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.

Unilateral Strikes on Iran Risk Further Catastrophic Escalation, J Street
The intensity of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza continues to fuel instability and retaliation across the region. The Biden Administration and Congress must double-down on diplomacy and pursue carefully calculated deterrence efforts to avoid further escalation and bring a negotiated end to the war in Gaza, paving the way to the release of hostages, an end to the devastation wrought on civilians, and the easing of boiling tensions in the region.

Israel military operation destroys a Gaza cemetery. Israel says Hamas used the site to hide a tunnel, AP
The neighborhood of Bani Suheila in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, which soldiers showed foreign journalists Saturday, was obliterated, transformed by the military’s search for underground Hamas tunnels.

Framework for Ceasefire Deal Being Put to Hamas, Qatar’s PM Says, The Guardian
Speaking after talks in Paris between officials from the US, Qatar, Egypt and Israel, he said: “We are in a better place than we were a few weeks ago.” The basis of the deal is a 45-day pause in the fighting leading to the release of 35 Israeli hostages and as many as 4,000 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

Hamas studies new Gaza ceasefire proposal, Reuters
Hamas said on Tuesday it would study a new ceasefire proposal in the war with Israel in Gaza, hours after Israeli commandos killed three Palestinian militants in a raid on a hospital in the occupied West Bank. The raid underscored the risk of the Gaza war spreading to other fronts, while Israeli forces fought new battles with Hamas fighters in the Palestinian enclave. Clashes in northern Gaza forced more Palestinian residents to flee to safer areas, and southern parts of the coastal enclave were hit by Israeli air strikes.

U.N. to Study Reports of Sexual Violence in Israel During Oct. 7 Attack, New York Times
A United Nations team has arrived in Israel to examine reports of sexual violence during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 even as Hamas and some critics of Israel continue to reject evidence that such assaults occurred.

Israeli undercover forces dressed as women and medics storm West Bank hospital, killing 3 militants, AP
Israeli forces disguised as civilian women and medical workers stormed a hospital Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing three Palestinian militants in a dramatic raid that underscored how deadly violence has spilled into the territory from the war in Gaza.

Israel’s Far Right Plots a ‘New Gaza’ Without Palestinians, WSJ
Eitan Cahn has a vision for the future of Gaza City. He wants to turn it into a high-tech, green city that will draw Jewish residents and foreign tourists alike. It would be renamed “New Gaza,” and Palestinians wouldn’t be welcome. “The only way to have peace is if the Arabs are not there,” said the 49-year-old rabbi during an event described as “Settlements Bring Security,” held in Jerusalem on Sunday evening. “It will be an Israeli city.”

Israel Accuses 190 UN Staff of Being ‘Hardened’ Militants, Reuters
The six-page dossier, seen by Reuters, alleges that some 190 UNRWA employees, including teachers, have doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad militants. It has names and pictures for 11 them.

White House Blasts Israeli Confab on Gaza Resettlement Attended by PM’s Allies, Times of Israel
The White House slams yesterday’s conference in Jerusalem encouraging reestablishing settlements in the Gaza Strip, which was attended by nearly one-third of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet.

Five Palestinians Killed by Israeli Army Fire in Four Separate West Bank Incidents on Monday, Haaretz
The Israeli army says a young man was killed in the village of Al-Yamun after he shot at IDF soldiers ; Two other Palestinians were killed in Dura, another youth was killed near the Israeli settlement of Tekoa and another youth was killed near Ramallah

Pentagon says US is not seeking a war with Iran, ‘but we will take action’, Times of Israel
The Pentagon says it does not believe that Iran is seeking a war with the United States, and that Washington does not want a war either, a day after an Iran-backed group killed three US soldiers and wounded dozens more in Jordan.

An Orgy of Jewish Supremacy and Antidemocratic Euphoria, Encouraged by Netanyahu, Haaretz
Alon Pinkas writes, “This was not a fringe opposition group: it was the government of Israel in all its political splendor, unabashedly showing its true colors. This was the governing coalition in an orgy of anti-state and antidemocratic euphoria.”

What is UNRWA, the main aid provider in Gaza that Israel accuses of militant links?, PBS News Hour
Joseph Krauss writes, “Israel’s allegations that 12 employees of a United Nations agency were involved in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack have led the United States and several other countries to cut off funding and reignited debate over Gaza’s biggest humanitarian aid provider.”

Irresponsible, Shameful, Lethal: Netanyahu’s Disgraceful Efforts to Bring Home Israeli Hostages, Haaretz
Daniel Levin writes, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has focused more on gratuitously antagonizing the Biden administration and Qatar and gaslighting Israeli hostages’ families than on a disciplined, effective campaign to rescue those held captive by Hamas before it’s too late.”

Photos of life in war: Palestinians flee south in Gaza, Israel mourns dead soldiers, NPR
NPR Staff compiled a host of images showing the realities on the ground in Israel and Gaza.