Israel News, Wednesday, 05.03.2025 |
| The Trump administration is holding secret talks with Hamas to secure the release of U.S. citizens still held in Gaza and possibly reach a deal to end the war, Axios reported, citing two sources. PM Netanyahu and Qatar attacked Israel’s Shin Bet after the intelligence agency released the findings of its probe into its performance on October 7 and in the years leading up to the Hamas attack, which found that Doha’s funding of Hamas helped it prepare for the assault. The UN food agency says it only has enough food supplies in Gaza to keep public kitchens and bakeries open for less than two weeks. The Trump administration rejected an Egyptian proposal for Gaza’s rehabilitation, arguing that it “does not address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable,” adding it stands by the president’s “vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas.” What happened today ■ HOSTAGES/CEASE-FIRE: The U.S. is holding secret talks with Hamas in Doha on securing the release of U.S. citizens still held hostage in Gaza, as well as the possibility of a broader agreement to end the war, U.S. news website Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge of the talks. The negotiations, spearheaded by U.S. President Trump’s hostage affairs envoy Adam Boehler, are the first time the U.S. has directly engaged with Hamas. According to one source in the report, the Trump administration discussed with Israel the possibility of holding such talks, but Israel found out about various aspects of the negotiations through other channels. Hundreds attended the funeral of Ohad Yahalomi, who was killed in Hamas captivity and whose body was released last Thursday. Yahalomi was 50 at the time of his death. His funeral procession left from central Israel and ended in Kibbutz Nir Oz, near the Gaza border, where Yahalomi lived and was taken hostage on October 7. In her eulogy, Batsheva, Yahalomi’s wife, said that throughout the past year, she and their children had hoped that Ohad would return alive. “We were sure that if anyone could survive the harsh captivity, it would be you, because no one is stronger than you in body and in spirit.”“Bigger and stronger empires than Israel have learned a bitter historical lesson – a military presence in occupied territory is no guarantee of security. Protecting the center, the mother country – its strength, stability and prosperity – is a necessary condition for its continued existence. Israel’s government seeks to prove that those bigger empires were wrong. It’s just too bad that the enormous cost of this experiment is being paid, and will continue to be paid, by Israel’s citizens” – Zvi Bar’el ■ GAZA: The UN food agency, the World Food Program, says it only has enough supplies in Gaza to keep public kitchens and bakeries open for less than two weeks. The Arab League approved Egypt’s proposal for governing and rebuilding Gaza in a summit on Tuesday. Under the plan, a committee of Gazan professionals, subordinate to the Palestinian Authority, would run the territory for six months to oversee reconstruction. The PA would then assume control. The proposal also calls for Palestinian elections within a year, contingent on suitable conditions, and rejects any attempt to displace Gaza’s residents. The Trump administration rejected the Egyptian plan, arguing that it “does not address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance,” adding that “President Trump stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas” and that the U.S. looks “forward to further talks to bring peace and prosperity to the region.”■ ISRAEL: An investigation by Israel’s Shin Bet security service into its own failures leading up to and on October 7 found that the policy of maintaining “quiet” in Gaza and the transfer of Qatari funds to Hamas were key factors enabling Hamas to prepare its assault. According to the findings, the Shin Bet had previously recommended that Israel take proactive action against Hamas and avoid being dragged into rounds of fighting. In September 2023, a month before the Hamas attack, the Shin Bet alerted “we are entering an unstable period,” and recommended targeted assassinations of senior Hamas officials in Gaza. Sources close to PM Netanyahu criticized Shin Bet chief Bar for presenting an investigation that “does not answer any questions,” and said Bar “failed completely in dealing with Hamas in general, and on October 7 in particular.” Qatar also responded to the Shin Bet probe, saying that Israel should focus on returning the hostages, “rather than resorting to diversionary tactics such as scapegoating Qatar for political longevity.” Qatar stressed that aid to Gaza was “transferred with the full knowledge, support, and supervision of the current and previous Israeli administrations and their security agencies – including the Shin Bet,” and denied that its funds reached Hamas.“Even though he accepted responsibility for his share in the failure, Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar doesn’t intend to resign anytime soon and will apparently fight Netanyahu’s efforts to dismiss him… In conversations with his subordinates, he recently said that he still has two missions to complete – bringing the 59 hostages, both living and dead, back from Gaza, and ensuring that a state commission of inquiry is formed. Only after that will he leave his post” – Amos Harel In response to the criticism of the Shin Bet by Netanyahu’s circle, National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz said: “Instead of taking responsibility, apologizing, and establishing a state commission of inquiry, the prime minister is throwing mud at the Shin Bet… Netanyahu is hiding behind briefings and busy searching for scapegoats.” In a meeting on May 21, 2023, following the conclusion of Operation Shield and Arrow, in which the IDF operated against the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Bar told Netanyahu that the operation was “the first round against the Shi’ite axis. Time will tell as far as the deterrence goes. We should prepare for an opening blow, for a round of targeted assassinations. Hamas is the next challenge at our doorstep,” adding that an operation in Gaza would be “unavoidable,” Haaretz has learned. Netanyahu disagreed and argued that Hamas was deterred, telling Bar that Israel had “a strong balance of fear with Hamas.” Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Herzel Halevi said in his farewell speech that he takes responsibility for the October 7 massacre. “In the name of responsibility, I am ending my role… I see responsibility as a matter of values, not just legalities.” Halevi added that “It is not right for only the IDF to investigate such an event; it is part of a national order. Establishing a state commission of inquiry is vital and critical, not to assign blame, but primarily to get to the root of the problems.” In a joint meeting with incoming IDF chief Eyal Zamir, Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Halevi that he agrees that a state investigation committee must be established, and called for “taking the IDF out of politics.”■ LEBANON: The IDF said that the Air Force struck a vehicle near Naqoura in southern Lebanon, after a number of suspects were seen loading it up with weapons.  |
| Israel declared war after Hamas killed at least 1,200 Israelisand wounded more than 3,300 on October 7. In Gaza, the Hamas-controlled health ministry reports that at least 48,348 Palestinians have been killed. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad hold 59 hostages, soldiers and civilians, dead and alive, including foreign nationals. The war erupted after 10 months of an intense domestic political and social crisis, due to legislation promoted by the Netanyahu government aimed at dramatically weakening Israel’s judiciary and the prime minister’s corruption trial, amid an escalation of violence between West Bank Palestinians and Israeli settlers, the latter empowered by Israel’s most right-wing government ever. |
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