U.S. – Israel/Gaza June 2025

Why Gaza’s “eternal” ceasefire is holding—for now
JD Vance and Jared Kushner arrive to do some Bibisitting
(The Economist) ETERNITY IS NOT what it used to be. When Donald Trump visited the Middle East on October 13th to sign the Gaza ceasefire, he spoke of “peace for all eternity” in the region. Less than a week later, a clash between Israel and Hamas in southern Gaza left dozens of people dead. Some Israeli officials rushed to pronounce the agreement void. Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right finance minister, tweeted a single word: “War!”
…both sides also have an interest in avoiding a total breakdown. Some of Hamas’s commanders no doubt hope to keep up sporadic guerrilla attacks on Israeli troops. They will be keen to test how much they can get away with. But they do not want the ceasefire to fall apart entirely. With no living hostages left in its grasp, Hamas would have little leverage to stop the next round of fighting.
In Israel, meanwhile, far-right ministers have wanted to tear up the deal since it was signed. Mr Netanyahu has pointedly refused to say that the war is over for good. Mr Trump has a lot at stake, though: he has made it clear to Israel that it cannot abandon the ceasefire, at least for now. When the fighting began in Rafah, Israel announced that it would suspend the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. It reversed that decision within hours under strong American pressure.
… the long-term future of the ceasefire is uncertain. Mr Trump’s plan calls for a multinational peacekeeping force that will take charge of security in Gaza. A few countries have expressed interest in joining, but none has made a firm commitment yet. Several diplomats in the region say the violence in Rafah will reinforce fears among Arab leaders, who worry about a political backlash at home should their troops wind up in a shootout with Palestinians.
Even if pledges do materialise, it will probably take several months to field the force. There is little chance of disarming Hamas until then, nor will the IDF carry out further withdrawals. Hamas will use that time to consolidate power in Gaza by killing and torturing rivals (it has already executed dozens). There will be no return to all-out war—but it will hardly be eternal peace

19 October
The ‘enormous conflict of interest’ at centre of Jared Kushner’s Gaza ceasefire deal
Andrew Roth in Washington
US president’s son-in-law was instrumental in getting deal – which could bring him huge windfall if plan to redevelop Gaza ever comes to fruition
(The Guardian) … Now, Kushner, who manages billions of dollars in investments including from Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund in his investment company Affinity Partners, sits at the nexus of power in Washington DC.
“Of course there’s an enormous conflict of interest here,” said Matt Duss, the executive vice-president at the Center for International Policy, who described the influence-peddling in the administration as open corruption.
But, he added: “Part of what’s bizarre is that the Trump organisation is so deeply leveraged in the Middle East that the corruption could sustain the ceasefire. Because they all stand to make so much money there is an interest and an incentive to kind of stop the war.”
The administration has denied that there is a conflict of interest in Kushner’s diplomatic work while continuing to run an investment fund managing billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatari state funds.
… For many, Kushner’s central role in the negotiations was unknown until he and Tony Blair participated in a White House meeting in August to discuss planning for the postwar governance and redevelopment of Gaza.
According to US officials, Kushner and Witkoff had been given virtually unlimited authority by Trump to get both sides to agree to a ceasefire: from a closed-door meeting between Trump and Arab leaders during the UN general assembly to stress test a 20-point Gaza proposal, to persuading Netanyahu to deliver an apology message to Qatar’s prime minister after an Israeli airstrike in Doha last month, to an unprecedented meeting between White House officials and Hamas that led to the best chance to end the war in Gaza since it began in October 2023.

4 October
Dozens killed in Gaza despite Trump’s call for Israel to halt bombing
Islamic Jihad move could facilitate release of hostages
Children are among 36 killed in Gaza, medics say
Israel says Gaza City is still a dangerous combat zone
Trump plan and Hamas response may lift spirits of Palestinians
Relative of released Israeli hostage calls for end to war
(Reuters) – Dozens were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza on Saturday, local health officials said, despite a demand from U.S. President Donald Trump for Israel to stop bombing in response to a declaration by Hamas that it was ready to free hostages under his plan to end the two-year-old war.
With ceasefire talks due to begin in Egypt in the coming week, Trump said on Saturday on his Truth Social platform that Israel had agreed to an “initial withdrawal line” inside Gaza and that “when Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will be IMMEDIATELY effective.”

