Smoke rises following an explosion in North Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, March 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israel has proposed an extended truce in Gaza in exchange for the return of about half the remaining hostages, Israeli officials said on Monday, as the military issued new evacuation orders and said “intense operations” were planned in the south of the enclave.

The latest proposals would leave open a final agreement over ending the Israel-Hamas war that has destroyed wide swathes of Gaza since it began in October 2023.

But the proposals foresee the return of half the 24 hostages believed still to be alive in Gaza nearly 18 months after they were seized by Hamas-led terrorists – and about half the 35 assumed to be dead – during a truce lasting between 40 and 50 days, said the Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would step up pressure on Hamas but would continue negotiations “under fire.” Continued military pressure was the best means of securing the return of the hostages, he said.

Netanyahu also repeated Israeli demands for Hamas to disarm although the Palestinian terrorist group has rejected such calls as a “red line” it will not cross.

Netanyahu said Hamas leaders would be allowed to leave Gaza under a wider settlement that would include proposals from US President Donald Trump for the “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians from the narrow Strip.

EVACUATION ORDERS

On Monday, the Israeli military told Palestinians living in areas around the southern city of Rafah to relocate to Al Mawasi, an area on the shoreline.

“The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] is returning to intense operations to dismantle the capabilities of the terrorist organizations in these areas,” the military’s Arabic language spokesperson said in a statement.

Hamas said at the weekend that it had accepted proposals made by Qatari and Egyptian mediators which security sources said would entail five hostages being released every week in exchange for a truce.

The Israeli military, which has cut off aid to Gaza, resumed operations on March 18 after a two-month truce, during which 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais were released in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Efforts to move to a second phase in the ceasefire agreement signed with US backing in January have largely stalled, with no sign of movement to overcome fundamental differences between the two sides over the postwar future.

Israel has said Hamas’s military and government capacity must be entirely dismantled and says the group, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, can have no role in the future governance of the enclave.

Hamas says it is willing to step back to allow another Palestinian administration to take its place but has refused to disarm and says it must play a part in choosing whatever government follows.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza following an attack by Hamas-led terrorists on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken as hostages into Gaza.

In response, Israel launched a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas’s ability to threaten the Jewish state from neighboring Gaza.

The post Israel Proposes Hostage Deal as Fighting Continues in Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks after Eid al-Fitr prayers to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan, in Tehran, Iran, March 31, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday the US would receive a strong blow if it acts on President Donald Trump’s threat to bomb unless Tehran reaches a new nuclear deal with Washington.

Trump reiterated his threat on Sunday that Iran would be bombed if it does not accept his offer for talks outlined in a letter sent to Iran‘s leadership in early March, giving Tehran a two-month window to make a decision.

Iran handed a warning on Monday about Trump’s threats to Switzerland’s embassy, which represents US interests and acts as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran, state media said. In its warning, Tehran expressed determination to respond “decisively and immediately” to any threat.

“The enmity from the US and Israel has always been there. They threaten to attack us, which we don’t think is very probable, but if they commit any mischief, they will surely receive a strong reciprocal blow,” Khamenei said.

“And if they are thinking of causing sedition inside the country as in past years, the Iranian people themselves will deal with them,” he added.

Iranian authorities blame the West for recent unrest including 2022-2023 protests over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained for allegedly flouting hijab rules, and nationwide protests in 2019 over fuel price rises.

Last week, Iran responded to the US letter, with President Masoud Pezeshkian explaining on Sunday that Tehran would not enter direct negotiations with Washington but was willing to continue talks indirectly in line with an injunction from Khamenei.

“An open threat of ‘bombing’ by a head of state against Iran is a shocking affront to the very essence of international peace and security,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei tweeted on Monday.

“Violence breeds violence, peace begets peace. The US can choose the course and concede to consequences.”

Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Commander Amirali Hajizadeh threatened US forces in the Middle East, saying in remarks to media that “Americans have at least 10 bases in the region with 50,000 troops. They are in a glass house and should not throw stones.”

In his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed temporary limits on Tehran’s disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions.

Since then, Iran has far surpassed that deal’s limits on uranium enrichment.

Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian energy purposes.

