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New Israeli Foreign Minister Takes Reins Amid Gaza Conflict, Calls Out Iran: ‘This Is a Third World War’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) sits next to Israel’s then-Transportation and Intelligence Minister Israel Katz during a test-run of the new high-speed train between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, near Lod, Israel, Sept. 20, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
The new foreign minister of Israel was handed his credentials in a ceremony at the Foreign Ministry building in Jerusalem on Tuesday, officially assuming the role as Israel’s top diplomat at a tense time amid the war against Hamas in Gaza.
“We are in the midst of a Third World War against Iran and radical Islam,” said Israel Katz, who had been serving as energy minister. He also previously served as foreign minister from 2019-2020.
Iran is the main international sponsor of Hamas, providing the Palestinian terror group with funds, arms, and training.
In his remarks, Katz thanked outgoing Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who has held the position since the current Israeli coalition government’s formation at the end of last year. He will now take over Katz’s role at the Energy Ministry.
“I have always said that we have a foreign minister full of energy, and now you are going to the Energy Ministry,” Katz said. “We will continue to act together as we have done until today.”
Katz outlined his priorities as Israel’s top diplomat, saying at the top of the list is “the return of the abductees home,” referring to the 240 hostages abducted by Hamas terrorists during their Oct. 7 onslaught across southern Israel. The surprise attack, in which the terrorists murdered over 1,200 people, sparked the current war in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by Hamas.
According to Israel, there are 129 hostages still being held by Hamas — including some believed to be dead — after over 100 were released as part of a temporary ceasefire deal in November.
“We are in painful, difficult, and also hopeful moments of mobilizing the entire country,” Katz said. “This enemy reminds us in his actions of the darkest periods in human history, and we are determined and we will achieve the goals of collapsing Hamas.”
The Foreign Ministry has been at the forefront of the global campaign to bring about the release of the hostages.
“Our commitment as a state and ministry is first of all to return the abductees home with new initiatives, to exert global pressure,” Katz said. “The second thing is to preserve the international legitimacy space for fighting in Gaza and the north and for any development that exists. Also, to exert political pressure on Hezbollah in order to create an outline for the implementation of Resolution 1701, in order to bring about their withdrawal from the northern border.”
Amid the war with Hamas in Gaza to Israel’s south, Israeli forces have been clashing with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terror group in Hezbollah, to the north. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified in recent weeks. Katz was referring to the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 during the Second Lebanon War. It called for the disarmament of Hezbollah and the deployment of Lebanese and UN peacekeeping forces, UNIFIL, in southern Lebanon.
Continuing his point about a third world war, Katz also addressed the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program.
“The Iranian race to obtain nuclear weapons continues even more vigorously during these times,” the new foreign minister said. “The front that Iran has built here in this region is not only against Israel … This is a Third World War with today’s tools, and we are at the front for the whole world.”
Cohen also addressed the event, speaking of the ministry’s role since the war began.
“We all felt from the beginning of the war how essential the Foreign Ministry is and contributes to the country’s security,” he said. “On Oct. 7, the Foreign Ministry was one of the first to come to its senses. At 8 am, a situation room was opened that has been working around the clock ever since.”
Cohen also highlighted some of the recent efforts by the ministry on behalf of the Oct. 7 hostages and victims.
“I personally stood in five delegations of abductees abroad so that they would be heard with the aim of increasing the political pressure and remaining conscious until the last of the abductees returned home,” he said. “Our ambassadors have done more than 8,000 interviews. The digital activity has more than 2.5 billion exposures. Three months into the fighting we are receiving support as no one thought we would receive.”
Cohen concluded by wishing “my friends, colleagues, and Israel Katz success … I have no doubt that with your many years of experience and early familiarity with the office, you will continue to lead the office at the forefront of the political struggle. Don’t worry. I will be back. We will meet again.”
The post New Israeli Foreign Minister Takes Reins Amid Gaza Conflict, Calls Out Iran: ‘This Is a Third World War’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.