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Hamas Says It Accepts UN-Backed Gaza Truce Plan, US Cites ‘Hopeful Sign’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks to reporters after meeting with families and supporters of Israelis held hostage in Gaza by Hamas, who rallied during his visit, in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 11, 2024. Photo: Jack Guez/Pool via Reuters
Hamas accepts a UN resolution backing a plan to end the war with Israel in Gaza and is ready to negotiate details, a senior official of the Palestinian terrorist group said on Tuesday in what America’s top diplomat called “a hopeful sign.”
Conversations on plans for Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war ends will continue on Tuesday afternoon and in the next couple of days, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Tel Aviv after talks with Israeli leaders. “It’s imperative that we have these plans,” he added.
Blinken met Israeli officials on Tuesday in a push to end the eight-month-old Israeli air and ground war against Hamas in Gaza, a day after President Joe Biden’s proposal for a truce was approved by the UN Security Council.
Ahead of Blinken’s trip, Israel and Hamas both repeated hardline positions that have undermined previous mediation to end the fighting, while Israel has pressed on with its campaign in central and southern Gaza.
On Tuesday, however, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri, who is based outside Gaza, said the terrorist group, which rules the Palestinian enclave, accepted the ceasefire resolution and was ready to negotiate over the details. It was up to Washington to ensure that Israel abides by it, he added.
He said Hamas accepted the formula stipulating the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and a swap of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.
“The US administration is facing a real test to carry out its commitments in compelling the occupation to immediately end the war in an implementation of the UN Security Council resolution,” Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
Blinken said the Hamas statement was “a hopeful sign” but definitive word was still needed from the Hamas leadership inside Israeli-besieged Gaza. “That’s what counts, and that’s what we don’t have yet.”
The war began when Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists stormed into southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 as hostages.
Israel responded with a military campaign in Gaza aimed at freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.
Biden’s proposal envisages a ceasefire and release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians jailed in Israel in stages, ultimately leading to a permanent end to the war.
Israel has said it will agree only to temporary pauses in the war until Hamas is defeated, while Hamas has countered it will not accept a deal that does not guarantee the war will end.
Blinken, speaking to reporters before departing for neighboring Jordan, said his talks were also addressing day-after plans for Gaza, including security, governance, and rebuilding the enclave.
“We’ve been doing that in consultation with many partners throughout the region. Those conversations will continue … it’s imperative that we have these plans,” he said.
In the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Palestinians reacted cautiously to the Security Council vote, fearing it could prove yet another ceasefire initiative that would prove fruitless.
FEARS OF MAJOR ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH WAR
In his visit, his eighth to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last October, Blinken also hoped to counter rising violence between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist group after both signaled readiness for a major spillover conflict.
On Monday, Blinken had talks in Cairo with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, an important mediator in the Gaza war, in Cairo before proceeding to Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Blinken had consultations on Tuesday with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, centrist ex-military chief Benny Gantz — who quit Israel‘s war cabinet on Sunday over what he said was Netanyahu’s failure to outline a plan for the war’s end — as well as opposition leader Yair Lapid.
The US State Department said Blinken discussed Biden’s truce proposal with Gantz and reiterated that it would advance Israel‘s security interests, bring hostages home, and raise the chances of restoring calm along Israel‘s border with Lebanon.
The US is Israel‘s closest ally and biggest arms supplier, though it has become sharply critical of the high civilian death toll during the Israeli military campaign.
The war raged on in Gaza on Tuesday as Israeli forces stepped up strikes on its southern city of Rafah a day after four soldiers were killed in an ambush claimed by Hamas.
Israeli Army Radio said the soldiers died in an explosion in a building in Rafah’s Shaboura district. Hamas said it had ambushed troops by detonating explosives planted in the building.
HOPES FOR CEASEFIRE REPEATEDLY DASHED
Biden has repeatedly declared that ceasefires were close over the past several months, but there has been only one, week-long truce, in November, when over 100 hostages were freed in exchange for about 240 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Israeli forces rescued four hostages held by Hamas in a commando raid into a crowded urban refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday. The Hamas-controlled health ministry claimed that 274 Palestinians were killed during the operation, although experts have questioned the reliability of casualty figures from Gaza. Israel said the casualties from the raid were “less than 100.”
There are over 100 hostages left in the coastal enclave, according to Israeli tallies, including at least 40 whom Israeli authorities have declared dead in absentia.
The post Hamas Says It Accepts UN-Backed Gaza Truce Plan, US Cites ‘Hopeful Sign’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Dozens of Terrorists Eliminated in Central Gaza, Weapons Seized from UN School in Raid
Some rises after an Israeli strike as Israeli forces launch a ground and air operation in the eastern part of Rafah, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
i24 News – Israel Defense Forces continue to operate in the Shejaiya area at the same time as fighting in the Rafah area and in the center of the Gaza Strip, the army said.
