Uncategorized
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.
The post Amid Escalation in Lebanon, Hamas Is Killing Opponents in Gaza and Stealing Aid first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
Uncategorized
Itamar Ben-Gvir draws criticism from Netanyahu for video taunting detained flotilla activists
(JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has joined a chorus of Israelis and Jews denouncing his national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, for posting a video that showed Ben-Gvir taunting detained activists from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that had been intercepted by the Israeli navy.
“Welcome to Israel, we are the masters,” Ben-Gvir said in the video as he waved a large Israeli flag above the detained activists, who could be seen blindfolded and kneeling on the ground with their hands behind their backs.
Roughly 430 activists that took part in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail from Turkey last Thursday, were brought to the city of Ashdod aboard Israeli naval ships on Wednesday, marking the latest in a long-running series of confrontations between Israel and activists seeking to break its naval blockade of Gaza.
In a second video posted on social media, Ben-Gvir said that the activists “came here all full of pride like big heroes. Look at them now,” appealing to Netanyahu to grant him permission to imprison them.
ככה אנחנו מקבלים את תומכי הטרור
Welcome to Israel 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/7Hf8cAg7fC
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) May 20, 2026
Netanyahu said in a statement that he had instructed authorities to deport the activists “as soon as possible.” But he also offered a public rebuke of Ben-Gvir.
“Israel has every right to prevent provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters from entering our territorial waters and reaching Gaza,” Netanyahu said. “However, the way that Minister Ben Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel’s values and norms.”
The foreign ministers of several countries, including Canada, Spain, France, the Netherlands and Italy, also condemned the videos and summoned their Israeli diplomats to answer for the display.
But some of the sharpest criticism came from within Israel, where Ben-Gvir plays a crucial role in maintaining the governing coalition while also engaging in antics that threaten to flare tensions and undercut the country’s claims that it behaves in accordance with international law.
Ben-Gvir is “not the face of Israel,” tweeted Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in English.
“You knowingly caused harm to our State in this disgraceful display — and not for the first time,” Saar wrote. “You have undone tremendous, professional, and successful efforts made by so many people — from IDF soldiers to Foreign Ministry staff and many others.”
Ben-Gvir’s videos come as his antics and rhetoric have drawn new scrutiny in recent days. Last week, he departed from longstanding norms and waved an Israeli flag on the Temple Mount, a Muslim holy site, in a show of Jewish supremacy. His oversight of Israeli prisons, where he has said he wants to see prisoners given only the minimum of food and comfort as required by law, also drew attention because of a New York Times column alleging sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners.
Progressive groups heavily criticized Ben-Gvir’s video, saying that it was inappropriate for him to be part of the Israeli government.
“The disgusting images of Israel’s National Security Minister abusing detainees from the Gaza flotilla are not just bad optics,” tweeted Mickey Gitzin, the acting CEO of the New Israel Fund. “A government that gives a Kahanist this kind of power has already abandoned any notion of decency. These grotesque images are the real face of current Israeli policy.”
Ben-Gvir’s videos showing the treatment of participants in the latest flotilla offered a contrast to other recent interceptions in which Israel has released footage appearing to show activists being treated without force. When past arrestees from flotillas have alleged abusive treatment, Israel has denied it.
The organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla said all of its boats had been intercepted by Israel by Tuesday evening, accusing Israel of employing “illegal, high-seas aggression.” The Israeli Foreign Ministry said no live munition was used during the operation, which it said was necessary because it will “not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza.”
Among the activists aboard the more than 50 boats in the flotilla was the sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly. On Tuesday, Connolly, who was elected in October and has a record of anti-Israel rhetoric, called the detention of Irish activists aboard the flotilla “unacceptable.”
The post Itamar Ben-Gvir draws criticism from Netanyahu for video taunting detained flotilla activists appeared first on The Forward.
Uncategorized
What Tuesday’s primaries tell us about Democrats, Republicans and the Israel issue
(JTA) — Reading the polls and listening to conservative podcasts, you would understandably think that Republicans are souring on Israel and poised to start voting like Democrats on the issue. At least a little. But the congressional primary results Tuesday in Philadelphia and northern Kentucky tell a more nuanced story (at least for now).
Chris Rabb’s win in the Democratic primary for a congressional seat representing sections of Philadelphia reinforced the view that staunch anti-Israelism is arguably the most potent force in Democratic politics today. The Pennsylvania state representative executed the progressive playbook perfected by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, showing how tough talk on Israel and AIPAC can galvanize the party’s left-wing base.
In Mamdani’s case, however, he was running against several candidates with strong pro-Israel records and deep pro-Israel support – for a position that has long served as a key public cheerleader for Israel in the United States. Rabb, on the other hand, proved that the strategy can be the winning ticket in a race ostensibly having nothing to do with Israel or AIPAC.
Unlike the New York mayor’s race, Tuesday’s primary in Philadelphia consisted of candidates with similar views on affordability issues, while Rabb’s opponents weren’t exactly waiving the pro-Israel flag or raking in major pro-Israel dollars. But, to borrow from 1964 GOP presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, for an increasing swath of Democratic voters (and D.C. lawmakers), when it comes to standing up for the Palestinians and rejecting U.S. support for Israel, extremism is no vice and moderation is no virtue.
On the Republican side, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie’s flameout in the GOP race for Kentucky’s 4th District suggests that while there may be a gathering storm of discontent over Israel, the main force that matters when it comes to the ballot box remains Donald J. Trump.
Massie tried his best to make his race a referendum on Israel and the influence of pro-Israel money, rather than Trump’s decision to go all in for challenger Ed Gallrein. It didn’t work.
