Israel worried ‘time running out’ for captives as it readies for new truce talks: Report
More details are emerging about renewed Gaza ceasefire talks expected to take place next week.
Discussions between US, Israeli, and Qatari officials in Paris were “successful” in reaching an initial framework for a possible deal, but there has not yet been a “breakthrough” reports Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth news site, citing officials “familiar with the negotiations”.
The officials said Israel did not want to reach another stalemate in negotiations, likely to begin on Tuesday because time is of the essence for the captives still in Gaza.
“Their hourglass is running out”, one of the officials told the Israeli media. “We must work around the clock”
Lapid says ‘seditious’ videos of Israeli soldiers are dangerous
A video is circulating online showing an Israeli soldier making threats against Israeli war cabinet ministers who are pushing for a deal with Hamas.
“We want decisive victory,” the masked soldier says while standing in the apparent ruins of a Gaza home. “Those who harmed the nation of Israel … we want to annihilate them.”
The soldier criticised Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and said if he and others fail to deliver on the victory, reservist soldiers will follow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Yair Lapid, the Israeli opposition leader, says in a post on X that such “seditious” videos are dangerous, regardless of whether they are real or staged.
“This madness must be stopped. This government needs to be removed from our lives before it destroys everything that is dear and sacred to this country.”
"We won't give the Gaza keys to any entity, Hamas, Fatah or any other Arab entity, We want to annihilate them all"
An Israeli reservist records this footage from inside the ruins of a Palestinian home in Gaza, threatening Israeli ministers who are pushing for a ceasefire and… pic.twitter.com/SgPgBSOIM5
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) May 25, 2024
Palestinian PM calls on Italy to recognise Palestinian state: Report
Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa urged Italy to take this step while meeting with Italian President Giorgia Meloni in Rome earlier today, reports the Wafa news agency.
Meloni, for her part, “reaffirmed the need to restart a political process leading to a lasting peace based on the two-state solution”, according to an Italian government release.
Meloni also said Italy supports ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, supply more aid to the enclave, and free the captives still held there.
Israel’s war on Gaza is ‘real genocide’: Spanish defence minister
Margarita Robles, the defence minister of Spain, has said the war on Gaza, “which is a real genocide”, cannot be ignored.
“This is not against anyone, this is not against the Israeli state, this is not against the Israelis, who are people we respect,” she told TVE state television about Spain’s decision earlier this week to recognise Palestine as a sovereign state.
The move is aimed at ending the violence in Gaza, the minister added.
Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz had also described the war as a genocide earlier this week.
