J Street works to promote an open, honest and rigorous conversation about Israel. The opinions reflected in articles posted in the News Roundup do not necessarily reflect J Street’s positions, and their posting does not constitute an endorsement from J Street.
Israeli Forces Rescue Hostage From Gaza, The New York Times
The Israeli military said it had freed a 52-year-old Israeli Arab man. He is the eighth hostage to be rescued alive of the approximately 250 abducted 10 months ago.
After Hezbollah Attack Failed to Spark All-out War, US Sees Path Forward for Israel-Hamas Talks, Haaretz
The Biden administration will increase its efforts in the coming days to advance a hostage release and Gaza cease-fire deal with Hamas, encouraged by the fact that Sunday’s escalation between Israel and Hezbollah did not degenerate into an all-out war or draw in other regional parties. The administration believes that the fact that an all-out war was not ignited will increase Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s isolation, as well as the pressure that will be exerted on him to show flexibility in order to reach a deal soon.
Israeli Settlers Kill Palestinian in West Bank, Military Strike Kills 5 Others, Reuters
Israeli settlers shot dead one Palestinian and wounded three others in the occupied West Bank’s Bethlehem, while five others were killed in an Israeli strike on the Nur Shams refugee camp near the city of Tulkarm, the Palestinian health ministry said.
UN Says Humanitarian Work in Gaza Halted as IDF Orders Evacuation in Deir Al-Balah, The Times of Israel
“We are not operating today. As of this morning, we’re not operating in Gaza,” the official said, adding that since the start of the war, the UN has sometimes had to “delay or take a pause” in its humanitarian missions in the enclave.
Progress Made in Gaza Ceasefire Talks but Still Work to Do on ‘Final Details,’ US Official Says, CNN
Talks had made progress over the weekend, according to a senior US official familiar with the talks in Cairo, where mediators discussed “final details” of a potential agreement including the names of prisoners that would be exchanged as part of the pact.
Polio Vaccines Arrive in Gaza, but Distributing Them Is the Next Challenge, The New York Times
The campaign will be “a very difficult operation and its success will depend very much on the conditions on the ground at the time,” Sam Rose, a senior official from the agency, said at a news briefing on Monday.
Israel Says US Shipments of Arms and Equipment During War Exceed 50,000 Tons, The Times of Israel
The military equipment delivered to Israel since the beginning of the war includes “armored vehicles, munitions, ammunition, personal protection gear and medical equipment,” according to the ministry.
Israel Battles Hamas in Gaza as Space for Displaced Families Narrows, Reuters
In recent days, Israel has issued several evacuation orders across Gaza, the most since the beginning of the 10-month war, prompting an outcry from Palestinians, the United Nations, and relief officials over the reduction of humanitarian zones and the absence of safe areas. Residents and displaced families in the southern city of Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza, where most of the population is now concentrated, said they have been pushed to live in tents now packed on the beach.
Dread Lingers in Mideast After Israel-Hezbollah Clashes, The New York Times
Israel’s airstrikes on Sunday, which the Israeli military said had pre-empted a significant Hezbollah assault, had done little to change the balance between the two sides. For residents of Israeli border communities, he said, the situation remained frozen: roughly 60,000 Israelis displaced, even as those who stayed behind face daily rocket fire by Hezbollah.
Daniel Levy Sworn in as New Israel Police Chief Following Government Approval, The Times of Israel
In a statement on Sunday, Ben Gvir praised Levy as someone who ‘comes with a Zionist and Jewish agenda, and will lead the police according to the policy I have set for him,’ including the minister’s controversial plan for a volunteer national guard to be deployed in potential Arab unrest.
Israel Is Buying Google Ads to Discredit the UN’s Top Gaza Aid Agency, Wired
By buying ads for searches for “UNRWA” and “UNRWA USA,” the Israeli government now appeared to be aiming to draw potential donors to a webpage full of allegations about why the UNRWA couldn’t be trusted. The page claims the UN agency has not declared whether employing members of Hamas would violate its neutrality and that the agency doesn’t investigate its facilities for abuse by extremists.
Trump’s Unholy Alliance With Israel’s Jewish Supremacists, Haaretz
David Issacharoff shares, “A self-proclaimed ‘master’ of deals, all Trump did was hand Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel a blank check to intensify its occupation of the West Bank, solidifying the prime minister’s legacy of subjugating the Palestinians and leaving them with the grim choice of submission or resistance. We all saw how that ended on October 7.”
How Israel and Hezbollah Stepped Back From the Brink of All-Out War, The Washington Post
The Washington Post reports, “After a dramatic but short-lived exchange of rockets, missiles and drones shook the border zone early Sunday, many in the region have dared to ask: Was that it? Officials and analysts Monday mostly said yes, believing that the potentially disastrous attacks were, instead, a face-saving moment — allowing each of the combatants to step back from the edge of a wider conflict. The limited morning escalation — albeit the largest since the two sides began trading fire in October — has allowed Hezbollah to claim vengeance and Israel to project confidence in its security apparatus.”
Israeli Attacks Targeting Hamas and Other Armed Group Fighters That Killed Scores of Displaced Civilians in Rafah Should Be Investigated as War Crimes, Amnesty International
Amnesty International reports, “In addition to prohibiting attacks directed at civilians, international humanitarian law prohibits indiscriminate attacks, meaning those that are of a nature to strike military objectives and civilians or civilian objects without distinction. The principle of precaution further requires parties to a conflict to take constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects, including by taking all feasible precautions to avoid, and in any event minimize, incidental harm to civilians and damage to civilian objects.”
What Has Hezbollah Ever Done for Palestine?, Haaretz
Dahlia Scheindlin argues, “Like so many others, Hezbollah exploits Palestinians for its own gain while trafficking in arms, money and contraband. Its wheels are greased by god (and Tehran). Most disturbing perhaps is that despite being archenemies, Hezbollah and Israel are developing uncanny parallels. Israel’s government comprises corrupt, self-serving, theocracy-peddling autocrats with guns, which they distribute to militias, thereby cannibalizing state authority from within.”
Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter Under Threat: Urgent Call for Protection, The Jerusalem Post
J Street Israel Executive Director Nadav Tamir writes, “Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter faces a critical threat from real estate deals and far-Right ambitions. Urgent action is needed to protect this vital part of the city’s cultural and religious heritage.”
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