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Friday, August 08, 2025

08/08 Links Pt1: The Palestinians remain the greatest obstacle to Palestinian statehood; Germany suspends arms exports to Israel over Gaza

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Tug of War
It is likely that the flood of bad (and misleading) press Israel has received over the past couple weeks has convinced Netanyahu that the world already considers Israel to be, effectively, fully occupying the Gaza Strip. Most of the recent UN aid has been taken or diverted before reaching its destination. The UN blames Israel for that, so do world leaders, and so does the press. Yet the UN opposes Israeli security measures designed to ensure the trucks get to their final stop. Netanyahu’s position seems to be: If Israel is going to be held responsible for the outcome, then Israel is going to be responsible for it.

What about the hostages? Here, Netanyahu’s thinking probably falls along the lines of: I agreed to a cease-fire and hostage trade, Hamas didn’t; I can’t simply sit by the phone and wait for Hamas to change its mind. Perhaps the specter of a full IDF assault on what’s left of Hamas can get them back to the table.

What about the timing? To the world, Netanyahu is acting aggressively when Israel’s reputation is already taking a beating. Bibi might agree with that. Israel agreed to a cease-fire, and its press got worse. Hamas released videos of tortured, starved hostages, and it changed nothing. The bad press might simply be a nonfactor in Netanyahu’s decision-making because he believes, not without reason, that Israel’s behavior itself is a nonfactor to the press.

Meanwhile, the “Palestine recognition” gamble has given Israel every incentive to go further into Gaza. If France is going to recognize “the state of Palestine” in six weeks, the thinking goes, then Israel better make sure there is as little of Hamas remaining as possible when that happens. Similarly, if the UK is going to recognize “Palestine” unless there’s a cease-fire, and Hamas is refusing to come to the table under present conditions, someone has to apply more pressure to Hamas.

All of which is to say: Israel has repeatedly lost control over its own war of survival in a futile bid to please others. What Netanyahu wants is for Israel to reassert control wherever it still has some. Once upon a time, a Palestinian state had to negotiate with Israel to gain recognition; now, apparently, it doesn’t. Previously, Hamas had to negotiate with Israel if it wanted a pause in the fighting and an influx of aid; now it doesn’t. All aid used to be inspected and approved ahead of time by Israel before being allowed in; now, everyone and his mother is airdropping care packages over Gaza.

It’s hard not to feel as though Israel’s autonomy has been chipped away at, while it retains full custody of the blame. Whether the new plan to occupy Gaza works—or is even implemented—remains to be seen. But it’s not that difficult to see why some in Israel felt backed into this very corner.
Gil Troy: The Palestinians remain the greatest obstacle to Palestinian statehood
To Israelis, the most dramatic proof of how Jew-hatred reinforced Palestinian rejectionism is the Gaza disengagement debacle, twenty years ago this month. In the buildup, President George W. Bush reassured Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel’s “right to defend itself against terrorism,” while insisting: “Palestinians must undertake an immediate cessation of armed activity and all acts of violence against Israelis anywhere, and all official Palestinian institutions must end incitement against Israel.”

By 2007, two years after Israel withdrew from every inch of Gaza, Hamas had seized power violently, was digging tunnels, and bombing Israel regularly. The jihadis were honest. Their charter admits: “Leaving the circle of struggle with Zionism is high treason and cursed be he who does that.”

Given that—and Oct. 7’s mass murders—most Israelis have lost faith in a two-state solution. Many wonder: Do the prime ministers now endorsing Palestinian statehood actually believe today’s Palestinian leaders will compromise? Hamas operatives, who keep promising October 7 repeats, call these politicians’ calls “fruits of October 7.” Today’s Canadian-European wave building up Palestinian statehood sounds like another way of knocking Israel down.

Still, having seen the monolithic, seemingly insurmountable Israeli-Arab conflict evolve into a series of smaller conflicts mitigated by once-inconceivable treaties with Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, progress is possible. But it requires retiring this tired, failed, “two-state for two peoples” formula.

Better to seek “two democracies for two peoples.” No one wants to duplicate the failed jihadi regime Hamas created in Gaza. “Two states for two peoples” implicitly asks: How much more will Israel carve from its tiny territorial sliver, the size of New Jersey, to satisfy clearly insatiable Palestinian demands?

