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Amid Escalation in Lebanon, Hamas Is Killing Opponents in Gaza and Stealing Aid
By EADO HECHT (Algemeiner) In terms of Israel-Hamas negotiations, not much has changed since my last article.
The negotiations continue, with rumors abounding about supposed changes in Israel’s or Hamas’s positions. But every time the smoke clears, it becomes evident that with regard to the central issue, nothing has changed: Hamas still demands a total cessation of Israeli operations and total withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, with international guarantees that Israel will not resume its offensive. Israel continues to refuse to accept these conditions.
The following are Hamas’s terms for a ceasefire as posted on the group’s internet site:
We emphasize that any agreement must include:
A total ceasefire of the aggression against the Palestinian nation,
A complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip including the Philadelphi Corridor,
Return of all the displaced people to their homes,
Aid for our people and rebuilding of what the conquerors [Israel] have destroyed,
A serious and true deal for exchange of prisoners.
An interesting point that is not mentioned in the above official Hamas post, but appears in another document apparently found by the IDF in a Hamas underground command post, is that Hamas wants an inter-Arab military force placed on Gaza’s border with Israel as a guarantee that Israel will not renew its offensive later on.
This force would protect Hamas as it reconstitutes its military forces in preparation for a future war.
The fighting in the Gaza Strip continues at the same reduced pace and with the same methods on both sides. The IDF is deliberately setting the pace, slowly combing through the Rafah area against small pinprick ambushes and raids by Hamas and other groups. IDF units are operating both above and below ground.
IDF units in the Netsarim Corridor, which separates Gaza City from the rest of Gaza, are also continuing to conduct raids and defensive operations. The corridor is held almost exclusively by IDF reserve units that are rotated every couple of months.
Most of the Hamas Rafah brigade command hierarchy has been killed or wounded, and about 2,000 of its original 4,500 personnel are estimated to be killed or wounded. Others have fled and are hiding in the safe haven area. Thirteen kilometers of tunnels were exploded by the IDF after having been reconnoitered.
Four Israeli soldiers, including a female paramedic, were killed when a building was exploded on top of them by remote control.
In another incident, a helicopter landing at night to evacuate a seriously wounded soldier crashed, killing two of the casualty rescuer team and wounding seven others, including the pilot. Apparently the combination of dark, a dust cloud, and a complicated landing site (chosen to prevent Hamas from shooting at the helicopter) confused the pilot, causing them to make a mistake and crash into the ground.
Hamas continues to fire a few rockets every once in a while into Israel, mostly at villages near the border, and occasionally at towns farther away, such as Ashkelon. So far, none has caused casualties or damage.
Hamas continues to use schools, hospitals, mosques, and UNRWA sites as command posts and storage facilities. The IDF locates and strikes these locations using small-caliber guided munitions. Every time Israel takes out a Hamas position, Hamas claims that all casualties were civilians, until the IDF publishes the names and functions of those killed.
One example from the past two weeks was the attack on the al-Ja’ooni school in Nusayrat. This time, in addition to claiming the killed were all civilians, Hamas said they included UNRWA personnel.
The IDF then published the names of nine Hamas personnel killed there, including UNRWA employee Yassir Ibrahim Abu Shrar, whose day job at UNRWA — while simultaneously serving on the Hamas Emergency Committee (see below) — was as a member of one of Hamas’ internal security apparatus, which is responsible for population control.
Inside Gaza, in addition to fighting Israel, Hamas is busy asserting its dominance over the other Palestinian factions. One method of doing this is to take control of humanitarian aid convoys and distribute or sell the supplies according to Hamas’ needs (one of the missions carried out by the Hamas Emergency Committee).
In some cases, the IDF intervenes and directs fire at the Hamas teams that are doing this, but that often results in claims that the IDF itself is attacking the convoys.
In addition, there are reports by Gazans on social media of executions, abductions, and beatings of critics or members of other factions that have taken a too-independent stance (another mission usually carried out by the Hamas Emergency Committee).
Hamas of course labels all these victims “collaborators with the Zionists.” For all the talk of “the day after,” there can be no day after so long as Hamas remains the most powerful force in Gaza.
On the left: snapshot from a news video (al-Arabiya) of a Gazan criticizing Hamas. On the right: The same man in the hospital a few days later, after having been beaten up by Hamas personnel. (These photos were downloaded from the individual’s social media account by Israeli blogger Abu Ali Express)
Another critic was less fortunate. According to reports in Palestinian social media, an engineer working for UNRWA since 2021, who criticized Hamas on social media (“After being released from prison, Sinwar should have received ‘treatment’ and not been given control over 2.5 million people“) was shot and killed by Hamas.