3 October
Trump Says Hamas Is Ready for Peace and Tells Israel to Stop Bombing
(NYT) Hamas said it would release the Israeli hostages but wanted to negotiate elements of the Trump plan. Later, in a video, President Trump said, “Everybody was unified in wanting this war to end and seeing peace in the Middle East, and we’re very close to achieving that.”
President Trump said he believed Hamas was “ready for a lasting PEACE” and demanded Israel “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza” after the militant group said on Friday that it was ready to release all of the Israeli hostages.
But the group made clear that it wanted to negotiate elements of the peace plan proposed by President Trump earlier this week.
Hamas says it agrees to parts of Trump’s Gaza plan but seeks more talks
Palestinian group says it is ready to release all Israeli captives held in Gaza after US president issues ultimatum.
(Al Jazeera) Hamas says that it accepts several parts of US President Donald Trump’s plan for a ceasefire in Israel’s nearly two-year war on Gaza, but that some elements of the proposal require further negotiations.
The armed group handed over its response to Trump’s 20-point plan to halt the war on Friday, an informed source told Al Jazeera, hours after Trump gave the group until Sunday to respond to the proposal.

29 September
What to know about the Gaza peace plan agreed to by Trump and Netanyahu
(AP) — After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threw his support behind the U.S. peace plan for Gaza, the question now is whether Hamas will agree.
Hamas faces a bitter tradeoff — the proposal demands that the militant group effectively surrender in return for uncertain gains. But if it rejects the deal, the U.S. could give Israel an even freer hand to continue its punishing campaign in the already devastated territory.
Under the proposal, the militant group would have to disarm in return for an end to fighting, humanitarian aid for Palestinians, and the promise of reconstruction in Gaza — all desperately hoped for by its population.
But the proposal has only a vague promise that some day, perhaps, Palestinian statehood might be possible. For the foreseeable future, Gaza and its more than 2 million Palestinians would be put under international control. An international security force would move in, and a “Board of Peace” headed by Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair would oversee Gaza’s administration and reconstruction. The territory would remain surrounded by Israeli troops.
Trump and Netanyahu say they’ve agreed on a plan to end the Gaza war. Hamas is now reviewing it
(AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday laid out a 20-point proposal supported by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that would end the war in Gaza and free remaining hostages, leaning heavily into conditions that Hamas has previously rejected.
The U.S. president, who has become increasingly frustrated by the bloody conflict, seems to be betting that the militants are now so decimated that they have no choice but to accept what he and Netanyahu are framing as a last, best offer.
“If Hamas rejects your plan, Mr. President, or if they supposedly accept it and then do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself,” Netanyahu said after meeting with Trump at the White House. “This can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done.”

25 September
Israel is increasingly being treated as a global pariah. It’s shielded by Trump, for now
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses world leaders at the United Nations on Friday, it will be at the helm of a country that is increasingly being treated as a pariah, even by some of its longtime allies.
Netanyahu still seems to have the unwavering support of President Donald Trump, and the U.S. has done much to shield Israel from censure. But as its latest invasion of Gaza City puts Trump’s hoped-for ceasefire further out of reach, and as some on the right express outrage, that too could change.
“The concern is that that there’s a tipping point out there,” said Michael Oren, a historian and former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. “We’re not a pariah state yet, but we could be.”
Western countries are outraged by Israel’s intensifying offensive in the Gaza Strip and several have recognized Palestinian statehood. The European Union is weighing tariffs and sanctions. Democratic voters in the United States have expressed disgust in polls, and small cracks are showing in Republican support. The prospect of sports and cultural boycotts is growing, and Israeli tourists have been made to feel unwelcome in some countries.
Even Netanyahu’s flight to New York on Thursday was fraught. An unplanned landing in Europe could have exposed him to arrest on charges of crimes against humanity filed by the International Criminal Court, which he denies. The Haaretz news site reported that the flight took a longer, alternate path to avoid some European airspace. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter, confirmed the report.