“Two democracies for two peoples” challenges Palestinians and their intractable leaders. Until genuine reforms take root, until Palestinians repudiate their leaders’ toxic Jew-hating rejectionism, Israel will remain threatened.

Cultivating civil society, launching fair elections and achieving honest governance, however, would soften Israelis’ well-justified wariness. It just might spark a genuine peace process, not today’s Israel-bashing peace posturing.
Weaponizing Starvation: Exposing Hamas’s Food Warfare
Information warfare constitutes Israel’s “eighth front” – potentially more critical than traditional military theaters. Iranian intelligence services have developed sophisticated information warfare capabilities reaching over 100 million people globally during conflicts, applying Russian information warfare methods against Western democracies.14 In this version of hybrid warfare, “virality can trump veracity.” The strategic objective isn’t merely propaganda but systematic erosion of Israel’s capacity to defend itself by itself, which has constituted the bedrock of Israel’s defense and national security policy since 1967.

Hamas’s political warfare campaign has been effective. France, Great Britain, and Canada have all moved toward recognizing Palestinian statehood – a virtual platinum prize for Hamas’s Islamist terror, and a diplomatic offensive that disincentivizes Hamas from agreeing to any compromise deal with Israel that would return the hostages. It also legitimizes Hamas as the leader of the Palestinian street, replacing the Palestinian Authority. This international momentum is built on Hamas’s manufactured starvation narratives and perception warfare.

Israel Fires Back
Israel has begun to fire back. Israeli Ambassador to the United States Dr. Yechiel Leiter exposed Hamas’s strategies to influence a mainstream American audience, pushing back against claims that Israel is preventing aid distribution in Gaza, according to a recent CNN interview.15 Israeli Consul General in New York Ophir Akunis launched an electronic billboard campaign in Times Square, displaying images and video of emaciated Israeli hostages after 491 days in captivity with the message, “Stop the Fake news in Gaza. This is what real hunger looks like. This is what truth looks like. Israeli hostage Evyatar David, held in Hamas terror dungeons for some 670 days since the October 7th invasion, is being starved by a Nazi terrorist organization that dares, with the backing of parts of the media, to spread the blood libel that Israel is starving the people of Gaza.”16

Traditional Israeli public diplomacy – explaining (“hasbara”) to skeptical audiences – is inadequate against sophisticated perception warfare campaigns. The challenge requires what Israeli strategists call “toda’a” (perception, or consciousness) – a proactive narrative that also reveals Hamas’s strategic manipulations. Recognizing Islamic Warfare Disguised as Western Humanitarianism

Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and their supporters’ weaponization of starvation against Israel, have proved an effective information warfare campaign that exploits humanitarian crises to advance jihadi strategic objectives. This plays well among Western audiences. From global condemnation of Israel’s 2007 counter-terror blockade to charges of genocide in 2005, systematic psychological operations have been used to delegitimize Israel’s right to defend itself.

Understanding this pattern enables a more effective response. The stakes extend beyond Israel: success in weaponizing humanitarian law against democratic states establishes precedents that threaten the Western alliance. Recognizing this crusade as a weapon of Islamic warfare is the first step toward developing effective countermeasures against Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s eight-front campaign to uproot Israel’s international legitimacy, while triggering Israeli domestic debate, division, and ultimately Israel’s implosion. That is why it’s essential to expose this global deception and disinformation crusade that has hijacked Western hearts and minds. This is a critical moment for moral and strategic clarity; Israel must now prosecute its own fact-based information war to delegitimize Hamas’s starvation of its own public, and its fake starvation libel of Israel. Instead, Israel and its U.S. ally must now declare the truth of Israel’s and the United States’ lead role in delivering humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.