“I’m walking to an airplane to rejoin the most expensive congressional race in U.S. history. It’s turned into a referendum on whether Israel gets to buy seats in Congress,” Massie said a few days before an election that saw record spending by groups both supportive and critical of the Jewish state. After Massie’s defeat, he quipped: “I would have come out sooner but I had to call my opponent to concede and it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv.”
Despite such rhetoric, the biggest reason Massie will be leaving Congress in January is that Trump wanted him gone – in part over his criticism of the Iran war, but more generally over a range of issues that the Kentucky lawmaker has broken with Trump on. A string of other Republican primary results suggest that the first rule of GOP politics is: If Trump wants you out, you’re cooked – even without a dollar of pro-Israel money going to your opponent.
In his concession speech, Massie lamented that most GOP voters seem to want somebody who will “go along to get along.” But, he added, one group – young voters – stayed with him.
Unfortunately for Massie, the GOP for the time being belongs to Trump and his loyal followers, not the growing number of young conservatives who want an end to U.S. support for Israel. On the bright side for Massie and his fans, they already hold the power in at least one key area. As one popular pro-Trump conservative social media poster put it: “Don’t think of it as losing a Congressman. Think of it as gaining a podcaster.”
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
The post What Tuesday’s primaries tell us about Democrats, Republicans and the Israel issue appeared first on The Forward.
Uncategorized
AOC and other leading Democrats condemn Texas congressional candidate Maureen Galindo over antisemitic rhetoric
(JTA) — Rabbi Mara Nathan says watching an antisemitic conspiracy theorist emerge as a serious contender for a U.S. House seat in her Texas district has been “very disorienting.”
Nathan lives and works in San Antonio, where Maureen Galindo, a local activist who has vowed to turn a local immigrant detention center “into a prison for American Zionists,” was the top vote-getter in a Democratic primary in March and now faces a runoff on Tuesday.
“It seems shocking that someone who is so virulently antisemitic and anti-Zionist has not only been given a voice, but is even now in this primary runoff,” Nathan, the senior rabbi of Temple Beth El, a 150-year-old Reform congregation, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Galindo’s extreme rhetoric has drawn national attention as the runoff in Texas’ 35th Congressional District nears — and increasingly has also drawn condemnation from other Democrats, including some who are themselves critical of Israel and its supporters in the United States.
Last week, the Texas Senate candidate James Talarico revealed to JTA that he would not back or campaign with Galindo if she wins the runoff against sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive leader who has been strongly critical of Israel, threw her support behind Garcia in a post on X Tuesday, calling Galindo’s rhetoric “absolutely disgusting.”
“This bigoted garbage and antisemitism should be nowhere near our politics. If you’re in TX-35, vote for @johnnygarciatx,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.
Also on Tuesday, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Washington Democratic Rep. Suzan DelBene issued a joint statement condemning Galindo’s rhetoric, writing that the “vile language by her is disqualifying and has no place in American politics, and certainly not in the Democratic Party.”
The two Democratic leaders also accused Republican leadership of propping up Galindo in the race through the newly launched Lead Left PAC, which has spent nearly $600,000 on ads and mailers bashing Garcia and boosting Galindo.
While the PAC has not had to disclose its donors, the metadata on its website previously linked it to WinRed, a Republican donation platform, according to a Punchbowl News report. Ocasio-Cortez made the connection in her statement, saying, “The donors behind the Republican super PAC funding her should be exposed.”
Jeffries and DelBene called on Republican leadership to “immediately cease propping up this antisemitic candidacy, pull spending in the race and forcefully condemn these comments,” adding that “MAGA extremists should be ashamed of themselves.”
In a statement to The New York Times regarding funding for a mailer supporting her candidacy, Galindo suggested that the funds had come from “a billionaire zionist who made the pac to sabotage candidates.”
“Dems and Republicans uniting against me in the same week with the same message is evidence that theyre working together for the zionist billionaires that control our government and tax money,” Galindo told The Times.
Galindo, WinRed and the National Republican Congressional Committee did not immediately respond to JTA requests for comment, and attempts to reach Lead Left PAC and the Republican National Committee were not successful.
The head of Democratic Majority For Israel, Brian Romick, whose organization has launched a new six-figure ad campaign backing Garcia, also took aim at Lead Left PAC’s spending on Galindo in a statement, calling on Republicans to “explain why they’re paying to keep her viable.”
“Republicans aren’t doing this by accident,” Romick said. “They are deliberately elevating one of the most grotesque antisemites in American politics this cycle because they think it helps them win.”
Several Jewish Democrats, including Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Jared Moskowitz of Florida, also decried Galindo’s rhetoric. In a joint statement Wednesday, Gottheimer and Moskowitz said that, if Galindo wins the election, they would force votes to expel her from Congress “every single day we are here.”
The Jewish Federation of San Antonio did not immediately respond to a request for comment from JTA. But the federation appeared to weigh in on Galindo’s remarks in a post on Facebook last week, calling on “candidates and elected officials” to “refrain from bigoted and offensive attacks.”
The widespread condemnation has reassured Nathan that opposition to Galindo’s rhetoric extends across the Democratic party.
“It is heartening that those folks who are clearly no fan of Israel understand that you can be critical of a government without saying you’re going to put Jewish people in internment camps,” Nathan said.
Nathan said she hoped the growing attention surrounding the race would help Texans “wake up and step up for a more sane perspective in how one is going to lead our community.”
“On both sides of the aisle, what we need is for both our elected officials and people who are running to speak out against that kind of antisemitic rhetoric,” Nathan said. “Beyond the political position, the idea that you want to attack any faith or any religion, any race is really abhorrent and goes against American values and certainly Texan values.”
The post AOC and other leading Democrats condemn Texas congressional candidate Maureen Galindo over antisemitic rhetoric appeared first on The Forward.