We Must Face Reality — the Gaza War Is Now a War of Annihilation, The Forward
Rabbi Jay Michaelson writes, “Who are we, as Jews? What have we become? How have we allowed our trauma, and the evils of our enemies, to poison us so? As the pro-Israel, pro-peace organization J Street put it in a recent social media post, ‘the generations that follow us will be right to ask where we were as Gaza was leveled, why we did not speak out and why we did not do what we could to stop it.’”
UN Condemns US Aid Scheme in Gaza After Israel Opens Fire on Crowd, The Washington Post
“U.N. officials said that as many as 50 people appeared to have been shot and injured near the private aid distribution site in the southern city of Rafah’s Tel al-Sultan neighborhood Tuesday, and that crowds had overrun a World Food Program distribution site near Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on Wednesday, sacking it for individual bags of flour, before themselves being attacked by armed looters[…] ‘Humanitarian needs have spiraled out of control after 80 days of complete blockade of all food assistance and other aid into Gaza,’ WFP said.’”
Israel Announces Major Expansion of Settlements in Occupied West Bank, BBC
“[Defence Minister] Katz said the move ‘prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel’, while the Palestinian presidency called it a ‘dangerous escalation.’”
Israel Intensely Bombards Gaza Amid Chaos Surrounding Aid Handouts, The New York Times
“Israel bombarded Gaza intensely on Thursday and local health officials said more than 60 people had been killed over the past day, as hungry Palestinians scrambled for food handouts under a new Israeli-backed aid operation that the United Nations says is insufficient to meet basic needs for survival.”
New US Deal Outline Would See 10 Live Hostages Freed, 60-Day Truce, Option to Resume War, The Times of Israel
“The new proposal from US special envoy Steve Witkoff for a deal between Israel and the Hamas terror group would see the release of 10 living Israeli hostages held in Gaza and the return of the bodies of 18 deceased hostages, in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire, an Israeli official confirmed to The Times of Israel on Thursday.”
Former Israeli Hostage Describes Witnessing Torture in Hamas Captivity [Video], CNN
Keith Siegel, an Israeli-American citizen, was abducted by Hamas from his home in kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023 and released earlier this year as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. In an interview with CNN’s Jeremy Diamond, Siegel describes his captivity and his fears for the remaining hostages.
Trump Says He Told Israel’s Netanyahu Not to Act Against Iran, Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week not to take actions that could disrupt nuclear talks with Iran. ‘I told him this would be inappropriate to do right now because we’re very close to a solution now.’”
Netanyahu Says Hamas Leader Mohammed Sinwar Has Been Killed by Israeli Forces, NPR
“Speaking on Wednesday at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Netanyahu said that Sinwar was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Netanyahu did not specify where Sinwar was killed.”
Families of Hostages Stage Protests on 600th Day of Israel-Gaza War, The Guardian
“’Our families have become the victims of cheap politics at the hands of the prime minister,’ [hostage families] said. ‘Instead of ending the war and bringing everyone home, he chose [finance minister Bezalel] Smotrich and [national security minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir, who prefer to occupy the Gaza Strip than to save the hostages.’”
Children in Gaza Are Starving. Let the U.N. Do Its Job., The New York Times
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell writes, “What we need is for UNICEF and its humanitarian partners to be allowed to do our jobs. We have proven that essentials like medicine, vaccines, water, food and nutrition for babies can reach those in distress, wherever they are, when we have unfettered and safe access. We are not asking for the impossible. We are asking for international humanitarian law to be respected and applied.”
Don’t: Israel Must Not Attack Iran, Haaretz
The Haaretz Editorial Board writes, “An Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure would almost certainly lead to an all-out war. It seems that even after his failure on October 7, 2023, Netanyahu continues to be engrossed in his hubris, endangering the future of this region, as well as Israel’s citizenry, by bringing on a new catastrophe.”
Tom Friedman: Will Israel’s War Ever End? [Podcast], The Opinions
Patrick Healy speaks to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman about his latest trip to the region, what he envisions for the future of Israel and how the ongoing conflict in Gaza is going to affect the country.
Trump Could Put Gaza on a Better Path With One Tweet, Foreign Policy
Daniel B. Shapiro writes, “U.S. President Donald Trump says he wants the war in Gaza to wrap up ‘as quickly as possible.’ He has it within his power to hasten its end. But to do so, he needs to reverse one of his biggest errors: He must declare the death of his proposal to build a Gaza Riviera.’”