23 September
British officials fear Trump could recognise Israeli West Bank settlements
Government insiders say move would be a serious blow to prospect of a two-state solution
(The Guardian) Trump made passing reference to Palestinian recognition during a fiery speech at the UN on Tuesday, saying: “This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including October 7.” Arab and European leaders are now engaged in an intense lobbying operation to make sure he does not go further by recognising West Bank settlements.
UK officials said some of the president’s allies were putting pressure on him to recognise Israeli sovereignty over settlements in the West Bank and Arab leaders were pushing back.

15 September
Little daylight between US and Israel evident as Rubio and Netanyahu meet
(AP) — Israel and the United States showed a unified front on Monday in the face of growing international anger over Israel’s airstrikes on Hamas leaders in Qatar and its intensifying bombardment of Gaza City.
As Arab and Muslim leaders met in Doha to condemn Israel’s attack last week in Qatar and new rounds of criticism were aired over Israeli plans to occupy Gaza City, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stood shoulder-to-shoulder in Jerusalem and downplayed the furor that had, at least for a short time, taken the Trump administration aback.
13 September
UN overwhelmingly endorses two-state solution declaration that condemns Hamas
UN resolution condemns Hamas and Israeli attacks in Gaza
US and Israel criticize resolution as harmful, ‘publicity stunt’
Resolution supported by Gulf Arab states, opposed by US and Israel

5 September
Gaza: From genocide to real estate scheme
Gwynne Dyer
(Bangkok Post) A motley band of greedy fantasists got together at the White House on Aug 27 and came up with a cunning plan to bring peace to the Middle East while lining their own pockets at the same time. It was “leaked” within days, as it was clearly meant to be, and since then the sound of outraged clucking has been loud in the land.
It is “a Trumpian get-rich-quick scheme reliant on war crimes, AI and tourism,” wrote the Israeli daily Ha’aretz.
“It’s insane,” said HA Hellyer of the Royal United Services Institute. They are right, so far as they go — but they only know the half of it. The other half is that this is an insane crime that could actually happen.
As you would expect at a meeting chaired by Donald Trump, half the participants were real estate developers by trade — himself, his ignorant “Special Envoy for the Middle East” Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Marco Rubio was there as National Security Adviser, and former British prime minister Tony Blair to raise the tone a bit.
The meeting was intended to flesh out the plan for “cleansing” Gaza of its two million current residents that Mr Trump first mooted early this year and replacing them with an unspecified but wealthy “international” population who would turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East”. You know, like Saint-Tropez, Antibes and the Cinque Terre, only flatter and farther east.
The Palestinians who are living and dying in Gaza now would be “relocated” to some other country while 40 million tonnes of rubble, unexploded ordnance and decomposed bodies are cleared away and a shiny new city is built on the ruins. Property owners will be given digital tokens that they can spend to resettle elsewhere or maybe even buy property in Gaza again.
The United States will govern Gaza as a “trusteeship” for at least ten years, with no information on what happens after that. The immense cost of clearing up the devastation and building a new “Land of Oz” would be borne by private investors, who could expect a fourfold return on their capital in a decade. And everyone will live happily ever after.

4 September
US sanctions Palestinian rights groups for supporting ICC Israel probe
Al-Haq, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and Al-Mezan targeted for engaging with ICC, state department says.
(Al Jazeera) The United States has added three prominent Palestinian rights groups, Al-Haq, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights to its sanctions list.
In a subsequent statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the rights groups were targeted for having “directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent”.
The Trump administration had previously sanctioned the ICC in response to its investigation and subsequent arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza.
All three groups had provided evidence on Israeli abuses in the case.

28 July
Trump, breaking with Netanyahu, acknowledges ‘real starvation’ in Gaza
The president promises the U.S. will work with Europe to get aid to Gaza amid growing humanitarian crisis.
(Politico) … The president’s remarks…were far more critical of the Netanyahu strategy than he was just a few days ago when he left for his trip to Scotland. They also come as Israel faces growing condemnation from some of the U.S.’s closest allies.
Even as Trump again dismissed the idea of recognizing Palestine as a state, he seemed unbothered by European allies doing so.

