Important Takeaways:
- Hamas has warned that Israel’s return to war has imposed a ‘death sentence’ on the remaining hostages held captive in Gaza.
- Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza overnight, ending the fragile two-month ceasefire as Benjamin Netanyahu vows to use more force to free hostages held by Hamas.
- At least 413 Palestinians were killed in the strikes, including Hamas prime minister Issam al-Da’alis, the terror group has claimed. At least four other Hamas officials were reportedly killed in Israel’s attack.
- Medical facilities in the region are ‘overwhelmed’ as hundreds of injured people seek care.
- The Israeli military said it hit dozens of targets overnight and warned the attacks would continue for as long as necessary and extend beyond airstrikes, raising the prospect that Israeli ground troops could resume fighting.
- Netanyahu has ordered Israeli forces to take ‘strong action’ against Hamas and threatened terror chiefs with ‘increasing military strength’.
- His office accused Hamas of rejecting ceasefire proposals and ‘repeated refusal’ to release the remaining hostages in Gaza. The terror group still holds 59 of the 250 or so hostages seized in its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
- Hamas has accused Israel of breaching the terms of the ceasefire agreement and claimed to be ‘working with mediators’ to stop the bombardment. The terror group also blamed what it described as ‘unlimited’ United States for giving the ‘green light’ for the attack and alleged America ‘bears full responsibility’ for the Gaza ‘massacre’.
- Netanyahu’s office said the operation was ordered after ‘Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators’.
- ‘Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,’ the statement said.
- ‘We will not stop fighting as long as the hostages are not returned home and all our war aims are not achieved,’ Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
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Important Takeaways:
- The White House is supporting the Israeli government’s decision to block aid to Gaza until Hamas leaders agree to a ceasefire extension, according to a newly-released statement.
- In a statement obtained by Fox News on Sunday, National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said that Israel has “negotiated in good faith since the beginning of this administration to ensure the release of hostages held captive by Hamas terrorists.”
- “We will support their decision on next steps given Hamas has indicated it’s no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire,” Hughes added.
- Earlier on Sunday, Israeli officials announced that they are stopping the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip and warned Hamas it would face “additional consequences” if it does not accept a new proposal for an extended ceasefire.
- “With the conclusion of the 1st stage of the hostages deal and in light of Hamas’ refusal to accept the [U.S. Mideast envoy Steve] Witkoff framework for the continuation of the talks, to which Israel agreed, PM Netanyahu decided: as of this morning, entry of all goods & supplies to the Gaza Strip be halted,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on X.
- “Israel will not allow a ceasefire without a release of our hostages. If Hamas persists in its refusal, there will be additional consequences,” the post added.
- An Israeli official said the decision to suspend aid was made in coordination with the Trump administration.
- Israeli officials said earlier on Sunday that they support a proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover, or April 20. They said the proposal came from the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
- Under that deal, Hamas would release half the hostages on the first day and the remainder when an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, according to Netanyahu’s office.
- In the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the remains of eight others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israel also pulled back forces from most of Gaza and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid to enter the region.
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Important Takeaways:
- The U.S.-born Ron Dermer is a Cabinet minister who’s widely seen as Netanyahu’s closest adviser.
- He previously served as Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. and is a former Republican activist with strong ties to the Trump White House.
- Dermer currently serves as Israel’s strategic affairs minister, where he has been a key player in relations with the U.S. as well as Gulf Arab countries.
- Talks have not yet started on the second stage, which is meant to include an end to the war, return of all hostages and Israeli pullout from Gaza.
- Palestinians and Arab countries have universally rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to remove the Palestinian population from Gaza and take over the territory.
- In a phone call with U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on Wednesday, Lebanon’s president insisted that Israeli forces withdraw from five strategic hilltops inside Lebanon.
- Israel is keeping its forces on Lebanese soil even after a deadline spelled out in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement.
