Biden told Time magazine that "there is every reason" to believe that Netanyahu is prolonging the war out of political considerations

 

Israel News, Tuesday, 04.06.2024     View in browser

Qatar said it delivered Israel's proposal for a cease-fire/hostage release deal to Hamas. The U.S. wants the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution backing President Biden's cease-fire proposal. Biden told Time magazine that "there is every reason" to believe that Netanyahu is prolonging the war out of political considerations. After 20 hours of battling major fires in northern Israel, Israel's Fire and Rescue Service said they had regained control of most of the blazes lit by Hezbollah rocket barrages. Here's what you need to know 242 days into the war     What happened today     ■ HOSTAGES/CEASE-FIRE: Qatar's Foreign Ministry said it has delivered Israel's proposal for a cease-fire and hostage release deal, whose main points were presented by U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday, to Hamas. The proposal is "much closer to the positions of both sides," the ministry said. Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the group frowns upon Washington and the West's calls for it to accept the proposal put forth by Biden "as if it is Hamas who is hampering the deal." The U.S. wants the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution backing the proposal outlined by President Biden to end fighting between Israel and Hamas, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. France's President Emmanuel Macron spoke on Tuesday with PM Netanyahu and expressed his support for the Israeli proposal for a cease-fire and the release of the hostages, presented by U.S. President Joe Biden, a statement by the Elysee Palace said. ■ U.S.–ISRAEL: When asked by TIME magazine if it is possible that Netanyahu is prolonging the war for his own political considerations, U.S. President Joe Biden said "there is every reason for people to draw that conclusion." When asked if Israel had committed war crimes in Gaza, Biden replied: "It's uncertain." National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said President Biden was "referencing what many critics have said" about Netanyahu, adding that "we'll let the Prime Minister speak to his own politics and to what his critics are saying." "While his country is in flames, Nero Claudius Caesar Netanyahu is busy picking out a tie for his sanctimonious, recklessly unnecessary, patently divisive showcase speech in the U.S. Congress later this month" – Alon Pinkas ■ GAZA: UN rights chief Volker Turk welcomed the cease-fire proposal presented by Biden, and said Israel had "brutally violated" the norms governing how to conduct war in Gaza, where the situation is "beyond catastrophic." The IDF said that it has completed demolishing a Hamas tunnel in central Gaza. Eight members of Hamas' police force were killed and several civilians were wounded in an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, Hamas' public relations office said. World Central Kitchen said it has resumed activity in Gaza and has so far delivered more than 50 million meals. The aid group had suspended its activity in Gaza after seven of its volunteers were killed in an Israeli airstrike in April. According to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza, at least 36,550 Palestinians have been killed and 82,959 wounded since the start of the war. ■ ISRAEL: After 20 hours of battling conflagrations in northern Israel, Israel's Fire and Rescue Service said they had managed to gain control of most of the fires that erupted as a result of rocket barrages from Lebanon on Monday. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in response to a briefing on the fires, said: "Now it's the army's duty to destroy Hezbollah…They are burning our areas, we need to burn all the Hezbollah strongholds, destroy them. War!" ■ LEBANON: Rocket and aerial infiltration sirens blared across northern Israel throughout Tuesday. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for drones fired at the Golan Heights, saying it was a response to Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Hezbollah's deputy secretary general, Naim Qassem, said the organization has chosen not to expand the war with Israel, but warned "If Israel chooses a full-out war, we are ready." The Lebanese News Agency reported that Israel attacked the town of Naqoura, killing one person and wounding another. The IDF later said the Air Force assassinated a Hezbollah operative in the town, as well as attacked other Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. "There is reason to believe that the four hostages whose death in Hamas captivity was announced Monday were accidentally hit by the IDF shelling. That buttresses the families' claim that any delay in the deal endangers the lives of the hostages" – Amos Harel