Netanyahu government has "made a conscious and deliberate decision to sacrifice the iSRAELI hostages"

 

Haaretz:

■ HOSTAGES/CEASE-FIRE: Hamas' political chief Ismail Haniyeh said that the organization notified mediators in negotiations for a hostage deal with Israel that it continues to demand a full cease-fire and withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza in exchange for the release of Israelis held captive in the Strip. After Israel's National Security Adviser reportedly told family members of Israeli hostages held in Gaza that he does not believe the government will succeed in securing a hostage release deal, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement that the Netanyahu government has "made a conscious and deliberate decision to sacrifice the hostages," and called on all Israelis to join its street protests. Hundreds of parents of Israeli combat soldiers signed a letter demanding that the government stop the war in Gaza and demonstrated outside the home of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday. Hamas released a video featuring a voice recording of Noa Argamani, who was taken hostage from the Nova music festival on October 7. Argamani, whose voice was identified by her family, is heard in the recording saying: "Will you leave us here and abandon my friends and I to fate like Ron Arad?" referring to the Israeli air force navigator taken captive in 1986 by Hezbollah and never released. U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said "President Biden is committed to seeing that we find a way to end this conflict as soon as practicable. We've got hostages that are still in the hands of Hamas, and potentially other groups, under horrific circumstances … We want to get them home in a deal tied to a cease-fire. The time to do it is now." ■ GAZA: The IDF said that its forces are operating in central parts of Rafah, and have also concluded operations in Gaza's Jabalya area, where it said an estimated 500-600 Hamas members were killed. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference in Prague that the humanitarian situation for people in Gaza remains dire, adding that the closure of the Rafah border crossing is "a real problem." On June 11, Jordan will host an emergency international conference on the humanitarian response to Israel's war in Gaza, in coordination with Egypt and the UN, the Jordanian royal court said. According to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza, at least 36,284 Palestinians have been killed and 82,057 wounded since the start of the war. "'There is nothing and there will be nothing,' a source knowledgeable about the hostage deal negotiations told me, against the backdrop of the countless attempts to restart them. Although Israel submitted a new, revised, position paper with further ostensible flexibility, it did not meet Hamas' key demand: stop the fighting and withdraw IDF forces from Gaza" – Yossi Verter ■ ISRAEL: The IDF announced the names of two soldiers killed Thursday fighting in the Gaza Strip: Sergeant First Class (Res.) Adar Gavriel, 24, and Sergeant Yehonatan Elias, 20. Israel Police arrested an Arab Israeli woman for publishing social media posts critical of the war in Gaza; online posts showed Rasha Karim Harami being handcuffed by a police officer and taken away blindfolded. According to Harami's attorney the video was recorded by a police officer. The State Prosecutor's Office criticized the arrest, saying that "the reasoning for the police's decision to handcuff the suspect with a zip tie and blindfold her is unclear." ■ PALESTINIAN STATE: Hamas' political chief Haniyeh said that "those who speak of 'the day after' must understand, the Palestinian people won't have Hamas replaced," adding that "a national Palestinian plan must be promoted based on a unified leadership under the framework of the Palestinian Liberation Organization's institutions which will rule both Gaza and the West Bank." He also emphasized the need for general elections for Palestinian presidency and parliament and establishing a new Palestinian National Council.