Hamas Official Says Gaza Ceasefire Talks Have Resumed After Weekslong Hiatus, AP
Ceasefire negotiations were halted last month when Qatar suspended talks with mediators from Egypt and the United States because of frustration over a lack of progress between Israel and Hamas. But there has been a “reactivation” of efforts in recent days to end the fighting, release hostages from Gaza and free Palestinian prisoners in Israel, according to Bassem Naim, an official in Hamas’ political bureau. Since the talks broke down, there have been significant shifts in the global and regional landscape. Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, and a ceasefire was declared last week between Israel and Hamas ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
US Envoy: Israel Shouldn’t Make ‘Small Things Into Big Things’ in Tenuous Lebanon Truce, The Times of Israel
US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew on Thursday cautioned Israel against overreacting to incidents in Lebanon amid efforts to stabilize the ceasefire with Hezbollah, and said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vocal insistence on Israel maintaining forces along the Gaza-Egypt border had “distracted attention” from the fact that Hamas was the main obstacle to a hostage deal.
Ailing Kids Wait Months for Israeli Permission To Leave Gaza for Treatment. Some Die in the Meantime, AP
Thousands of patients in Gaza are waiting for Israeli permission for urgently needed medical evacuation from Gaza for treatment of war wounds or chronic diseases they can’t get after the destruction of much of the territory’s health care system by Israel’s 15-month military campaign. Among them are at least 2,500 children who UNICEF says must be transported immediately.
Israeli Intelligence Sees Growing Chance Assad’s Forces Collapse in Syria, Axios
The U.S. official said that Israel had expressed concern to Washington about a takeover of Syria by radical Islamic elements on the one hand, or an alternative scenario in which additional Iranian forces enter the country and increase Tehran’s influence.
‘Predetermined Conclusion’: Amnesty Israel Rejects Gaza Genocide Report by Amnesty International, Haaretz
In response to the report, Amnesty Israel, which operates as a separate NGO from the international body, said that despite the scope of attacks on civilians in Gaza, it is doubtful that “the element of intent in perpetrating the full or partial extermination of the Palestinian population in the framework of the war” has been proven.
Australia Synagogue Fire Condemned As Clear Act of Antisemitism As Police Search for Suspects, CNN
Police are searching for two masked suspects after a synagogue was set on fire in southeastern Australia early Friday in an attack condemned by the prime minister as an act of antisemitism.
Israeli Forces Storm Into Gaza Hospital, Expel Some Staff, Displaced People, Its Director Says, Reuters
Israeli forces stormed into Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in north Gaza overnight on Friday and expelled some staff and displaced people before withdrawing, and bodies of people killed by airstrikes littered the streets outside, its director said.
IDF to Arm Israeli Field Spotters More Than Year After Hamas’ Massacre, Haaretz
The army will also move women spotters from border outposts to positions farther away. The decision was taken after 15 women field observers were killed at the Nahal Oz outpost and seven more were abducted to Gaza. One of them, Noa Marciano, was murdered in captivity, while another, Ori Megidish, was rescued. Hamas still holds five other women soldiers.
Undercover Israeli Forces Raid West Bank Hospital, Seize Alleged Militant From ICU, CNN
“Around 20 undercover Israeli special forces – wearing doctors’, nurses’, and even female Palestinians’ outfits – stormed the hospital,” a hospital official, who asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to speak with the media, told CNN. “The entire process took less than six minutes – storming, kidnapping and departure.”
The West Bank Villages Wiped Off the Map by Israeli Settler Violence, +972
Oren Ziv reports, “At least 57 Palestinian communities have been forced to flee their homes since October 7 as a result of Israeli settler attacks. Of these, seven have been partially displaced — meaning the expulsion of at least one residential cluster, located several hundred meters away from the next — and 50 have been wiped off the map entirely.”
The White House Gave Israel Coordinates to Save an American’s Family. Then Israel Bombed Them Again, The Intercept
Kavitha Chekuru reports, “Ayman Alsayed was skeptical that the White House’s involvement would help his family, given the Biden administration’s unwavering support for Israel. ‘But I wanted to do something, at least,’ he said. ‘I just wanted to do anything I can.’ By the time the White House became involved, hours had passed since the initial attack. In Gaza, Diaa Alsayed was still in touch with relatives trapped in the rubble of the house.”
A Ceasefire Happened in Lebanon, but Israel Seems To Have Missed the Memo, The Atlantic Council
Nicholas Blanford shares, “Where Israel was once hesitant to take action against Hezbollah in case it triggered an escalation of unwanted cross-border violence, the calculus has mostly swung the opposite way. Israel’s post-ceasefire shelling and air strikes indicate that it will police the agreement by fire, irrespective of any response by Hezbollah.”
Turkey and Israel Are Reaping Rewards From the Chaos in Syria, Responsible Statecraft
Ali Rizk writes, “Given that the president-elect has chosen staunch Israeli supporters to occupy senior posts in his cabinet, there appears to be strong reason to believe that Trump 2.0 policy towards Damascus will be determined to a large degree by Israeli preferences. If so, Washington’s approach may be to weaken and possibly oust Assad from power given the latter’s longstanding alliance with Iran, which remains Public Enemy Number One for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”