Speaking to Radio 103FM Monday, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennet said that he also bares responsibility for Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel’s south.
Bennett was asked if he regrets allowing the entry of 18,500 Palestinian workers from the Strip into Israel every day during his tenure as Prime Minister. “Of course, I too bear responsibility,” he replied.
“I served as prime minister for about 12 months and acted to delay yet another clash with Hamas, under the premise that we can keep them afraid and deterred,” he added.
A third convoy of aid trucks entered the Rafah crossing from Egypt on Monday bound for the besieged Gaza Strip, an aid worker and two security sources said.
Deliveries of aid through Rafah began on Saturday after wrangling over procedures for inspecting the aid and bombardments on the Gaza side of the border had left relief materials stranded in Egypt.
The Israeli government has approved the allocation of one billion shekels to establish a reconstruction authority. This body will focus on rehabilitating the communities surrounding Gaza that were affected by the attacks carried out by Hamas. The allocated funds will be distributed in two phases: the first, totaling 100 million shekels, will come from the 2023 budget, while the second phase will amount to 900 million shekels, sourced from the 2024 budget.
Additionally, the ministers have agreed to allocate 59 million shekels to Ashkelon and Ofakim, where many residents were impacted by the war, and to communities that have provided shelter to residents who were displaced from their homes.
The Qatari Al-Araby Al-Jadeed news website reports that Egypt has proposed to set up refugee camps for Gazans who fled from the Strip’s northern regions.
According to the report, the refugee camps will be set up near the Rafah border crossing and will provide humanitarian aid, including the possibility of wounded Gazans to receive treatment in hospitals in Cairo.
The Israeli Health Ministry says that 295 Israelis, civilians and soldiers, remain admitted in hospitals across the country, with 46 of them in serious condition, 166 in moderate condition and 83 are lightly wounded.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Israeli office of Physicians for Human Rights and The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel have filled a petition to the Supreme Court Monday, asking to axe the bill that allows the state to assign mattresses to security prisoners and detainees on the floor instead of providing beds.
The petition states that preserving the human dignity of the detainees is of high national interest even in times of emergency, and that a time of war cannot be used as a justification for “cruel, inhuman and humiliating punishment”.
Passage of the government-sponsored bill would let prisons admit new inmates beyond their legal capacity. The bill gives the national security minister the authority to declare a state of emergency permitting changes to the conditions in which security prisoners are held. It states that inmates will only be assigned to a mattress on the floor if a bed is unavailable, and only for a period that is “as brief as possible.”
The preamble to the bill states that the sharp rise in the number of Palestinians who have been detained since the war with the Gaza Strip began, in prisons that were already nearly full, “has resulted in a significant increase in overcrowding of prisons facilities, in a way that does not allow compliance with the provisions of the law.”
In a statement on Monday, IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the army can confirm of 222 hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, including foreign nationals.
The army is in the possession of at least 1,000 bodies of killed Hamas members, Hagari added.
The statement further noted that the IDF has enabled 14 humanitarian aid trucks to enter the Strip in the last days after going through the necessary security checks. The aid did not include fuel and was provided to UNRWA, so it could continue and support the population within the Strip.
Referring to Israel’s northern front, Hagari said that in the last 24 hours, the IDF attacked and destroyed 8 anti-tank and rocket Hezbollah squads that attempted to strike Israel.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell joined calls on Monday for a pause in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas to let more aid supplies into Gaza.
“Now the most important thing is for humanitarian support to go into Gaza,” Borrell told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
Borrell said the ministers would discuss the call from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a pause to allow much more humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians to enter Gaza.
“I cannot anticipate the result of the meeting, but it is certainly something which the ministers will have to discuss … The Secretary-General of the United Nations asked for it very much,” Borrell said.
“Personally, I think a humanitarian pause is needed in order to allow humanitarian support to come in and be distributed,” he said.
I was one of the very first to publicly call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s resignation or ouster in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 tragedy and debacle.
It was the worst day in Israel’s history. It was on his watch. The complacency and incompetence were his. Therefore, he should have resigned.
But I’ve been around these places and these people, and had no illusions that he would actually do so. He just doesn’t have the qualities and character necessary to do the right thing. He lacks the moral compass, honor, core values, working conscience, sound perception of reality, basic understanding of the meaning of “responsibility” and some familiarity with the concept of “accountability.”
Now, it will not be enough for him to utter from the corner of his mouth, his eyes shifting, “I’m responsible.” That would be nothing more than a lame, disingenuous “There, I said it, now leave me alone.”
Read the full analysis here
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has urged a quick adoption of the Democracy Promotion Act presented by the government, against the backdrop of antisemitic rallies in Germany.
“We therefore need to strengthen the initiatives that protect and support Jews right now. That is why we now need the Democracy Promotion Act, which Family Minister Lisa Paus and I introduced to the Bundestag months ago,” Faeser told the newspaper Rheinische Post in remarks published early on Monday.
“The parliamentary deliberations are far advanced, it should now be passed quickly,” the Social Democrat (SPD) politician warned. She said that the new law would reliably promote and sustainably strengthen initiatives to combat antisemitism.
