Middle East
Netanyahu’s war choices fuel discord in Israel over captives’ fate in Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News
To prioritise the release of the captives in Gaza, or to continue fighting what critics are calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “forever war” – that is the question increasingly dividing Israel.
Israel’s government, laser-focused on the idea of a total victory against Hamas in Gaza, appears to be opting for the latter.
And that is only increasing the criticism Netanyahu has received since October 2023, firstly for his government’s failure to stop the October 7 attack, and then for failing to end a now 19-month war, or provide a clear vision for what the “day after” in Gaza will look like.
Netanyahu’s decision in March to unilaterally end a ceasefire instead of continuing with an agreement that would have brought home the remaining captives has widened the cracks within Israeli society, as opponents realised that the likelihood of the captives leaving Gaza alive was becoming more remote.
In recent weeks, a wave of open letter writing from within military units has emerged protesting the government’s priorities.
The discontent has also gained traction with the public. Earlier this month, thousands of Israelis gathered outside the Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv to protest against Netanyahu’s decision to call up a further 60,000 reservists as part of his escalation against the bombed out and besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where his forces have already killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children.
In mid-April, current and former members of the air force, considered one of Israel’s elite units, also released a letter, claiming the war served the “political and personal interests” of Netanyahu, “and not security ones”.
Prompted by the air force, similar protests came from members of the navy, elite units within the military and Israel’s foreign security agency, Mossad.
Political and personal interests
Accusations that Netanyahu is manipulating the war for his own personal ends predate the breaking of the ceasefire.
In the minds of his critics, the longer the war continues, the longer Netanyahu feels he can defend himself against the numerous threats to his position and even his freedom.
In addition to facing trial on numerous counts of corruption dating back to 2019, he also faces calls to hold an inquiry into the government’s political failings before the October 7 attack.
Netanyahu also faces accusations that members of his office have allegedly been taking payment from Qatar – the Gulf state has previously dismissed the allegations as a “smear campaign” intended to hinder efforts to mediate an end to the conflict.
The continuation of the war allows Netanyahu to distract from those issues, while maintaining a coalition with far-right parties who have made it clear that any end to the war without total victory – which increasingly appears to include the ethnic cleansing of Gaza – would result in their departure from government, and Netanyahu’s likely fall.
And so there are questions about whether Netanyahu’s announcement of a further escalation in Gaza, including the occupation of territory and displacement of its population, will mark an end to the conflict, or simply bog Israel down in the kind of forever war that has so far been to Netanyahu’s benefit.
‘I don’t know if they’re capable of occupying the territory,” former US Special Forces commander, Colonel Seth Krummrich of international security firm Global Guardian told Al Jazeera, “Gaza is just going to soak up people, and that’s before you even think about guarding northern Israel, confronting Iran or guarding the Israeli street,” he said, warning of the potential shortfall in reservists.
“It’s also competing with a tide of growing [domestic] toxicity. When soldiers don’t return home, or don’t go, that’s going to tear at the fabric of Israeli society. It plays out at every dinner table.”
Staying at home
Israeli media reports suggest that part of that toxicity is playing out in the number of reservists simply not showing up for duty.
The majority of those refusing service are thought to be “grey refusers”. That is, reservists with no ideological objection to the mass killings in Gaza, but rather ones exhausted by repeated tours, away from their families and jobs to support a war with no clear end.
Official numbers of reservists refusing duty are unknown. However, in mid-March, the Israeli national broadcaster, Kan, ran a report disputing official numbers, which claimed that more than 80 percent of those called up for duty had attended, suggesting that the actual figure was closer to 60 percent.
“There has been a steady increase in refusal among reservists,” a spokesperson for the organisation New Profile, which supports people refusing enlistment, said. “However, we often see sharp spikes in response to specific shifts in Israeli government policy, such as the violation of the most recent ceasefire or public statements by officials indicating that the primary objective of the military campaign is no longer the return of hostages and ‘destruction of Hamas’, as initially claimed, but rather the occupation of Gaza, and its ethnic cleansing.”
Also unaddressed is growing public discontent over the ultra-religious Haredi community, whose eight-decade exemption from military service was deemed illegal by the Supreme Court in June of last year.
Despite the shortfall in reservists reporting for duty and others having experienced repeated deployments, in April, the Supreme Court requested an explanation from Netanyahu – who relies upon Haredi support to maintain his coalition – as to why its ruling had not been fully implemented or enforced.
Throughout the war, Netanyahu’s escalations, while often resisted by the captives’ families and their allies, have been cheered on and encouraged by his allies among the far-right, many of whom claim a biblical right to the homes and land of Palestinians.
The apparent conflict between the welfare of the captives and the “total victory” promised by Netanyahu has run almost as long as the conflict itself, with each moment of division seemingly strengthening the prime minister’s position through the critical support of the ultranationalist elements of his cabinet.
Netanyahu’s position has led to conflict with politicians, including his own former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. While Gallant wasn’t opposed to the war in principle – his active support for Netanyahu eventually led to him joining Netanyahu in facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for war crimes – his prioritisation of the captives put him at odds with the prime minister.
