel’s government has said it will cancel all remaining tariffs on American imports, in an apparent bid to ensure that it is exempt from a new wave of levies that President Trump is set to announce on Wednesday. […] The measure needs approval from the finance committee in the country’s Parliament, or Knesset, but is expected to pass, according to Israeli media.”
UN Recovers 15 Aid Workers’ Bodies in Gaza, Say Some Found Bound and Shot, Haaretz
“UN teams and rescue services in the Gaza Strip recovered earlier this week the bodies of 15 humanitarian aid workers who were killed by Israel Defense Forces fire in the Tel al-Sultan refugee camp in Rafah last week. […] One rescuer on site told Haaretz that one of the bodies was found with its legs bound, reinforcing suspicions that some of the aid workers may have been executed.”
Israel Says Plenty of Food in Gaza, UN Says That’s Ridiculous, Reuters
“The United Nations on Tuesday dismissed as ‘ridiculous’ an assertion by Israel that there was enough food in the Gaza Strip to last for a long period of time, despite the closure of all 25 bakeries in the enclave supported by the World Food Programme. No aid has been delivered to the Palestinian enclave since March 2. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said it would not allow the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza until Hamas releases all remaining hostages.”
Netanyahu Aide Lobbies White House to Impose U.S. Sanctions on Israeli Anti-gov’t Protest Groups, Haaretz
“A public relations contractor employed by the Prime Minister’s Office is attempting to persuade the Trump administration to impose sanctions on the civil-society groups that organize the protests against the prime minister. Caroline Glick bases her request on the claim that these groups are organizing a ‘rebellion’ against Israel’s democratically elected government and are undermining the United States’ ‘national interests.’”
Rubio Orders U.S. Diplomats to Scour Student Visa Applicants’ Social Media, The New York Times
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered diplomats overseas to scrutinize the social media content of some applicants for student and other types of visas, in an effort to bar those suspected of criticizing the United States and Israel from entering the country, U.S. officials say. Mr. Rubio’s directive said that starting immediately, consular officers must refer certain student and exchange visitor visa applicants to the ‘fraud prevention unit’ for a ‘mandatory social media check,’ according to two American officials with knowledge of the cable.”
A Call for American Jewish Organizations Leaders, The Times of Israel
Senior Adviser for Hostage Aid Worldwide Vered Guttman writes: “The pain in Israel is unbearable. Just weeks ago, Knesset security officers were ordered to forcefully block bereaved and hostage families from entering the ‘House of the People,’ where they wanted to ask for a national inquiry committee to investigate the failures on October 7. A committee that PM Netanyahu refuses to establish. The tears of these devastated, humiliated families were shared by all. […] It is not only Hamas preventing a deal—it is also the Israeli government. You must recognize that something is fundamentally broken if hostages remain in captivity after a year and a half in hell. Now, do everything in your power to make a deal happen.”
‘I’m Here! Can You Hear Me?’: One Family’s Story of Death in Gaza, The New York Times
“Israel’s response has crushed entire families, whole neighborhoods, Gaza’s health care system, its educational institutions, its infrastructure and most of its economy. Abdullah, Huda’s 15-year-old brother, knew little of what happened that night two weeks ago. After the airstrike, he managed to push aside the broken water tank and heating panel he was trapped under before blacking out, he said two days later. He woke up in the hospital, pain singeing both eyes, his vision still blurry. Nobody had told him yet that Huda was dead, or his parents, or that his brother Maher was in intensive care.”