FDD: Israeli Security Cabinet Approves Plans for Gaza City Takeover, Evacuation of Civilians
Latest Developments
Cabinet Gives Green Light: Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan on August 8 for the IDF to take control of Gaza City, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that Israel seeks to transfer control of the territory to “Arab forces that will govern it properly” following the operation. The five goals of the expanded mission include the disarmament of Hamas, the return of all hostages, both living and deceased, the demilitarization of Gaza, Israeli control over security in Gaza, and the establishment of a new authority unaffiliated with either Hamas or the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority. Israel is reportedly aiming to complete the evacuation of Palestinian civilians by October 7, the second anniversary of the Hamas-led atrocities in southern Israel that ignited the war in the coastal enclave.
Humanitarian Distribution to Expand During Operation: U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Fox News that there is an “immediate plan” to increase the number of aid distribution sites in the coastal enclave operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Huckabee said that the number of sites in Gaza would increase to 16 from the current four and could operate on a 24/7 basis. On August 7, Rev. Johnnie Moore, who heads the GHF, reportedly met with several leaders of UN aid agencies in New York as the GHF continues to urge the United Nations to work alongside it to expand humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza.
International Community, Hamas, Respond to Decision: Following Israel’s decision to oust Hamas from Gaza City, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer implored Israel to “reconsider immediately,” adding that “this action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages.” At the same time, mediators from Egypt and Qatar are reportedly working on a new framework for a ceasefire that aims to release all the hostages in one fell swoop in exchange for the IDF’s complete withdrawal from Gaza, a move backed by several Arab Gulf states. Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said that while the Trump administration has “some disagreement” over Israel’s strategy in Gaza, Washington shares “a lot of common objectives” with Jerusalem. Separately, Hamas threatened the remaining living Israeli hostages in Gaza, stating, “Any advancement by Israel in the field will lead to greater erosion, increased security exposure, and possibly the loss of soldiers or hostages.”

FDD Expert Response
“Hamas started this war and, along with the regime in Iran, is entirely responsible for Gaza’s misery. Israel’s mission to destroy and expel them is just and necessary. But now is the time to work with President Trump to lock in the IDF’s gains and maintain focus on the threat from Tehran — without more Israeli lives lost, legitimacy squandered, or strategic focus drained. Furthermore, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is the biggest threat to Hamas’s aid racket — if it works under a new U.S. expansion strategy, it could be Gaza’s first real hope in decades.” — Mark Dubowitz, CEO
Israel To Occupy Gaza City by Oct 7, But Endgame Still in Doubt
Overnight on Thursday, Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan to conquer Gaza City and end the war in the Gaza Strip. But it remains unclear whether the endgame involves full occupation of Gaza.

In a 10-hour meeting, a majority of the ministers in the wartime decision-making body voted for the plan, pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over a more restrained proposal preferred by the IDF’s top brass. Netanyahu’s office announced the decision early Friday.

"The IDF will prepare for taking control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones," its statement said. "A decisive majority of security cabinet ministers believed that the alternative plan that had been submitted to the security cabinet would neither achieve the defeat of Hamas nor the return of the hostages."

While details of the plan have not been released, current and former Israeli officials said that residents of Gaza City will have until Oct. 7 to evacuate southward to tent camps in Deir al-Balah and Al-Mawasi in central Gaza. In the two months until then, the military will expand the camps along with nearby aid distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an upstart U.S. nonprofit organization, according to the officials. They said GHF will continue providing aid directly to Gazans, preventing large-scale theft by Hamas.

U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Wednesday said there was an "immediate plan to scale up" from 4 GHF sites with limited operating hours to 16 sites that will be open 24 hours a day. Huckabee also seemed to confirm an Axios report that President Donald Trump was considering plans to significantly increase the U.S. role in aid distribution in Gaza.

A spokeswoman for GHF declined to comment.

After the Oct. 7 evacuation deadline, which will fall on the second anniversary of the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel that started the war, Israel will impose a siege on Gaza City, according to the officials. Israeli forces will then eliminate any remaining Hamas presence in the city, which before the war was the Palestinian terrorist group’s de facto administrative capital in northern Gaza, the officials said.

"The city of Gaza will look just like Beit Hanoun, Rafah, Khan Younis," said Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli brigadier general who is close to the government, referring to other former Hamas strongholds that the military has reduced to rubble during the war. "It will be completely in Israeli hands and completely cleared of Hamas."
Hamas endgame is ‘long-term’ and is playing out for all to see as Israel pushes deeper into Gaza
Israel’s security cabinet overnight Thursday approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to defeat Hamas, including taking control of Gaza City, after the Palestinian terror group torpedoed U.S.-mediated negotiations.

However, questions remain as to what the terrorist organization's endgame is, and if they can be fully defeated.

"Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. It is a radical jihadi organization with a written and spoken goal to annihilate the State of Israel and replace it with a Sharia-based regime," Jonathan Conricus, former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.

