June 1: Lapid slams Ben Gvir, Smotrich for vow to topple coalition over hostage-ceasefire deal

Lapid: Threats from Smotrich and Ben Gvir are an abandonment of Israel’s security and residents

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid (left) leads a meeting of his Yesh Atid party at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on May 20, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90); Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement on May 22, 2024. (Screen capture)

Following warnings from ultranationalist ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir that they will quit the government should Israel move ahead with the latest proposal for a hostage release and ceasefire deal, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams them for making threats which “abandon national security, the hostages, and the residents of the north and the south.”

“This is the worst and most wanton government in the country’s history,” he continues. “As far as they’re concerned, there could be war here forever.”

Earlier Saturday, Lapid said Israel “must do this deal, now… before the hostages die there [in Gaza].”

Blinken discusses ceasefire proposal with Egyptian, Qatari and Emirati counterparts

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan,  Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry about the proposed hostage release and ceasefire deal, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller says.

Blinken and his counterparts discussed “the proposal’s benefits for the people of Gaza, including through the return of civilians to North Gaza and the beginning of a major reconstruction plan,” Miller says in a readout of the call.

He also reiterated the US’s appreciation for the humanitarian assistance they have provided Gaza’s civilians with since the outbreak of the war.

Finally, Miller says, Blinken “called for Hamas to accept the deal without delay, underscoring the benefits the deal would provide to the Palestinian people.”

Ben Gvir threatens to ‘dismantle the government’ if Netanyahu moves ahead with new hostage-ceasefire deal

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir leads a meeting of his far-right Otzma Yehudit party at the Knesset, on March 18, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Security Minister and head of the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party Itamar Ben Gvir rejects the newly proposed hostage release and ceasefire deal, and says that he will “dismantle the government” if it is adopted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In rejecting the proposal, Ben Gvir joins his ultranationalist government comrade Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in warning Netanyahu that his government will fall if it accepts the proposed deal.

Unlike Smotrich, Ben Gvir does not mention returning the hostages as part of his war aims.

“The deal according to the details which have been published today would mean ending the war and giving up on destroying Hamas. This is a reckless deal which would be a victory for terrorism and a security risk for the State of Israel,” says Ben Gvir, adding that it would represent not total victory, as Netanyahu has repeatedly promised, but rather “total defeat.”

Ben Gvir says his party will not allow the war to end in this way.

“If the prime minister puts this deal into action under the conditions that have been published today, the meaning of which is the end of the war and abandoning [the goal of] destroying Hamas, Otzma Yehudit will dismantle the government,” declares the far-right minister.

Smotrich tells PM he’ll leave the government if hostage deal proposal adopted by Israel

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a Religious Zionism faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, April 30, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/ Flash90)

Finance Minister and head of the ultranationalist Religious Zionism party Bezalel Smotrich says he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and told him that his party would quit the coalition if Israel adopts the current proposal for a hostage release and ceasefire plan.

“I made clear to him [Netanyahu] that I will not be part of a government that agrees to the proposed outline and ends the war without destroying Hamas and bringing back all the hostages,” says Smotrich.

“We will not agree to end the war before the destruction of Hamas, not to the severe harm to the achievements of the war until now by an IDF retreat and the return of Gazans to northern Gaza, and not to the wholesale release of terrorists who will return, God forbid, to murdering Jews,” he adds.

The ultranationalist leader says his party is demanding that “the fighting continue” until Hamas is destroyed and the hostages are returned, “the creation of a totally different security reality in Gaza and Lebanon, the return of all the residents of the north and south to their homes, and massive investment in the accelerated development of these regions of the country.”

Religious Zionism and fellow far-right party Otzma Yehudit, led by Itamar Ben Gvir, won 14 seats when running together in the 2022 elections and are crucial to Netanyahu’s governing majority. However, Opposition leader Yair Lapid earlier today reiterated a promise to provide a political safety net to Netanyahu, to ensure his government would not fall over the deal.

Lebanese media reports Israeli airstrike in Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbek

Lebanese media outlets are reporting an Israeli airstrike in northeastern Lebanon’s Baalbek District.

Baalbek, an area identified in the past as a Hezbollah stronghold, is around 100 kilometers from the Israeli border.

The reported strike comes after Hezbollah shot down an IDF drone over southern Lebanon earlier today, and launched heavy rockets at an army base near Kiryat Shmona.

Shaul Meridor: Unlike Netanyahu, Biden is a ‘real leader’ who cares for Israel’s future ‘not his own’

Shaul Meridor speaking at the anti-government rally in Tel Aviv, June 1, 2024. (Omer Yalin)

Shaul Meridor, the former head of the Finance Ministry’s budget department who entered the public eye in 2020 for resigning in protest of then-Finance Minister Israel Katz’s budgetary conduct, speaks against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the anti-government rally in Tel Aviv.

“A step away from a victory that will never come, we’re surrounded by enemies, the whole world’s against us,” Meridor says, referring to Netanyahu’s repeated claims throughout the war that Israel is close to achieving its objectives.

“Last night, we received a reminder of what a real leader looks like, who cares for Israel’s future and not his own. Thank you, President Biden,” he adds, referring to the US president’s speech on Friday in which he presented an Israeli proposal for a deal that would lead to the release of the hostages ceasefire in Gaza.

Gal Pichovich, an activist and resident of the area surrounding the Gaza Strip, also talks about Biden’s speech, saying, “Last night, in an exceptional speech, the US president spoke to us, the Israelis. The US president told us to wake up. The leader of the free world said our government must stop running out the clock.

“Will we let Netanyahu, [National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir], and [National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi] keep wasting time and abandon the hostages in Gaza, or are we going to let them know that it’s over and that they’re bringing them all home now?” she continues.

