- Sources tell Al Jazeera Hamas has agreed to a Gaza ceasefire proposal by the United States. However, a US official denies any deal is done.
- The draft of the agreement includes a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 living captives along with the bodies of several more people in return for Palestinian prisoners over two stages, they said. Five Israeli captives will be released at the beginning, with the other five freed on the 60th day.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 53,977 Palestinians and wounded 122,966, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The Government Media Office updated its death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
- An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023 and more than 200 taken captive.
Trump looks at Netanyahu and sees a loser’
Israeli political commentator Ori Goldberg says Trump is likely to abandon Netanyahu because of his ineffectiveness at dismantling Hamas as the Israeli prime minister has long promised.
“I think Trump looks at Netanyahu and sees a loser because he has not managed to accomplish not a single goal he’s set out to do. And if there’s one thing Trump doesn’t like, it’s losers around him,” Goldberg told Al Jazeera.
“Trump has made it clear he’s operating at a distance from Netanyahu, and I believe that is enough pressure for Netanyahu to ultimately buckle.”
Growing boycotts of Israeli scholars and by investors as well as talk of potential sporting bans have begun to hit home with the public, he added.
“I think now Israelis are starting to understand that this is actually happening – and so is Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Qassam Brigades targets tanks, Israeli soldiers in Gaza City
The armed wing of Hamas says its fighters attacked four Israeli soldiers with several rocket-propelled grenades in the Shujayea neighbourhood, in eastern Gaza City.
The ambush occurred on al-Muntar Street with no causalities reported.
Qassam Brigades fighters targeted Israeli several Merkava tanks with Yassin-105 rockets in different parts of Shujayea, it said in a statement.
Israeli nationalists chant, ‘May your village burn,’ during march
There are tens of thousands of Israelis who began this march at Damascus Gate, going through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem and ultimately ending up at the Western Wall.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir spoke. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is speaking.
But this is a march known for its incitement and its violence against Palestinians in the area. There were a lot of videos that surfaced of settlers yelling, “Death to Arabs” and “May your village burn,” harassing people walking by and trying to force their way into homes and shops that were largely closed because of the march.
Now, the march is not over. They’re all at the Western Wall. But this day is, essentially, this Israeli group celebrating the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem.
Israelis and Americans want Hamas to undergo ‘execution’
Tamer Qarmout, a professor from the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says the Israelis want to see “a humiliating surrender” by Hamas.
The group that governs Gaza is under “huge pressure” with Palestinians suffering terribly with the aid blockade and relentless attacks, he noted.
“Hamas at the same time wants a dignified exit, not a dignified suicide, and this is what makes it so complicated,” Qarmout said of truce negotiations.
The Israelis and Americans want Hamas to undergo a “death execution and I don’t see the logic behind it”, he told Al Jazeera.
“The Israelis see this as a golden opportunity to finish this genocide, to cleanse the people, and finish the headache they call Gaza.”
On a possible ceasefire, Qarmout added: “In my opinion, if there’s anything serious to happen, it has to come from the Americans. If the Americans realise Netanyahu is a loser … then I think you’ll see an immediate change by the Israeli government.”
UK surgeon in Gaza says she’s ‘never seen so many blast injuries’
A British surgeon visiting a Gaza hospital says she’s “never seen so many blast injuries in my life” as Israel ramps up attacks on the Palestinian territory ravaged by nearly 20 months of war.
Victoria Rose, part of a British medical delegation to Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, said she’s seen lots of severe burns, which are typical wounds for people hit by an explosion.
“We’re seeing these injuries in really small children as well,” Rose said.
Burns “are very difficult to survive from even in the Western countries where there is no war and we have functioning hospitals and all the medical supplies at our fingertips”.
“So here, most of these burns are going to be unsurvivable.”
US rights group says Trump must do more to pressure Israel
The US-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has condemned recent Israeli strikes on a shelter for displaced people in Gaza, saying the US must do more to push its ally to accept a permanent ceasefire.
“How many more children, women, the elderly, journalists, health care workers, and first responders must Benjamin Netanyahu slaughter with American weapons before [US] President [Donald] Trump forces him to accept a permanent ceasefire deal that ends the genocide for good and frees all captives?” asked Nihad Awad, CAIR’s national executive director, in a statement.
“Every hour that Israel’s genocidal crimes continue with impunity – and with our government’s complicity – adds more dishonour to a shameful period in the history of our nation and the world.”
Inside Project Esther’s plan to silence pro-Palestinian activism
The US government’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism looks similar to a conservative proposal to target universities and international students it claims are part of a “terrorist support network”.
European Council urges lifting of Gaza blockade in call with Abbas
In a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, European Council head Antonio Costa reiterated his “grave concerns regarding the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the escalating violence in the West Bank”.
Costa said he also expressed “full support for the UN Secretary-General’s five-stage aid plan for Gaza”.
He called on “Israel to lift its blockade and allow immediate, safe, and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid and assistance, in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles”.
The UN’s five-stage plan consists of ensuring the delivery of aid to Gaza, inspecting and scanning aid at crossing points, transporting aid from crossing points to humanitarian facilities, preparing aid for onward distribution, and transporting aid to people in need.
The European Council is the European Union institution that represents the EU’s member states.
UN expresses alarm over Israeli law allowing life sentences for 12-year-olds
Independent experts with the United Nations Human Rights Council say an Israeli law allowing children as young as 12 to be sentenced to life in prison could violate the Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international agreement Israel ratified in October 1991.
“UN experts express alarm at two new Israeli terrorism laws that permit life imprisonment for 12-year-olds and arbitrary suspension of child welfare payments, violating the human rights of Palestinian children,” they said in a social media post.