"They operate according to that aim and objective. Hamas’s October 7 terror attack was part of how they planned to fulfill that goal—defeating Israel, killing all the Jews, and taking control of the area.

"They are strategic, calculated, and extremely cynical—but definitely not suicidal," he added. "They may employ suicidal tactics, but their strategic aim is long-term and deliberate."

For example, Hamas’ "starvation" campaign generated significant international pressure on Israel, leading to steps such as the IDF announcing tactical pauses in fighting and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip in coordination with international partners.

In the span of a week late last month, the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada announced their intention to recognize a Palestinian state, which the Israeli government denounced as a reward for terror.

In a recent interview with Al Jazeera, senior Hamas terror leader Ghazi Hamad said, "The initiative by several countries to recognize a Palestinian state is one of the fruits of October 7."


Vance Questions British Plan To Recognize Palestinian State, Says There’s No Functional Government
Vice President JD Vance reiterated on Friday that the United States has no plan to recognize a Palestinian state.

Speaking to reporters during his visit to the United Kingdom alongside British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Vance contrasted the Trump administration’s position with that of his host country.

“The United Kingdom is going to make its decision,” he said. “We have no plans to recognize a Palestinian state. I don’t know what it would mean to recognize a Palestinian state given the lack of a functional government there.”

Vance’s comment comes after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued an ultimatum last week to recognize a “state of Palestine” in September if Israel does not meet certain conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire and ending the conflict in Gaza.

Starmer laid out several conditions, including ending the “appalling situation in Gaza,” agreeing to a ceasefire, committing to “a long-term sustainable peace,” reviving the prospect of a two-state solution, and not annexing areas in Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, fired back, pointing out that Israel has agreed several times to ceasefires which Hamas typically rejects.

“Israel has already agreed many times to a ceasefire,” Danon said. “No virtual recognition and no UN decision will change the basic fact that there are those who fight extremist forces, and there are those who bow their heads and ignore them.”

Vance also emphasized the need for Hamas to be eradicated in order to create peace in the region.


Israel threatens to pull UK security ties if Starmer recognises Palestine
Israel is considering halting defence and intelligence cooperation with the UK if Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer proceeds with unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state next month, diplomatic sources have warned.

According to a report in The Times, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is assessing a range of potential responses, including downgrading security ties, if Britain presses ahead with recognition outside the framework of a peace deal.

One official quoted in the report said countries “should carefully consider” the consequences of such a move. Another warned: “London needs to be careful because Bibi (Netanyahu) and his ministers have cards they could play too. Israel values its partnership with the UK but recent decisions mean it is coming under pressure, and the UK has a lot to lose if Israel’s government decides to take steps in response.”

Starmer has said Britain will recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel significantly increases aid into Gaza, halts annexation of West Bank territory, agrees to a ceasefire and enters into a long-term political process. Israel has strongly condemned the move, describing it as a reward for terrorism while hostages remain captive in Gaza.

An Israeli embassy spokesperson said: “This counterproductive move will certainly not contribute to deepening the mutually beneficial relations between Israel and those who advance this ill faith agenda.”

Defence and intelligence cooperation between the two countries is extensive. Israeli intelligence has provided MI5 with critical information on Iranian-backed threats in the UK, including details that helped thwart an alleged terror plot targeting Israel’s embassy in London. Five men were arrested in what became one of the UK’s largest recent counter-terror operations.

The UK has also used Israeli-manufactured drones in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, while Israeli defence equipment has been credited with saving the lives of British soldiers. Trade in the defence sector alone is valued at around £6 billion and supports an estimated 38,000 jobs in the UK.

Israeli firms supply weapons systems, software and components to British defence companies such as BAE Systems. The impact of a breakdown in ties would be felt on both sides, though sources say Israeli ministers remain divided on how far to go.

According to The Times, some within the Israeli government fear that ending the relationship could damage the Israeli economy and sever crucial British military assistance – including RAF flights over Gaza that are supporting the search for Israeli hostages.


In major shift, Germany suspends arms exports to Israel over Gaza City takeover plan
Meanwhile, in a major change of course for Berlin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said “the German government will not approve any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice.”

Merz, whose country is Israel’s second-biggest arms supplier after the United States, acknowledged Israel’s right to disarm Hamas and seek the release of the remaining 50 hostages, but said Israel’s decision “makes it increasingly difficult to see how these goals can be achieved.”

