Israelis Call for a Cease-Fire Deal and Elections After 9 Months of War

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Israelis Call for a Cease-***** Deal and Elections After 9 Months of War

Israelis on Sunday marked nine months since the devastating ******-led ******* of Oct. 7 and the start of the ensuing war in Gaza with a nationwide day of anti-government protests at a time that many here view as a pivotal juncture in the conflict.

Primarily calling for a cease-***** deal with ****** that would see hostages return from captivity and for new elections in *******, protesters brought traffic to a standstill at several major intersections in cities and on highways across the country. Much of central Tel Aviv was blocked in one of the biggest protests in months.

Some progress has been made in recent days for a resumption of negotiations toward a tentative deal after weeks of an impasse, even as the fighting continues in Gaza, where an ******** strike hit in the area of a U.N. school on Saturday, and across *******’s northern border with Lebanon.

But many Israelis, among them the families of some of the hostages, ***** that the cease-***** efforts could be torpedoed not only by ******, but also by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of ******* who, they say, might prioritize the survival of his government over a deal that could topple it.

The leaders of two ultranationalist parties who are key elements of Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition have threatened to bring the government down if the prime minister agrees to a deal before ****** is fully destroyed — a goal that many officials and experts consider unattainable.

The far-right parties in the governing coalition “don’t want a deal,” Shikma Bressler, a protest leader, said in a social media

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

early Sunday, adding, “They need Armageddon.”

“And Bibi?” Ms. Bressler added, referring to Mr. Netanyahu by his nickname. “He needs war so there won’t be elections.”

Tensions over the potential deal also surfaced within Mr. Netanyahu’s own Likud party at the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday. After the prime minister accused the defense minister, Yoav Gallant, a rival, of playing politics, Mr. Gallant retorted by warning Mr. Netanyahu against any “politically driven attempt” to tie a ******** deal to other contentious issues dividing the government, according to Mr. Gallant’s office.

“This is a delicate hour,” Mr. Gallant said. “We must strike an agreement to secure the release of the hostages.”

*******’s northern border remained volatile on Sunday, with the Lebanese Hezbollah organization ******* salvos of rockets, drones and anti-tank missiles into ******** territory. In an unusual incident, a private U.S. citizen was injured in one of the strikes from Lebanon, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

The spokesman said the person does not work for the U.S. government but could provide no further details, citing privacy concerns. An ******** soldier was also lightly injured, according to the ******** military.

The rockets from Lebanon came a day after ******** aircraft carried out a deadly strike against a Hezbollah operative in the area of Baalbek, deep inside Lebanese territory, about 40 miles northeast of Beirut.

******* identified the target as Meitham Mustafa Altaar, describing him as a key operative in Hezbollah’s Aerial Defense Unit who had taken part in several attacks against *******.

Another man believed to be an ******** was seriously injured in a strike from Lebanon on Sunday that reached deeper into ******* than most of the previous attacks in months of ****-for-tat cross-border clashes.

In central Gaza on Saturday, ******** aircraft struck in the area of a ******* Nations school in Nuseirat, where the ******** military said ************ militants had been operating out of a number of structures. At least 16 people were ******* and dozens wounded in the strike, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. More than 38,000 Palestinians have been ******* so far in Gaza, according to local health officials.

The school had become a shelter for displaced people seeking safety, the ministry added. ******, in a statement, called the strike a “massacre.” The ******** military said it had taken measures to avoid civilian casualties in the strike and blamed ****** for operating from areas crowded with Gazan civilians.

On Sunday, the ******** military said its air force struck another complex in the vicinity of a school building in Gaza City where fighters were operating, as well as a ****** weapons manufacturing facility in the same area.

The military said it was continuing its operations in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, and in Shajaiye, an area east of Gaza City, in the north. The air force also carried out a strike against the municipality building in Khan Younis, a large southern city from which ******** ground forces withdrew in April.

****** was using the building, the military said, for military activities. Before the strike, the military said, the civilian population was evacuated from the area.

At a protest calling for the release of the hostages in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, a weekly occurrence, Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is being held ******** in Gaza, said of the renewed talks for a cease-*****, “For the first time in many months, we feel hope.”

But she added: “Netanyahu, we’ve seen how time and again you’ve torpedoed deals at the moment of truth. Our heart was shattered each time. Don’t dare break our heart again! It is your duty to return all of the citizens you forsook.”

Many Israelis are enraged over Mr. Netanyahu’s refusal so far to take any personal responsibility for the ******** intelligence and policy failures leading up to the Oct. 7 ********** ********, in which 1,200 people were *******, according to the ******** authorities, and about 250 more were taken into Gaza. Of the 120 hostages remaining in Gaza, at least a third are presumed *****, officials say.

The protests on Sunday, which the organizers called a national “Day of Disturbance,” began at 6.29 a.m. — the time the ******-led ******* began on Oct. 7 — with “wake-up calls” outside the homes of several lawmakers and ministers, including the minister of defense, Mr. Gallant.

Several tech companies allowed their staff time off to participate in the protests, which were expected to culminate in large rallies in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem later in the day. Sunday is a workday for most Israelis.

Despite recent progress in indirect contacts between ******* and ******, via U.S. and ***** mediators, sticking points remain, and a cease-***** deal is not considered imminent.

The talks are based on a three-stage framework first publicized by President Biden in late May and later endorsed by the ******* Nations Security Council.

Both sides agree on the broad outlines of a deal that would include an initial six-week cease-***** and the release of the most vulnerable civilian hostages in exchange for ************ prisoners. But ****** is seeking assurances that ******* won’t restart the war after some hostages come home. ******* says it needs the option of resuming hostilities and will not effectively commit to a permanent cease-***** from the outset.

Mr. Netanyahu’s office issued a statement on Sunday evening saying the prime minister ******** “steadfastly committed” to the principles already agreed upon by ******* and endorsed by Mr. Biden, including that any deal must allow ******* to resume fighting until it has achieved “all of the war’s goals.”

Gabby Sobelman, Johnatan Reiss and Myra Noveck contributed reporting.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Israelis #Call #CeaseFire #Deal #Elections #Months #War

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

For verified travel tips and real support, visit: https://hopzone.eu/