Israeli Defense Minister to Discuss ‘Future of the War’ in Washington
Yoav Gallant arrived in Washington to discuss Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip as well as escalating hostilities on its northern border with Lebanon during multiday talks that he called “critical for the future of the war” (Times of Israel)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview that Israel would soon shift to a less intense phase of combat against Hamas and move some personnel to northern Israel amid rising tensions with Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah (AP)
While Netanyahu suggested Israel will refocus its forces on Hezbollah, he said he aimed to continue fighting in the Gaza Strip but is prepared to make a partial deal with Hamas to free some hostages (WaPo)
Aid Deliveries Resume From U.S. Pier Near Gaza
Some 1.4 million pounds of aid were transferred from the floating pier after it reopened following repairs, a Pentagon spokesperson said (AP)
Though Israel has paused fighting each day in order for aid to pass along a separate humanitarian corridor into the enclave, UN World Food Program Executive Director Cindy McCain said that deliveries have not effectively increased due to lawlessness and looting (Al-Monitor)
Thousands of Israelis Demonstrate Against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Government
Demonstrators gathered outside of the Israeli parliament and Netanyahu’s Jerusalem home yesterday; they called for a cease-fire to return hostages in Gaza and new elections (AFP)
Israel’s Netanyahu Dissolves War Cabinet
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved a war cabinet that had been formed on October 11, leaving Netanyahu’s final decisions about the war against Hamas to a smaller number of advisors (Times of Israel)
After two more moderate members of the war cabinet left last week, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir demanded that he be added to the forum; Israel still has a separate, broader security cabinet that Netanyahu can consult (NYT)
The dissolution came as Israel’s military announced yesterday that it will pause operations on a road in the southern Gaza Strip for eleven hours each day to allow in more aid (Times of Israel)
Separately, a spokesperson for Israel’s military warned yesterday of “a wider escalation” of conflict with Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah; White House envoy Amos Hochstein is visiting Israel today in an effort to contain those tensions (Haaretz)
Washington Evaluates Hamas Response to Cease-Fire Proposal
Hamas requested changes to a draft cease-fire deal that were not immediately made public, though the group said they prioritized the need to “completely” end the war (FT)
While talks continue, Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets into northern Israel today in response to the killing of one of the group’s top commanders(AP)
UN Security Council Passes U.S. Resolution for Gaza Cease-Fire, Hostage Deal
Fourteen members of the UN Security Council yesterday voted for the resolution supporting a three-phase plan for a truce and hostage release deal in the Gaza Strip, while Russia abstained; the resolution’s adoption came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East for talks regarding the deal on his eighth wartime visit (Al-Monitor)
Blinken said today that the world is now awaiting the response of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar; yesterday, Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (NYT)
If implemented, the plan outlined in the UN resolution could see the return of more than one hundred remaining hostages held by Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and the enclave’s reconstruction (WaPo)
The resolution itself said that Israel had accepted the deal; after its approval, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas voiced their approval as well (Reuters)
Israel’s Gantz Departs War Cabinet
Centrist Benny Gantz announced his party’s departure from Israel’s governing coalition yesterday; he cited the lack of a postwar governance plan for the Gaza Strip, called for early elections, and endorsed a cease-fire and hostage release deal supported by the United States (Times of Israel)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Cairo to discuss the proposed deal (AFP)
Gantz’s announcement was delayed by one day due to an Israeli military operation that freed four hostages in Gaza; at least 274 Palestinians were killed during the raid, Gaza’s health ministry said (AP)
Demonstrators Across Israel Call for Cease-fire Deal as War With Hamas Reaches Nine-month Mark
Israeli negotiators will resume talks this week on a potential deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, though “there are still gaps between the parties” (Times of Israel,AP)
U.S., Sixteen Other Countries Release Statement Supporting Cease-Fire, Hostage Deal
The seventeen countries have citizens taken hostage by Hamas; they urged Israel and Hamas to “make whatever final compromises are necessary to close this deal and bring relief to the families of our hostages,” adding that “it is time for the war to end” in a statement yesterday (White House)
Israeli Airstrike Hits UN School in Central Gaza Strip
Israel said the school was holding Hamas operatives; the Palestinian Authority’s news agency said several of those killed were displaced civilians (NYT)
Yesterday, Israel’s military said it launched a new offensive against Hamas in the area (AP)
Separately, Spain decided to partner on South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) “because of the ongoing military operation in Gaza,” Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said (AP)
Spain is the first European country to formally request to join the suit, though Ireland has previously said it plans to join South Africa’s case; Israel says the suit is baseless and its actions in Gaza are self-defense (Reuters)
