Israeli Police Detain At Least Nine Military Reservists for Questioning Over Suspected Sexual Abuse of Palestinian Detainee
Some demonstrators broke into the Israeli military base to protest the reservist detentions; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the break-in (NYT)
Harris, Trump Separately Call for End to Gaza War During Netanyahu Visit
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called for swift conclusion of a deal to bring home hostages and establish a cease-fire in Gaza in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday; she reiterated Washington’s “ironclad support” for Israel but voiced concern over the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, saying they should be able to exercise their right to “freedom, dignity, and self-determination” (CNN)
Netanyahu is also due to meet with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who separately called for Israel to end the war in Gaza “and get it done quickly” in an interview with Fox yesterday (NYT)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Says Israel “Will Not Relent” in Its Military Campaign Against Hamas in Gaza
In his address to the U.S. Congress yesterday, he said his postwar vision for the territory was of a “demilitarized and deradicalized Gaza” led by a civilian government of Palestinians who do not seek to destroy Israel; he is scheduled to make a visit to the White House today (Times of Israel, AP)
Prime Ministers of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand Say Cease-fire and Hostage-release Deal Is “Needed Desperately”
In a joint statement, the leaders called on Israel to “respond substantively” to an International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion that found Israeli occupation of certain Palestinian territories is illegal; Israel has called the ICJ ruling “blatantly one-sided” (The Guardian)
Israel’s Netanyahu to Address Joint Session of U.S. Congress Amid Ongoing War
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will lay out his vision in Israel’s war against Hamas and response to regional threats while reaffirming the country’s partnership with the United States;Nentanyahu’s visit to Washington this week comes as the war triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack continues in its tenth month, with mounting Israeli domestic pressure to secure a hostage release deal and global concern about the conflict’s humanitarian toll in Gaza and potential escalation to other parts of the Middle East (Times of Israel)
Netanyahu is also scheduled to later meet with senior U.S. political officials including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump (NBC)
Leaders of Palestinian Factions Sign Unity Declaration in Beijing
The leaders of Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, signed a joint statement calling for the establishment of a Palestinian unity government in Beijing; historic divisions among the groups and the failure of previous reconciliation efforts have led experts to cast doubt on the feasibility of such a government (WaPo)
Previous mediation talks brokered by China ended without a joint declaration; today’s statement said that a unity government would oversee the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as work toward holding elections (Reuters)
Israel’s foreign minister criticized the deal, saying “Hamas’s rule will be crushed” (Times of London)
Washington has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern postwar Gaza (Times of Israel)
The declaration in Beijing comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington this week, where he is due to address the U.S. Congress and meet with senior officials, including President Joe Biden (AP)
Netanyahu’s office said today that a deal could be near on a hostage release in Israel’s war with Hamas (Reuters)
Israel Strikes Port in Yemen, Intercepts Incoming Missile
Israeli fighter jets bombed a port in Yemen on Saturday in what was retaliation for a deadly strike on Tel Aviv by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels; the health ministry in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital said the strikes killed three people and wounded dozens of others (NYT)
Yesterday, Israel’s military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen (AP)
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for Washington today, where he is due to address Congress on Wednesday and hold senior meetings with U.S. officials (Haaretz)
Yesterday, his office announced it is sending a delegation to cease-fire talks this week regarding the conflict in Gaza(Times of Israel)
Houthis Claim Attack on Tel Aviv That Killed One
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels carried out a drone attack near the U.S. consulate in Tel Aviv, killing one person and wounding at least ten; it was the first deadly Houthi attack on the city since the war in the Gaza Strip began last October when Hamas militants attacked Israel (AP)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the country will “settle the score” with anyone who attacks it (Times of Israel)
Israel Continues Heavy Strikes in Gaza
Israel’s military said that it carried out twenty-five strikes in the past twenty-four hours, while Gaza’s health ministry said that Israeli strikes had killed fifty-four people (Al Jazeera)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “this is exactly the time to increase the pressure even more” on Hamas to bring home hostages and achieve Israel’s war goals; Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh accused Israel of deliberately undermining negotiations on a potential cease-fire and hostage deal (AFP)
