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Developments in Gaza Ceasefire Talks Raise Hopes but Challenges Persist. Here’s What to Know, CNN
A US official told CNN Thursday that last week’s call between Biden and Netanyahu seemed to reach a “breakthrough” on the transition from Phase 1 to Phase 2, adding that the deal is now “very consistent” with what Biden had laid out in May. Asked if the administration believes that Netanyahu is playing politics and could try to sabotage the deal, the official said the deal is structured in a way that “fully protects Israel’s interests.”
Gazans Flee Israeli Assault That Hamas Warns Could Threaten Ceasefire Bid, Reuters
“Gaza City is being wiped out, this is what is happening. Israel is forcing us to leave homes under fire,” Um Tamer, a mother of seven, told Reuters via a chat app. She said it was the seventh time her family had fled their house in Gaza City, in the north of the enclave and one of Israel’s first targets at the start of the war in October.
Gaza’s Chessboard of Suffering: Tens of Thousands on the Move Again as IDF Issues New Evacuation Orders, CNN
The effect has been to increase the total number of displaced people in Gaza, from 1.7 million in May to an estimated 1.9 million now, according to the UN. Approximately nine out of 10 people in Gaza are now estimated to be internally displaced, many of them multiple times.
Hostage Freed in Rescue Op Says Hamas Guards Threatened to Murder Him in Captivity, The Times of Israel
Andrey Kozlov recalls captor telling him he was to be filmed for propaganda video and then executed, describes enduring psychological damage from eight months in Gaza.
West Bank Settlement Closes Access Road to Palestinian Town, Angering Security Officials, Haaretz
The city of Ariel, the largest settlement in the West Bank, has blocked the access road to the adjacent Palestinian city of Salfit three times over the past week, without coordinating with the Israeli army. Mayor Yair Chetboun ordered the closures, claiming that doing so would increase settler security.
Israeli Army Expected to Indict Reservist Who Abused Palestinian Detainees, Haaretz
Israel’s military advocate general is expected to bring forward charges of abuse after a soldier allegedly beat Palestinian detainees while they were handcuffed. This comes as four detainees were located in recent days near the Kerem Shalom crossing, dead and handcuffed, according to Palestinian reports.
Israel Launches Airstrike near Syria’s Baniyas, Syrian News Agency Says, Reuters
Israel has launched an air attack targeting a site in the vicinity of the Syrian city of Baniyas that caused some material losses, the Syrian state news agency said on Tuesday quoting a military source. The Israeli military said “no comment” in response to a query from Reuters.
In First Ever Petition to Israeli Court, Palestinian Authority Looks to Reverse Terror Victim Compensation Laws, Haaretz
The two laws, the Compensation for Terror Victims Law and the Benefits for Casualties of Hostile Acts Law (Amendment No. 43), collectively allow victims of Palestinian terrorism and the victims’ families to seek compensation from the PA. The petition claims that the laws are illegal as they violate the PA’s economic sovereignty and would lead to its economic collapse.
Hamas Accuses Netanyahu of Placing ‘Obstacles’ to Truce-Hostage Negotiations, The Times of Israel
“The agreement is a concrete contribution to an economically viable Palestinian state, which can live peacefully and harmoniously with its neighbors,” Brazil’s foreign ministry said on Monday in a statement. Brazil recognizes a Palestinian state and allowed a Palestinian embassy to be built in the Brazilian capital in 2010.
Brazil Adopts Free Trade with Palestinian Authority in Show of Support, Reuters
“The agreement is a concrete contribution to an economically viable Palestinian state, which can live peacefully and harmoniously with its neighbors,” Brazil’s foreign ministry said on Monday in a statement. Brazil recognizes a Palestinian state and allowed a Palestinian embassy to be built in the Brazilian capital in 2010.
Iran’s President-Elect Reasserts Country’s Anti-Israel Stance, Backs ‘Resistance’, The Times of Israel
President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian reaffirmed Iran’s anti-Israel stance on Monday, saying so-called resistance movements across the region will not allow Israel’s “criminal policies” toward the Palestinians to continue. “The Islamic Republic has always supported the resistance of the people of the region against the illegitimate Zionist regime,” Pezeshkian said in a message to Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah terror group.
IDF Assesses Much of Hamas Tunnel Network Still in ‘Good Functional State’ – Report, The Times of Israel
Staff at The Times of Israel reports,”Even though the IDF has been focused on tackling Hamas in Rafah in recent weeks, functional tunnels in the area enable terror operatives to get close to the Israeli border, and only a few routes have been destroyed on the Philadelphi Route, along the Gaza-Egypt border, according to the report. Tunnels in Gaza City are in a medium to good state, and enable Hamas to gain proximity to the Israeli border, it added.”
In His Retirement Speech, Israel’s Top Officer in the West Bank Revealed the Hidden Truth, Haaretz
Amos Harel shares parts of the farewell speech given on Monday by Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs. “Sowing fear among the citizens of the country in the shadow of the events of October 7 is a dangerous mistake,” Fuchs warned. “The ability of the Central Command to fulfill its tasks, to protect the residents of Israel and the residents of the area under its command, depends on the existence of a functioning and strong PA, with effective security mechanisms that maintain law and order. This is the starting point for whoever is head of this command and is based on a cabinet decision.”
Meet the Followers of Martin Luther King Jr. in the West Bank, The New York Times
Nicholas Kristof writes, “The Nassars say they are trying to encourage Palestinians to turn rage and negativity into something constructive. Denied electrical grid connections and piped water to their farm, which has been in their family for more than a century, they collect rainwater in cisterns and have set up a solar electricity system. At every setback they grit their teeth and double down on their values.”
How Hezbollah Is Trying to Counter Israel’s High-Tech Surveillance, Reuters
Hezbollah began suspecting that Israel was targeting its fighters by tracking their cell phones and monitoring video feeds from security cameras installed on buildings in border communities, two sources familiar with the group’s thinking and a Lebanese intelligence official told Reuters.
‘A Miraculous Time’: Israel’s Far-right Jewish Fundamentalists Want War, Settlements and Intifada. And Netanyahu Is Facilitating Them, Haaretz
Anshel Pfeffer states, “There are those who fully understand the two wars being fought. Especially one person: Benjamin Netanyahu. He understands that his governing coalition is dependent on those fighting a fundamentalist war and he needs to keep them happy or they will bring down his government.”
‘I’m Bored, So I Shoot’: The Israeli Army’s Approval of Free-for-All Violence in Gaza, +972
Oren Ziv shares testimony from six Israeli soldiers. “The six sources — all except one of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity — recounted how Israeli soldiers routinely executed Palestinian civilians simply because they entered an area that the military defined as a ‘no-go zone.’ The testimonies paint a picture of a landscape littered with civilian corpses, which are left to rot or be eaten by stray animals; the army only hides them from view ahead of the arrival of international aid convoys, so that ‘images of people in advanced stages of decay don’t come out.’”