Today is the 268th day of war
Saudi Arabia Asks Its Citizens to Leave Lebanon
Saudi Arabia has asked its citizens to leave Lebanon as fears grow of an escalation of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. This is what the Saudi state agency Spa reports, reported by Al Jazeera. The Saudi embassy in Beirut urged its citizens to leave Lebanon “immediately”, the agency added.
Israeli Minister Katz, referring to Iran: “A regime that threatens our destruction deserves to be destroyed”
“Iran today threatens to destroy Israel if Israel responds fully to Hezbollah’s attacks from Lebanon. My response to Iran is clear: 1) If Hezbollah does not cease fire and withdraw from southern Lebanon, we will act with full force until security is restored and residents can return to their homes; 2) A regime that threatens destruction deserves to be destroyed.” This is what Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz writes in a post on X.
Noa Argamani, one of the 4 hostages freed on June 8, intervened with a video message at the demonstrations in Tel Aviv: “Don’t forget the hostages still in Gaza”
Young Noa Argamani, one of the four hostages freed on June 8, broke her silence with a video broadcast in Tel Aviv during protests by relatives of the hostages against the Netanyahu government. “Even though they are at home, we cannot forget those who are still in Gaza.” Argamani was rescued with three other hostages, after eight months of captivity in the Gaza Strip, in a daylight operation conducted by the Israeli army in the Nuiserat refugee camp in central Gaza, where they were being held. “My main concern during my captivity were my parents,” the young woman added, referring to the delicate situation of her mother, who is terminally ill with cancer. “It is a great privilege to be next to my mother after eight months of uncertainty,” she said in the video broadcast in what is now known as “Hostage Square” in Tel Aviv, the starting point of the weekly protests against the government and for the release of the hostages. The case of Noa Argamani has been one of the most publicized since video of the moment militants kidnapped her and took her by motorbike to the Gaza Strip on October 7 went viral on social media. Today, families of the hostages again protested outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding that the Israeli government reach an agreement with Hamas to free their loved ones. Hundreds of protesters also blocked traffic at the Amiad junction in the Upper Galilee as part of the weekly anti-government protests that take place across Israel demanding early elections.
The police against protesters in Jerusalem (RaiNews Widget Item)
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv, where the largest anti-government demonstration in recent weeks took place. Thousands more are marching in Haifa and rallying in Jerusalem, as well as in the southern cities of Beersheba and Mitzpe Ramon. Separately, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents relatives of some of the 252 people allegedly held hostage in Gaza, is holding its weekly rally in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.
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The Biden administration has presented a new formula of the draft agreement for the truce and the release of hostages
The Biden administration has recently unveiled a new wording for parts of the draft truce and hostage release agreement in an attempt to bridge differences between Israel and Hamas and reach an agreement, journalist Barak Ravid reported on Axios, citing three sources describing the new American attempt to advance the three-phase agreement proposal approved by the war cabinet and presented last month by Joe Biden. According to the sources, the new attempt by US mediators, along with those of Qatar and Egypt, is related to Article 8 of the proposal, which focuses on negotiations that should begin between Israel and Hamas during the implementation of the first phase to reach the second that should lead to a “sustainable calm” in Gaza. Hamas wants these negotiations to focus only on the number and identity of Palestinian prisoners who will be released in exchange for every living soldier or male hostage of Hamas. Israel, for its part, wants to be able to address the demilitarization of Gaza and other issues in these negotiations. Now the Americans have reportedly worded Article 8 differently in the hope of finding an agreement between the parties. “The United States is working hard to find a formula that will allow us to reach an agreement,” explains one of Axios’ sources, while another claims that if Hamas accepts it, “this will allow us to close the agreement.”
