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Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Israeli PM Netanyahu says ‘victory' over Iran yields ‘opportunities' to free Gaza hostages
A poster depicting an Israeli hostage hangs from a street light during a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 26. PHOTO: REUTERS JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on June 29 that his country's 'victory' over Iran in their 12-day war had created 'opportunities', including for freeing hostages held in Gaza. 'Many opportunities have opened up now following this victory. First of all, to rescue the hostages,' Mr Netanyahu said in an address to officers of the security services. 'Of course, we will also have to solve the Gaza issue, to defeat Hamas, but I estimate that we will achieve both goals,' he added, referring to his country's campaign to crush the Palestinian militant group. In a statement late on June 29, the main group representing hostages' families welcomed 'the fact that after 20 months, the return of the hostages has finally been designated as the top priority by the prime minister'. 'This is a very important statement that must translate into a single comprehensive deal to bring back all 50 hostages and end the fighting in Gaza,' the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said. Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages during Hamas's attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023. Of these, 49 are still believed to be held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Hamas also holds the body of an Israeli soldier killed there in 2014. The forum called for the hostages' 'release, not rescue'. 'The only way to free them all is through a comprehensive deal and an end to the fighting, without rescue operations that endanger both the hostages and (Israeli) soldiers.' The Oct 7 attack triggered a fierce Israeli offensive to destroy Hamas and free the hostages. That campaign has killed at least 56,500 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable. Hamas's attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Netanyahu asks court to postpone corruption trial summons: Lawyer
In the trial that has been delayed many times since it began in May 2020, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing. PHOTO: REUTERS JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked a court on June 26 to postpone his testimony in his long-running corruption trial, after US President Donald Trump called for the case to be cancelled altogether. In a filing to the tribunal, Mr Netanyahu's lawyer Amit Hadad said the premier's testimony should be delayed in light of 'regional and global developments'. 'The court is respectfully requested to order the cancellation of the hearings in which the prime minister was scheduled to testify in the coming two weeks,' the filing said. It said Mr Netanyahu was 'compelled to devote all his time and energy to managing national, diplomatic and security issues of the utmost importance' following a brief conflict with Iran and during ongoing fighting in Gaza where Israeli hostages are held. Mr Trump on June 25 described the case against Mr Netanyahu as a 'witch hunt'. In a message on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said the Netanyahu trial 'should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero', after the end of a 12-day war with Iran. Mr Netanyahu on June 26 thanked Mr Trump for his 'heartfelt support for me and your incredible support for Israel and the Jewish people'. 'I look forward to continue working with you to defeat our common enemies, liberate our hostages and quickly expand the circle of peace,' Mr Netanyahu wrote on X, sharing a copy of Mr Trump's Truth Social post. Israel's opposition leader warned Mr Trump against interfering in Israel's internal affairs. 'We are thankful to President Trump, but... the president should not interfere in a judicial trial in an independent country,' Mr Yair Lapid said in an interview with news website Ynet. Mr Netanyahu is Israel's longest-serving prime minister. In the trial that has been delayed many times since it began in May 2020, Mr Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing. In a first case, Mr Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than US$260,000 (S$331,224) worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewellery and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favours. In two other cases, Mr Netanyahu is accused of attempting to negotiate more favourable coverage in two Israeli media outlets. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Palestinians worry Israel-Iran conflict will shift world's attention from their plight
Aid distribution sites in Gaza have been shuttered since June 13 morning, which was shortly after the initial Israeli attacks on Iran began. PHOTO: REUTERS JERUSALEM – Palestinians in the Gaza Strip said on June 14 that they worried the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran was shifting the world's attention away from their urgent humanitarian crisis. While Israeli military planes bombed Iranian nuclear sites and Iran fired barrages of ballistic missiles at Israeli cities over the past two days, Palestinians in Gaza were struggling to find food, connect to the internet and avoid strikes. 'Everyone is speaking about Iran now,' said Mr Khalil al-Halabi, a 71-year-old retired UN official living in a damaged home in Gaza City. 