Reports: U.S. Envoys Make Diplomatic Push in Middle East for Cease-Fire, Hostage Deal
CIA Director William J. Burns and White House advisor Brett McGurk have been dispatched to the Middle East to push for a U.S.-backed cease-fire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas, unnamed sources told multiple news outlets (Axios)
Amid the renewed diplomacy, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with families of Americans being held by Hamas yesterday to detail the proposed deal, posting that it “must get done” (NSC/X)
While different parties consider the proposal, a string of incidents have also underscored the potential for further regional escalation of the conflict; yesterday the Israeli military’s chief of staff said Israeli forces will soon determine their response to ongoing attacks in northern Israel by the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah (Times of Israel)
This morning, a gunman was shot and captured after firing shots outside the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, the Lebanese military said; no motive was immediately clear, and Lebanese authorities said they were investigating the incident (AP)
Washington Submits Resolution on Gaza Cease-Fire to UN Security Council
U.S. officials continue their diplomatic push to support a cease-fire and hostage release deal in the Gaza Strip, which leaders of Group of Seven (G7) countries endorsed yesterday (Reuters)
The families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas reiterated calls for a deal yesterday after Israel’s military announced four hostages had been killed months ago (CNN)
Israel’s War Cabinet Meets to Discuss New Potential Cease-Fire Deal
The war cabinet met last night to discuss a potential cease-fire deal with Hamas that U.S. President Joe Biden outlined in a speech on Friday (Times of Israel)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the onus is on Hamas to accept the deal; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top foreign policy advisor told the Sunday Times that the Israeli government agreed to the deal, though two far-right ministers in the governing coalition threatened to dissolve the government over its terms
Israeli Party in Netanyahu’s Coalition Presents Bill to Dissolve Parliament
The National Unity party of war cabinet member Benny Gantz submitted a bill to dissolve the Knesset yesterday; analysts said it was unlikely the bill would earn sufficient support to pass, but its submission reflects growing divisions in the Israeli government over the country’s war strategy in the Gaza Strip (Bloomberg)
Netanyahu’s Likud party dismissed the bill as divisive and damaging to the war effort (Times of Israel)
Separately, the Israeli military announced it had advanced into central Rafah (NYT)
Israeli National Security Advisor Projects Gaza War Will Continue Through Year’s End
Israel expects another seven months of combat in the Gaza Strip before it destroys the military and governing capabilities of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi told Israeli public broadcaster Kan; Israel has seized “operational control” of a buffer strip of southern Gaza on the border with Egypt, its military announced yesterday (NYT)
U.S. Temporarily Halts Aid Deliveries Through Gaza Pier for Repairs
Part of the U.S.-built pier broke off as a result of bad weather, and rebuilding and repairing it will take at least a week, U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson Sabrina Singh said yesterday; more than one thousand metric tons of humanitarian aid have been delivered to the Gaza Strip via the pier (Times of Israel)
UN Security Council Expected to Meet After Rafah Strike
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting today regarding the situation in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, unnamed diplomats told media (AP)
An Israeli strike in Rafah on Sunday night killed at least forty-five people at a camp for displaced Palestinians, the Gaza health ministry said (NYT)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the event a “tragic mishap”; it prompted global calls for Israel to protect civilians (BBC)
A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said that “Israel has a right to go after Hamas, and we understand this strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists,” but that “Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians” (Reuters)
The strike came as tensions rose between Israel and Egypt over the weekend following the death of an Egyptian soldier in the Rafah area; both Israeli and Egyptian authorities said they were investigating the incident (BBC)
Ahead of Expected ICJ Ruling, Israel Says It Is Carrying Out Partial Operation in Rafah
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah in response to South Africa’s petition; Israel’s military said yesterday that it was operating in Rafah’s Brazil and Shaboura areas (NYT)
UN Halts Food Distribution in Southern Gaza’s Rafah
The United Nations said a lack of supplies and an untenable security situation led to yesterday’s halt; some four hundred thousand people are thought to still be in Rafah after around nine hundred thousand departed over the past two weeks, the Israeli military office in charge of Palestinian affairs said (AP)
A U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson said yesterday that none of the aid unloaded from a U.S.-built pier near the Gaza Strip had been delivered to the broader Palestinian population (CNN)
Crowds looted several UN World Food Program trucks carrying aid from the pier on Saturday, prompting the agency to suspend deliveries; the aid is being taken to warehouses for further distribution (NYT)
