JERUSALEM: Angry members of some of the families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza harangued Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday over his opposition to a deal being negotiated in Qatar to halt the fighting and bring their relatives home.
Smotrich described the deal taking shape as “a catastrophe” for Israel’s security and said Israel should keep up its campaign in Gaza until the complete surrender of Hamas, the militant group that ran the enclave before the war.
Dozens of members of the hostage families, many carrying photographs of the missing, squeezed into a committee room in the Israeli parliament where a meeting of the finance committee was held to examine the 2025 budget.
Some furious, some crying and pleading, they attacked Smotrich in an emotionally charged encounter that lasted for more than an hour, accusing him of abandoning the 98 Israeli and foreign hostages still left in Gaza.
“These kidnapped people can be returned,” Ofir Angrest, whose brother Matan was taken hostage during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“The conditions are ripe, it’s time for a deal, the Prime Minister said it. How can you, the Minister of Finance, oppose the return of all these abductees?“
Smotrich, leader of one of the hard-line nationalist religious parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, has been among the loudest opponents of a deal which he described as a “surrender” to Hamas.
Qatar, which is brokering the talks alongside Egypt and the United States, said it had given a draft agreement to both Israel and Hamas following a “breakthrough” overnight.
Yechiel Yehud, whose daughter Arbel was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and whose son Dolev was killed, reminded Smotrich that he had visited their home in the kibbutz.
“I know your heart is in the right place, but you are required to do more than that,” he said.
Angry hostage families harangue Israeli hard-liner Smotrich
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Angry hostage families harangue Israeli hard-liner Smotrich
- Smotrich described the deal taking shape as “a catastrophe” for Israel’s security
- He said Israel should keep up its campaign in Gaza until the complete surrender of Hamas
Israel airstrikes kill family of 5 in Gaza Strip
- Hamas said on Monday that talks over some core issues for a ceasefire deal in Gaza have made progress, an official in the Palestinian group said
CAIRO: At least 14 Palestinians, including a family of five people, were killed in three separate Israeli airstrikes on Monday in northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics said.
One strike hit a group of people in the Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City, killing at least seven people including two children, the Health Ministry’s emergency service said. Two more people were killed in Jabaliya Al-Balad area in northern Gaza, it said.
Another five people were wounded in the strike, it said.
A third strike hit Salaheddin school, which shelters displaced families in the western part of Gaza City.
The strike killed two parents and their three children, according to the Al-Ahly Hospital which received the casualties.
The Israeli military did not have an immediate comment on the strikes.
Hamas said on Monday that talks over some core issues for a ceasefire deal in Gaza have made progress, an official in the Palestinian group said.
“The negotiation over some core issues made progress and we are working to conclude what remains soon,” added the official.
The administration of President Joe Biden sees a possible truce as soon as this week, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told Bloomberg News on Monday, adding that there were no guarantees that the parties would agree to such a deal.
Sullivan, speaking to Bloomberg in an interview, added that Biden’s administration has been in contact with incoming President Donald Trump’s team and sought a united front on the issue ahead of Washington’s Jan. 20 transition of power.
“The pressure building here toward the end of President Biden’s term has been considerable,” Sullivan said. “It’s there for the taking.”
Biden leaves office next week after Democrats lost the White House in November’s election, handing back the US government to Trump and his fellow Republicans, who will control both chambers of Congress.
Envoys of both Biden and Trump attended weekend talks on the potential deal.
“The question is now: Can we all collectively seize the moment and make this happen,” Sullivan told Bloomberg, adding that Biden had directed him to work closely with the incoming team.
Israel army says intercepted projectile launched from Yemen
- Israeli military also intercepted a drone launched from Yemen on Monday
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it intercepted a projectile fired from Yemen on Monday before it crossed into Israeli territory, in the latest in a series of ongoing attacks.
“One projectile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF (Israeli air force) prior to crossing into Israeli territory,” the military said in a statement.
Earlier on Monday the military said it had also intercepted a drone in southern Israel that was launched from Yemen.