In the first week of September, 1.26 million polio vaccines were sent into Gaza via Israel. Since then, 560,000 Gazans have been vaccinated, thus ending the first phase of the vaccination program. A second round of vaccinations is planned to begin within a couple of weeks.
Another health program is the supply of prosthetic arms and legs from Jordan to Gaza, together with a team of specialists to attach them. An interesting facet of this operation is that so far, the photographs that have been published of patients receiving the prosthetics show only men of military age.
Dr. Eado Hecht, a senior research fellow at the BESA Center, is a military analyst focusing mainly on the relationship between military theory, military doctrine, and military practice. He teaches courses on military theory and military history at Bar-Ilan University, Haifa University, and Reichman University and in a variety of courses in the Israel Defense Forces. A version of this article was originally published by The BESA Center.
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British PM denounces ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans at upcoming Aston Villa soccer match
The British government is reviewing a decision to bar Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a major soccer match next month over what local police had said were security concerns.
The Aston Villa Football Club announced the ban on Thursday, saying in a statement that the Security Advisory Group responsible for issuing safety certificates for the matches at the team’s Birmingham stadium, Villa Park, had made the decision.
“Following a meeting this afternoon, the SAG have formally written to the club and UEFA to advise no away fans will be permitted to attend Villa Park for this fixture,” the club said, referring to the Union of European Football Associations. “West Midlands Police have advised the SAG that they have public safety concerns outside the stadium bowl and the ability to deal with any potential protests on the night.”
The Villa Park announcement swiftly drew an uproar from a wide array of voices who said the police were abdicating their responsibility.
“This is the wrong decision,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement. “We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets. The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.”
The local police said their assessment reflected the sweeping violence that unfolded around a Maccabi Tel Aviv-Ajax match in Amsterdam last year, exactly one year before the Nov. 6 match planned for Villa Park. Dutch, Israeli, European and U.S. officials all denounced the Amsterdam violence, which followed rising tensions that included provocations by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, as antisemitic.
Sporting events involving Israeli teams have drawn protests and disruptions during the war in Gaza, which entered a ceasefire last week. Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated against Israel’s participation in a World Cup qualifying match in Norway this week, and earlier this month a Canadian tennis match was played in an empty stadium over concerns about disruptive protests against Israel.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism, a nonprofit, said it would pursue legal action against the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.
“We will do whatever it takes to overturn this pernicious ban which has humiliated and angered the whole country,” it said in a statement. “Britain is increasingly waking up to the extremism in our midst but now we must all fight the instinctive appeasement within the authorities and our law enforcement.”
Now, the prime minister’s office is closely involved in conversations aimed at reversing the ban, which was announced the same day that Starmer announced new funding to protect Jewish communities, allocated in the wake of the deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur.
“We cannot have a country where we have to tell people to stay away from an event because they can’t be protected or they may be a victim of racism,” a spokesperson told the BBC.
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The post British PM denounces ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans at upcoming Aston Villa soccer match appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Trump: ‘If Hamas continues to kill people … we will have no choice but to go in and kill them’
(JTA) — President Donald Trump appeared to threaten violence against Hamas in Gaza on Thursday as he responded to reports that Hamas was executing Gazans following the ceasefire with Israel that Trump brokered last week.
“If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday, concluding with a trademark flourish: “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Soon after, he clarified that he did not mean the United States would enter Gaza. “Somebody will go in … It’s not going to be us,” he told reporters, adding, “There are people very nearby that will go in, they’ll do the trick very easily, but under our auspices.”
Trump has previously said he would endorse Israeli operations in Gaza when Hamas did not meet his demands. He had said earlier in the week that he was not bothered by early reports of Hamas violence, saying that the United States had given the group a leash to “stop the problems” in Gaza for a period of time. But as clans within Gaza called out for help, he and other U.S. officials have shifted their tone.
“We strongly urge Hamas to immediately suspend violence and shooting at innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza – in both Hamas-held parts of Gaza and those secured by the IDF behind the Yellow Line,” Brad Cooper, the U.S. Navy admiral who commands operations in the Middle East, said in a statement on Wednesday. “This is an historic opportunity for peace. Hamas should seize it by fully standing down, strictly adhering to President Trump’s 20-point peace plan, and disarming without delay.”
Cooper said the United States remained optimistic that the ceasefire would hold despite the violence.
