RSS
Israel Accused of ‘Shattering’ Gaza Ceasefire — By the Same Media That Admitted It Already Expired
Palestinian terrorists and members of the Red Cross gather near vehicles on the day Hamas hands over deceased hostages Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas, and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, seized during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack, to the Red Cross, as part of a ceasefire and hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces resumed military operations against Hamas in Gaza, striking targets across the Strip and ordering the evacuation of civilians from at-risk areas.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the US had been consulted on Israel’s plans, stating: “As President Trump has made clear — Hamas, the Houthis, Iran, all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel but also the United States, will see a price to pay. All hell will break loose,” she told Fox News.
Her remarks confirmed what negotiators in Washington and Jerusalem had already stated: efforts to extend the previous ceasefire deal — agreed upon in January and expired on March 1 — had failed, as Hamas refused to accept the terms.
President Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, had earlier reiterated that Hamas’ disarmament was a prerequisite for any long-term ceasefire: “A starter is Hamas demilitarizing, not rearming—leaving all their arms on the ground and leaving Gaza. We need a deadline for the second phase. The way the hostages are being held is unacceptable.”
Let’s be clear about what’s happening. Israel did not break the ceasefire; it ended two weeks ago.
Hamas tried to manipulate the news cycle by publicly accepting a hostage exchange offer that was NEVER on the table.
Hamas has months of food in storage but won’t release it…
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) March 18, 2025
A Permanent Ceasefire That Never Was
The ceasefire agreed to in January was never a permanent arrangement. It was a phased ceasefire, with an initial stage that included hostage-prisoner exchanges, humanitarian aid to Gaza, and a provision for further negotiations — negotiations that were supposed to begin 16 days into the first phase but never materialized.
Critically, the second phase — which neither Hamas nor Israel agreed to — was where the possibility of a permanent ceasefire would have been discussed. It never happened.
The media seemed to understand this just two weeks ago.
On March 3, the BBC reported: “Since 1 March, when stage one expired, the ceasefire has been in limbo. Stage two has not begun, and both sides are digging their heels in.”
Wire services — Reuters, the Associated Press, and AFP — reported on March 2 that Israel was blocking aid “after first phase of ceasefire deal expire[d].”
CNN, NBC News, and Sky News also acknowledged that the ceasefire had expired.
Yet, remarkably, these same outlets are now accusing Israel of violating a supposed permanent ceasefire by launching strikes in Gaza.
Sky News announced in its Monday night headline: “Explosive end to Gaza ceasefire as bodies pile up in their hundreds following Israeli strikes.” [Nothing “explosive” about an outcome that had been repeatedly forewarned.]
Politico, using AP copy, similarly framed Israel’s operation as a massacre, asserting that airstrikes had killed “at least 200” in what it called “the heaviest assault in the territory since a ceasefire took effect in January.”
Notably, the report omitted any attribution for the rapidly reported casualty figures — numbers that, as always, originated from Hamas.
Meanwhile, The Guardian saw fit to print Turkey’s absurd claim that Israel had committed a “massacre” — a striking choice, given that the same Turkish government has spent the past week supporting Syrian army forces massacring thousands of Alawites in Syria.
The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army has massacred over a thousand people, mainly Alawite civilians, in the past week.
Yet Turkey has the gall to accuse Israel of a “massacre.”
But @guardian amplifies anyone who buys into its anti-Israel narrative, no matter the hypocrisy. pic.twitter.com/74buXOyNDZ
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) March 18, 2025
CNN declared that the ceasefire had been “shatter[ed] as Israel pounds Gaza with wave of deadly strikes,” opening with Hamas’ accusation that Israel had “overturn[ed] the nearly two-month-long ceasefire agreement” and was “putting the captives in Gaza at risk of an unknown fate.”
NBC News reported that “more than 400 Palestinians” were killed after “Hamas said Israel had violated the ceasefire agreement.” The outlet also included Hamas’ claim that Israel was “exposing the prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate” in its bullet point summary of events — yes, “prisoners” in this case refers to the Israeli hostages who were abducted on October 7.
Here are the salient points:
- The first stage of the graduated ceasefire agreement expired on March 1.
- Hamas repeatedly refused to agree to an extension or any of the prerequisites for a second stage.
- Two weeks ago, the international media seemed fully aware of these facts.
So what changed?
Certainly not the facts. But the media’s narrative? That did.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Israel Accused of ‘Shattering’ Gaza Ceasefire — By the Same Media That Admitted It Already Expired first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Surge of Antisemitic Incidents Rocks France Amid Growing Security Concerns
The Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant were all vandalized with green paint last weekend. Photo: Screenshot
France has been hit by a wave of antisemitic incidents in recent days, despite increased security at Jewish sites nationwide following last month’s antisemitic shooting in Washington, DC — prompting urgent calls from the country’s Jewish community for stronger government action amid growing fears of escalating violence.
On Friday, a French rabbi was violently assaulted by three drunken individuals in the town of Deauville, located in the Normandy region of northwestern France.
According to local police, Rabbi Eli Lemel — a prominent figure in French Jewry — was attacked around 3:30 pm by three men who approached him, repeatedly punched him in the stomach, and shouted antisemitic slurs.
French authorities have launched an investigation into the assault, but no arrests have been made so far.
After the incident, Lemel called on the Jewish community to draw spiritual strength amid the increasing hostility that Jews are facing across France.
“I’m deeply moved by the outpouring of support following the attack. Thank God, I’m okay,” the Jewish leader wrote in a post on X. “I was struck and verbally abused in a language I didn’t understand.”
In a separate incident, a 21-year-old man was arrested on Saturday after climbing a synagogue in the town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine in north-central France, removing an Israeli flag from its façade, and attempting to set it on fire.