The release of hostages and ceasefire negotiations were Germany’s top priorities, along with alleviating civilian suffering in Gaza, said Merz. He also urged the Israeli government not to take any further steps towards annexing parts of the West Bank. Illustrative: A German-made INS Rahav Dolphin 2-class submarine arrives at the military port of Haifa on January 12, 2016. (AFP Photo/Jack Guez)

Merz held a phone call with Netanyahu on Friday during which the latter expressed his disappointment over the German decision, according to an Israeli readout.

Employing the argument Israeli officials make in response to most international criticism of its prosecution of the war, Netanyahu said Germany was “rewarding Hamas terrorism.”

Netanyahu also insisted that Israel’s goal is not to permanently take over Gaza, but rather to remove Hamas from power so that “a peaceful government to be established there,” the readout from his office said.

Germany’s steadfast and long-standing support for Israel following the Holocaust has been badly strained by Gaza’s mounting death toll and humanitarian crisis, which have prompted demands from the German public for government action.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Germany provided 30% of Israel’s major arms imports in 2019-2023, primarily naval equipment, including Sa’ar 6-class frigates (MEKO A-100 Light Frigates), which have been used in the Gaza war.

As international uproar mounted, Netanyahu posted a tweet in English, declaring, “We are not going to occupy Gaza – we are going to free Gaza from Hamas.”
Netanyahu disappointed in Germany’s decision to embargo arms to Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday to express his disappointment with Germany’s decision to suspend the export of military equipment to Israel, according to the Prime Minister’s office.

“Instead of supporting Israel’s just war against Hamas, which carried out the most horrific attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Germany is rewarding Hamas terrorism by embargoing arms to Israel,” Netanyahu’s office wrote.

In a press release announcing the German government’s decision, Merz claimed the embargo on “offensive” weapons was in response to the Israeli Security Cabinet’s vote on Thursday to intensify military operations in the Gaza Strip.

The premier told Merz “that Israel’s goal is not to take over Gaza, but to free Gaza from Hamas and enable a peaceful government to be established there,” the Prime Minister’s office stated.


Israel Secretly Recruited Iranian Dissidents to Attack Their Country From Within
In the early morning hours of June 13, a commando team led by a young Iranian, S.T., settled into position on the outskirts of Tehran. The target was an anti-aircraft battery, part of the umbrella of radars and missiles set up to protect the capital and its military installations from aerial attack.

Across the country, teams of Israeli-trained commandos recruited from Iran and neighboring nations were preparing to attack Iranian defenses from within.

As described by their handlers, their motives were a mix of personal and political. Some were seeking revenge against a repressive, clerical regime that had imposed strict limits on political expression and daily life. Others were enticed by cash, the promise of medical care for family members or opportunities to attend college overseas.

The attack had been planned for more than a year by the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. Just nine months earlier, the spy agency had shocked the world with its technical prowess — executing a plot hatched in 2014 by its director at the time, Tamir Pardo, that crippled Hezbollah by detonating pagers booby-trapped with tiny but lethal amounts of explosives. According to Hezbollah, the blasts killed 30 fighters and 12 civilians, including two children, and injured more than 3,500.

At 3 a.m. on June 13, S.T. and a foreign legion of roughly 70 commandos opened fire with drones and missiles on a carefully chosen list of anti-aircraft batteries and ballistic missile launchers. (His handlers in the Mossad would only tell us his initials.) The next day, another group of Iranians and others recruited from the region launched a second wave of attacks inside Iran.

In detailed interviews, 10 present and former Israeli intelligence officials described the commando raids and a wealth of previously undisclosed details of the country’s decadeslong covert effort to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb. They requested anonymity so they could speak freely.

The officials said the commando attacks were pivotal in June’s airstrikes, allowing Israel’s air force to carry out wave after wave of bombing runs without losing a single plane. Informed by intelligence gathered by the Mossad’s agents on the ground, Israeli warplanes pounded nuclear facilities, destroyed around half of Iran’s 3,000 ballistic missiles and 80% of its launchers, and fired missiles at the bedrooms of Iranian nuclear scientists and military commanders.

As they had with the pagers, Israeli spies took advantage of their ability to penetrate their adversary’s communications systems. Early in the aerial attack, Israeli cyberwarriors sent a fake message to Iran’s top military leaders, luring them to a phantom meeting in an underground bunker that was then demolished in a precision strike. Twenty were killed, including three chiefs of staff.

