Israel estimates Houthis only have ‘few dozen’ ballistic missiles left; PM Netanyahu praises ‘forceful’ US strikes in Yemen – All Israel News Source Link
Israel Issues Evacuation Order for Southern Gaza– www.nytimes.com Source Link Excerpt:
The Israeli military issued a sweeping evacuation order for the southern Gaza Strip on Monday, signaling that it could relaunch intensive assaults in the area.
The order — which came during the Eid al-Fitr holiday — heralded renewed hardship for Palestinians in the southernmost city of Rafah, which has been battered by the war between Israel and Hamas, and has endured periods of being overwhelmed with displaced people and depopulated by evacuation orders. The war restarted two weeks ago after a monthslong cease-fire collapsed.
In the past, the Israeli military has ordered evacuations ahead of both aerial attacks and ground maneuvers that it has said were targeting Hamas.
Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman, on Monday posted a map of the affected areas on his social media accounts, including Rafah and parts of neighboring Khan Younis. He said Palestinians must relocate to shelters in a costal region to the north.
Hamas slams Israel’s ‘colonial’ road project meant to split West Bank, isolate East Jerusalem – The Cradle Source Link
Excerpt:
Hamas has strongly condemned Israel’s approval of a new road project connecting Jerusalem to the Ma’ale Adumim settlement in the occupied West Bank, calling it a colonial effort to expand illegal settlements and displace Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem.
In a statement issued on 30 March, the Palestinian resistance group described the Israeli cabinet’s decision as part of a broader plan to isolate Palestinian towns and dismantle hopes for a viable Palestinian state.
“These colonial plans will ultimately be shattered by the steadfastness of the Palestinian people,” the statement read, urging Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem to escalate resistance and confront the occupation.
“The continued implementation of settlement projects in occupied Jerusalem reveals the occupation’s malicious intent to expand settlements and push for the displacement of Palestinians from the holy city.”
The Israeli Security Cabinet on Saturday approved the final phase of the so-called “Fabric of Life Road,” also known as the “Texture of Life Axis.” The project, long delayed, will create a new route allowing Palestinian vehicles to travel between the northern and southern West Bank without passing through Israeli checkpoints or Route 1 — the main highway connecting Jerusalem to Ma’ale Adumim. That road will now be reserved exclusively for Israeli traffic.
Crowd At Anti-Hegseth Town Hall In Deep Red District Reeks Of Astroturf– www.newsbusters.org Source Link Excerpt:
Sunday’s edition of MSNBC’s The Weekend featured a clip from a town hall in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District. In November, Trump and Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz carried the district handily: by 16 and 18 points, respectively.
Yet the crowd overwhelmingly and raucously cheered the suggestion that the congresswoman should demand Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s resignation, given the Signal chat that mistakenly included a journalist.
Co-host Symone Sanders claimed the cheering people were district “constituents,” and co-host Michael Steele took it a step further, saying they were Republicans. The show provided no evidence to support either statement. Did MSNBC make any effort to confirm the residence or registration of the crowd members?
Hypocrisy-proof Steele concluded the segment by saying:
“This sets up additional narratives, I think, for voters as well as journalists to dig a little bit deeper and find out a little bit more.”
Stephen A. Smith goes scorched Earth on media’s SignalGate obsession: “Were y’all talking about 13 lives lost in Afghanistan?”– www.louderwithcrowder.com Source Link Excerpt:
Stephen A. Smith won’t change the way he votes any more than Bill Maher or Jon Stewart will. It’s still entertaining and valuable when he calls out the left and the media (but I repeat myself) to a mainstream audience that wouldn’t typically hear such things. Like with SignalGate. And how the people calling for Pete Hegseth to be fired weren’t this outraged when the People Who Controlled Joe Biden Adminstration’s incompetence led to thirteen service members being killed during the Afghanistan withdrawal.
To recap SignalGate, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, or someone working for him, “accidentally” invited anti-Trump jorunalismer Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat about the Houthis being taken out. And because of Waltz’s f*ck up… the media and the left (but I repeat myself) still butthurt they couldn’t collect Hegseth’s scalp are demanding HE resign.
To be clear: Waltz SHOULD resign. This was a colossal f*ck up.
Stephen A., who is no fan of the Defense Secretary, thinks Afghanistan was worse.
We operate in a biased and partisan industry. Sometimes we can be unfair to the left, the media, and the People Who Controlled Joe Biden administration. I get that. It’s one thing for us to blame the previous team for Afghanistan. So here are the families of the servicemembers who lost their lives during the incompetent withdrawal blaming them.
