US envoy meets Israeli hostage families in Tel Aviv
Cellphone video posted online showed the Washington negotiator arriving in a square in Tel Aviv that has become known for protests by supporters of the hostages' families and being greeted with applause and pleas for help.
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Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Gaza war deepens Israel's internal divisions
As it drags on into its twenty-second month, Israel's war in Gaza has increasingly set friends and families against one another and sharpened existing political and cultural divides. Hostage families and peace activists are urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to secure a ceasefire with Hamas and free the remaining captives abducted during the October 2023 attacks. Right-wing members of Netanyahu's cabinet, meanwhile, see the war as an opportunity to occupy and annex more Palestinian territory, despite mounting international criticism. The debate has fractured Israeli society, strained personal relationships, and eroded national unity at what many consider the country's moment of greatest need during its longest-ever war. 'As the war continues, we become more and more divided,' said Emanuel Yitzchak Levi, a 29-year-old poet, schoolteacher, and peace activist from Israel's religious left who attended a peace meeting in Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square. 'It's really hard to keep being a friend, or family, a good son, a good brother to someone that's—from your point of view—supporting crimes against humanity,' he told AFP. 'And I think it's also hard for them to support me if they think I betrayed my own country.' As if to underscore the tension, a cyclist stopped to shout 'traitors' at the gathering, accusing activists of playing into Hamas's hands. No flowers Dvir Berko, a 36-year-old IT worker, paused his scooter journey through downtown Tel Aviv to offer a more measured critique of the peace activists' call for a ceasefire. Berko and others accused international bodies of exaggerating the threat of starvation in Gaza. He argued that Israel should withhold aid until the remaining 49 hostages are released. 'The Palestinian people, they're controlled by Hamas. Hamas takes their food. Hamas starts this war, and in every war that happens, bad things are going to happen. You're not going to send the other side flowers,' he said. 'So, if they open a war, they should realize and understand what's going to happen after they open the war.' Voices like Berko's reflect the deepening polarization in Israeli society since Hamas's October 2023 attacks, which left 1,219 people dead, according to Israeli authorities. Independent journalist Meron Rapoport, a former senior editor at the liberal daily Haaretz, told AFP that the divisions had been building long before the war. Hamas's attack initially triggered a wave of unity, but as the war dragged on and Israel's conduct came under international scrutiny, attitudes on the political right and left have hardened. Political motives 'The moment Hamas acted there was a coming together,' Rapoport said. 'Nearly everyone saw it as a just war. 'As the war went on, it has made people come to the conclusion that the central motivations are not military reasons but political ones.' According to a survey conducted between July 24 and 28 by the Institute for National Security Studies, involving 803 Jewish and 151 Arab respondents, Israelis narrowly blamed Hamas for delays in reaching a hostage release deal. Only 24 percent of Israeli Jews said they were distressed or 'very distressed' by the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where, according to UN-mandated reports, 'a famine is unfolding' and civilians are often killed while seeking food. Still, there is public support for the families of hostages. Many of them have accused Netanyahu of prolonging the war to protect his political standing. 'In Israel there's mandatory army service,' said Mika Almog, 50, an author and peace activist with the It's Time Coalition. 'So these soldiers are our children, and they are being sent to die in a false criminal war that is still going on for nothing other than political reasons.' In an open letter published Monday, 550 former top diplomats, military officers, and intelligence chiefs urged US President Donald Trump to tell Netanyahu that the military phase of the war is over and that a hostage deal must now be the priority. 'At first this war was a just war, a defensive war. But when we achieved all military objectives, this war ceased to be a just war,' said Ami Ayalon, former director of the Shin Bet internal security service. The conflict, he warned in an accompanying video, 'is leading the State of Israel to lose its security and identity.' His declaration, shared by the very figures who once prosecuted Israel's wars, echoed the message long carried by peace activists who have often protested against them. 'Awful period' Avi Ofer, a 70-year-old biblical archaeologist and peace campaigner from a kibbutz, wore a yellow ribbon marked with the war's duration—'667' days—at a Tel Aviv rally. 'This is the most awful period in my life,' he said, visibly emotional. 'Yes, Hamas are war criminals. We know what they do. The war was justified at first. At the beginning it was not a genocide.' Few Israelis use the word 'genocide,' but many are aware that the International Court of Justice is considering whether Israel has breached the Genocide Convention in Gaza. While only a minority voice concern over the humanitarian toll, many Israelis worry the war could turn their country into an international pariah—and that their conscripted children may one day be treated as war crimes suspects abroad. Israel and Netanyahu, with US support, have firmly rejected the ICJ case in The Hague.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Gaza war deepens Israel's divides