The strategic map of the region has been dramatically redrawn since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in which Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostages. Public attention, particularly in recent weeks, has focused on Israel’s retaliation against Gaza, which has caused scores of thousands of deaths and a deepening famine that has been globally condemned.

The secret war between Israel and Iran has attracted far less public attention but has also played a significant role in the region’s changing balance of power.


US warns citizens to avoid Jewish and Israeli sites in UAE over terror threat
The US Embassy in the United Arab Emirates has urged American citizens to steer clear of locations linked to the Jewish and Israeli communities, citing information indicating a heightened security threat.

In a rare alert issued Friday, the embassy advised Americans to avoid synagogues, Jewish institutions, Israel-affiliated venues, and gatherings.

The updated guidance follows a State Department advisory earlier this week urging US travellers to the UAE to exercise increased caution due to the risk of terrorism and potential missile or drone attacks.

The warning comes after Israel’s National Security Council raised its travel advisory for the UAE to Level 3 last Thursday – the second-highest on its scale. The NSC urged Israeli travellers to avoid visibly Jewish or Israeli symbols, limit participation in communal events, and stay away from known Israeli or Jewish sites.

In response, Israel evacuated most diplomatic staff from the UAE, though its embassy in Abu Dhabi and consulate in Dubai remain operational in coordination with local authorities.

The alerts reflect growing concern over attempts by terrorist groups – including Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian proxies, and global jihadist factions – to target Israeli and Jewish interests in the region. Security officials believe these threats have intensified following the escalation of conflict with Iran and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.


IDF says Hezbollah’s Radwan force intel chief killed in southern Lebanon strike
A Hezbollah intelligence commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon earlier today, the IDF says.

The strike in Aadloun killed Mohammad Hamza Shehadeh, who the military says was the chief of intelligence in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force.

The IDF says his activities were a violation of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.


Israel Advocacy Movement: I Went to Gaza… This is What I Saw



Washington reportedly convenes first meeting between UN, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
After months of sniping with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and weeks of rejecting its calls for cooperation, the United Nations accepted a meeting on Wednesday with the foundation at the U.S. mission to the global body in New York City, Axios reported.

Washington, which reportedly brokered the gathering, has been pushing for the delivery of more aid in Gaza. Morgan Ortagus, an adviser to the U.S. mission who was deputy U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, and foundation leader Johnnie Moore attended the meeting, in which the U.N. World Food Programme, U.N. Children’s Fund, International Organization for Migration, U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and International Red Cross were represented, according to Axios.

The meeting was the first publicly known direct talks between U.N. and foundation leaders. The latter began operating in Gaza in late May.

“Sources with knowledge of the meeting said the political and personal sensitivities led to unusual ground rules: No phones were allowed in the meeting, and it was held under Chatham House rules, meaning nothing in the meeting could be attributed to its participants,” Axios reported. “No decision was made on cooperation in Gaza, according to the sources. The only decision in the meeting was for both sides to de-escalate public attacks in the media against each other.”

The United Nations has admitted that some 89% of its trucks bearing aid for Gazans have been looted since May 19. It has also stated that only its agencies can adequately provide the necessary items in Gaza. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has said that it welcomes collaboration with the United Nations to better aid Gazans.

Ross Smith, director of emergency preparedness and response at the World Food Programme, told JNS on July 29 that the U.N. program “talks to all potential partners.”

“We have indeed spoken at the operational level with GHF. We do not have an operational partnership with GHF. They have a different model than we have,” he said.

“We can work in parallel,” he added. “We need all actors on board to provide support inside Gaza.”


FDD: Jonathan Conricus on Israel's security cabinet weighing military takeover of Gaza — BBC News
Jonathan joins BBC News to react to news of the Israeli Security Cabinet meeting to discuss an expansion of military operations to defeat Hamas in Gaza.


Ask Haviv Anything: Episode 35: Solving hunger in Gaza with Prof. Yannay Spitzer
Professor Yannay Spitzer is an economic historian who has studied food and hunger. His efforts over the past month to get real reliable data on hunger out of Gaza and publicize it to Israelis, data that is neither delayed nor politicized like the many claims of rampant hunger made over the past 22 months that turned out to be either inaccurate or untrue, helped change the conversation in Israel and surge aid into the strip.

