An Israeli Cabinet minister is promoting the idea of resettling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in foreign countries as a way to ensure Israel’s security along the border once the war with Hamas is over. Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel said in an op-ed in the Jerusalem Post newspaper on Sunday that “voluntary resettlement” was the best way to provide Palestinians from Gaza with a better life. “It could be a win-win solution,” she wrote. Gamliel did not say what her plan would mean for those who chose to remain in Gaza, nor what countries would be open to take them. She did not specify what Israel’s role would be in a future Gaza.
Quick Read
- Israeli Cabinet Minister’s Proposal:
- Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel proposes resettling Palestinians from Gaza in foreign countries post-war.
- Suggests “voluntary resettlement” for a better life, but lacks details on execution and host countries.
- Contrast with U.S. Vision:
- U.S. opposes displacement, advocates for Palestinian-led governance in Gaza and West Bank.
- Gamliel’s view diverges from U.S. stance and Netanyahu’s position on Palestinian Authority’s role in Gaza.
- Previous Resettlement Proposal:
- Gamliel’s ministry previously suggested relocating Gaza’s population to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, which was widely condemned.
- International Reactions:
- Other Israeli lawmakers propose global havens for Gazans seeking relocation.
- Hospital Attack in Gaza:
- Shell hits a hospital in northern Gaza, killing 12 amid heavy Israeli offensive.
- WHO evacuated premature babies from Shifa Hospital; many patients still stranded.
- Cyprus’s Humanitarian Aid Plan:
- Cyprus ready to ship aid to Gaza from Larnaca port, awaiting a pause in fighting for implementation.
- Pakistan’s Prime Minister Condemns Israeli Actions:
- Anwaar-ul-haq Kakar criticizes Israel for killing children in Gaza.
- Japan Responds to Ship Hijacking:
- Japan condemns the hijacking of a Japanese-operated cargo ship by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
- Damage in Northern Israel:
- Video reveals extensive damage in northern Israel following artillery strikes from Lebanon.
- Hostage Families Oppose Death Penalty Bill:
- Israeli hostage families plead against advancing a bill allowing the death penalty for Palestinian militants.
- National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir supports the bill as a pressure tool against Hamas.
The Associated Press has the story:
Israeli Cabinet Minister says Gaza residents should be resettled overseas
Newslooks- TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)
An Israeli Cabinet minister is promoting the idea of resettling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in foreign countries as a way to ensure Israel’s security along the border once the war with Hamas is over.
Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel said in an op-ed in the Jerusalem Post newspaper on Sunday that “voluntary resettlement” was the best way to provide Palestinians from Gaza with a better life. “It could be a win-win solution,” she wrote. Gamliel did not say what her plan would mean for those who chose to remain in Gaza, nor what countries would be open to take them. She did not specify what Israel’s role would be in a future Gaza.
Gamliel’s proposal stands in sharp contrast to the postwar vision for Gaza set forth by Israel’s top ally, the United States, which opposes the idea of displacement. The U.S. calls for a united and Palestinian-led government for Gaza and the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority after the war ends, while Gamliel, echoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, cannot have a foothold in Gaza.
Gamliel’s ministry was behind a wartime proposal last month that suggested transferring the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. While dubbed by Israel as a hypothetical exercise, that idea drew condemnation from the Palestinians, who have painful memories of their people’s mass displacement during the war that led to Israel’s creation. Egypt has made clear throughout this latest war that it does not want to take in a wave of Palestinian refugees.
Gamliel’s op-ed follows a similar proposal made last week by two Israeli lawmakers in the Wall Street Journal, who said countries around the world “should offer a haven for Gaza residents who seek relocation.”
Shell hits Gaza hospital, killing 12, as heavy fighting breaks out
A shell hit the second floor of a hospital in northern Gaza, killing at least 12 people, according to the Hamas-led Health Ministry and a medical worker, as Israeli troops focus on clearing medical facilities where they say Hamas militants take cover.
Heavy fighting broke out around the Indonesian Hospital, which has housed thousands of patients and displaced people for weeks.
The fighting came a day after the World Health Organization evacuated 31 premature babies from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the territory’s largest, where they were among more than 250 critically ill or wounded patients stranded there days after Israeli forces entered the compound.
Israel says Hamas uses civilians and hospitals as shields, while critics say Israel’s siege and relentless aerial bombardment amount to collective punishment of the territory’s 2.3 million Palestinians after Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel.
More than 11,500 Palestinians — two-thirds of them women and minors — have been killed since the war began, according to Palestinian health authorities, who do not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. About 2,700 people are reported missing.
Some 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the Oct. 7 attack, and around 240 were taken captive by militants.
CYPRUS SAYS IT’S READY TO BEGIN AID SHIPMENTS BY BOAT
NICOSIA, Cyprus — The president of Cyprus says his country is ready to begin shipping significant quantities of humanitarian aid to Gaza using shallow-draft vessels able to reach Gazan shores once conditions on the ground allow it.