According to local media, the suspect — who was already known to authorities for prior offenses — confessed to committing the attack and admitted to being intoxicated at the time.
French police confirmed that the man is being charged with trespassing in a place of worship, theft by climbing, and causing damage to property on religious grounds.
The local Jewish community has voiced deep concern following this incident, viewing it as part of a broader surge in hostility targeting Jewish institutions across France.
Sandrine Dos Santos, the city’s mayor, expressed “[her] solidarity, as well as that of the city, toward the Jewish community directly targeted by these unacceptable antisemitic acts.”
“Faced with the increase in violence, our commitment against discrimination remains unwavering and will not waver. We repeat it loud and clear: no form of racism or rejection of others has a place in Poissy,” the French leader said.
In a separate incident on Saturday, three Serbs were arrested near Antibes in southeastern France, suspected of painting several Jewish community buildings green in Paris — an act currently under investigation as possible foreign interference.
Last weekend, the Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant were all vandalized with green paint in an incident denounced by the French government.
On Monday, an elementary school in Lyon, east-central France, was set on fire and defaced with antisemitic and pro-Palestinian slogans, as well as swastikas, marking one of the latest antisemitic incidents to impact France in recent days.
As the school had no direct connections to the Jewish community, local police have launched an investigation to determine the motive behind the attack.
French authorities reported that the fire was limited to the outdoor bathrooms, causing no significant damage to the school. They also found antisemitic graffiti and swastikas in three classrooms.
Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), denounced the attack, saying that “the Palestinian cause is used as justification for burning down a school” and that the “Nazification of Israel serves as fuel for crass antisemitism.”
“When a populist pro-Palestinian narrative is allowed to take hold, it is French Jews who ultimately pay the price,” Arfi wrote in a post on X. “The twisted use of the Palestinian cause is turning into a rallying cry of hatred against both Jews and the Republic itself.”
Voilà où nous en sommes !
La cause palestinienne sert de justification pour incendier une école
Quand on laisse gagner un discours populiste propalestinien, ce sont les Français juifs qui en paient le prix.… https://t.co/dMaQBnbfqi
— Yonathan Arfi (@Yonathan_Arfi) June 1, 2025
Beyond France, other European countries have also experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents in recent weeks.
On Monday, several headstones were vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in a suburb of Belgrade, located in north-central Serbia, marking the second such incident in the country in recent weeks.
The post Surge of Antisemitic Incidents Rocks France Amid Growing Security Concerns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire
Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from Israel, June 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council demand on Wednesday for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the enclave.
“The United States has been clear we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote.
“This resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire that reflects the realities on the ground, and embolden Hamas,” she said of the text that was put forward by 10 countries on the 15-member council.
The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the draft resolution.
Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. It has renewed its military offensive in Gaza – also seeking to free hostages held by Hamas – since ending a two-month ceasefire in March.
The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in Israel in an Oct. 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave.
The post US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency
Paul Ingrassia. Photo: Screenshot
Paul Ingrassia, a 29-year-old lawyer who was recently nominated by US President Donald Trump to lead a federal agency dedicated to combating corruption and protecting whistleblowers, seemingly dismissed the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2o23, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel as a “psyop,” or “psychological operation, in resurfaced social media posts.
“This ‘war’ is yet another psyop to distract Americans from celebrating Columbus Day,” Ingrassia wrote on X/Twitter on Oct. 8, 2023.
“I think we could all admit at this stage that Israel/Palestine, much like Ukraine before it, and BLM before that, and covid/vaccine before that, was another psyop,” he posted a week later. “But sadly, people fell for it. And they’ll fall for the next one too.”
On the actual day of the Oct. 7 massacre, Ingrassia compared illegal immigration into the US to the Hamas-led onslaught.
“The amount of energy everyone has put into condemning Hamas (and prior to that, the Ukraine conflict) over the past 24 hours should be the same amount of energy we put into condemning our wide open border, which is a war comparable to the attack on Israel in terms of bloodshed — but made worse by the fact that it’s occurring in our very own backyard,” he posted. “We shouldn’t be beating the war drum, however tragic the events may be overseas, until we resolve our domestic problems first.”
Trump announced last week that he picked Ingrassia to serve as head of the US Office of Special Counsel, a position that requires confirmation by the Senate.
The Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal ethics agency that works to ensure fairness and accountability within the government. Ingrassia’s role, if he is confirmed, would involve investigating claims of wrongdoing, such as retaliation against whistleblowers or improper political activity in the workplace. The official can recommend disciplinary action and reports serious findings to Congress, helping to protect federal employees and uphold the integrity of the civil service system.
Ingrassia also maintains a relationship with and defends alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate, who has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media. Tate wrote on X/Twitter that he refuses to “listen to women, Mexicans, or Jews” and that Jewish people are “subverting Western populations into mass genetic suicide” by advancing what he described as misguided immigration policy. Tate has also accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza against Palestinians and engaged in Holocaust denialism.
The furor surrounding Ingrassia is the latest dustup the Trump administration has had regarding controversial personnel and antisemitism.
The Trump administration’s appointment of Kingsley Wilson as deputy press secretary at the Department of Defense also sparked widespread criticism due to her history of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories and extremist views. Wilson, formerly associated with the Center for Renewing America, has a documented history of social media posts endorsing white supremacist ideologies, including claims about the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank — a Jewish man whose wrongful conviction and subsequent murder galvanized the founding of the Anti-Defamation League. In 2023, she tweeted that Frank “raped & murdered a 13-year-old girl,” a statement aligning with neo-Nazi narratives.
Late last month, the Pentagon announced that Wilson will be promoted and serve as the department’s new press secretary.
The post Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency first appeared on Algemeiner.com.