‘Recruitment of ultra-Orthodox Jews an urgent need’: Israel military chief
The enlistment of draft-age ultra-Orthodox individuals is “an obvious necessity”, said Israeli military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, during a tour through the Gaza Strip.
“The recruitment of ultra-Orthodox Jews is an urgent need,” Halevi said in a video posted on X by the Israeli military. “I know this, especially for those who are outside their homes for eight months and performing service in the reserve ranks alongside work and family … This is something that is not implicitly understood … and I want you to know that we are making a great effort to take care of the rights of these people.”
Halevi’s comments come following the Israeli government’s support of a draft bill extending the retirement age for reservists despite backlash from the Israeli public.
War failures heighten pressure for negotiated Gaza settlement
Youcef Bouandel from Qatar University says the disunion within Israel’s war cabinet and wider society is starting to boil over, which “strengthens the hand” of Hamas in ceasefire negotiations.
“Most importantly is the fact that Israel has not been able to defeat Hamas on the ground. There has been so many Palestinian losses, yes, but the Palestinians have been resilient,” he told Al Jazeera. “There are relatively deep divisions in Israel at the moment. There are people who want a complete ceasefire, but if there is one I think that signals the end of Benjamin Netanyahu’s premiership.
There are two sides: the Netanyahu camp that wants to continue the war to achieve its objectives and, most importantly, keep his position,” Bouandel said. “The other side sees after eight months of war Israel has not achieved any of the objectives, and the only way forward is through negotiations.”
‘Unacceptable’: Netanyahu opposes military ‘pauses’ for Gaza aid
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is opposed to plans announced by the military to hold daily tactical pauses in fighting along one of the main roads into the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip to facilitate aid delivery into the Palestinian enclave.
The military had announced the daily pauses from 05:00 GMT until 16:00 GMT in the area from the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing to the Salah al-Din Road and then northwards.
Netanyahu’s opposition to the tactical pauses underlined political tensions over the issue of aid coming into Gaza, where international organisations have warned of a growing humanitarian crisis and looming famine.