The left and the media (but I repeat myself) weren’t upset about this. They didn’t call for anyone to be held accountable. Yet because a reporter was added to a group chat by the National Security Advisor, the Defense Secretary needs to either resign or be fired.
The ridiculous defenses—ranging from lies about the contents of the messages to conspiracy theories about how the reporter got added to the conversation in the first place—are even rankling some Trump administration allies, who told Politico that President Donald Trump and his team need to own up to the error, fire those involved, and end the controversy.
But that message has clearly not been heard by congressional Republicans, who are still defending the monumental fuck-up that risked U.S. troops who were carrying out an attack on a rebel group in Yemen—even as more details emerge confirming that classified information was shared on an insecure platform.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said that he stands by the Trump administration officials who were involved—including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who shared in the chat the exact timing of the forthcoming attack and the weapons systems that would be used.
“President Trump and his team have admitted that having a journalist in the group text was wrong, will be reviewed and falls in the category of ‘lessons learned’ so that it doesn’t happen again. I think President Trump has handled this matter well. Further, I believe that all the participants in the chat were under the impression they were using an appropriate and secure form of communication. This will also fall into the category of ‘lessons learned,’” Graham said in a statement.
As the statistics reflect, Israel’s war didn’t turn out to be just a war against Hamas, but expanded to the entire civilian population and its critical infrastructure.
To address this crisis of colossal magnitude, two critical steps need to be taken. First, we must immediately provide a comprehensive and thorough humanitarian plan that alleviates the suffering of Palestinians and restore life back to Gaza through early recovery programs and reconstruction.
Second, it is imperative that we offer a political roadmap that brings decisive closure to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict once and for all culminating in an independent Palestinian state and ensure that this latest horrific round of violence becomes the final one. Let me address both steps.
Israel says it has launched new ground operation in Gaza – Reuters Source Link Excerpt:
The Israeli military said on Wednesday its forces resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip, as a second day of airstrikes killed at least 48 Palestinians, according to local health workers.
The renewed ground operations came a day after more than 400 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023, shattering a ceasefire that has largely held since January.
Strikes hit Houthi stronghold in Yemen’s Sanaa, residents say – The Times of Israel Source Link Excerpt:
Houthi media reports multiple US strikes in rebel-held areas around Yemen including the capital Sanaa, as the US military says its campaign against the Iran-backed rebels is ongoing.
According to the Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV, “an American attack targeted the capital Sanaa… and the area of the town of Saada” in the north, later adding that strikes also hit the district of Al-Sawadiya, southeast of Sana
Thousands of Palestinians are once again fleeing towns in northern Gaza. They’re travelling, mostly by foot, to areas in the south like Khan Younis, after deadly Israeli strikes and evacuation warnings spread fears of further attacks.
UN Security Council discusses Israeli attack in Gaza – NHK WORLD Source Link Excerpt:
Members of the United Nations Security Council discussed the airstrikes that Israel carried out in Gaza on Tuesday. Many called for the ceasefire to be reestablished. However, the United States pushed back on the idea.
Health authorities in Gaza say the attacks killed at least 404 people. The Palestinian Permanent Observer to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said, “Palestinians are being killed indiscriminately, are being denied humanitarian aid indiscriminately, are being maimed and detained indiscriminately.”
Envoys from the UK, France and Russia joined Mansour in urging an immediate end to the fighting.
But the acting US Ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea, blamed the attacks on Hamas. She said, “It is well known that Hamas continues to use civilian infrastructure as launching pads, and the United States condemns this practice, as should others.”
Entire Families Wiped Out as Israel Resumes Genocidal Assault on Gaza – Common Dreams Source Link Excerpt:
Once again, entire families are being wiped out by Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip after U.S. President Donald Trumpreportedly gave the green light for the key American ally to resume its assault on the Palestinian enclave.
Israel unilaterally abrogated the crumbling eight-week cease-fire early Tuesday, unleashing a wave of ferocious strikes on the already flattened Gaza Strip, killing at least 404 people—including 174 children, 89 women, and 32 elders—and wounding at least 562 others, with the death toll expected to rise, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman killed in Gaza strikes– www.yahoo.com Source Link Excerpt:
The spokesman for the militant organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) was killed in a massive Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the group said.
Naji Abu Saif, also known as Abu Hamsa, was killed during an “attack on his family and his brother’s family,” PIJ said.