Anti-government, pro-hostage-deal protesters flood streets of Tel Aviv; organizers claim 120,000 at largest protest since Oct. 7

Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, speaks to protesters near the Begin Gate of the Defense Ministry Headquarters in Tel Aviv on June 1, 2024, demanding the government accept the hostage release proposal as laid out by President Joe Biden (Roi Boshi / Pro-Democracy Reform Movement)

Anti-government protesters are demonstrating in Tel Aviv, calling for Israel to press ahead with a deal to release hostages held by the terror group Hamas, as well as for the ouster of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and early elections.

Attendees of Saturday’s protest estimate it is the largest since October 7, with protest organizers claiming that 120,000 demonstrators have gathered in Tel Aviv, a figure that cannot be independently verified.

Protests are taking place in numerous other locations across the country.

Among those addressing demonstrators on Begin Street in Tel Aviv is Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker. Together with relatives families of several other hostages, she warned earlier this evening that Netanyahu might torpedo the possible deal — referring to an Israeli proposal publicly detailed last night by US President Joe Biden. “[Biden] spoke because he knows that Netanyahu may torpedo this deal as well,” she said. “Biden wanted the public to know what was really on the table.”

Protesters call for Israel to hold elections and for the government to agree to a hostage deal, in Tel Aviv, June 1, 2024. (Aviv Atlas)

Protests at the intersection of Begin Road and Kaplan Street, dubbed Democracy Square, have been held every Saturday night since the anti-judicial overhaul movement began in January of last year, except for a few-months-long hiatus following the Hamas terror onslaught on October 7, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 252.

Thousands march in Jerusalem to call for hostage deal, thank Biden for his support

Protesters hold large banner reading "Thank you, Biden," during a march in support of a hostage deal in Jerusalem on June 1, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Thousands of Israelis are marching through the center of Jerusalem to the President’s Residence, urging the government to secure a hostage deal with Hamas after US President Joe Biden unveiled an Israeli hostage deal and ceasefire proposal last night.

Protesters chant: “He who abandons, must return [the hostages]” and hold signs thanking Biden for his statement urging an end to the war. Many are holding yellow flags, symbolic of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Although the march was originally planned as an anti-government protest focusing on the upcoming Jerusalem Day holiday, organizers have since shifted gears in what seems a decisive moment for a prospective deal.

The Jerusalem branch of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum is not officially partaking in the event, but a few relatives of the hostages are leading the march.

Sa’ar: Any deal that allows Hamas to remain in control of Gaza is a defeat for Israel

New Hope chair Gideon Sa’ar says that the hostage release and ceasefire deal proposal put forward by Israel and presented by US President Joe Biden would mean victory for Hamas.

“An outline that ends with Hamas being left intact as the governing and military force in Gaza means a threat to the citizens of Israel in general and to the residents of the Gaza border communities specifically,” he writes on X.

“This would be a defeat for Israel and a victory for Hamas, the consequences of which would be far-reaching.”

Biden, on Friday, presented a vision for the rehabilitation of Gaza in which “Arab nations and the international community along with Palestinian and Israeli leaders [will work together] to get it done in a manner that does not allow Hamas to rearm.”

Moreover, he said that an “interim administration” would govern Gaza, and indicated that the US would give Israel cover to continue pursuing Hamas’s leaders after the war.

Qatar, Egypt, US call in joint statement for Israel and Hamas to finalize ceasefire deal

In a statement released by Qatar’s media office, Doha, Cairo and Washington call on Israel and Hamas to take the necessary steps to adopt the hostage release and ceasefire deal outlined by Israel and presented by US President Joe Biden on Friday.

“Qatar, the United States and Egypt jointly call on both Hamas and Israel to finalize the agreement embodying the principles outlined by President Biden on May 31, 2024,” the statement reads. “These principles brought the demands of all parties together in a deal that serves multiple interests and will bring immediate relief to both the long-suffering people of Gaza as well as the long-suffering hostages and their families.

“This deal offers a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire and ending the crisis,” the statement adds.

Israeli official to ToI: Under proposal, Israel can achieve all war goals before permanent ceasefire takes effect

People protest for the release of hostages held by the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, June 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

In response to US President Joe Biden’s presentation of an Israeli hostage release and ceasefire proposal, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel that “Israel’s conditions for the end of the war have not changed.”

The official lists the conditions as “destroying Hamas military and civil capabilities, freeing the hostages, and ensuring that Gaza will no longer represent a threat to Israel.”

The Israeli proposal, insists the official, ensures that Israel can achieve all of these conditions before a permanent ceasefire takes effect.

The proposal will ensure the release of all 125 hostages, beginning with a “humanitarian phase” in which dozens of women, children, sick, and elderly will go free, says the official. This first stage will see a temporary lull in fighting, as well as talks on achieving the release of the remaining living and slain hostages and a permanent ceasefire.

The second phase will only take place after Israel receives assurances on the terms of the ceasefire, per the proposal: “No later than the 16th day, negotiations will begin between the two sides in order to achieve an agreement on the terms for the implementation of phase 2.”

Israel maintains the right to renew hostilities at any time if Hamas violates the terms of the agreement, stresses the official, “including not releasing the agreed-upon number of hostages, and if Israel assesses that the talks are futile and are just meant to buy time.”

Netanyahu ‘excited for the privilege’ to address US Congress on war against Hamas

After receiving a formal invitation to address a joint session of Congress, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu releases a statement saying that he is “excited for the privilege to present in front of the representatives of the American people and the entire world the truth about our just war against those who wish to kill us.”

A statement from the Prime Minister‘s office boasts that he will be the first world leader to address a joint session of Congress for the fourth time.