Separately, officials from Ireland, Norway, and Spain said today that they will recognize an independent Palestinian state; more than 140 countries have made this call, but most Western European countries do not hold this recognition (NYT)
In response, Israel’s foreign minister said the recognition sends the message that “terrorism pays,” and Israel recalled its ambassadors from the three countries for consultations (NBC)
Meanwhile, the families of several female Israeli soldiers taken hostage by Hamas released a video of their abduction in an effort to pressure the Israeli government to increase efforts to bring them home; the video was captured from body cameras worn by Hamas fighters (Times of Israel)
Israel’s prime minister’s office said yesterday evening that officials had instructed negotiators to continue hostage release talks (Haaretz)
Biden Denounces ICC Announcement Seeking Warrants as ‘Outrageous’
U.S. President Joe Biden has rejected yesterday’s news that the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders and two Israeli officials related to Hamas’s October 7 attacks and the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip; Biden issued a statement calling the development “outrageous” and said there is “no equivalence” between Israel and Hamas (CNN)
Speaking at an event to mark Jewish American Heritage Month, Biden said that Israel “wants to do all it can to ensure civilian protection” and “what is happening is not genocide” (NYT)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the leaders the prosecutor accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, said that he rejected the comparison with Hamas “with disgust,” while Hamas, too, rebuked the charges and demanded their cancellation (Reuters)
In Europe, countries including Italy and the United Kingdom (UK) criticized the news, while Belgium and France were among those that voiced their support for the ICC (FT)
While U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said House Republican leaders would consider imposing sanctions on the court, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby did not endorse that effort (CNN)
ICC Prosecutor Seeks Arrest Warrants for Israeli, Hamas Leaders
International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan announced today that he applied for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh; Khan said he has “reasonable grounds to believe” the five men bear “criminal responsibility” for war crimesand crimes against humanity in relation to Hamas’s October 7 attack in Israel and the war in the Gaza Strip (FT)
If ICC judges approve the warrants, they could result in arrests if the named leaders travel to ICC member countries; neither Israel nor Hamas immediately commented (NYT)
Netanyahu said in April that Israel “will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense” (DW)
First Aid Trucks Enter Gaza From U.S.-Built Pier
Trucks entered the enclave this morning as part of a multinational aid effort, U.S. Central Command said; the U.S. military built the floating pier and is providing logistical support for the operation, though no U.S. troops entered the Gaza Strip (NYT)
The pier operation could scale up to 150 trucks of aid per day, U.S. officials said (AP)
U.S. Anchors Aid Pier on Gaza Coast
Humanitarian supplies are due to move into the Gaza Strip via the temporary pier “in the coming days,” U.S. Central Command said today; the U.S. Department of Defense has said it aims for the operation to eventually supply 150 trucks with assistance per day (NYT)
At its annual summit, the Arab League called for a UN peacekeeping force in Gaza and the West Bank until a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be established based on borders prior to the Arab-Israeli war of 1967; it also called for a timeline for such a negotiation (NYT)
A UN spokesperson noted the organization’s forces do not enter active conflict zones (NYT)
Washington has raised the prospect of some Arab countries participating in a multinational security force in Gaza once the war ends (FT)
Biden Administration Advances Plan for New $1 Billion Arms Sale to Israel
The Joe Biden administration notified Congress yesterday that it plans to sell more than $1 billion in new weapons to Israel, unnamed U.S. and congressional officials told the Wall Street Journal and other media outlets;the package reportedly includes tank ammunition, tactical vehicles, and mortar rounds (WSJ)
When asked for comment on the new package, the White House and State Department referred to U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s statement on Monday that the United States is “continuing to send military assistance” to Israel despite previously pausing one shipment of two-thousand-pound bombs over concerns they might be dropped in densely populated cities (CNN)
U.S. officials have stressed particular concern over the possibility of a full-scale Israeli military offensive in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, from which almost 450,000 people have evacuated over the past week, according to the United Nations (BBC)
Sullivan said in his Monday remarks that Washington was “still working with Israel on a better way to ensure the defeat of Hamas everywhere in Gaza, including in Rafah;” in the immediate term, U.S. negotiators have pushed for a cease-fire and hostage exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, though Qatar’s prime minister said yesterday that those talks were at “almost a stalemate” (NYT)
NYT: Files Reveal How Hamas Surveilled Palestinians in Gaza
A Hamas police force in the Gaza Strip maintained files for years on journalists and people who questioned the Hamas government in the enclave, according to internal documents seen by the New York Times; Hamas security officials followed journalists and other critics and discussed ways to defame political adversaries (NYT)