The group is allied with Hamas, another Palestinian extremist group. Both organizations were involved in the October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel that triggered the latest Gaza war.
Both are said to be backed by Iran.
Palestinians search for their belongings among the rubble of their destroyed homes, following the Israeli airstrikes on Khan Yunis. Israel launched a series of airstrikes against the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday after efforts to extend the ceasefire failed. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
Hamas Says Head Of Its Government In Gaza Killed In Israeli Strike– www.ndtv.com Source Link Excerpt:
Gaza City: Hamas on Tuesday named the head of its government in the Gaza Strip, Essam al-Dalis, among a list of officials it said were killed in a wave of Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory.
“These leaders, along with their families, were martyred after being directly targeted by the Zionist occupation forces’ aircraft,” said the Hamas statement, which also named interior ministry head Mahmud Abu Watfa and Bahjat Abu Sultan, director-general of the internal security service, among those killed.
Dalis, who was a member of Hamas’s political bureau in Gaza, was elected to the movement’s Gaza leadership in March 2021 and became the head of its administration in June of that year.
In November 2023, Israel claimed to have bombed a Hamas structure in which Dalis was present with other leaders who were killed.
Turkey Condemns Israel’s Strikes On Gaza– www.ndtv.com Source Link Excerpt:
Istanbul: Turkey on Tuesday denounced Israel’s deadly strikes in Gaza as “a new phase” in its “genocide policy”, saying the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defied humanity through its breach of international law.
“The massacre of hundreds of Palestinians in Israel’s attacks on Gaza… demonstrates that the Netanyahu government’s genocide policy has entered a new phase,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Israel launched its most intense strikes overnight since a ceasefire took effect on January 19, with the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory reporting more than 330 people killed.
Hundreds killed as Israel launches air strikes across Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News– www.aljazeera.com Source Link Excerpt:
Israel has launched a wave of air attacks across the Gaza Strip, shattering the agreed ceasefire, which, although shaky, had been in place since January.
The air raids in the early hours of Tuesday killed more than 320 people, including many women and children.
The surprise bombardment shattered a period of relative calm during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and raised the prospect of a full return to fighting in a 17-month war that has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians and caused widespread destruction across Gaza.
Rubio and Saudi Arabia’s MBS discuss Gaza reconstruction in Riyadh – The Times of Israel Source Link Excerpt:
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the “reconstruction of Gaza” during their meeting in Riyadh earlier today, the State Department says in its readout.
Rubio thanked the Saudi leader for “hosting Arab countries,” the State Department says in an apparent reference to the summit Riyadh hosted for Arab leaders last month to prepare for another confab held in Cairo last week, where Egypt unveiled its plan for the post-war management of Gaza.
The Trump administration has called the plan a good start, while indicating that it doesn’t sufficiently address Hamas’s role, which Washington wants to be non-existent.
Rubio “reiterated [to MBS] the United States’ firm commitment that any solution to the situation in Gaza must not include any role for Hamas,” the US readout adds.
News24 | Hamas pushes for phase two of Gaza truce talks– www.news24.com Source Link Excerpt:
Hamas reiterated on Sunday its insistence on moving directly into negotiating a second phase of the Gaza truce, as Israel announced it would dispatch a delegation to Doha for further talks.
Representatives of the Palestinian militant group met with mediators in Cairo at the weekend, emphasising the need for humanitarian aid to re-enter the besieged territory “without restrictions or conditions”, according to a Hamas press release.
The high-level delegation also stressed the need for “moving directly to begin negotiations for the second phase” of the deal, which will aim to lay the groundwork for a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas says continued closure of Gaza crossings a ‘war crime’ requiring international intervention – Yeni Şafak English Source Link Excerpt:
Hamas on Friday condemned Israel’s continued closure of Gaza’s border crossings calling it an “extension of the ongoing genocide” against Palestinians in the besieged enclave and a “war crime” that necessitates international intervention.
“Tightening the siege on Gaza, closing the crossings for the sixth day in a row, and preventing the entry of humanitarian aid are forms of the genocide that has not ceased against our people,” said Hamas spokesperson Abdul Latif al-Qanou in a statement.
He added: “Israel’s policies of starvation and collective punishment are a blatant violation of international and humanitarian laws, and a war crime that the world must stop and hold its perpetrators accountable.”
Qanou renewed calls for the international community and human rights organizations to “compel the Israeli occupation to open the crossings, allow humanitarian and medical aid into Gaza, and end the suffering of Palestinians in the Strip.”