Passover Lessons for Fighting Modern Day Pharaohs, Substack
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami writes: “On the holiday when we celebrate Jewish liberation from tyranny, let’s remember that maintaining our freedom requires standing up to modern-day tyrants and would-be Pharaohs… Yes, terrorists must be defeated. Antisemites must be rooted out. But how we do it matters. We must not turn a blind eye when extremist Jewish settlers run rampant on the West Bank and claim security justifications. We must speak out when humanitarian aid, water and fuel are immorally denied to civilians in Gaza, even as we recognize the need to remove Hamas from power.”
Netanyahu and Trump To Meet Amid Concerns Over Gaza, Iran and Tariffs, The Washington Post
“Netanyahu is expected to deliver a joint statement with Trump on Monday afternoon after their meeting. After landing Sunday, Netanyahu met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, architects of the sweeping tariffs scheme that has sunk stock markets across the globe. In Israel, Trump’s planned 17 percent levy on imports from Israel has the potential to send its already war-battered economy — including its critical tech sector — into a tailspin.”
‘War Without Limits’: Aid Agencies Sound the Alarm As Israel’s Gaza Blockade Enters a Second Month, CNN
“The problems that have plagued the territory’s population for the last 18 months have been accentuated by the renewed assault launched by the Israeli military in March, which has included several evacuation orders. […] More than 280,000 people have been displaced in the past two weeks, and two-thirds of Gaza territory are now no-go areas, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).”
Palestinian American Teen Shot Dead by Israeli Soldiers in West Bank, Official Says, CNN
“Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian-American teenager and wounded two others in the occupied West Bank on Sunday night, according to Palestinian officials, after the Israeli military said it targeted a group throwing stones at cars. Ramallah governor Laila Ghannam said the 14-year-old Palestinian-American boy was shot dead by Israeli troops in the village of Turmusaya. Two other Palestinian-American boys, ages 14 and 15, were injured in the incident, according to the mayor of Turmusaya, Lafi Shalabi.”
Israel Strikes Tents Near Hospitals in Gaza, Killing and Wounding Reporters, AP
“Israel struck tents outside two major hospitals in the Gaza Strip overnight, killing at least two people, including a local reporter, and wounding another nine, including six reporters, medics said Monday. Twenty-eight other people were killed in separate strikes across the territory, according to hospitals. […] A strike on a media tent outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis at around 2 a.m. set the tent ablaze, killing Yousef al-Faqawi, a reporter for the Palestine Today news website, and another man, according to the hospital. Six other reporters were also wounded in the strike.”
Israel Military Razed Gaza Perimeter Land To Create ‘Kill Zone’, Soldiers Say, The Guardian
Breaking the Silence published a new report titled “The Perimeter,” highlighting systematic destruction by the IDF along the Gaza border, stating: “Satellite imagery shows that hundreds of buildings located within 1 to 1.2 kilometers of the perimeter fence have been demolished—an act that rights groups warn may constitute collective punishment and should be investigated as a war crime. Last week, Israel’s defense minister announced plans for the military to seize ‘large areas’ in Gaza as part of a renewed offensive. According to the report, the perimeter zone makes up just over 15% of the Gaza Strip and is entirely off-limits to Palestinian residents. Critically, it contains 35% of the strip’s total agricultural land.”
The Forever War in Gaza, Foreign Affairs
Amos Harel writes: “From [Netanyahu’s] perspective, he must delay the implementation of any cease-fire that would end the war and foreclose the fantasy of restoring Israeli settlements in Gaza to satisfy his right-wing allies. But he cannot sound as decisive as these allies do on fully reoccupying Gaza and resettling Israelis there… Keeping the Gaza war simmering is the simplest way to do that, no matter the long-term cost to the hostages, the Palestinians, the Middle East, and Israel itself.”
Eyewitnesses Recount Deadly Israeli Attack on Medics in Gaza, The New York Times
“The United Nations has accused Israel of killing the 15 workers, discarding their bodies and destroying the vehicles. The two men’s accounts appear to support those accusations… The video and the witnesses’ accounts contradict the Israeli military’s initial explanation for the attack, which was that its forces had opened fire on the emergency vehicles because they were ‘advancing suspiciously.’”
[Podcast] Israel’s Nightmare Scenario: ‘Netanyahu Is Up to His Neck in Criminal Investigations as War Rages’, Haaretz
Haaretz columnist Amir Tibon and podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer discuss current events in the Gaza conflict: “We now find ourselves with 59 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the tunnels of Gaza; Israeli troops on the ground; and rockets are being fired at northern, southern and central Israel,” Tibon said, pointing to the fact that instead of dealing with the security needs of the country, “the prime minister is running from court to the police investigation.”