Professor Spitzer joins us to explain what went wrong, why Israeli officials thought there was much more food available to Gazans than there really was, why the UN's own numbers seem to agree with them even now, why it's so hard to get food to ordinary Gazans - and what all this tells us about the state of Hamas and the future of Gaza.


The Free Press: Is Israel About to Occupy Gaza?
Yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Fox News that Israel intends to retake control of the entire Gaza Strip.

Up until now, Israel has avoided articulating a clear “day after” plan. Even in the Fox interview, the prime minister hedged—insisting that Israel eventually intends to hand over the territory to “Arab forces that will govern it properly.”

But while the details remain murky, the shift in tone is apparent. Israel, which currently controls about 75 percent of Gaza, is about to change the framework that has governed its approach to the strip for two decades.

Naturally, we’re left with more questions than answers: What are the consequences of a reoccupation of Gaza? Is it even possible? Is this just rhetoric, or a turning point in a war that has dragged on for 22 months? How does this impact getting the hostages back?

We’re speaking with Haviv Rettig Gur, The Free Press’s new Middle East analyst and one of Israel’s most incisive political thinkers, to help us make sense of it all.




Commentary PodCast: The Big Gaza Gamble
Israel's decision to adopt a new strategy to win the war in Gaza is wildly controversial—but maybe not as controversial as the people who oppose it (as they oppose all of Benjamin Netanyahu's moves) seem to think. The Israeli public is divided, and world opinion matters less than Trump opinion.


Fully occupying Gaza is Israel’s only ‘option’
Former IDF Intelligence Corps Yossi Kuperwasser says Israel has no “other option” than to fully occupy Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed Israel's plan for a full military occupation of the Gaza Strip.

The plans come after stalled negotiations with Hamas.




The Truth About Hamas’ Fake Gaza Casualty Numbers
Mark Levin exposes Hamas propaganda, fake Gaza casualty numbers, and the media’s role in spreading terrorist lies. The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Reuters, AP, and BBC repeat statistics from Hamas’ Gaza Health Ministry — numbers experts say are fraudulent, fabricated, and statistically impossible. Mark breaks down evidence from data analysts, military experts, and independent investigators showing these Gaza death tolls are manipulated to push anti-Israel propaganda and demand a ceasefire.

Mark also reveals how Israel and the United States have delivered 1.8 million tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza — including 1.3 million tons of food — only for Hamas and the United Nations to steal, sell, and use the profits to buy weapons, ammunition, and rockets to attack Israel.


UKLFI: Jonathan Turner interviewed on BBC Radio Scotland 3/8/25 on proposed Palestinian State (audio only)
Jonathan Turner, UKLFI Chief Executive, discusses whether recognising a Palestinian State would accord with international law on BBC Radio Scotland on 3 August 2025. Amongst other points, he notes that overwhelming majorities of both Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem favour continuation of Israeli rule of the united city.


Nobody is ‘listening’ to Penny Wong’s musings about Middle East war
Australian Jewish Association CEO Robert Gregory says nobody is ‘listening” to Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s warnings to Israel about their conflict with Hamas.

Penny Wong – on behalf of the Australian government – has called on Israel not to go down the path of fully occupying the Gaza Strip.

“People are aware that she did not even visit the sites of the massacres in Israel ... perhaps if she had visited, she would have learnt something,” Mr Gregory told Sky News host Steve Price.


ABC fails to reveal the truth about infamous Gazan child photo on air
Sky News Australia's Media Watch Dog Columnist Gerard Henderson has slammed the ABC for refusing to back down on the now infamous picture of the starving Gazan child.


October 7 supporter’s visa cancelled after Coalition called for Tony Burke to step down over approval
Mona Zahed, who praised the October 7 attacks on Israel, has had her visa cancelled by the Home Affairs Department.

Following the Coalition's call for Tony Burke to step down over the visa's approval, a Home Affairs spokesperson said on Friday afternoon "The department has advised ... that the visa was cancelled today - the reasons have been communicated directly to the applicant."

Shadow Home Affairs Minister Michaelia Cash had called for Burke's resignation in an interview on Sky News earlier on Friday.

"Tony Burke quite frankly, if the visa is not cancelled today, should step aside, he should resign," she said in an interview with Sky News host Kieran Gilbert.