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Important Takeaways:
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. Their meeting follows a heart-wrenching Saturday when the Hamas terror group released three more hostages to their families. Monday also marks 500 days since the October 7th, 2023, attacks
- After their meeting, Rubio and Netanyahu agreed that Hamas must be destroyed.
- “Hamas cannot continue as a military or government force,” Rubio stated. “And frankly, as long as it stands as a force that can govern or as a force that can administer, or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible. They must be eliminated. It must be eradicated.”
- Netanyahu once again backed President Donald Trump’s plan to help all Gazans leave their war-torn, devastated region while others rebuild it under U.S. control. He believes many Palestinians want to leave but Hamas won’t let them.
- “Everybody says this is the largest open-air prison in the world. Not because of us,” Netanyahu declared. “We tried to get the population to leave – to get them out of harm’s way. And Hamas – with rifles, with gunfire – try to prevent them from leaving.”
- Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff recently visited Gaza and saw why people can’t reasonably live in much of it now.
- “It’s completely devastated,” Witkoff observed. “And that begs the question: should people be allowed in there in those dangerous conditions? Thank God we’ve had no incidents. But, there’s 30,000 unexploded shells throughout Gaza, and the buildings are all down. It’s utter destruction.”
- Netanyahu also indicated this weekend he and the Trump administration see eye-to-eye on the threat from Iran.
- “Israel and America stand shoulder to shoulder in countering the threat of Iran,” he claimed. “We agree that the ayatollahs must not have nuclear weapons.”
- “Them getting a bomb is devastating to the region,” Witkoff said. “It’ll force every other country in that region to get a bomb, too. We’ll have a nuclear arms race, and that simply can’t happen.”
- Rubio concurred, saying, “Behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people who call this region home is Iran. And by Iran, I mean the ayatollahs. By Iran, I mean its regime, a regime who, by the way, its people don’t support. The people of Iran are victims of that regime.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Israel sees opening for strikes on Iranian Nuclear Sites, U.S. Intelligence finds
- The finding was included in an analytical assessment produced around the new year as the Biden administration wound down. The analysis highlighted the risks of further high-stakes military activity in the Middle East after the degradation of Iran’s capabilities over the past year.
- The intelligence analysis concluded Israel would push the Trump administration to back the strikes, viewing him as more likely to join an attack than former President Joe Biden and fearing the window for halting Tehran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon was closing, two of the people familiar with the intelligence said.
- The U.S. intelligence community produced a second report delivered during the early days of President Trump’s administration reiterating that Israel is considering such strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, according to one of the U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence.
- S. military support and munitions would likely be needed for an Israeli attack on Iran’s heavily fortified nuclear sites given their complexity, U.S. military officials say.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment, and Israel’s military declined to comment. Israeli officials have repeatedly signaled that there is an opportunity for more aggressive action against Iran.
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Important Takeaways:
- Israel’s security cabinet fully supports President Donald Trump’s demand that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas release all of its hostages by noon on Saturday or that “all hell is going to break out,” an Israeli official told Fox News.
- The declaration comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet Tuesday after Hamas announced it would delay the next release of Israeli hostages.
- “The decision I passed in the Cabinet unanimously is this: If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon – the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will resume intense combat until Hamas is decisively defeated,” Netanyahu said in a statement after the meeting.
- “In light of Hamas’ announcement of its decision to violate the agreement and not release our hostages, I instructed the IDF last night to amass forces inside and around the Gaza Strip. This operation is currently underway and will be completed as soon as possible,” Netanyahu added.
- “We also welcomed the President’s revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza,” Netanyahu said.
- The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire went into effect last month, freeing 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners. The next exchange, scheduled for next Saturday, calls for three more Israeli hostages to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
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Important Takeaways:
- Hamas has said it will not release the next batch of Israeli hostages this weekend as planned, citing alleged Israeli violations of the fragile ceasefire, a development that could derail an already fragile three-week-old truce agreement.