TEL AVIV: As it grinds on well into its twenty-second month, Israel's war in Gaza has set friends and families against one another and sharpened existing political and cultural divides. Hostage families and peace activists want Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to secure a ceasefire with Hamas and free the remaining captives abducted during the October 2023 Hamas attacks. Right-wing members of Netanyahu's cabinet, meanwhile, want to seize the moment to occupy and annex more Palestinian land, at the risk of sparking further international criticism. The debate has divided the country and strained private relationships, undermining national unity at Israel's moment of greatest need in the midst of its longest war. 'As the war continues we become more and more divided,' said Emanuel Yitzchak Levi, a 29-year-old poet, schoolteacher and peace activist from Israel's religious left who attended a peace meeting at Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square. 'It's really hard to keep being a friend, or family, a good son, a good brother to someone that's — from your point of view — supporting crimes against humanity,' he told AFP. 'And I think it's also hard for them to support me if they think I betrayed my own country.' As if to underline this point, a tall, dark-haired cyclist angered by the gathering pulled up his bike to shout 'traitors' at the attendees and to accuse activists of playing into Hamas's hands. Dvir Berko, a 36-year-old worker at one of the city's many IT startups, paused his scooter journey across downtown Tel Aviv to share a more reasoned critique of the peace activists' call for a ceasefire. Berko and others accused international bodies of exaggerating the threat of starvation in Gaza, and he told AFP that Israel should withhold aid until the remaining 49 hostages are freed. 'The Palestinian people, they're controlled by Hamas. Hamas takes their food. Hamas starts this war and, in every war that happens, bad things are going to happen. You're not going to send the other side flowers,' he argued. 'So, if they open a war, they should realize and understand what's going to happen after they open the war.' The raised voices in Tel Aviv reflect a deepening polarization in Israeli society since Hamas's October 2023 attacks left 1,219 people dead, independent journalist Meron Rapoport told AFP. Rapoport, a former senior editor at liberal daily Haaretz, noted that Israel had been divided before the latest conflict, and had even seen huge anti-corruption protests against Netanyahu and perceived threats to judicial independence. Hamas's attack initially triggered a wave of national unity, but as the conflict has dragged on and Israel's conduct has come under international criticism, attitudes on the right and left have diverged and hardened. 'The moment Hamas acted there was a coming together,' Rapoport said. 'Nearly everyone saw it as a just war. 'As the war went on it has made people come to the conclusion that the central motivations are not military reasons but political ones.' According to a survey conducted between July 24 and 28 by the Institute for National Security Studies, with 803 Jewish and 151 Arab respondents, Israelis narrowly see Hamas as primarily to blame for the delay in reaching a deal on freeing the hostages. Only 24 percent of Israeli Jews are distressed or 'very distressed' by the humanitarian situation in Gaza — where, according to UN-mandated reports, 'a famine is unfolding' and Palestinian civilians are often killed while seeking food. But there is support for the families of the Israeli hostages, many of whom have accused Netanyahu of prolonging the war artificially to strengthen his own political position. 'In Israel there's a mandatory army service,' said Mika Almog, 50, an author and peace activist with the It's Time Coalition. 'So these soldiers are our children and they are being sent to die in a false criminal war that is still going on for nothing other than political reasons.' In an open letter published Monday, 550 former top diplomats, military officers and spy chiefs urged US President Donald Trump to tell Netanyahu that the military stage of the war was already won and he must now focus on a hostage deal. 'At first this war was a just war, a defensive war, but when we achieved all military objectives, this war ceased to be a just war,' said Ami Ayalon, former director of the Shin Bet security service. The conflict 'is leading the State of Israel to lose its security and identity,' he warned in a video released to accompany the letter. This declaration by the security officers — those who until recently prosecuted Israel's overt and clandestine wars — echoed the views of the veteran peace activists that have long protested against them. Biblical archaeologist and kibbutz resident Avi Ofer is 70 years old and has long campaigned for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. He and fellow activists wore yellow ribbons with the length in days of the war written on it: '667.' The rangy historian was close to tears as he told AFP: 'This is the most awful period in my life.' 'Yes, Hamas are war criminals. We know what they do. The war was justified at first. At the beginning it was not a genocide,' he said. Not many Israelis use the term 'genocide,' but they are aware that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is considering whether to rule on a complaint that the country has breached the Genocide Convention. While only a few are anguished about the threat of starvation and violence hanging over their neighbors, many are worried that Israel may become an international pariah — and that their conscript sons and daughters be treated like war crimes suspects when abroad. Israel and Netanyahu — with support from the United States — have denounced the case in The Hague.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
‘Projectile' fired at Israel from Yemen, intercepted by military
A projectile launched toward Israel from Yemen was intercepted on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, after air-raid sirens sounded across parts of the country. 'Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF,' the military said in a post on social media platform X. The Houthi militia, which controls Yemen's capital Sanaa and large parts of the country, is part of a regional alliance against Israel backed by Iran. That alliance also includes groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza on October 7, 2023, the Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles at Israel — most of which have been intercepted — and targeted ships they claim are linked to Israel, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians. In response, Israel has carried out multiple airstrikes on Houthi-controlled infrastructure, including ports in western Yemen and the airport in Sanaa.