The Democracy Promotion Act is intended to provide associations and organizations that work to strengthen democracy and prevent extremism with a better financial basis in the future.
“We cannot lead the fight against antisemitism only with strong security authorities, but we must also strengthen our social forces. We must take away the space for hatred – everywhere, whether in social media, in schools or on the streets,” Faeser told the newspaper.
Antisemitism expert Benjamin Steinitz fears a radicalization of pro-Palestinian protests in Germany in view of the ongoing Gaza war.
“In Berlin, in North Rhine-Westphalia, but also in other parts of Germany, the terror of Hamas has been glorified quite openly as legitimate resistance at demonstrations in recent days,” the managing director of the Federal Association of Research and Information Centers on antisemitism (Rias) told the newspapers of the Funke Media Group.
In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, National security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged the prime minister to include in the limited war cabinet a coalition member who does not take part in the so-called false premise regarding Hamas that led to the war.
“I have accepted your unilateral decision on the formation of the limited [war] cabinet which does not include me,” Ben-Gvir wrote. “However, it is not conceivable that all the ministers that attend this cabinet will take part in a [false] premise which claimed for years that Hamas is indeed deterred.”
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the number of those killed in Israeli bombardments has already passed 4,380, including 1,756 children and 967 women, as of Saturday evening.
Over a thousand people are missing: Most are those the rescue teams failed to extract from under the rubble, and remain beneath them. Some were killed instantly, while others died slowly.
Some are dying as I write these words.
While Israel continues to prepare for, and delay, a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, the region is buzzing with activity. The United States has increased its military presence in the Middle East; it is now larger than it has been since it formed the coalition to fight ISIS in 2014. At the same time, Iran is activating its militias with redoubled vigor to attack Israeli and American forces, while Hezbollah continues to heat up the Lebanese border.
In a joint statement, the IDF Spokesperson unit and the Shin Bet security service have reported that the Israeli forces have attacked more than 320 Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip overnight on Monday.
Among the targets were Hamas tunnels, dozens of the organization’s headquarters, military compounds and observation posts.
Israeli defense officials are increasingly criticizing Gal Hirsch, selected by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to coordinate the rescue of the Israeli hostages Hamas abducted to the Gaza Strip two weeks ago.
The officials say Hirsch is failing to fulfill his role effectively or contribute anything substantial. They also take issue with his recent conduct on two occasions: his decision to be in the center of the first photo of the first Israelis released from Hamas captivity of two Israelis on Saturday and the tirade he directed at foreign ambassadors last week.
The sources said that while Hirsch should, as Netanyahu’s envoy, set the country’s policy on the hostages and missing, the military’s appointed coordinators – Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon and Maj. Gen. (res.) Lior Carmeli – should maintain control of operational decisions. They added that Hirsch makes no real contribution and that his appointment reflects Netanyahu’s skepticism about the appointment of Alon and Carmeli by Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi.
China views the situation in Gaza as “very serious” with the risk of a large-scale ground conflict rising and the spread of armed conflicts along neighboring borders, Chinese state media said on Monday, citing the country’s Middle East special envoy.
The envoy Zhai Jun, who is visiting the Middle East, said spillover effects in the region and internationally are widening, as conflict along the Israeli-Lebanese and Israeli-Syrian borders spread, “making the outlook worrisome”.
Zhai called on the international community to be “highly vigilant in this regard” and to take immediate action urging parties concerned to strictly abide by international humanitarian law and avoid a serious humanitarian disaster while putting in “joint efforts to control the situation”.
Zhai also said China is willing to do “whatever is conducive” to promote dialogue, achieve ceasefire and restore peace, as well as to promote the two-state solution and a just and lasting resolution to the conflict, China Central Television said.
Last week, Zhai pinned the cause of the Israel-Gaza crisis on the lack of guarantees for Palestinian rights as he met with his Russian counterpart in Qatar, a go-between in the conflict.
Zhai said China will continue maintaining close communication with the international community, including the Arab countries and will next visit the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other countries in the region to further strengthen coordination aimed at ending the crisis.
Prior to his trip, Zhai had phone calls with the foreign ministry heads of the Palestinians, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Norway, as well as with the special representatives at United Nations and European Union.
China has provided and will continue to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Palestinians through the UN and via bilateral channels to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis, Zhai added.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Monday that two Palestinians were killed and four were wounded by IDF fire in the Jalazone refugee camp in the central West Bank.
The deceased were identified as 22-year-old Muhammad Aliyan and 20-year-old Muhammad Nahle.
96 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7.
The New York Times reported Sunday that the United States has suggested Israel to suspend its incursion into the Gaza Strip to allow hostage negotiations to continue and to enable more aid to reach the Palestinians inside the Strip.
According to the report, the Biden administration also wishes to prepare for possible Iran-backed groups’ military retaliations on U.S. assets in the region which are likely to escalate once Israel’s military campaign into Gaza begins.