- “If they’re not here, all hell is going to break out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday night. He added of the ceasefire: “Cancel it, and all bets are off.”
- Trump said the final decision would be up to Israel, saying: “I’m speaking for myself. Israel can override it.”
- When asked if the US would join in a response to Hamas if hostages weren’t freed, Trump said: “Hamas will find out what I mean.”
- The president also said he might withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt if those countries did not take refugees from Gaza.
- Another 16, including eight bodies, are due to be released as part of the first six-week phase of the ceasefire. In total there are 76 captives still held in the strip.
- The Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida cited alleged Israeli violations of the ceasefire deal, including delaying the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, blocking the arrival of aid and attacking civilians. He said there would be no more hostage releases until Israel “complies and compensates for the past weeks”.
- Israel denies the Hamas allegations.
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Important Takeaways:
- The U.S. will “take over the Gaza Strip,” level it and rebuild the area, President Donald Trump said during a press conference Tuesday evening after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
- “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too,” Trump said Tuesday evening in a joint press conference with Netanyahu. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexplored bombs and other weapons on the site.”
- “Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,” he said. “Do a real job. Do something different. Just can’t go back. If you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has for 100 years.”
- “I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East,” Trump said.”
- “Developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent in a really magnificent area that nobody would know. Nobody can look because all they see is death and destruction and rubble.”
- Netanyahu, when also asked about the Gaza Strip, reiterated to the media that he has three goals, one of which is to “make sure that Gaza never poses a threat to Israel again.”
- “President Trump is taking it to a much higher level,” the Israeli leader said. He sees a different future for that piece of land that has been the focus of so much terrorism, so much, so many attacks against us, so many, so many trials and so many tribulations. He has a different idea, and I think it’s worth paying attention to this.”
- The pair’s White House meeting included discussing the current ceasefire deal between Israel and the Hamas terror group and its future, Iran’s grip on the Middle East and resettling Gaza residents in other nations.
- “In our meetings today, the prime minister and I focused on the future, discussing how we can work together to ensure Hamas is eliminated and ultimately restore peace to a very troubled region,” Trump said during the press conference. “It’s been troubled, but what’s happened in the last four years has not been good.”
- The Israeli leader continued that his nation’s victory would also be a win for America.
- “Israel’s victory will be America’s victory,” Netanyahu said. “We will not only win the war working together, we will win the peace. With your leadership, Mr. President, and our partnership, I believe that we will forge a brilliant future for our region and bring our great alliance to even greater heights.”
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Important Takeaways:
- President Donald Trump says rumors of conflict with Iran ‘are greatly exaggerated’
- Trump made the statement on social media Wednesday morning, reaffirming the U.S. position that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon. It comes just one day after Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
- “I want Iran to be a great and successful Country, but one that cannot have a Nuclear Weapon. Reports that the United States, working in conjunction with Israel, is going to blow Iran into smithereens ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED,” Trump wrote.
- “I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper. We should start working on it immediately, and have a big Middle East Celebration when it is signed and completed. God Bless the Middle East!” he added.
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Important Takeaways:
- Both the outgoing Biden administration and President-elect Trump’s people are pushing hard for a hostage deal and ceasefire agreement in Gaza. Many in Israel see reports about this possible deal as excruciating.
- The ceasefire-hostage deal is still up in the air, but the U.S. is talking optimistically.
- Media reports indicate 33 hostages would be released at the start of the deal, but Israel’s government is not sure how many of those will be live hostages.
- The release of more would be negotiated in later stages. Israel appears ready to sign the deal, but whether Hamas will is unknown.
- Some hostage families and their allies have marched in Jerusalem to protest any deal that doesn’t free all the hostages at once and in which Israel gives up hope of crushing Hamas in Gaza.
- Protester Tamar Gesundheit appealed, “Please President Trump, do not pressure us to give into Hamas. Pressure them to give into us.”
- Meanwhile, the fighting continues in Gaza, and the Houthis fired missiles at Israel again overnight.
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