Since the war in the Gaza Strip broke out in October 2023, the Iran-backed Houthi militants who control swathes of Yemen have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel in what they say is a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
In retaliation, Israel has struck Houthi targets several times inside Yemen, including in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa.
Iraqi PM outlines vision for UK relations ahead of official visit
- Mohammed Al-Sudani will meet with King Charles, PM Keir Starmer
- Visit ‘reflects my government’s commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership’
LONDON: Iraq’s prime minister has called for bolstering economic, trade and security ties with the UK ahead of an official visit to the country.
Mohammed Al-Sudani will arrive in London on Jan. 13 and will meet with King Charles, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and senior British officials.
Writing in the Telegraph on Sunday, Al-Sudani said the visit “reflects my government’s commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership between Iraq and the UK.”
He warned that it comes amid “unprecedented and escalating events in the Middle East” that threaten the region and the wider world.
Al-Sudani wrote that regional and international solidarity will ensure that the “free will and aspirations of the Syrian people are respected.”
He praised the UK’s support for Iraq’s fight against Daesh, and said the bilateral relationship had significantly transformed in recent decades.
“Today, as our country achieves greater levels of security and stability, the time has come to transition to a new phase of sustainable economic partnership,” he added.
Al-Sudani will aim to attract British investment in Iraqi energy infrastructure during his visit. It is part of a larger plan to establish Iraq as an international trade hub.
“We will continue to encourage more British investments in oil and gas, as well as in renewable energy projects, recognizing the importance of diversifying energy sources and addressing environmental challenges in the long term,” he wrote.
Al-Sudani highlighted banking reform as another area of potential cooperation with the UK, whose financial institutions and expertise can “improve government services and enhance administrative efficiency.”
He added: “We are determined to channel investments into developing education and training to equip young Iraqis with the skills required to meet the demands of the next phase of development.”
Counterterrorism efforts involving the UK could protect both domestic and regional stability, Al-Sudani said, adding that Iraq could benefit from British military industries.
“My upcoming meetings in London carry a clear message: Iraq is committed to building partnerships based on shared interests and forward-looking vision,” he said.
“We seek a global partner with political and economic weight, and the UK is well-positioned to play this vital role as we embark on a new chapter of growth and reconstruction.”
The Iraqi delegation to the UK includes ministers, MPs, Basra’s governor and representatives from the private sector.
UAE sends 35 trucks in 3 convoys to deliver aid to Gaza
- The latest Emirati delivery of essential supplies includes medical equipment such as dialysis machines and ultrasound devices, plus food and shelter materials
- The UAE has dispatched 153 humanitarian convoys to Gaza since November 2023, with 2,391 trucks delivering more than 29,274 tonnes of aid
LONDON: Three convoys of trucks carrying aid from the UAE this week crossed into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt.
A total of 35 trucks carried more than 248.9 tonnes of humanitarian supplies, including more than 100 tonnes of medical supplies, the Emirates News Agency reported.
The deliveries are part of an ongoing Emirati humanitarian campaign to help the Palestinian people during the war between Israel and Hamas. Since the launch of “Operation Chivalrous Knight 3” in November 2023, the UAE has sent 153 convoys into the Gaza Strip, with a total of 2,391 trucks delivering more than 29,274 tonnes of aid.
The essential supplies delivered by the latest convoys included medical equipment such as dialysis machines, ultrasound devices, resuscitation sets, wheelchairs and respiratory masks, the news agency added. Other items included food, tents and sacks of flour.
Fadel Al-Shamsi, a spokesperson for the Emirati aid operation, said care was taken to maintain the highest standards of safety and quality during the storage and transportation of the medical supplies to Gaza.
Palestinian president meets British FM in Ramallah
- Mahmoud Abbas briefed David Lammy on Israeli aggression in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
LONDON: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Monday at the Palestinian Authority’s headquarters in Ramallah.
Abbas discussed with Lammy the need to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2735, which calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the coastal enclave.
He highlighted the UK’s backing for the efforts to gain international recognition of the State of Palestine and its full membership in the UN, as part of the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He briefed Lammy on the latest Israeli aggressions in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, the WAFA news agency reported.