14 July
Israeli government and military clash over proposed camp for Palestinians
Military opposed to Gaza ‘humanitarian city’ plan, which a former Israeli PM has likened to a concentration camp
(The Guardian) A feud has broken between the Israeli government and the military over the cost and impact of a planned camp for Palestinians in southern Gaza, as politicians criticised the former prime minister Ehud Olmert for warning that the project would create a “concentration camp” if it goes ahead.
The “humanitarian city” project has become a sticking point in ceasefire talks with Hamas. Israel wants to keep troops stationed across significant parts of Gaza, including the ruins of Rafah city in the south, where the defence minister, Israel Katz, says the camp will be built.
Hamas is pushing for a more comprehensive withdrawal. Husam Badran, a senior member of the group, said the camp plans were a “deliberatively obstructive demand” that would complicate talks, the New York Times reported.
“This would be an isolated city that resembles a ghetto,” he said in a message to the paper. “This is utterly unacceptable and no Palestinian would agree to this.”
Katz revealed last week that he had ordered the army to draw up plans for a camp. It is envisaged that Palestinians would be crammed into an area between the Egyptian border and the Israeli military’s “Morag corridor”, which cuts across the strip.

11 July
Netanyahu flies home without a Gaza peace deal but still keeps Trump onside
Israeli PM manages to avoid breach with US president through high-profile assurances he is seeking end to war
(The Guardian) Several officials suggested during the week that only a single sticking point remained between negotiators in Doha: the extent of a withdrawal by the Israel Defense Forces that would follow the release of some of the hostages being held by Hamas. The White House had pushed back against an initial map that would have left Israel with significant zones of control in Gaza, which Witkoff had compared to a “Smotrich plan”, referring to the hardline Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich. Israel reportedly redrew that map to make it more palatable to the US administration.
But Hamas has said there were other disagreements, including negotiations over whether the Gaza Humanitarian Fund, an Israeli and US-backed logistics group, would be allowed to continue to deliver food to the territory (the UN said on Friday that 798 people had been killed trying to reach GHF sites since its introduction in May) and whether Israel would agree to a permanent truce, which it has said it would not. US mediators sought to bridge the gap by telling Qatari intermediaries they would guarantee the ceasefire’s continuation after 60 days as negotiations continued.

10 July
Netanyahu is playing Trump with his ridiculous Nobel peace prize nomination
Mohamad Bazzi
The problem, of course, is that if Trump truly wants a shot at winning the Nobel prize, he would first need to stop the bloodshed in Gaza
Taken aback by Netanyahu’s gesture, Trump backed off on pressuring the Israeli leader to reach an agreement with Hamas. And Netanyahu wins yet again by playing for time, as he has done since the Hamas attack on southern Israel in October 2023. The prime minister has repeatedly sabotaged negotiations to stay in power. He wants to keep his extremist government coalition intact so he can avoid early parliamentary elections, which his Likud party is likely to lose, and to block an independent investigation into his administration’s security failures that led up to the Hamas attack. But most of all, Netanyahu wants to save himself: he’s clinging to power to avoid a bribery and corruption trial that is rooted in one of his earlier stints as premier.

9 July
Scoop: Secret White House meeting on Gaza raises hopes for ceasefire deal
(Axios) White House envoy Steve Witkoff said Tuesday that three of four areas of disagreement had been resolved in recent days.
That sticking point, sources tell Axios, is the lines to which the Israel Defense Forces would withdraw during the 60-day truce.
… Witkoff told Dermer that a redeployment map that looks like a “Smotrich plan” and includes an ongoing Israeli occupation of large parts of the Gaza Strip is a no-go for the Trump administration. He was referring to Israeli ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is pressing Netanyahu to demand that the IDF remain in large parts of Gaza. …
However, the sources said that as a result of the meeting, Israel later presented a new map that includes a wider IDF withdrawal.
State of play: One source familiar with the issue said that the new map led to significant progress in the talks and raised the chances of a deal significantly.
Gaza truce talks reportedly stall despite second Netanyahu-Trump meeting
(BBC) Negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar on a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal have stalled after three days of indirect talks, a Palestinian official has told the BBC.
The official said key sticking points included how aid would be distributed during the ceasefire and Israeli troop withdrawals.
On Wednesday Donald Trump insisted there was a “very good chance” a deal would be reached either this week or next.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is visiting the US, meanwhile said he wanted a deal, “but not at any price”. Hamas said ongoing talks were “tough” because of Israel’s “intransigence”.
The choreography of meetings between Trump and Netanyahu has given the impression that the momentum towards a ceasefire deal in Gaza is growing.
On Wednesday Hamas said it had agreed to release 10 hostages as part of a deal. It said several issues, such as the flow of aid, withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and guarantees for a permanent ceasefire were still being negotiated.
Meanwhile Netanyahu said he and Trump both wanted to end Hamas rule in Gaza.
… According to the official, the impasse is due to the Israeli delegation’s refusal to allow the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza through UN agencies and other international organisations.