'Gaza has become a secondary matter.' Aid distribution sites in Gaza have been shuttered since June 13 morning, which was shortly after the initial Israeli attacks on Iran began. Finding flour, Mr al-Halabi said, had become a nightmare for his family, with some street vendors selling a 55-pound sack for more than $350 dollars. More concerning, he said, was that the Israel-Iran conflict could undermine desperately needed efforts to hammer out a ceasefire in Gaza. Repeated efforts to clinch a deal between Israel and Hamas have failed in recent months, with Israel saying it would end the war only after dismantling Hamas, and Hamas saying it will not surrender. Mr Sharif al-Buheisi, 56, a resident of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, said he thought the war would continue regardless of the fight between Israel and Iran. 'Israel and Hamas are in agreement about the continuation of the war,' he said. 'They both benefit in their own way.' Still, Mr al-Buheisi, who was a university administrator before the war, said that any diminished focus on Gaza would have negative consequences for Palestinians. He argued that Israel would now be able to make contentious moves 'without a real response from the international community.' In particular, he said, he worried that the international community would not put enough pressure on Israel to fix the new system for delivering aid to Palestinians, which has had a chaotic and often deadly rollout. Mr Al-Buheisi, who said he has hypertension, said the system was not an option for him because he could not fight through frequently unruly crowds of people to get a box of handout food. Since the new aid effort began in May, scores of hungry and desperate Palestinians have been killed or wounded on their way to collect parcels of food at aid distribution sites in Gaza, which is operated by American security contractors. Palestinian witnesses say at least some of them were killed by Israeli soldiers who guard the perimeters of these aid sites. The Israeli military has said that its forces have fired warning shots toward people advancing in what was described as a threatening manner. Mr Al-Halabi, the former UN official, said the world's shifting attention was a reminder of the helpless situation of Palestinians in Gaza. 'We're living through misery here,' he said. 'But what can we do?' NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Israel admits to supporting anti-Hamas armed group in Gaza
Palestinian boys perform Eid al-Adha prayers inside the ruins of the destroyed Al-Albani Mosque in Khan Younis. PHOTO: REUTERS JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel is supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes the militant group Hamas, following comments by a former minister that Israel had transferred weapons to it. Israeli and Palestinian media have reported that the group Israel has been working with is part of a local Bedouin tribe led by Mr Yasser Abu Shabab. The European Council on Foreign Relations (EFCR) think tank describes Mr Abu Shabab as the leader of a 'criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks'. Knesset member and ex-defence minister Avigdor Lieberman had told the Kan public broadcaster that the government, at Mr Netanyahu's direction, was 'giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons'. 'What did Lieberman leak?... That on the advice of security officials, we activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas. What is bad about that?' Mr Netanyahu said in a video posted to social media on June 5 . 'It is only good, it is saving lives of Israeli soldiers.' Dr Michael Milshtein , an expert on Palestinian affairs at the Moshe Dayan Center in Tel Aviv, told AFP that the Abu Shabab clan was part of a Bedouin tribe that spans across the border between Gaza and Egypt's Sinai peninsula. Some of the tribe's members, he said, were involved in 'all kinds of criminal activities, drug smuggling, and things like that'. Army spokesman Brigadier-General Effie Defrin on June 6 confirmed the military supported arming local militias in Gaza but remained tight-lipped on the details. 'I can say that we are operating in various ways against Hamas governance,' General Defrin said during a televised press conference when questioned on the subject, without elaborating further. Gangster Dr Milshtein said that Mr Abu Shabab had spent time in prison in Gaza and that his clan chiefs had recently denounced him as an Israeli 'collaborator and a gangster'. 'It seems that actually the Shabak (Israeli security agency) or the (military) thought it was a wonderful idea to turn this militia, gang actually, into a proxy, to give them weapons and money and shelter' from army operations, Milshtein said. He added that Hamas killed four members of the gang days ago. The ECFR said Mr Abu Shabab was 'reported to have been previously jailed by Hamas for drug smuggling. His brother is said to have been killed by Hamas during a crackdown against the group's attacks on UN aid convoys'. Israel regularly accuses Hamas, with which it has been at war for nearly 20 months, of looting aid convoys in Gaza. Hamas said the group had 'chosen betrayal and theft as their path' and called on civilians to oppose them. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, said it had evidence of 'clear coordination between these looting gangs, collaborators with the occupation (Israel), and the enemy army itself in the looting of aid and the fabrication of humanitarian crises that deepen the suffering of' Palestinians. The Popular Forces, as Mr Abu Shabab's group calls itself, said on Facebook it had 'never been, and will never be, a tool of the occupation'. 'Our weapons are simple, outdated and came through the support of our own people,' it added. Dr Milshtein called Israel's decision to arm a group such as Mr Abu Shabab 'a fantasy, not something that you can really describe as a strategy'. 'I really hope it will not end with catastrophe,' he said. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Netanyahu says ready for Gaza ‘temporary ceasefire'