Qatari PM tells Blinken he hopes Gaza ceasefire proposal will be received positively

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani says that mediators hope all parties will deal positively with the principles of a Gaza ceasefire proposal that US President Joe Biden laid out on Friday.

Al Thani made the remarks during a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Qatar’s state news agency says.

The principles in the ceasefire proposal “include the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas in Gaza, the release of detainees including women, the elderly, and the wounded in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and the entry of aid into the strip,” Al Thani adds.

Al Thani, who is also Qatar’s foreign minister, said in April the Gulf state was re-evaluating its role as mediator, citing concerns that its efforts were being undermined by politicians seeking to score points.

Qatar has faced criticism from within the United States and Israel over its ties to Hamas since October 7, as much of the terror group’s senior leadership resides in Doha.

Israeli proposal set out by Biden would enable Israel to achieve its declared war goals, senior source says

File - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes a meeting of the war cabinet in Tel Aviv, early morning on April 14, 2024. (Courtesy)

Hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an English statement, said that the idea of Israel ending the war without all its declared goals achieved was a “non-starter,” a senior Israeli source takes a more upbeat tone and indicates to Hebrew media that the Israeli proposal set out last night by President Biden indeed provides for the achievement of those goals.

As quoted by Channel 13 news, the unnamed source says, “Israel’s conditions for ending the war have not changed: To destroy Hamas’s military and governance capabilities, to free all the hostages and to ensure that Gaza will not again constitute a threat to Israel. The framework for freeing the hostages enables Israel to demand that all these demands are achieved before a permanent ceasefire comes into force.”

Channel 13 further reports that Netanyahu 10 days ago indeed allowed Israel’s negotiating team to discuss a “prolonged ceasefire” in its indirect negotiations with Hamas on a deal, and that Biden’s speech in part constituted the “outing” of the Israeli proposal as approved by the war cabinet several days ago.

It also says the military censor in recent days prevented publication of aspects of Israel’s position.

Reports in recent days and weeks have asserted that all or almost all of the war cabinet — Ministers Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, observer ministers Gadi Eisenkott and Ron Dermer, and the various security chiefs — backed the proposal drawn up by the negotiating team last month and that Netanyahu, who initially opposed the language on a ceasefire, reluctantly endorsed it.

Several Hebrew media outlets tonight present various accounts of how much notice the White House gave the PMO of the specifics of the president’s speech, with Channel 12 saying the White House gave the PMO and Ambassador Mike Herzog some specifics about two or three hours before Biden spoke, and Channel 13 claiming some in the PMO were angered that Israel was not substantively updated.

Meanwhile, Channel 12 news quotes a senior Israeli source saying that the Biden administration, by spelling out the details of the Israeli proposal, has essentially “torn up all the cards” and forced Israel’s leadership to take a clear stance. The US has essentially made clear to Israel, the source says, “that if you say no, you’ll bear the consequences. It won’t matter what we [the US] choose to do or how Hamas responds. This speech will reshape the rules of the game.”

Gantz says Israel committed to securing hostage deal, calls for war cabinet to meet ASAP

National Unity party head and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz holds a press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem, April 21, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz calls for the war cabinet to convene as soon as possible, in light of US President Joe Biden’s speech yesterday announcing a hostage deal proposal which he said came from Israel.

“The United States has proven over time consistently, exactly like it has since the war’s beginning under the leadership of President Biden, its commitment to Israel’s security and the efforts to return the hostages. We are deeply grateful to the president and all our American friends for their support,” Gantz says in a statement from his office.

“The State of Israel stands united in our wish to return the hostages, it is a superior moral obligation that does not diminish our commitment to achieve the war’s objectives based on the six principles I outlined in my speech,” he continues.

Stressing that Israel is “committed to continue advancing an arrangement to return the hostages as formulated by the negotiation team and approved by the war cabinet unanimously, as part of the wider effort to achieve all of the war’s objectives,” Gantz says the war cabinet “must be convened as soon as possible together with the negotiating team to formulate the next steps.”

Report gives further details of three-stage ‘roadmap’ to end Israel-Hamas war announced by Biden

Clothes hang on the balcony of a school housing internally displaced Gazans in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, on June 1, 2024. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

A report by the Saudi-owned, London-based Al Majalla magazine, provides what it says are some additional details on the Israeli hostage-ceasefire “roadmap” proposal spelled out by US President Joe Biden last night.

The initial part of the first stage would be accompanied by a partial withdrawal of troops from Gaza as Hamas releases hostages, and the return of displaced, unarmed Gazans to their homes. In the meantime, the two sides would negotiate a more permanent ceasefire, the report says.

The first stage of the proposed deal would unfold over 42 days and would include the release of 33 female, child, elderly, sick, and injured hostages.

According to the report, for each female or child hostage, 30 female or child Palestinian security prisoners would be released, according to lists provided by Hamas. For each hostage that is sick, injured, or over the age of 50, 30 elderly, sick, and injured Palestinian prisoners will be released.

For each female soldier, 50 female security prisoners will be released, including 30 serving life sentences and 20 others serving lengthy sentences, according to names provided by Hamas.

If there are not enough living hostages to reach 33 releases in the first stage, the dead bodies of hostages would be released.

By the 16th day of the truce, indirect talks would begin regarding details of the 42-day-long second stage of the deal, which according to the outline, would include a declaration of a sustainable ceasefire, the release of male hostages, including civilians and soldiers, in exchange for male security prisoners and the complete withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza.

On the 22nd day of the first stage, Israel would release prisoners who have been re-arrested after being released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. By this stage, Hamas will have released half of the living civilian hostages, and freedom of movement would be allowed in the Strip.

Humanitarian aid would be expanded to 600 trucks a day in the first stage, including supplies that will allow the restoration of medical centers.