"If Mr Albanese doesn't insist on Tony Burke cancelling that visa today, well that says a lot about Albanese's priorities."

"That woman should come nowhere near this country.

The Palestinian woman shared a series of disturbing posts in the immediate aftermath of the surprise attack on October 7, 2023.

One showed panicked festivalgoers fleeing for their lives, overlaid with her message: “Praise be to Allah who has kept us alive to see this day”.

In another, she declared: “We woke up and got God’s kingdom”.

Ms Zahed, along with her husband and four children, is reportedly being backed by Melbourne-based artist Matt Chun.

Chun has described Hamas militants as “courageous Indigenous resistance fighters”.

Chun and his partner, Tess Cullity, have boasted of having raised tens of thousands of dollars to help the family get out of Gaza to what they refer to as “Wurundjeri Land”.
‘National security is at risk’: Australia decides to cancel visa of October 7 supporter
Sky News host Danica De Giorgio discusses Australia’s decision to cancel the visa of a Palestinian woman who was supportive of the October 7 massacre.

“To breaking news within the last hour, it has been announced that the Australian visa for a Palestinian woman who supported the October 7 massacre has finally been cancelled,” Ms De Giorgio said.

“You have to ask how was this woman even considered for a visa in the first place, and why weren't there better background checks in order?

“It adds to the question of what sort of a country do we want to live in?”


‘I’m worried about the unknowns’: Approved visa of October 7 supporter causes alarm
Former Labor Minister Michael Danby discusses the granting of a visa for a Palestinian woman who supported the October 7 attacks.

“I’m worried about the unknowns, it’s the others that don’t have social media postings,” Mr Danby told Sky News host Rowan Dean.

“Isn't it shocking?”




Nicole Lampert: The heiress whose family profited from the Nazis... and is now marching against Israel
Marlene Engelhorn first hit the headlines in early 2024 when she announced she was setting up a citizens’ group to redistribute her fortune. She sent out 10,000 invitations to randomly selected Austrian citizens aged over 16 asking them to take part in an initiative called the Good Council for Redistribution. She is also a co-founder of Tax Me Now, a group of wealthy people in Germany who are campaigning for greater taxes on their earnings.

She has pledged to give away 90 per cent of her money to the 50 people who impress her most with their causes and the Gaza flotilla is her latest cause.

But some have questioned whether she has paused to contemplate the optics of someone with her family’s background going on the attack against the only Jewish state which has been fighting an existential war of survival.

“The falsehoods about me have already begun to spread,” she says on her Instagram page. “Yes it is true that my family profited from the Nazi regime – and I am deeply ashamed of that. But it is a lie that they invented and sold Zyklon B. They are using lies about my family because they have nothing real to say about me. Here is my message to all Israeli propaganda: I live now. I act now, and I want to break the cycle of violence and genocide.”

It is only in recent years that BASF has begun to address the part it played in the Nazis’ crimes, and in 2021 it initiated a programme of education among its employees, Remember. Reflect. Rethink, to establish a “future-oriented culture of remembrance within the company.”

Austrian social worker and family therapist Connier Kerman has coined the phrase “descendant fragility” to describe those who are descended from people who aided the Nazis and who instantly attack anyone who mentions it. How much worse if your family is as infamous as Engelhorn’s?

Austrian sociologist Prof Karin Stögner – one of the world’s leading scholars of anti-Semitism – suggests that Engelhorn is engaged in “guilt-deflecting” behaviour, in her attacks on Israel.

Israeli Holocaust survivor Bilha Haim, whose grandson Yotan Haim was kidnapped and killed in Gaza, says that a true woman of compassion would also be demanding the release of the hostages.

“I’m a woman of peace. I oppose the war, I oppose starvation, but after seeing the images of the hostages [starved by Hamas] I can no longer stay silent,” says Haim, who lives in Israel’s Southern District. “First and foremost, she should be calling for the release of the hostages. Why hasn’t anyone sailed to support the hostages and called for their rescue?

“I tried not to look at the photo of Eyvatar David [the emaciated Israeli hostage filmed digging his own grave], it’s too painful. It brings back memories of my own childhood. I had a respiratory attack after seeing those images – they look like Holocaust survivors.”

“If she [Engelhorn] wants to meet me I will talk to her. I want to ask her what does she see when she looks at me?”




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