China to Host Officials From Palestinian Groups Hamas, Fatah for Talks
Next week’s talks aim to bridge differences between the rival factions over discussions on the possible postwar administration of the Gaza Strip; U.S. officials have argued the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority should play a central role in Gaza’s future governance, which would likely require Hamas’s approval (NYT)
Cease-fire talks between Hamas and Israel are still underway (AP)
Israeli Strike on Gaza Targets Hamas Military Chief
The Israeli air strike on Saturday killed at least ninety people in the Gaza Strip, local health officials said (CNN)
Israel was targeting Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif; Hamas said yesterday that he was in good health following the attack (Politico)
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Hamas commander Rafa Salama, described as one of Deif’s closest associates, was killed; a Hamas spokesperson said on Sunday that cease-fire talks with Israel are ongoing despite the fact the recent strike would “impact” negotiations. (AP)
U.S. To Dismantle Floating Aid Pier As Talks Continue on Gaza Cease-Fire
The U.S. military will wind down operations at a floating pier it had installed this spring to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said yesterday; Defense Department officials said more than eight thousand tons of aid had been delivered through the pier, but technical and weather-related issues prohibited it from being reattached this week (BBC)
Israel has given relief organizations more access to Gaza in recent weeks via ground crossings, the New York Times reported, though the aid groups report that the humanitarian situation currently faced by hundreds of thousands of people is still desperate (NYT)
Meanwhile, U.S. negotiators are in the Middle East this week for renewed cease-fire talks (AP)
U.S. President Joe Biden said in a press conference yesterday that “the trend is positive” in those negotiations, and said that “the day after” in Gaza should be “no occupation by Israel” (White House)
Today, envoys are in Cairo discussing a three-phase deal on hostage release and a cease-fire; part of the negotiations cover the postwar fate of Gaza (NYT)
Israel Warns All Residents of Gaza City to Evacuate
The announcement widens a previous partial evacuation order and says the city will remain a “dangerous combat zone” (NYT)
Thousands Flee New Israeli Push Into Gaza City
Palestinians fled parts of the Gaza Strip’s largest city yesterday and today amid a renewed Israeli military raid in the area; residents of Gaza reported some of the fiercest fighting since the start of the war (Reuters)
The Israeli offensive could put ongoing cease-fire talks between Hamas and Israel at risk, a Hamas leader said yesterday (AP)
Thousands Flee Southern Gaza After New Evacuation Order
Israeli forces bombed several areas of the southern Gaza Strip as thousands of Palestinians fled areas around Khan Younis following an Israeli evacuation order (Reuters)
The New York Times reported that several former and current top Israeli military officials want a cease-fire in Gaza to free hostages and regroup ahead of a potential land war against Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah (NYT)
Meanwhile, twelve former U.S. officials who resigned over U.S. policy in Gaza released a joint statement saying Washington’s posture has damaged U.S. credibility and “put a target on America’s back;” the White House and State Department did not immediately comment (Reuters)
Militants Fire Rockets From Gaza Into Israel, IDF Orders Khan Younis Evacuation
Militants in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis fired at least twenty rockets across the border into Israel, the Israeli military said, in what was the biggest strike in seven months; the Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack (Times of Israel)
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also ordered new evacuations of part of Khan Younis, where they had previously invaded and then withdrawn(NYT)
Foreign Envoys Criticize Israel Plans to Officially Recognize Five Unauthorized West Bank Settlements
Envoys from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the European Union criticized the statement by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in which he also said Israel will release tax funds to the Palestinian Authority that had been frozen since October 7; the Israeli Prime Minister’s office did not immediately comment on Smotrich’s statement (CNN)
UN Experts: Almost Half a Million Gazans Face Catastrophic Levels of Acute Food Insecurity
The UN-backed group of experts stopped short of declaring that the mass starvation is yet considered famine, but the report prompted renewed calls to facilitate access to aid in the enclave (NYT)
Israeli Supreme Court Rules Military Must Draft Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Men
Ultra-Orthodox male students had been previously exempt from conscription into military service, but the court cited in its decision a principle of equality before the law (Times of Israel)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition relies on two ultra-Orthodox parties to govern; for several weeks, he had aimed to advance legislation that would preserve their exemption from military service (CNN)
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)