Palestinian workers unloading sacks of flour from an aid truck at a bakery in Khan Younis on May 21. PHOTO: REUTERS JERUSALEM - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was open to a 'temporary ceasefire' in Gaza on May 21, as international pressure intensified over Israel's renewed offensive and aid blockade in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. 'If there is an option for a temporary ceasefire to free hostages, we'll be ready,' he said, noting that at least 20 hostages held by Hamas and its allies were still believed to be alive. But he reaffirmed that the Israeli military aimed to bring all of Gaza under its control by the end of its operation. 'We must avoid a humanitarian crisis in order to preserve our freedom of operational action,' he said. His remarks came hours after Israeli troops fired what the army called 'warning shots' near a delegation of foreign diplomats visiting the occupied West Bank, triggering global condemnation and fresh diplomatic tension. The Palestinian foreign ministry accused Israeli forces of 'deliberately targeting by live fire an accredited diplomatic delegation' near the flashpoint city of Jenin. A European diplomat said the group had travelled to the area to witness the destruction caused by months of Israeli military raids. The Israeli army said 'the delegation deviated from the approved route' and entered a restricted zone. Troops opened fire to steer the group away, it said, adding no injuries were reported and expressing regret for the 'inconvenience caused'. The incident drew condemnation from Belgium, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, Uruguay and the European Union. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called on Israel to investigate the shots and to hold those responsible 'accountable'. 'Unbearable' Anger mounted over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Palestinians are scrambling for basic supplies after weeks of near-total isolation. Palestinian rescue teams said overnight Israeli strikes had killed at least 19 people, including a week-old baby. A two-month total blockade was only partially eased this week, with aid allowed into the territory for the first time since March 2, a move leading to critical food and medicine shortages. Israel said 100 trucks with aid entered Gaza on May 21 through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel, following 93 the day before which the United Nations has said had been held up. Mr Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary general, said that as of 1600 GMT on May 21 (4am, May 22, Singapore time) 'none of the supplies have been able to leave the Kerem Shalom loading area' due to security concerns. Humanitarian groups have said that the amount falls far short of what is required to ease the crisis. A US-backed private group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, that will use contractors, said meanwhile that it will start moving aid into the territory in 'coming days'. The United Nations and traditional agencies have said they will not cooperate with the foundation which some have accused of working with Israel. The GHF has said it will distribute some 300 million meals in its first 90 days of operation. Ms Umm Talal al-Masri, 53, a displaced Palestinian in Gaza City, described the situation as 'unbearable'. 'No one is distributing anything to us. Everyone is waiting for aid, but we haven't received anything,' she said. 'We're grinding lentils and pasta to make some loaves of bread, and we barely manage to prepare one meal a day.' Pressure on Israel The army stepped up its offensive at the weekend, vowing to defeat Gaza's Hamas rulers, whose Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war. Israel has faced massive pressure, including from traditional allies, to halt its expanded offensive and allow aid into Gaza. European Union foreign ministers agreed on May 20 to review the bloc's cooperation accordi, which includes trade, with Israel. Israel's foreign ministry has said the EU action 'reflects a total misunderstanding of the complex reality Israel is facing'. Sweden said it would press the 27-nation bloc to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers, while Britain suspended free-trade negotiations with Israel and summoned the Israeli ambassador. Pope Leo XIV described the situation in Gaza as 'worrying and painful' and called for 'the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid'. Germany defended a key EU-Israel cooperation deal as 'an important forum that we must use in order to discuss critical questions' over the situation in Gaza. In Gaza, Israel resumed its operations across the territory on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire. Hamas' October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the military says are dead. Gaza's health ministry said on May 20 that at least 3,509 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,655. In neighbouring Lebanon, authorities said Israeli strikes killed three people on Wednesday as Israel said it targeted Hamas's allies Hezbollah in the south – the latest in a series of attacks despite a ceasefire with the Iran-backed militant group. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