The divide over priorities has meant that civility between the government and the captives’ families has increasingly gone out the window, with Netanyahu generally avoiding meeting families with loved ones still captive in Gaza, and far-right politicians engaging in shouting matches with them during meetings in parliament.
Division within Israeli society was not new, Professor Yossi Mekelberg of Chatham House told Al Jazeera, “but wars and conflicts deepen them”.
“Now we have a situation where some people have served anywhere up to 400 days in the army [as reservists], while others are refusing to serve at all and exploiting their political power within the coalition to do so,” Mekelberg added.
“Elsewhere, there are ministers on the extreme right talking about ‘sacrificing’ the hostages for military gain,” something Mekelberg said many regarded as running counter to much of the founding principles of the country and the Jewish faith.
“There’s such toxicity in public discourse,” Mekelberg continued, “We see toxicity against anyone who criticises the war or the prime minister, division between the secular and the religious, and then even divisions within the religious movements.”
Middle East
Saudi Arabia calls Israel barring Arab ministers West Bank trip ‘extremism’ | Israel-Palestine conflict News
Foreign ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE had planned the visit to discuss Palestinian statehood and end to war on Gaza.
Saudi Arabia has accused Israel of “extremism and rejection of peace” after it blocked a planned visit by Arab foreign ministers to the occupied West Bank.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud made the remarks during a joint news conference in Jordan’s capital, Amman, on Sunday with his counterparts from Jordan, Egypt, and Bahrain.
“Israel’s refusal of the committee’s visit to the West Bank embodies and confirms its extremism and refusal of any serious attempts for [a] peaceful pathway … It strengthens our will to double our diplomatic efforts within the international community to face this arrogance,” Prince Faisal said.
His comments followed Israel’s decision to block the Arab delegation from reaching Ramallah, where they were set to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had planned the visit as part of efforts to support Palestinian diplomacy amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.
Israel controls the airspace and borders of the West Bank, and on Friday announced it would not grant permission for the visit.
“The Palestinian Authority – which to this day refuses to condemn the October 7 massacre – intended to host in Ramallah a provocative meeting of foreign ministers from Arab countries to discuss the promotion of the establishment of a Palestinian state,” an Israeli official had said, adding that Israel will “not cooperate” with the visit.
Prince Faisal’s trip to the West Bank would have marked the first such visit by a top Saudi official in recent memory.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said blocking the trip was another example of how Israel was “killing any chance of a just and comprehensive” Arab-Israeli settlement.
An international conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, is due to be held in New York from June 17 to 20 to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said the conference would cover security arrangements after a ceasefire in Gaza and reconstruction plans to ensure Palestinians would remain on their land and foil any Israeli plans to evict them.
Israel has come under increasing pressure from the United Nations and European countries, which favour a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, under which an independent Palestinian state would exist alongside Israel.
Palestinian group Hamas claims a recent ceasefire proposal passed to them by United States special envoy Steve Witkoff is different from one they had agreed to a week earlier.
Basem Naim, a leading Hamas official, told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the group “responded positively” to the latest proposal relayed by Witkoff, even though it offered “no guarantees to end the war”, according to Naim.
Israel has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians since October 2023, and its total aid blockade since March has caused starvation and a famine-like situation in Gaza, home to 2.3 million people, most of whom were displaced by 19 months of relentless bombardment.
Amid international pressure, Israel has allowed a trickle of aid into Gaza, which has been described as a “drop in an ocean” by humanitarian groups.
Here’s what you need to know about the ceasefire proposal.
Did Hamas reject the ceasefire proposal?
According to the group, no.
It says it responded positively but added a few key provisions.
What are the key points in Hamas’s proposal?
There are a few.
Hamas has responded to the latest US-proposed ceasefire with demands for a pathway to a permanent ceasefire, instead of a temporary one where the Israeli government could unilaterally restart hostilities as they did in March.
They have also called for a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the resumption of aid and assistance to the besieged area.
What are the key differences in this proposal and the one Witkoff relayed to Hamas?
Witkoff proposed a 60-day pause in hostilities. After that, the parties (Israel and Hamas) would work to agree to extend the pause.
The issue with this is that the last time it happened, Israel unilaterally decided to cut aid to Gaza and started bombing it. To avoid a similar scenario, Hamas has tried to negotiate on the timeline for releasing the captives, 10 of them alive and 18 bodies of those killed during the war. Witkoff’s proposal called for the release to take place within a week of the 60-day pause.
However, Hamas fears Israel will resume its bombing campaign upon the release of the captives, so it has called for staggering their release throughout the pause.
It has called for a set list of negotiation topics to avoid what has happened in past negotiations with Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added provisions in what critics say was an attempt to derail talks and prolong the war.
According to the website Drop Site News, Hamas also reinserted a provision from the May 25 agreement that Israel had withdrawn.
That provision would be for Hamas to hand over the governing of Gaza to “an independent technocratic committee”.
What is the US reaction to Hamas’s additions?
Witkoff called Hamas’s response “totally unacceptable” and said it “only takes us backward”.
“Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days in which half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased will come home to their families and in which we can have at the proximity talks substantive negotiations in good-faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire.”
I received the Hamas response to the United States’ proposal. It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backward.
Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week.
That is the only…
— Office of the Special Envoy to the Middle East (@SE_MiddleEast) May 31, 2025
US President Donald Trump previously said the two sides were nearing a deal.
What is Israel saying?
The US and Israel seem to be in agreement on the terms.
Israel claims its officials agreed with the US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Israel “backed and supported” the new proposal.
Netanyahu criticised the Hamas response, parroting Witkoff and laying the blame on the Palestinian group for failing to accept the proposal.
“As Witkoff said, Hamas’s response is unacceptable and sets the situation back. Israel will continue its action for the return of our hostages and the defeat of Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
If the US and Israel agree, why is Hamas holding out?
Hamas is wary of past instances where Israel chose to unilaterally break the ceasefire. That happened in March, when Netanyahu decided to block all aid from entering Gaza and restart the war.
Tamer Qarmout, an associate professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, described the negotiations between Hamas and Israel as taking place with “no good faith whatsoever”.
“They [Israel] are fixated on one key goal, which is Hamas’s capitulation and surrender, and disappearing from the scene,” Qarmout told Al Jazeera.
“Hamas is engaged in these negotiations just to try to reduce the horrors of the war, to allow some humanitarian aid to enter and to also look for a dignified exit. No one in Hamas wants to see themselves surrendering this way.”
What happens now?
In the interim, Israel is continuing to attack Gaza.
On Sunday, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians who had gathered at aid distribution sites run by a US-backed group, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in southern and central Gaza. At least 31 people were killed in Rafah and another near the Netzarim Corridor.
Meanwhile, residential homes across Gaza are still being bombed relentlessly.
Middle East
Israel kills 32 Palestinians waiting for food at US-backed Gaza aid sites | Israel-Palestine conflict News
Israel has killed at least 32 Palestinians waiting to get food at two aid distribution sites in Gaza, leaving more than 200 others injured.
Israeli tanks opened fire on thousands of civilians gathered at a distribution site in southern Gaza’s Rafah on Sunday morning, killing at least 31 people, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
Soon after, another person was killed in a shooting at a similar distribution point south of the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza City, said the office’s statement on Telegram.
The aid is being distributed by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial group backed by Israel and the United States, which has completed a chaotic first week of operations in the enclave.
The United Nations and other aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF, accusing it of lacking neutrality and suggesting the group has been formed to enable Israel to achieve its stated military objective of taking over all of Gaza.
‘Killed for seeking one meal for children’
Ibrahim Abu Saoud, who witnessed the attack on aid seekers in Rafah, told The Associated Press news agency that Israeli forces opened fire on people as they moved towards the distribution point.
Abu Saoud, 40, said the crowd was about 300 metres (328 yards) away from the military. He said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who died at the scene.
“We weren’t able to help him,” he said.
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said Palestinians are being killed while trying to secure “one meal for their children”.
“This is why Palestinians have been going to these distribution points, despite the fact that they know that they are controversial. They [distribution points] are backed by the US and Israel, but they do not have any other option,” she said.
“[Even] the food parcels that were distributed to Palestinians are barely enough. We are talking about one kilo of flour, a couple of bags of pasta, a couple of cans of fava beans – and it’s not nutritious. It’s not enough for a family in Gaza nowadays.”
The GHF told the AP that Israeli soldiers fired “warning shots” as Palestinians gathered to receive food. The group denied reports that dozens of people were killed, describing them as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos”.
The Israeli army said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that it was “currently unaware of injuries caused by [Israeli] fire within the humanitarian aid distribution site” and that the incident was still under review.
The Government Media Office in Gaza condemned the attacks, describing the GHF’s distribution points as “mass death traps, not humanitarian relief points”.
“We confirm to the entire world that what is happening is a systematic and malicious use of aid as a tool of war, employed to blackmail starving civilians and forcibly gather them in exposed killing points, managed and monitored by the occupation army and funded and politically covered by … the US administration,” it said in a statement.
Speaking from Gaza City, Bassam Zaqout of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society said the current aid distribution mechanism had replaced 400 former distribution points with just four.
“I think there are different hidden agendas in this aid distribution mechanism,” he told Al Jazeera. “The mechanism does not cater to the needs of the people, such as the elderly and people with disabilities.”
Palestinian group Hamas, which runs the enclave’s government, released a statement, saying the Israeli shootings were a “blatant confirmation of premeditated intent” as it held Israel and the US fully responsible for the killings.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said the killings were a “full-fledged war crime” and demanded international intervention to “stop this ongoing massacre and impose strict accountability mechanisms”.
Sunday’s killings capped a deadly first week for the project’s operations, coming on the back of two earlier shootings at two distribution points in the south – the first in Rafah, the second west of the city – which saw a combined total of nine Palestinians killed.
In Gaza, crucial aid is only trickling in after Israel partially lifted a more than two-month total blockade, which brought more than two million of its starving residents to the brink of a famine.
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