IDF Targets Hamas Gaza Leader Mohammed Sinwar in Strike on European Hospital in Khan Yunis, Haaretz
“The Israeli army attempted on Tuesday to assassinate Hamas’ leader in the Gaza Strip, Mohammed Sinwar – the brother of slain former leader Yahya Sinwar. It is not yet clear whether he was killed in the attack. According to reports in Palestinian media, at least 16 people were killed and 70 were wounded in the strike, and a journalist was wounded by shrapnel. Footage from Gaza shows residents trying to rescue wounded individuals buried under the ground.”
In Private, Some Israeli Officers Admit That Gaza Is on the Brink of Starvation, The New York Times
“Israeli military officers who monitor humanitarian conditions in Gaza have warned their commanders in recent days that unless the blockade is lifted quickly, many areas of the enclave will likely run out of enough food to meet minimum daily nutritional needs, according to the defense officials. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive details.”
Multiple Trump White House Officials have Ties to Antisemitic Extremists, NPR
“NPR has identified three Trump officials with close ties to antisemitic extremists, including a man described by federal prosecutors as a ‘Nazi sympathizer,’ and a prominent Holocaust denier. The White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Trump administration has used the fight against antisemitism as justification for the deportation of pro-Palestinian student protesters and funding cuts to universities.”
Half of American Jewish Voters Believe Trump is Antisemitic, Poll Finds, The Forward
“American Jews are also broadly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and fewer of them say they feel an attachment to Israel than before the current Israel-Hamas war, according to the survey. The survey of Jewish registered voters, conducted by the polling firm GBAO Strategies, found that 52% of respondents say the word ‘antisemitic’ describes the president very or somewhat well.”
Netanyahu Says There is ‘No Way’ Israel Halts the War in Gaza Until Hamas is Defeated, AP
“Any ceasefire deal reached would be temporary, the prime minister said. If Hamas were to say they would release more hostages, ‘we’ll take them, and then we’ll go in. But there will be no way we will stop the war,’ Netanyahu said. ‘We can make a ceasefire for a certain period of time, but we’re going to the end.’”
Israeli Strikes in Northern Gaza Kill at Least 48, Hospital Says, BBC
“The Indonesian hospital reported that 22 children and 15 women were among the dead after a number of homes in Jabalia town and refugee camp were hit. A video shared online appeared to show at least a dozen bodies on the floor there.”
Visiting Riyadh, Trump Tells Saudi Arabia: You’ll Join Abraham Accords in Your Own Time, The Times of Israel
“‘It’s my fervent hope, wish and even my dream that Saudi Arabia… will soon be joining the Abraham Accords,’ Trump said in a foreign policy speech in Riyadh. […] ‘But you’ll do it in your own time,’ Trump subsequently added, seeming to acknowledge that Riyadh is not currently prepared to normalize relations, given the ongoing war in Gaza and the current Israeli government’s refusal to establish a pathway to a future Palestinian state.”
Trump Announces US Will Remove Sanctions on Syria, Axios
“Trump’s announcement is a dramatic shift in US policy towards Syria less than six months after the collapse of the Assad regime. […] The meeting with al-Sharaa and the lifting of US sanctions is another instance of Trump defying Israel’s preferred policy, after the US engaged with direct talks with Iran and negotiated a ceasefire with the Houthis.”
Macron: EU May Revisit Cooperation Pacts with Israel Over PM’s ‘Shameful’ Gaza Policy, The Times of Israel
“‘What the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is doing is unacceptable … There is no water, no medicine, the wounded cannot get out, the doctors cannot get in. What he is doing is shameful,’ Macron told TF1 television. ‘We need the United States. President Trump has the levers. I have had tough words with Prime Minister Netanyahu. I got angry, but [Israel] don’t depend on us, they depend on American weapons,’ he said.”
Iran Proposes Novel Path to Nuclear Deal With US, The New York Times
“Iran has proposed the creation of a joint nuclear-enrichment venture involving regional Arab countries and American investments as an alternative to Washington’s demand that it dismantle its nuclear program, according to four Iranian officials familiar with the plan.”
The Israeli Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Gaza, The New Yorker
Ruth Margalit writes, “Last week, as Israel called up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers, Eran Tamir, an infantryman who had served four tours of duty in eighteen months, decided that he would not be among them. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced that the country was planning an ‘intensive’ ground offensive in Gaza, but Tamir argued in an open letter that the administration’s rhetoric was misleading. ‘They will say that this is an effort to free the hostages, that this is a war of survival or resurrection, and that this time Hamas will truly be defeated – It’s a deception.’”
Despite Netanyahu, Edan Alexander is Finally Free, The Forward
Sruli Fruchter writes, “[Trump] cannot be trusted to act in the best interest of anyone except himself. His cozying up to the Houthis, Iran and Qatar is not about seeking peace, but about his own gain. There is a reason that Alexander, the last surviving American hostage, is the only one whose liberty he negotiated for. But when it comes to the hostages, Netanyahu is a liability, not an asset. Trump is the only person in the world with real authority to bypass Netanyahu – and the one person that Netanyahu cannot say no to.”
This Is Not the Saudi Arabia Trump Visited Before, The New York Times
Michael Ratney, former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, writes, “The Saudi leader may also be looking around at America’s deteriorating relationships with our closest allies and wondering: If this is how America treats its friends, how will it treat us down the road? A treaty that binds us to the Saudis would also bind the Saudis to us – to our unpredictability, to our growing antagonism to alliances, and to our willingness to upend global economic structures that on balance have long served the Saudis and the United States well.”