7 July
Trump and Netanyahu Meet Amid Gaza Cease-Fire Negotiations
The two confronted an array of high-stakes Middle East issues. But first they took a victory lap, including the Israeli leader telling President Trump he had nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize.
(NYT) The Israeli prime minister plans to stay in Washington through Thursday and has meetings planned with Vice President JD Vance, Speaker Mike Johnson and Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary.
He has an array of daunting issues before him during his trip. Mr. Trump has expressed urgency to secure an Israel-Hamas cease-fire and hostage release deal, the subject of talks underway in Qatar.
Trump and Netanyahu take a victory lap to mark strikes on Iran nuclear facilities
But as Netanyahu arrived at the White House for his third visit this year, the outwardly triumphant visit is dogged by Israel’s 21-month war against Hamas in Gaza and questions over how hard Trump will push for an end to the conflict.
(AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Donald Trump that he was nominating the U.S. leader for a Nobel Peace Prize as the two took a victory lap on Monday after their recent joint strikes on Iran ‘s nuclear facilities, with both hailing the 12-day war as an unmitigated success.
The two leaders sat down with their top aides…to mark the operation and discuss efforts to push forward with a 60-day ceasefire proposal to pause the conflict in Gaza.
“He’s forging peace as we speak, and one country and one region after the other,” Netanyahu said as he presented Trump with a nominating letter he said he is sending the Nobel committee.
Netanyahu presents Trump with letter nominating him for Nobel Peace Prize

6 July
What’s in Trump’s ceasefire proposal and can it end Israel’s war on Gaza?
Discussions over a ceasefire are intensifying as Israel kills more Palestinians, sowing doubts that a deal can happen.
(Al Jazeera) United States President Donald Trump said last week that Israel agreed to the conditions for a 60-day ceasefire, and negotiators could meet to carve out a path to finally ending Israel’s nearly 21-month-long war on Gaza.
Hamas said it delivered a “positive response” to mediators, with amendments, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Palestinian group’s asks “unacceptable” but sent negotiators to the Qatari capital, Doha, for talks nonetheless.

3 July
Hamas Has a New Leader in Gaza. His Next Test: Cease-Fire Talks.
The rise of Izz al-Din al-Haddad in the chain of command suggests the group will hold firm to its position demanding a total end to the war before releasing all remaining hostages.
As the United States presses for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, the militant group’s decision will largely hinge on its new de facto leader in Gaza.
The commander, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, took over the military wing in Gaza after Israeli forces killed Muhammad Sinwar, according to a senior Middle Eastern intelligence official and three Israeli defense officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to divulge sensitive details. On Thursday, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, the Israeli military’s spokesman, said that Mr. al-Haddad was Hamas’s new leader.
Mr. al-Haddad, who is in his mid-50s, helped plan the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, the officials said.
He is believed to be in firm opposition to Israeli efforts to dislodge Hamas from power, suggesting that he could block any push to release all remaining hostages before a total end to the war in Gaza and a withdrawal of Israeli troops.