President Nikos Christodoulides said Cyprus’ initiative for a maritime corridor to Gaza from the Cypriot port of Larnaca, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) away, is the “only one currently being discussed on an international level” as a feasible way to supplement the flow of assistance reaching Gaza’s Palestinian population through Egypt’s Rafa checkpoint.
He said in an interview Monday that planning for the aid link is essentially completed and assistance can begin to flow when a pause in fighting is declared.
Christodoulides, who has been in regular contact with the Israeli government about the plan, said getting a go-ahead for the start of the aid shipments is a complicated matter involving Israeli military operations in Gaza and intricate negotiations over the hostages being held by Hamas.
He said a key Israeli sensitivity about the security of the shipments has been addressed through an invitation to officials from Israel, the U.S. and European countries to join Cypriot agents in vetting all aid earmarked for Gaza so nothing reaches the territory that could be weaponized by Hamas.
PAKISTAN’S LEADER SAYS ISRAEL IS MASSACRING CHILDREN IN GAZA
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-haq Kakar on Monday described the killing of children in Israeli strikes in Gaza as a massacre.
Kakar made the comment in a televised speech on World Children’s Day, which he said made him think of children in Gaza.
“They are being brutalized, mutilated and massacred by the Israeli forces,” Kakar said.
He said professional armies never target civilians, innocent children or women, and only fight against other armies.
“The massacre of innocent children and women in Gaza is a clear violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, human rights, women’s rights,” he said.
Kakar asked the United Nations and the international community to help stop Israeli strikes on children and women in Gaza.
JAPAN CONDEMNS HIJACKING OF CARGO SHIP IN RED SEA
TOKYO — Japan on Monday condemned the hijacking of a Japanese-operated cargo ship in the southern Red Sea and said it is doing its utmost to achieve the release of the vessel and its 25 crew members.
“The government of Japan absolutely condemns such an act,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels seized the Israeli-linked cargo ship and took its crew hostage Sunday, raising fears that regional tensions heightened by the Israel-Hamas war were spilling into the seas. The Iran-backed rebel group said it would continue to target ships connected to Israel.
No Israelis were aboard the Bahamas-flagged ship Galaxy Leader, which was operated by Japan’s NYK Line with crew members from the Philippines, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Mexico and possibly Romania. Public shipping databases associated the ship’s owners with Ray Car Carriers, a company founded by Abraham Ungar, who is known as one of the richest people in Israel.
Ungar told The Associated Press he was aware of the incident but couldn’t comment as he awaited details. A ship linked to him experienced an explosion in 2021 in the Gulf of Oman. Israeli media blamed it on Iran at the time.
Matsuno said Japan is negotiating with Houthi rebels, while also communicating with Israel and cooperating with the governments of Saudi Arabia, Oman and Iran to achieve the release of the ship and its crew.
NYK Line said the Galaxy Leader was seized off the Yemeni coast while heading to India. NYK chartered the ship from its British owner, Galaxy Maritime Ltd.
NYK said the ship had no cargo at the time of the hijacking. It was taken to Yemen’s port city of Hodeida, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.
EXTENSIVE DAMAGE IN NORTHERN ISRAEL AFTER ARTILLERY STRIKES
Video shot Monday in northern Israel shows extensive damage following a claim by the Israeli military that several artillery launches from Lebanon had struck the area.
It comes as the Israel Defense Forces said its artillery struck several locations in Lebanon.
Firefighters were seen in the video shot in Biranit after the artillery strikes set some areas aflame. Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants and their allies have been clashing along the border since the Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7.
While largely contained, clashes have increased in intensity. Most of the Israeli population living in the border villages with Lebanon have been evacuated.
FAMILIES OF HOSTAGES OPPOSE BILL THAT WOULD ALLOW DEATH PENALTY
JERUSALEM — The families of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza have tearfully pleaded with Israeli lawmakers not to advance legislation that would permit the death penalty for convicted Palestinian militants, including those involved in Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on Israel.
The families, who represent some of the 240 people abducted by Hamas and other militants that day, told far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir that the legislation risked angering Hamas and putting the lives of their relatives at risk.
“Not now, when the lives of our loved ones are on the line, when the sword is on their necks,” Gil Dikman, whose cousin is believed to be held hostage in Gaza, said Monday during an emotional hearing at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
The National Security Committee hearing devolved into a screaming match between nationalist lawmakers and hostage families. After the hearing, Ben-Gvir wrote on X, formerly called Twitter, that the legislation is an important tool for increasing pressure on Hamas. “In the Middle East, you don’t blink, you hit your enemy with every tool and bring them to their knees,” he said.
Ophir Katz, the head of the government coalition and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, told reporters that the amendment to the penal code would not come up for a vote until it was vetted by senior Cabinet members and Netanyahu.