The third and final stage of the deal would include an exchange of dead bodies, a three-five year process of rehabilitating the Strip, overseen by Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations, and the eventual lifting of the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the enclave.

IDF says ‘suspicious aerial target’ intercepted by Iron dome over Acre

The IDF says a “suspicious aerial target” — possibly a drone — was downed by the Iron Dome over the Acre area in northern Israel.

Sirens sounded due to fears of falling shrapnel.

There are no damage or injuries in the incident.

Rocket sirens sound in Acre, nearby town; footage shows projectile intercepted

Rocket sirens are sounding in the northern coastal city of Acre and the adjacent town of Bustan Hagalil.

Footage posted to social media shows at least one interception over the area.

There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

One interception reported over the Bustan HaGalil area, close to Acre pic.twitter.com/a2zb9K4At7

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 1, 2024

Group of hostage families urges protests to ensure PM doesn’t ‘torpedo’ proposed deal to free captives

A group of hostage families give a statement outside the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, June 1, 2024. (Pro-Democracy Protest Movement/Nevet Kahana)

A group of relatives of hostages held by Hamas urge protesters to take to the streets to ensure that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t “torpedo” an Israeli-proposed hostage deal announced by US President Joe Biden.

“After a long period of despair, Biden’s speech offers real hope for the first time,” Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage says at a press conference in Tel Aviv.

Einav Zangauker, mother of Matan Zangauker who is being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, sits on the street near the Begin Gate at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, June 1, 2024. (Paulina Patimer / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

“He spoke because he knows that Netanyahu may torpedo this deal as well. Biden wanted the public to know what was really on the table,” she says, adding her concern that the prime minister’s public statements since the speech did not explicitly approve of the deal.

Ayala Metzger, whose father-in-law Yoram is held captive, notes the deal has been approved by the three-member war cabinet, and quotes Biden’s speech that “we must not lose this moment.”

“We call on the public to take to the streets and support the deal. Take to the streets and don’t leave until [the hostages] return,” she says.

Yifat Calderon, whose cousin Ofer is held captive, says the families expect “extremists” to oppose the deal when Shabbat ends. “They want this war to last forever and they are ready to sacrifice the hostages,” she says.

Calderon urges war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, observer Gadi Eisenkot, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to ensure Netanyahu doesn’t reject the deal.

“Don’t abandon the dialogue to extremists,” she adds.

Report: White House disappointed by Gantz’s reaction to Biden’s speech

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz holds a press conference in Ramat Gan, May 18, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

The White House was disappointed by the initial reaction by war cabinet minister Benny Gantz when he was presented with the content of US President Biden’s speech announcing a hostage deal proposal, a US official tells the Walla news site.

The unnamed official says Gantz and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were updated ahead of the speech. The report does not detail exactly how the minister reacted to hearing the news.

Washington was also disappointed that Gantz has yet to make a public statement on Biden’s remarks.

Report: Democrats vexed by anti-Israel comments made by Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib

US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (left), a New York Democrat, and US Representative Rashida Tlaib (R), a Michigan Democrat, attend a rabbis news conference calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on November 13, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)

Democrats are displeased over anti-Israel comments made by progressive-wing representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Axios reports.

According to the report, two incidents involving the Squad members irked Democrats, sparking both public and private condemnations.

Ocasio-Cortez appeared last week with left-wing influencer Hasan Piker on a Twitch stream and appeared to agree with Piker when he said Hamas’s October 7 massacre was a “direct consequence” of the Abraham Accords and the Trump administration’s decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.

In a statement, Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois says it’s “both ignorant and abhorrent to suggest that pursuing peace… either caused or justified Hamas’s barbaric attack on Oct. 7.”

An unnamed House Democrat tells Axios that Ocasio-Cortez’s comments were “reckless” and “problematic,” and questioned why a member of Congress was appearing on the steaming site.

Meanwhile, Tlaib last weekend cast US President Joe Biden as an “enabler” of Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza, and asked, “Where’s your red line, President Biden?”

Tlaib gave her speech at the People’s Conference for Palestine, whose keynote speaker was the wife of a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group who died in prison earlier this year.

Tlaib’s speech “deeply disturbed a lot of members,” another unnamed House Democrat tells Axios

Hostage families announce campaign to secure majority of lawmakers for deal to free captives

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum say they have launched an “emergency operation” to secure a majority of votes in the government and Knesset for a proposed deal to return hostages held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

“The forum demands that hostages are returned, some for recovery and some for burial, and not to miss the opportunity created to bring them home. In the next few hours, families of abductees will reach all the members of the cabinet, the government, and the Knesset and demand to approve the [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s] deal now,” it says in a statement.

IDF troops find rocket launchers, weapons depot in Rafah

Rocket launchers found by troops in the Gaza Strip's southern city of Rafah, in an image released June 1, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Troops of the Nahal Brigade operating in southern Gaza’s Rafah in recent days located rocket launchers and a weapons depot, the military says, publishing images of the findings.

The troops also used a small drone to scan a suspicious building, where several barrels packed with explosives were located, the IDF says.

Video shows damage caused to IDF base by Hezbollah rockets earlier today

Footage shows damage caused to an IDF base adjacent to the northern city of Kiryat Shmona earlier today, after it was hit by heavy rockets launched by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah said it fired Burkan rockets — which have a large warhead — at the Gibor Camp, the headquarters of the IDF’s 769th Brigade.

There were no injuries in the attack, according to the IDF.

הותר לפרסום: רקטת הבורקאן של חזבאללה פגעה הבוקר במחנה גיבור, מפקדת חטיבה 769 בקריית שמונה@Doron_Kadosh pic.twitter.com/HCo0KQ4W8Z

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) June 1, 2024

Exit polls predict India’s PM Modi on track to win historic third term

A woman shows her index fingers marked with an indelible ink as she poses for a photograph next to a cutout portrait of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after casting her vote in the seventh and final phase of India's national elections, in Varanasi, India, June 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

NEW DELHI, India — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance is projected to win a majority in the general election that concluded on Saturday, according to an exit poll summary by the NDTV news channel.