Thursday was the first day since Hamas was required under the terms of the ceasefire to free all hostages that it did not release any, after releasing all 20 living hostages on Monday and nine deceased hostages over three days. Hamas says it needs heavy machinery to be able to extricate the 19 remaining deceased hostages, but Israel, which says it has intelligence about the locations of many of the bodies, disputes the claim.
The post Trump: ‘If Hamas continues to kill people … we will have no choice but to go in and kill them’ appeared first on The Forward.
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At debate, Cuomo and Mamdani clash over Israel in pitch to Jewish voters
Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo clashed sharply over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Thursday night, in the first televised debate for New York City mayor, their first major showdown since the young democratic socialist stunned the former governor in the Democratic primary. And a Yiddish slang term even made its way into the heated back-and-forth.
Days after the implementation of a ceasefire in Gaza, many of the two candidates’ early exchanges centered on Mamdani’s critiques of Israel, positions that have roiled New York’s Jewish community — the largest outside of Israel. Beginning with the primary, Mamdani has faced scrutiny for refusing to outright condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada,” calling the Gaza war a “genocide,” and pledging to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visited the city.
Commenting Thursday on the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Mamdani clarified earlier remarks he made about having no opinion on whether or not Hamas should disarm as part of a post-war deal.
“Of course, I believe that they should lay down their arms,” Mamdani said. But he declined to welcome or credit President Donald Trump’s administration for brokering the ceasefire that ended the fighting and secured the release of the remaining living hostages.
Mamdani also appeared to draw a moral parallel between Hamas’ disarmament and Israel halting strikes on the enclave. “Calling for a ceasefire means ceasing fire,” he said. “That means all parties have to cease fire and put down their weapons.” A real peace, he continued, must address “the conditions that preceded this, conditions like occupation, the siege and apartheid.”
“That means ‘from the river to the sea,’” Cuomo countered, in an effort to suggest that Mamdani’s rhetoric mirrored the popular pro-Palestinian protest slogan that many Jews view as a call for the destruction of Israel. Cuomo also wrongly claimed that Mamdani refused to condemn Hamas. “I have denounced Hamas again and again,” Mamdani said. “It will never be enough for Andrew Cuomo, because what he is willing to say, even though not on this stage, is to call me, the first Muslim on the precipice of leading this city, a terrorist sympathizer.”
Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, who took center stage without his signature red beret, was largely ignored by the two leading contenders. That didn’t stop Sliwa, who has his own history of controversial remarks about Jews, from inserting himself into the debate.
“Jews don’t trust that you are going to be there for them when they are victims of antisemitic attacks,” the Republican candidate told Mamdani.
Mamdani’s Jewish appeal
Since his surprise victory in June, Mamdani has redoubled his outreach efforts in the Jewish community, including by celebrating Sukkot with Orthodox leaders.
Still, Mamdani faces hurdles with the Jewish electorate. A recent Quinnipiac poll showed Mamdani trailing Cuomo by 31 points among Jewish voters, while maintaining a double-digit lead citywide. Just 22% of Jewish voters view Mamdani favorably, while 67% hold an unfavorable opinion.
The survey found that a plurality of likely voters share Mamdani’s views on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
At the debate, Mamdani repeated past statements about his commitment to protect Jewish New Yorkers. He also reaffirmed his recognition of Israel — though not as a Jewish state. That seemed to resonate with more liberal and progressive Jews. Mamdani has been endorsed by local Jewish elected officials, including Brad Lander, the city comptroller and Rep. Jerry Nadler, co-chair of the congressional Jewish Caucus. Addressing members of Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn last week, Mamdani said, “I’m going to have people in my administration who are Zionists, whether liberal Zionists, or wherever they may be on that spectrum.”
Ahead of the debate, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue said in a video statement that Mamdani’s long-standing rejection of Zionism is an example of “rigid ideological commitments that delegitimize the Jewish community and encourage and exacerbate hostility towards Judaism and Jews.”
Cuomo’s Yiddish
During Thursday night’s debate, Cuomo also deployed a Yiddish slang term when debating which of the candidates would most effectively stand up to President Donald Trump.
“He can’t stand up to Donald Trump, who’d knock him right on his tuches,” Cuomo said, wagging his finger at Mamdani and using the Yiddish term for behind.
Cuomo once described himself as the “Shabbos goy” of New York’s Jewish community — the same term his father, former Governor Mario Cuomo, once used, referring to a non-Jew who performs certain tasks for Jews on the Sabbath.
The former governor, who is backed by some Orthodox voting blocs, suggested that many of his Jewish supporters view Mamdani as antisemitic. “It’s not about Trump or Republicans,” he told his chief rival. “It’s about you.”
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