In the Shejaiya area, forces of the 98th Division attacked dozens of terrorist sites with the help of airstrikes from the Israel Air Force.
Over the weekend, Israeli soldiers raided a UN school in Shejaiya, where terrorists hid and stored weapons, grenades and valuable intelligence documents
This is yet another example of how Gazan terrorists use civilian structures to carry out attacks against Israeli forces pic.twitter.com/9oA9KLJehC
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) June 30, 2024
A UN school was raided where terrorists hid and stored weapons, grenades, and sensitive documents. In addition, a Hamas command center was discovered in a clinic.
Since Saturday, division forces located weapons, raided and captured terrorist compounds, and eliminated a number of terrorists.
IDF strikes Hamas target in Gaza
Israeli forces continue to operate in the Shejaiya area while continuing to push in Rafah and in central Gaza
The IDF attacked and destroyed a mortar launch position located within a tunnel shaft in Rafah pic.twitter.com/JqTACvuMys
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) June 30, 2024
The 162nd Division meanwhile continues in the Rafah area, eliminating a number of terrorists in various encounters and destroying tunnel shafts in the area.
The 99th Division 99 the center of the Gaza Strip carried out raids and destroyed terrorist infrastructure in the area.
Also on Saturday, an airstrikes destroyed a mortar launch position located inside a tunnel shaft in Rafah.
The post Dozens of Terrorists Eliminated in Central Gaza, Weapons Seized from UN School in Raid first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Government Approves Danny Danon as UN Ambassador
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon at a briefing on Iranian aggression on May 6, 2020. Photo: Screenshot.
i24 News – The Israeli government unanimously agreed on Sunday to appoint Likud lawmaker Danny Danon as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, succeeding the current ambassador, Gilad Erdan.
Danon, who previously held this position, will soon serve a second term. Danon’s appointment to this important position comes at a particularly crucial time, as he is expected to represent Israel on the international stage as the country faces challenges at home and abroad.
“I am proud to return to serve the State of Israel as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations during this critical period,” he said on Twitter.
“As Israel faces battles on numerous fronts, each and every one of us must do his utmost within his skills and experiences,” he said in an earlier statement. “This is how I have behaved in the past, and this is how I will continue to behave in the future.”
I am proud to return to serve the State of Israel as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations during this critical period.
With Israel confronting challenges on multiple fronts, it is imperative for each of us to contribute to the best of our abilities and experiences. This…
— Danny Danon דני דנון (@dannydanon) June 30, 2024
“In the face of the diplomatic terrorism that is rearing its head these days, I am forced to present the truth and hold my head high for the people of Israel and our common future here,” he concluded.
It is expected that Avihai Boaron, a former member of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, will enter in place of Danon.
The post Israeli Government Approves Danny Danon as UN Ambassador first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Los Angeles Is Becoming Unsafe for Its Jewish Residents” Says Israeli Minister
Governor Newsom speaking at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. Photo Credit: Office of Governor Gavin Newsom.
i24 News – Amichai Shikli, Israel’s Minister of Diaspora and Antisemitism, has urgently called upon California’s governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles’s mayor Karen Bass to address a concerning escalation of antisemitic incidents in the city.
In a strongly worded letter sent following a surge in antisemitic activities since October 7, 2023, Shikli expressed deep apprehension about the safety of Jewish residents in Los Angeles.
“Los Angeles is becoming more and more unsafe for its Jewish residents,” Shikli stated, emphasizing the urgent need for proactive measures to combat the rising tide of antisemitism.
He highlighted recent violent demonstrations on campuses that endangered Jewish students, alongside two serious incidents that he believes were mishandled by authorities.
One incident he pointed to was the tragic murder of Paul Kessler in November 2023 during a pro-Israel demonstration. Shikli criticized the court’s failure to classify the attack as a hate crime, stating, “It is shocking to see that the court did not recognize this as a hate crime. Paul was attacked for the sole reason that he was a Jew and a Zionist.”
Additionally, Shikli referenced an incident earlier in the week where an anti-Israel group disrupted an event at Adat Torah synagogue, resulting in an attack on Jewish attendees. Despite prior knowledge of the demonstration, law enforcement allegedly failed to take preventive actions to ensure the safety of Jewish residents.
Concerned about the city’s largest Jewish community in North America, Shikli urged immediate steps to enhance security around Jewish institutions and to ensure law enforcement is adequately trained to handle antisemitic crimes effectively. “At a time when antisemitism is at an all-time high, I urge you to implement measures to combat it,” he asserted.
The minister concluded his letter by proposing collaboration with local authorities and inviting the Los Angeles Police Department to participate in an international training program aimed at equipping security forces worldwide to combat antisemitism effectively.
The post ‘Los Angeles Is Becoming Unsafe for Its Jewish Residents” Says Israeli Minister first appeared on Algemeiner.com.