The summary of two exit polls projects the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) could win more than 350 seats in the 543-member lower house of parliament, where 272 is needed for a simple majority.

The NDA won 353 in the 2019 election.

The opposition INDIA alliance led by the Congress party is projected to win more than 120 seats.

Exit polls have a patchy record in India as they have often got election outcomes wrong, with analysts saying it is a challenge to get them right in the large and diverse country.

Nearly one billion people were eligible to vote in the seven-phase election that began on April 19 and was held in scorching summer heat in many parts.

The Election Commission will count votes polled in electronic voting machines on June 4 and results are expected the same day.

A victory for Modi, 73, will make him only the second prime minister after independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru to win three consecutive terms.

Egyptian TV says ‘intensive efforts’ underway to renew hostage deal, truce talks

A high-level official quoted by Al-Qahera TV says that Egypt was undertaking “intensive efforts” to “resume negotiations” for a hostage deal “in light of the recent American proposition.”

US President Joe Biden on Friday revealed a multi-phase plan for a ceasefire and hostage deal in the Gaza Strip proposed by Israel, saying it was “time for this war to end.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

IDF launches fresh raid in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood

Troops of the Multi-Domain, or Ghost Unit, are seen operating in Gaza City's Sabra neighborhood, in a handout photo published June 1, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says it launched a new pinpoint raid against Hamas in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood this past week.

The operation is being carried out by the Multi-Domain, or Ghost Unit, alongside the Carmeli and Yiftah reserve brigades, under the 99th Division.

Troops of the elite Ghost Unit, alongside other forces, killed dozens of gunmen and demolished a weapons depot in Sabra over the past two days, the IDF says.

The military says troops also located weapons and many tunnel shafts during sweeps of the area.

The IDF first operated in the Sabra neighborhood during the beginning of the ground offensive last year.

In Hebrew and Arabic posts, Macron backs hostage deal, says war ‘must end’

French President Emmanuel Macron says the Israel-Hamas war “must end,” voicing support for the hostage deal proposal announced by US President Joe Biden in a pair of posts on X written in Hebrew and Arabic.

“The release of hostages, a sustainable ceasefire to work for peace and promote a two-state solution,” Macron writes, describing the plan.

המלחמה בעזה חייבת להיפסק.

אנו תומכים בהצעה להסכם כולל של ארצות הברית, כשם שאנחנו פועלים, יחד עם שותפותינו באזור, למען שלום וביטחון עבור הכל.

שחרור החטופים, הפסקת אש בת-קיימא כדי לפעול למען השלום ולקדם את פתרון שתי המדינות.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 1, 2024

IDF targets Gaza City building belonging to organization funding Hamas

The Israeli military says it targeted a building belonging to the Al-Noor organization in Gaza City earlier this week.

According to the IDF, Al-Noor is classified as a terror group, due to its funding of Hamas.

The military says Al-Noor transferred millions of dollars to Hamas for terror activity in the West Bank, as well as distributed funds to the families of Hamas operatives killed or jailed by Israel.

The strike against the organization’s building in the area of Gaza City’s Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods took place on Thursday.

In another strike this week, the IDF says it killed Salame Baraka, a member of Hamas’s East Khan Younis Battalion, who also served as head of the finance department in the terror group’s police.

ANC loses parliamentary majority for first time since end of apartheid

The latest election results are displayed at the Results Operation Centre (ROC) in Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, May 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — The African National Congress party loses its parliamentary majority in a historic election result that puts South Africa on a new political path for the first time since the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule 30 years ago.

With more than 99 percent of votes counted, the once-dominant ANC receives just over 40% in Wednesday’s election, well short of the majority it had held since the famed all-race vote of 1994 that ended apartheid and brought it to power under Nelson Mandela. The final results are still to be formally declared by the independent electoral commission that ran the election, but the ANC cannot pass 50%.

At the start of the election, the commission said it would formally declare the results by Sunday, but that could come earlier.

While opposition parties hail the result as a momentous breakthrough for a country struggling with deep poverty and inequality, the ANC remains the biggest party. However, it will now likely need to look for a coalition partner or partners to remain in the government and reelect South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for a second and final term. Parliament elects the South African president after national elections.

“The way to rescue South Africa is to break the ANC’s majority and we have done that,” main opposition leader John Steenhuisen says

The way forward promises to be complicated for Africa’s most advanced economy, and there’s no coalition on the table yet.

Steenhuisen’s Democratic Alliance party is on around 21% of the vote. The new MK Party of former South African president Jacob Zuma, who has turned against the ANC he once led, was third with just over 14% of the vote in the first election it has contested. The Economic Freedom Fighters was in fourth with just over 9%.

US, Egyptian and Israeli officials to discuss reopening Rafah Crossing on Sunday

Israeli forces operating on the Gazan side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 7, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces/AFP)

CAIRO, Egypt — A meeting between US, Egyptian and Israeli officials is scheduled to take place on Sunday in Cairo to discuss the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah Crossing, a high-level source tells Egypt’s state-linked Al Qahera TV.

Egypt is insisting that Israel withdraw its forces from the crossing, Al Qahera reports. Israel seized the crossing on the Gaza side in May during its offensive in the city of Rafah along the enclave’s southern edge.

IDF confirms drone downed over south Lebanon, probing incident

The IDF confirms that one of its drones was shot down over southern Lebanon a short while ago.

It says the drone, reportedly a Hermes 900 model, was hit by a surface-to-air missile while operating in the area.