The post Iran Will Deliver ‘Strong Blow’ Against US if It Attacks, Khamenei Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Palestinians protest to demand an end to war, chanting anti-Hamas slogans, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, March 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer

The parade of Palestinians marching against Hamas has begun in North Gaza. It hasn’t been covered widely in the media, mainly because it raises uncomfortable questions in the West. Is this what happens when Israel makes it safe for Palestinians to march against Hamas? Is it what happens when people suddenly realize they have lost the war, and they have to pay a price? Has the mainstream media been on the wrong side — believing Palestinian civilians were the victims of Israel, not Hamas? Oops.

And one other question — is Hamas organizing the protest to change the focus from its own depredations to the civilian population that wants a ceasefire? That ceasefire would be very useful to Hamas right now.

We don’t know. But it is worth reading some X posts from Gaza — note that they have Internet service — as well as some supporters of Israel.

One woman posted on X: “The Nakba will always be part of me, part of my identity, part of my history. Having said that, I am not looking for revenge. I am tired of endless wars. I am tired of dead bodies. Time to move on. Time for peace.”

One man wrote: “Every single minute, Hamas can decide to surrender, release the hostages, and stop the Palestinian people’s pain. Every single minute, they decide not to do so.”

Someone outside of Gaza wrote: “Incredible scenes in Gaza. The Palestinians have had enough of Hamas and are shouting ‘Hamas is a terrorist.’”

Their pain. Their suffering. Here it is, from a very articulate — and generally middle-of-the-road — poster:

For over 18 months, we were dehumanized in the worst ways imaginable. Our deaths were justified as necessary. Our suffering was dismissed as deserved. Our misery was framed as a consequence of our own choices, as if we had chosen to live under Hamas, as if we had the power to resist them without being killed.

We were treated as if we were all terrorists, stripped of our humanity, and blamed for our own destruction. The world watched as entire families were wiped out, as neighborhoods were turned to dust, and still, the excuse remained the same: They are Hamas. They brought this upon themselves. And now, thousands of Gazans have risked their lives to say it clearly: Hamas is a terrorist organization. We want them gone.

They (the demonstrators) called for peace—loudly, unmistakably. They demanded an end to this war. After months of relentless devastation, starvation, and displacement, they stood up and made it clear: We refuse to be pawns in this war any longer. We want a future without Hamas.

We want to live.

The Bibas babies want to live also. So did Hersh Goldberg-Polin. So did the 12,00 killed on Oct. 7, and those dragged off to Gaza still alive. Every single day for nearly 540 days, their agony has been mourned by humane people — but justified by terrorists and their supporters.

It is hard to watch the demonstration and not want to say, “Well, it serves you right for not standing up to Hamas, or getting rid of them for years.” So, consider another X poster — an American-Israeli — who assesses both the demonstrations and the politics:

For only the second time in over 1.5 years of war, a popular demonstration VERSUS Hamas erupted in the GAZA Strip, calling for the removal of the terror regime. Why does it matter? Israel’s new fighting strategy in Gaza is to clear and hold while denying Hamas control over incoming aid trucks in the future to break the hold Hamas has over the population and cash flows within Gaza.

A single demonstration may not seem like a big deal and no doubt Hamas will violently brutalize & punish these civilians, many will be shot in the legs crippling them, or outright executed. However, over the course of months, as aid is shifted away from Hamas control via IDF pressure, the populace may become bolder and finally do what they have failed to do for almost 2 years now – Topple Hamas in Gaza.

Another wasn’t so kind: “Fun fact: If Hamas were winning, Gazans wouldn’t go and protest but rather celebrate and glorify Hamas as heroes. They don’t hate Hamas. They hate the consequences of the war.”

At the end of the day, we will see what happens in Gaza: one can hope the poster with hope is proven right and the skeptic wrong. But in either case, Hussain Abdul-Hussain — an astute analyst of both Middle Eastern politics and American politics — asks the key questions:

How would a student on a US college campus feel when they see impoverished Gazans taking to the streets, defying Hamas, and shouting “Hamas is terrorist”?
How would Rashida Tlaib feel?
How would Columbia Prof. Rashid Khalidi feel?

And one more question: When will the hostages come home?

Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of The Jewish Policy Center and Editor of inFOCUS Quarterly magazine.

The post The Gaza Protests: ‘We Want to Live’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.