2 July
Trump claims Israel ready for Gaza peace deal in bid to boost Hamas ceasefire talks
Muted reaction in Israel to statement, as US president urges Hamas to accept deal ‘because it will not get better’
(The Guardian) It is unclear what conditions specifically Israel has agreed to. Trump’s previous claims that Israel was ready to end the war, including a ceasefire negotiated before his inauguration in January, have quickly broken down as both sides have accused the other of violating agreements on prisoner exchanges.
Hamas said on Wednesday that it was reviewing Trump’s proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, while Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that any peace agreement would banish Hamas from the Gaza Strip permanently.
Possible ceasefire underscores schisms within Israeli politics
(Al Jazeera) Netanyahu was speaking earlier today, saying that there won’t be a Hamas, that those days are over and Hamas rule in Gaza is going to come to an end. But it’s still unclear exactly what is in this proposal that Trump has been talking about.
Previously, the Israelis have said, since March in fact, that they agreed to the so-called Witkoff proposal that was brought forward by US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff in an effort to extend phase one of the previous deal rather than moving forward to a second phase that would see negotiations for an end of the war.
Now there are Israelis across the political aisle who are reacting to this today. The opposition is saying that they would offer Netanyahu a political safety net if he were to enter a deal and his right-wing ministers threatened to leave the government, ending the government and collapsing his coalition.

30 June
Israel’s Netanyahu to visit Washington next Monday as Trump presses for ceasefire in Gaza
(AP/PBS Newshour) Netanyahu’s visit comes after Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer’s visit to Washington this week for talks with senior administration officials on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran and other matters.
The president in public comments has signaled he’s turning his attention to bringing a close to the fighting between Israel and Hamas, since the ceasefire to end 12 days of fighting between Israel and Iran took hold a week ago.
Trump on Friday told reporters, “We think within the next week we’re going to get a ceasefire” in Gaza, but didn’t offer any further explanation for his optimism.
Israel pounds Gaza, killing at least 58, ahead of White House talks on ceasefire
(Alarabiya) Israeli strikes killed at least 58 people across Gaza on Monday as residents in the enclave’s north reported one of the heaviest bombardments in weeks, while Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by the Trump administration.
… Palestinian and Egyptian sources with knowledge of the latest ceasefire efforts said that mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up their contacts with the two warring sides, but that no date has been set yet for a new round of truce talks.
A Hamas official said that progress depends on Israel changing its position and agreeing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza. Israel says it can end the war only when Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. …
‘Lessons learned’: Israel acknowledges Palestinian civilians harmed at Gaza aid sites
The Israeli military acknowledged on Monday that Palestinian civilians were harmed at aid distribution centers in the Gaza Strip, saying that new instructions had been issued to Israeli forces following “lessons learned.”
Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume, the United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed while seeking handouts of aid.
“Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned,” the Israeli military said in a statement. …
A senior UN official said on Sunday that the majority of people killed were trying to reach aid distribution sites of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

26 June
Israelis love Trump. But some are unnerved by his vow to save Netanyahu from his corruption trial
(AP) — President Donald Trump’s call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial to be thrown out has plunged the American leader into one of Israel’s most heated debates, unnerving some in its political class just days after they unanimously praised his strikes on Iran.
Trump’s social media post condemning the trial as a “WITCH HUNT,” and his vow that the United States will be the one who “saves” Netanyahu from serious corruption charges, came just two days after he called off an Israeli bombing raid in Iran to preserve a ceasefire.
Both were dramatic interventions in the affairs of an ally that previous U.S. administrations had always insisted was a sovereign nation that made its own decisions. Now the one leader nearly all Israelis seem to support has fully embraced the one who most divides them.

25 June
A whirlwind 48 hours: How Trump’s Israel-Iran ceasefire agreement came together
(AP) Trump, as he worked to seal the deal, publicly harangued the Israelis and Iranians with a level of pique that’s notable even for a commander in chief who isn’t shy about letting the world know what he thinks.
Netanyahu is less than enthusiastic about Trump’s message
The agreement began taking shape early Sunday morning, soon after the U.S. military carried out blistering strikes on Iranian nuclear sites that U.S. defense officials said have set back Tehran’s nuclear program.
Trump directed his team to get Netanyahu on the phone.
The president told Netanyahu not to expect further U.S. offensive military action, according to a senior White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly about the sensitive diplomatic talks.