The IDF says the incident is being investigated.

It marks the fourth IDF drone to be shot down by Hezbollah over southern Lebanon amid the war. In all, two Hermes 450 drones and two Hermes 900 models have been downed in recent months.

Additional footage shows an Israeli military drone crashing in southern Lebanon after reportedly being hit by a Hezbollah anti-aircraft missile. pic.twitter.com/RO1dc5tPyO

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 1, 2024

IDF drone shot down over southern Lebanon, Lebanese media reports

Lebanese media outlets report that an Israeli military drone was shot down over southern Lebanon.

There is immediate comment from the IDF on the incident.

Hezbollah has managed to shoot down several IDF drones over southern Lebanon amid the ongoing war.

????عاجل/ اسقاط مسيرة اسرائيلية.. قيد المتابعة pic.twitter.com/V9V3APaa8a

— bintjbeil.org (@bintjbeilnews) June 1, 2024

Lapid: Government must take hostage deal, it has ‘safety net’ if far-right ministers bolt

Opposition leader Yair Lapid says the government must take the hostage deal US President Joe Biden announced.

“The Israeli government cannot ignore President Biden’s important speech. There is a deal on the table and it should take it,” he writes on X.

“I remind Netanyahu that he has a safety net for a hostage deal if [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir and [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich leave the government,” he adds, referencing his vow to support the coalition for a deal if far-right parties withdraw their support over their potential opposition to such an agreement.

ממשלת ישראל לא יכולה להתעלם מנאומו המשמעותי של הנשיא ביידן. יש עסקה על השולחן וצריך לעשות אותה.

מזכיר לנתניהו שיש לו מאתנו רשת בטחון לעסקת חטופים אם בן גביר וסמוטריץ׳ יעזבו את הממשלה.

— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) June 1, 2024

Netanyahu says there cannot be permanent Gaza ceasefire until Hamas destroyed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there will be no permanent ceasefire in Gaza until Hamas’s military and governing capabilities are destroyed, in a second statement released after US President Joe Biden said that Israel had proposed a three-phase deal for a ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for Hamas releasing hostages.

“Israel’s conditions for ending the war have not changed: The destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages, and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu says.

“Israel will continue to insist these conditions are met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place. The notion that Israel will agree to a permanent ceasefire before these conditions are fulfilled is a non-starter,” he adds.

The Prime Minister's Office:

Israel's conditions for ending the war have not changed: The destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) June 1, 2024

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Hostage families call for Israel, Hamas to ink deal: ‘This might be the last chance to save lives’

People in Tel Aviv walk by photographs of hostages held in Gaza, on May 28, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Families of hostages held by the Hamas terror group call for all parties to immediately accept a proposal detailed by US President Joe Biden to end the nearly 8-month-long war and bring their relatives home.

“We want to see people coming back from Gaza alive and soon,” Gili Roman tells The Associated Press. His sister, Yarden Roman-Gat, was taken hostage and freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November, but Yarden’s sister-in-law, Carmel, is still being held.

“This might be the last chance to save lives. Therefore, the current state must be changed and we expect all to adhere to Biden’s call for accepting the deal on the table, immediately. There is no other way towards a better situation for all. Our leadership must not disappoint us. But mostly, all eyes should be on Hamas,” he says.

Many hostage families blame the government’s lack of will to secure a deal for the deaths of many of the hostages in captivity.

“We know that the government of Israel has done an awful lot to delay reaching a deal and that has cost the lives of many people who survived in captivity for weeks and weeks and months and months. Our hearts are broken by the amount of people we will receive that are no longer alive,” Sharone Lifshitz tells AP. Her mother Yocheved was released by Hamas in October, and her father Oded is still in captivity.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Poll: Biden bleeding support among voters without college degrees

In this combination photo, US President Joe Biden speaks May 2, 2024, in Wilmington, North Carolina, left, and Republican presidential candidate former president Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, May 1, 2024, in Waukesha, Wisconsin. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden is hemorrhaging support among voters without college degrees — a large group that includes Black people, Hispanic women, young voters and suburban women — producing a far tighter rematch against his Republican predecessor Donald Trump than seen in 2020, Reuters/Ipsos polling reveals.

Biden’s support among voters without a four-year degree is down 10 percentage points, compared to this point in the 2020 campaign, the analysis of around 24,000 registered voter responses to Reuters/Ipsos polls in 2020 and 2024 shows.

Americans without college degrees made up three out of five voters in 2020.

Those declines have helped set the stage for what national opinion polls show is a tied race between Biden and Trump.

The polling was completed before a New York jury on Thursday found Trump guilty of trying to cover a hush-money payment to a porn star.

A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Friday found that one in ten Republican registered voters were less likely to cast ballots for Trump following that verdict, a number that could make a difference in a close race. That poll also showed Biden with a 2 percentage point lead, far below the 6-point lead he held at this point in 2020.

The few bright spots for Biden remain voters with college degrees or households earning more than $100,000 a year, the analysis found.

Reuters looked at the responses of more than 8,000 registered voters in Reuters/Ipsos polls in March through May 2024 and over 16,000 in the same period in 2020.

The analysis found that voters who have grown disenchanted with Biden aren’t moving en masse to Trump. Instead, many seem to be throwing their hands up, frustrated with their choices and uncertain what they will do in the November 5 election.

Hamas health ministry in Gaza says 36,379 Palestinians killed in war

At least 36,379 Palestinians have been killed and 82,407 others injured in Israel’s military offensive against Hamas since October 7, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says.

These figures have not been verified and only some 24,000 fatalities have been identified at hospitals. The tolls include some 15,000 terror operatives Israel says it has killed in battle.

Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

Hezbollah says it fired heavy ‘Burkan’ rockets at base near Kiryat Shmona

Hezbollah claims responsibility for launching heavy “Burkan” rockets at a military base adjacent to Kiryat Shmona a short while ago.

According to the Kiryat Shmona municipality, heavy damage was caused to infrastructure, property, and vehicles in the area.

The IDF says no injuries were caused in the attack, and a short while after, it struck and destroyed the rocket launcher used to launch the two projectiles with heavy warheads.

This morning, the IDF says it also struck two Hezbollah operatives who were spotted in southern Lebanon’s Majdel Selm.

Hezbollah claims responsibility for launching heavy "Burkan" rockets at a military base adjacent to Kiryat Shmona a short while ago.

According to the Kiryat Shmona municipality, heavy damage was caused to infrastructure, property, and vehicles in the area.

The IDF says no… pic.twitter.com/d0HZGRy7BQ

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 1, 2024

Labor chief urges Herzog to ensure government approves hostage deal proposal

Labor party chairman Yair Golan appeals to President Isaac Herzog to ensure the country’s leadership accepts the hostage deal proposal announced by US President Biden.

“I call on all citizens of the country, all protest organizations and civil society to come out tonight and express uncompromising support for the release of all our hostages,” he writes on X.

יש לכולנו אחריות מנהיגותית, ערכית והיסטורית לוודא שהעסקה לשחרור כל החטופים, מי לקבורה ומי לשיקום, תעבור ותתבצע.

על נשיא המדינה, יצחק הרצוג, לפעול מיד על מנת לוודא שאיש מההנהגה הישראלית לא יכשיל את העסקה אותה הציג פומבית הנשיא ביידן.

אני קורא לכל אזרחי המדינה, לכלל ארגוני…

— Yair Golan – יאיר גולן (@YairGolan1) June 1, 2024

Toddler lightly hurt after bitten by jackal while camping in south

A golden jackal. (Ido Shaked, Israel Nature and Parks Authority)

A one-year-old toddler is in a light condition after being bitten by a jackal while staying in a tent with his parents near the Ramon crater in southern Israel overnight, Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba says.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says medics took the toddler to the hospital, who was in moderate condition after being bitten in the face.

The hospital says he was tested and treated with necessary vaccines.

Rocket fired from Lebanon causes some damage to Kiryat Shmona building

A rocket fired from Lebanon caused some damage to a building in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, the Kan public broadcaster reports, after sirens sounded in the community a short while ago.

No injuries are reported. The city has been mostly evacuated since the beginning of clashes with Hezbollah on October 8.

Paramedics are surveying the scene after receiving reports that the projectile fell, the Magen David Adom ambulance service says in a statement.

IDF names 3 prominent Hamas operatives killed in recent Gaza strikes

Three “prominent” Hamas operatives were killed in airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in recent days, the military announces.

On Thursday, fighter jets struck in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, killing Mansour Adil Mansour Kashlan, who the IDF says was involved in advancing terror attacks in Israel and in the West Bank.

“The terrorist… advanced and carried out terror activities, as well as engaged in coordination and cooperation with terror groups in the Gaza Strip and other countries,” the military says.

In another strike this past week in central Gaza, carried out by a drone, Walid Abed Abu Dalal was killed. The IDF says Abu Dalal served in the terror group’s military wing, alongside his role as head of the technology department in Hamas’s internal security forces.

The military says that Hamas’s internal security forces, and especially its technology department, “harm the IDF’s freedom of action in the Gaza Strip, and are also a significant part of Hamas’s counter-espionage attempts.”

In another strike, on Friday, also in Nuseirat, Tareq Darwish was killed. According to the IDF, Darwish was a prominent member of the Nuseirat Battalion’s aerial array.

The military says Darwish was killed following his attempts in the past month to “impede the IDF’s freedom of aerial action” in Gaza.

The IDF releases footage of the latter strike.

בפעילות משותפת של צה"ל ושב"כ שלשום, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר בהכוונה מודיעינית של אמ"ן ושב"כ תקפו במרחב נוציראת וחיסלו את המחבל מנצור עאדל מנצור קשלאן, אשר היה מעורב בקידום פעולות טרור והכוונות פיגועים של ארגון הטרור חמאס בשטח ישראל ובייחוד במרחבי יהודה ושומרון >> pic.twitter.com/r8coSCgN9G

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 1, 2024

Indonesia willing to send peacekeepers to Gaza

Indonesia's Defence Minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto speaks during the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on June 1, 2024. ( Nhac Nguyen/AFP)

Indonesia’s president-elect, Prabowo Subianto says that his country was willing to send peacekeeping troops to enforce a ceasefire in Gaza if required.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier security conference, Prabowo says US President Joe Biden’s proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza was a step in the right direction.

Prabowo also says Indonesia is willing to accept and treat 1,000 injured Palestinians.

Iran condemns EU sanctions over drone program

An Iranian military truck carries an Arash drone past President Ebrahim Raisi (L) and army officers during a military parade as part of a ceremony marking the country's annual army day in Tehran on April 17, 2024. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran cticized the European Union’s imposition of new sanctions on high-ranking officials and the Revolutionary Guards for supplying drones to Russia and its Middle East allies.

The EU’s measures unveiled yesterday target Iran’s Defence Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani and Esmail Qaani, the commander of the Guards’ foreign operations arm, the Quds Force, among others.

The sanctions also target an armed forces command center, the head of a state aviation firm, and the Kavan Electronics Behrad company.

The Islamic Republic’s foreign ministry described the move as “regrettable,” saying they were based on “repeated, absurd, and baseless excuses and accusations.”

“The European Union… once again resorted to the obsolete and ineffective tool of sanctions against the powerful Iran,” ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani says in a statement.

The sanctions forbid any EU citizen or company from engaging in business with the listed individuals and organizations.