In 2012 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a cartoon-like drawing of a bomb in an address to the United Nations and marked it on it with a red pen to illustrate when Iran would have enough uranium to create a nuclear bomb that would become existential threat to Israel.
Since corruption charges were filed against him, in January 2020, Netanyahu himself became an existential threat to Israel, pushing towards an equally dangerous red line.
If at first Netanyahu’s efforts were to weaken the state institutions in order to sabotage criminal proceedings against him, by January 2023 he moved to dismantle them altogether, reducing them to such a low level of functionality that Israel, in many aspects, began to resemble a failed state.
Israel’s war against Hamas has entered its seventeenth day, two weeks after Hamas killed at least 1,300 Israelis and wounded more than 3,300 in a merciless assault. In the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-controlled health ministry reports that at least 4,380 Palestinians have been killed. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are holding hostage more than 210 soldiers and civilians, including foreign nationals. Late Friday, two hostages, American citizens, were released.
Hamas rocket fire at Israel, and Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, continue. As Israeli forces prepare for an imminent ground offensive in Gaza and America mobilizes more forces to the area to deter Hezbollah and Iran, tensions are ratcheting up in the Middle East, with senior U.S. officials warning of a possible regional escalation. Meanwhile, the first convoy of humanitarian aid crossed into Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
Here’s what you need to know 17 days into the war.
What happened today:
■ On the Lebanese border, Hezbollah continues to test Israel. The Israeli army said it had shot down a drone approaching from Lebanon and attacked a terrorist squad that tried to launch anti-tank missiles.
■ Israel announced on Sunday that it would subsidize the evacuation of residents from 14 towns along the border with Lebanon, including the city of Kiryat Shemona (22,000 residents), due to ongoing clashes between the IDF and Hezbollah.
■ The Israel Police and the IDF said that they have so far identified the bodies of 1,075 of those killed in the Hamas massacre. As of now, 769 civilians and 307 soldiers have been identified.
■ Israel’s Social Services agencies announced that 21 children from 13 families have been orphaned following the Hamas attack.
■ On Sunday, Biden reiterated Israel’s right to defend itself, but stressed that it must operate according to the laws of war and minimize civilian harm. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. “expects a likelihood” of regional escalation, but added that “both Israel and the U.S. are not looking for a second front.”
■ 14 additional trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza via the Rafah crossing on Sunday. A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said that Israel does not transfer humanitarian aid to Gaza from its territory, and that whatever does enter the strip must be supervised. The president of the World Health Organization called for the transfer of fuel so hospitals can continue to run. President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu affirmed there will now be a continued flow of aid into the strip.
■ For the first time since the second intifada in the early 2000s, Israel hit targets in the West Bank with fighter jets striking, according to the IDF, a mosque in Jenin in which Hamas and Islamic Jihad members were sheltering. The IDF said the squad was planning a murder spree similar to the atrocities of October 7. Israeli forces said 27 Hamas operatives were arrested overnight in the West Bank. Later on Sunday, a Palestinian was shot and killed at a checkpoint near Jerusalem; according to the IDF, he had tried to ram soldiers with a car.
■ The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah reported that a Palestinian was shot dead by IDF fire in the city of Qabatiya, near Jenin. According to the ministry, since the outbreak of the war, 90 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank.
■ The Syrian Defense Ministry said Israel launched airstrikes and fired missiles towards airports in Damascus and Aleppo on Sunday. Extensive damage was caused to runways in both airports, causing them to shut down.
■ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Tehran on Monday, according to reports in Russian state-owned media. Katyusha rockets were fired at an air base in western Iraq which hosts U.S. and other international forces, and one blast was heard inside the base, two army sources said.
■ Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, spoke with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Al Jezeera reported that Amirabdollahian also spoke with the leader of the Islamic Jihad, Ziyad al-Nakhalah.
■ Canada’s National Department of Defense and French military intelligence released statements over the weekend indicating that the blast at the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza was caused by an errant Palestinian rocket.
■ The IDF said it carried out attacks in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah overnight, including units of fighters in Lebanon, and also destroyed an anti-tank missile launcher.
■ U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed earlier in the day that Hamas was preventing the estimated 500-600 U.S. citizens in Gaza from leaving the territory.
■ World leaders (of Canada, U.S., France, U.K., and Italy) called upon Israel to adhere to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians, in a joint statement reaffirming their support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
■ The U.S. advised American citizens who wish to depart Lebanon to “leave now, due to the unpredictable security situation.”
■ The Palestinian News Agency reports 400 people were killed in Gaza in the last day.
The IDF Spokesman announced that the soldier who was killed Sunday by a Hamas anti-tank missile in the Kisufim area near Gaza is Cpl. Tamir Barak, 19, from Nir Eliyahu who served in the Combat Engineering Corps.
The army said that the missile hit a tank and an engineering vehicle while Barak and other fighters were operating in the Gaza Strip near the border to locate bodies and information about missing persons. Three other soldiers were wounded in the attack.
Hamas’ military wing accepted responsibility. The IDF responded with tank fire at the Hamas unit that killed Barak.
To read the live updates from day 16, click here.
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