In an effort to root out what it claims to be Islamic Jihad and Hamas infrastructure, Israel has been assaulting the northern West Bank for nearly a week. Palestinians say that the Israeli operation has destroyed roads in Jenin and killed at least twenty people. Tensions are escalating in the West Bank, according to Israeli analysts.
Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday, the first stop on a four-nation tour to Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea – which will be his longest foreign trip since he became pontiff in 2013.
Israelis have reacted with shock and anger after finding the bodies of six slain Israeli hostages in a southern Gaza tunnel.Some blame the Israeli government for not reaching a cease-fire deal with Hamas earlier. Israel’s largest labor union announced a general strike starting Monday until the government signs a deal.
The site of this year’s Nova music festival has turned into a place of pilgrimage as Israel approaches the anniversary of the Hamas strike on October 7, which sparked the Gaza War.At the site, Hamas killed 364 young people and took 44 hostage.
The indirect negotiations for a Gaza cease-fire resumed on Thursday in Doha, Qatar, despite Hamas’ declaration that it will not attend. Many in Israel believe that after Hamas’ surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, this may be the last opportunity for an agreement that would free the 115 hostages that Hamas is still holding in Gaza. However, significant gaps between the two sides remain.
Israelis are on edge and waiting for expected retaliation almost two weeks after the purported assassinations of two senior militant leaders by Israel. Hezbollah and Hamas could both launch long-range missiles at much of Israel, causing enormous damage.But they also do not want an all-out war with Israel.
The appointment of Yahya Sinwar as the leader of Hamas has left Israelis even less hopeful about a cease-fire agreement, as they consider Sinwar as an even more extremist figure than his predecessor.
Since Israel-Hamas’ war began, the keffiyeh, a Palestinian symbol, has drawn more attention from around the world. The Arab headdress, which was formerly just a simple article of Bedouin clothing,has taken on symbolic meaning. To some, it represents resistance; to others, it should be outlawed; and to still others, it is a piece of high fashion.
Last week, relatives of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza marked 300 days since the start of the war with marches and meetings, raising the alarm that time is running out as Israel braces for possible attacks by Iran and Hezbollah. With almost 100,000 cases of hepatitis, health officials in Gaza warn of a growing health crisis as the death toll exceeds 40,000.