The United States and its allies including Israel accuse Iran of providing fleets of drones to its allies in the Middle East, notably to Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen.

Kyiv and its Western allies also accuse Iran of providing Russia with drones for use in the Ukraine war, a claim the Islamic Republic denies.

IDF says jets hit ‘significant’ Hezbollah sites in overnight strikes; rockets fired at north

Overnight, Israeli fighter jets hit “significant assets” belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, in response to rocket attacks yesterday, the military says.

The IDF says the airstrikes were carried out in Ain Qana, Hmaileh, and Aadloun.

Fighter jets also struck Hezbollah observation posts in Tayr Harfa; buildings used by the terror group in Jebbayn and Khiam; a rocket launcher in Majdal Zoun used in yesterday’s attack on northern Israel; and other infrastructure in Rachaya al-Foukhar, the IDF adds.

This morning, two rockets were fired from Lebanon at the northern community of Yiftah. The IDF says both projectiles landed in open areas.

בתגובה לשיגורים שבוצעו לעבר צפון הארץ אתמול, מטוסי קרב תקפו אמש נכסים משמעותיים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב עין קאנא, ובכפרים חמילה ועדלון.
במקביל, מטוסי קרב תקפו עמדת תצפית במרחב טיר חרפא לצד מבנים צבאיים במרחבים אל ג׳יבין ואל-חיאם.

כמו כן, במהלך הלילה מטוסי קרב תקפו משגר… pic.twitter.com/w4X7sTnE5l

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) June 1, 2024

Body of missing Jisr az-Zarqa woman found, husband arrested

Police say they have discovered the body of a woman missing since yesterday from her home in the coastal town of Jisr az-Zarqa.

The body Sumaya Amash, 33, was found in a pit near a wedding hall in the community with signs of violence, police say.

The woman’s husband has been arrested and is being questioned by police.

US military says Yemen’s Houthis launched missiles and drones; no injuries or damage reported

The US military says Yemen’s Houthis launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles and one drone over the Gulf of Aden and four drones over the Red Sea.

Three of the drones fired over the Red Sea were destroyed by US forces and one crashed into the sea, the US military’s Central Command says. CENTCOM also says it destroyed the drone fired over the Gulf of Aden.

No damage or injuries were reported as a result of the anti-ship ballistic missiles, it says.

Anti-Israel protesters ‘flood’ Brooklyn Museum in occupation backed by pro-Hamas group

A pro-Palestinian demonstrator, upper left, hangs a flag on top of the Brooklyn Museum while occupying the building to protest against Israel over its war with Hamas in Gaza, May 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

NEW YORK — Pro-Palestinian protesters against Israel took over parts of the Brooklyn Museum on Friday, hanging a banner above the main entrance, occupying much of the lobby and scuffling with police, witnesses say.

Some arrests were made but a New York Police Department spokesperson says it will be hours before officials had an accurate count. The art museum in the New York City borough of Brooklyn says it closed an hour early due to the disruption.

One of the arrests was of a man who spray-painted an outdoor sculpture, Reuters witnessed. Skirmishes between police and protesters took place inside and outside the building.

“There was damage to existing and newly installed artwork on our plaza,” a museum spokesperson says in an email. “Protesters entered the building, and our public safety staff were physically and verbally harassed.

“Out of a concern for the building, our collections, and our staff, the decision was made to close the building an hour early,” and the public was asked to vacate peacefully, the statement says.

Hundreds of demonstrators were marching through Brooklyn when some of them rushed the entrance, according to the Reuters witness. Security guards prevented many from entering but some managed to get inside.

A banner was hung from atop the neoclassical facade proclaiming, “Free Palestine, Divest From Genocide.”

A pro-Palestinian organization named Within Our Lifetime urged demonstrators to “flood Brooklyn Museum for Gaza,” alluding to the name that Hamas gave to its October 7 terror onslaught that started the war in Gaza. Within Our Lifetime, which praised the Hamas-led attack in the immediate aftermath of the atrocities,  says activists occupied the museum to compel it to disclose any Israel-related investments and to divest any such funding.

Blinken discusses Gaza ceasefire proposal with Saudi, Turkish and Jordanian FMs

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has held separate phone calls with foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Jordan, the State Department says, to discuss a proposed hostage-for-ceasefire deal aimed at ending the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The top US diplomat, conducting the calls on the plane as he flew back to Washington from Prague, underscored to his counterparts that the proposal is in the interests of both Israelis and Palestinians, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says.

German FM, EU chief welcome proposal announced by Biden for ending Gaza war

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock delivers a statement to the media prior to the start of a European Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on May 27, 2024. (François Walschaerts/AFP)

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock welcomes the proposal that US President Joe Biden presented as an Israeli offer for a phased hostage-for-ceasefire deal with Hamas that would end the war in Gaza.

The Israeli offer “provides a glimpse of hope and a possible path out of the war’s deadlock,” Baerbock writes on X, formerly Twitter.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen also expresses support for the proposal.

“I wholeheartedly agree with Biden that the latest proposal is a significant opportunity to move toward an end to war and civilian suffering in Gaza. This three-step approach is balanced and realistic. It now needs support from all parties,” the European Commission president says on social media.

UK foreign minister calls on Hamas to accept hostage deal proposal presented by Biden

British Foreign Minister David Cameron calls on Hamas to accept an Israeli hostage deal proposal laid out by US President Joe Biden this evening.

“With a new hostage agreement on the table, Hamas must accept this deal so we can see a stop in the fighting, the hostages released and returned to their families and a flood of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” he writes in a post on X.

He adds that an extended ceasefire can be “turned into a permanent peace” if all parties are “prepared to take the right steps.”

“Let’s seize this moment and bring this conflict to an end.”