‘It's a misunderstanding, can de-escalate within hours': Rubio on Syria-Israel crisis escalation
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New Indian Express
29 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Christian patriarchs make rare visit to Gaza after deadly Israeli strike on church
DEIR AL-BALAH: Top church leaders visited Gaza on Friday after its only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell the day before, an attack that killed three people and wounded ten, including a priest who had developed a close friendship with the late Pope Francis. The strike drew condemnation from the pope and U.S. President Donald Trump, and prompted a statement of regret from Israel, which said it was a mistake. Since ending a ceasefire in March, Israel has regularly launched far deadlier strikes across Gaza against what it says are Hamas militants, frequently killing women and children. Strikes killed 18 people overnight, health officials said Friday. Pope Leo XVI meanwhile renewed his call for negotiations to bring an end to the 21-month war in a phone call Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Vatican said. Church leaders organize aid, evacuations The religious delegation to Gaza included two Patriarchs from Jerusalem — Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III. The rare visit aimed to express the 'shared pastoral solicitude of the Churches of the Holy Land,' a statement said. Israel has heavily restricted access to Gaza since the start of the war, though church leaders have entered on previous occasions, usually to mark major holidays. They visited the Holy Family Catholic Church, whose compound was damaged in the shelling. They were also organizing convoys carrying hundreds of tons of food, medical supplies and other equipment to the territory — which experts say has been pushed to the brink of famine by Israel's war and military offensive — and the evacuation of those wounded in the church strike. In his call with Netanyahu, Pope Leo XVI 'expressed again his concern over the dramatic humanitarian situation for the population in Gaza, with children, the elderly and the sick paying the most heartbreaking price,' the Vatican said in a statement. An Israeli official who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak on the record confirmed that Netanyahu had placed the call and said that the Vatican's account was accurate. In an earlier statement, the pope had 'repeated his intentions to do everything possible to stop the useless slaughter of innocent people," and condemned 'the unjustifiable attack" on the church. The Vatican said the pope had also received an update on the condition of Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, the resident priest at the church, who was lightly wounded. The priest had regularly spoken by phone with Pope Francis, who died in April, telling the pontiff about the struggles faced by civilians in Gaza. Netanyahu released a statement Thursday saying Israel 'deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church.' The Israeli military said it was still investigating.
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First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Netanyahu is considering calling an election in Israel. But can he actually win?
To win another term, Benjamin Netanyahu would have to spin a narrative of victory on three fronts: securing the release of the hostages, defeating Hamas and delivering regional security. It is a tall order read more One of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, Shas, has announced it will resign from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. The party said its decision was made due to the government's failure to pass a bill exempting ultra-Orthodox students from military service. Its exit increases the political pressure on Netanyahu. Days earlier, six members of another ultra-Orthodox coalition partner, the United Torah Judaism party, also quit the government citing the same concerns. The moves leave Netanyahu with a minority in parliament, which will make it difficult for his government to function. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Opposition leader Yair Lapid says the government now 'has no authority', and has called for a new round of elections. But even before these developments, Netanyahu was reportedly considering calling an early election in a bid to remain in power despite his unpopularity. Spinning the narrative To win another term he would, in my view, have to spin a narrative of victory on three fronts: securing the release of the hostages, defeating Hamas and delivering regional security. It is a tall order. In his visit to Washington in early July, Netanyahu emphasised his pursuit of a ceasefire in Gaza that facilitates the return of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Israelis have grown increasingly weary of the war, with recent surveys showing popular support for ending it if this brings back those still held captive. A ceasefire that sees hostages released would probably help Netanyahu generate support during an election campaign. But Netanyahu has insisted that, while he wants to reach a hostage-ceasefire deal, he will not agree to one 'at any price'. This indicates not only Israel's refusal to compromise on security but also that any deal Netanyahu does make – whether or not it sees the release of all the hostages – will be presented as a victory to Israeli voters. To provide the electorate with further hope of an end to the fighting, Netanyahu will also have to claim that the military campaign in Gaza is nearing its goals. Senior military officials stated recently that they have 'almost fully achieved' their objectives – namely, defeating Hamas. Netanyahu has, so far, prolonged the war to remain in power. But he will now need to spin the military campaign as a victory if he wants to win votes. This will be especially hard as critics like Yitzhak Brik, a retired Israeli general, claim that the number of Hamas fighters is now back to its pre-war level. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD People take part in a protest demanding the end of the war and immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP Photo) The hard-right members of Netanyahu's government add another dimension to this equation. His two ultranationalist coalition partners, Jewish Power and Religious Zionism, oppose ending the war entirely. They insist on fighting Hamas to the finish. Netanyahu will most likely want to keep his options open during an election campaign to then form a coalition with whatever he can pull together at the time. He may calculate that a short-term pause in fighting to free hostages can be spun as a victory to win votes, after which military operations could resume to appease hardliners if he needs them. A final part of Netanyahu's electoral strategy will be to push the message that he has delivered regional security. He has declared the war with Iran in June a success, saying 'we sent Iran's nuclear program down the drain'. And Israel has also continued its campaign of strikes to assert its military dominance in the region, the latest in Syria and Lebanon. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What about Palestinians? Observers warn that Netanyahu's approach is about political survival, and will come at the expense of long-term peace prospects for Israelis and Palestinians. According to New York Times, he seems to be 'kicking the Palestinian issue once again down the road'. Indeed, part of Netanyahu's mooted strategy for claiming victory in Gaza involves supporting a constrained political outcome for the Palestinians that ends the fighting without Israel conceding on core issues. Palestinians make their way with belongings as they flee their homes after the Israeli military issued orders for evacuation from eastern Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 19, 2025. Reuters In this scenario, the Gaza Strip would be carved up and demilitarised under prolonged Israeli security oversight. Some areas would be annexed by Israel. Remaining parts of Gaza, along with fragments of the West Bank, would be handed over to an interim authority to create the appearance of a nascent Palestinian state. The goal would be to declare that Israel has facilitated Palestinian statehood – but strictly on Israel's terms – while eliminating Hamas's rule in Gaza. The reality would probably be a designed chaos to force as many Palestinians as possible to leave. Such a state, lacking full sovereignty and territorial continuity, would fall far short of the independent state that Palestinians seek. Crucially, this imposed outcome would also bypass substantive negotiation of issues like borders, refugees and Jerusalem, which both Israel and Palestine claim as their capital. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Palestinian leaders would almost certainly reject a curtailed state. And if they did not then ordinary Palestinians – reeling from the war's devastation – are unlikely to view it as a just peace. A new cycle of violence would probably begin and the Palestinian population will have been heavily concentrated into restricted spaces that would be wide open to Israeli bombardment. As Netanyahu weighs pulling the election trigger, he is effectively writing the next chapter of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The outcome of this manoeuvring is highly uncertain. If his three-pronged victory narrative convinces Israeli voters, he could return to power with a fresh mandate and perhaps a retooled coalition. He might seek a broader unity government after an election, sidelining his most hardline partners in favour of centrist voices to navigate post-war diplomacy. But if the public deems his victories hollow or indeed false, an election could sweep him out of office. This would open the door for opposition leaders who may take a different approach to Gaza and the Palestinians. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Brian Brivati, Visiting Professor of Contemporary History and Human Rights, Kingston University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
Who are the Druze and why does Israel say it is hitting Syria for their sake?
Who are the Druze and why does Israel say it is hitting Syria for their sake?