The group of legal experts said the Knesset passed an amendment to an existing law in November 2024 allowing courts to sentence children as young as 12 to life in prison “if convicted of murder or attempted murder classified as a ‘terror act’” or if “the act was performed as part of the operations of a terrorist organization and aimed at advancing its objectives”.
Israeli military law in the occupied West Bank already permits Israeli authorities to imprison Palestinian children as young as 12 years old, the experts noted.
Israeli peace activist forced to wear clothing with pro-Israel slogan
Israeli human rights activist Itamar Greenberg, who previously spent half a year in jail for refusing to serve in the military, says prison guards have forced him to wear clothing with a pro-Israel slogan after he was detained at an antigenocide protest.
“Yesterday I was arrested with great violence at a demonstration against the genocide in Gaza,” he said.
“This morning, while waiting for a court hearing, the Israeli prison guards took a sweater painted ‘Am Yisrael Chai!’ [The Jewish Nation Lives] and the Israeli flag on it, forced me to wear it, took a picture of me and told me that the next time I was arrested, they would tattoo a Star of David on my face. We will continue to rise up for life, justice and equality.”
Hamas slams Ben-Gvir’s ‘blatant incursion’ into Al-Aqsa Mosque compound
The Palestinian group’s statement comes after Israeli national security minister and other members of the government and Knesset who led a large group of settlers stormed the holy site.
Hamas said on Telegram their performance of rituals at the third holiest site in Islam is “a blatant violation of the sanctity and status of Al-Aqsa Mosque”.
“We affirm that our Palestinian people will continue to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque and will not allow the implementation of partition or Judaisation plans.”
According to the status quo at the site dating back to 1967, the Israeli government allows the Jordanian-appointed Waqf body to maintain day-to-day control of the area, and only Muslims are permitted to pray there. Israeli police, however, control access.
Israeli group says members tried to stop attacks on Jerusalem Day
The Israeli group Standing Together, which describes itself as an organisation working to promote equality between Jews and Palestinians, says its members have taken part in actions to shield Palestinians from assault by Israeli ultranationalists during “Jerusalem Day”.
“Since this morning, dozens of activists in our Humanitarian Guard mobilised to protect Palestinians in the city from racist attacks,” the group said in a social media post.
“We are not only standing up against the people carrying out these attacks – we are fighting against our extremist government that supports and encourages it.”
Sweden: EU should impose sanctions on Israel over Gaza blockade
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says Sweden will summon the Israeli ambassador to protest Israel’s refusal to freely allow aid into war-battered Gaza.
“We do not support what the Israeli government is currently doing by denying access to Gaza. Absolutely not,” he said, according to the TT news agency.
Kristersson said the EU should impose sanctions and exert diplomatic pressure on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“We have been incredibly clear about that, ourselves and together with many other European countries. That pressure is now increasing, no doubt, and for very good reasons.”
UN: Israeli police fail to protect compound stormed on ‘Jerusalem Day’
Roland Friedrich, director of UNRWA affairs for the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, says the storming of a UN compound by Israeli nationalists is a violation of Israel’s obligations as a member of the UN.
“The group brought flags and erected banners, seeking to claim the compound for the establishment of a new Israeli neighbourhood. Israeli police, alerted to the scene, failed to protect the inviolability of the UN premises,” Friedrich said in a social media post.
“Following months of aggravated harassment directed towards the site and the entry into force of two anti-UNRWA Knesset laws in January 2025, UNRWA was forced to vacate the compound and withdraw under protest all its international staff.”
He added: “This unauthorised entry represents another violation of Israel’s obligations as a UN member state to protect UN premises and facilitate humanitarian work. UNRWA condemns today’s illegal provocation.”
Israeli PM expresses optimism on captives in Gaza
Netanyahu says in a recorded message on social media that he “hoped very much” he would be able to deliver developments on the subject of Israel’s fight against Hamas and releasing the captives held in Gaza “today and, if not today, then we will tomorrow”.
The announcement comes after sources told Al Jazeera that Hamas has agreed to a proposal by US special envoy Steve Witkoff for a ceasefire in Gaza.
However, a US official later said Witkoff is unaware of such an agreement.
Do Merz’s Israel comments represent a significant policy change for Germany?
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was speaking at an event here in Berlin and was asked about the situation in the Middle East.
He said he could no longer understand what Israel’s goal in Gaza is, given what the army there is doing now, affecting the civilian population to such an extent can no longer be justified as a fight against “Hamas terrorism”.
He also said Germany has a responsibility to be more cautious about the advice it gives in public to Israel than any other country, but he also said that when international humanitarian law is simply being violated, then Germany must speak up about it.
Merz added he is going to be speaking to Netanyahu in the course of this week and that in that conversation, he will tell him what he has said in public today.
So does it represent a significant policy change? That’s a question that many people in Berlin are posing, because there have been prominent voices from other political parties – and some indeed from inside Merz’s party – who are expressing deep concern about what Israel has been doing.
But contrast those sentiments with those of German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who in Madrid today said Germany will not be stopping arms exports to Israel because – according to this and previous German governments – of the principle of “Staatsraison” – that Israel has the right to exist and as a consequence Germany must provide arms to a certain extent.
So certainly, the sort of language that Merz is using was never used by his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, but backstopping all of that is also what the foreign minister has been saying, which hasn’t weakened the previous government’s perspective in regards to arms exports.
‘Situation in Gaza is unacceptable’: Germany
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says Israel has the right to defend itself but the humanitarian aid blockade situation in Gaza “must be urgently improved”.
“This requires an immediate ceasefire – and clear steps towards a two-state solution,” he added.
German officials have increasingly stressed the need for Israel to adhere to international law in its war on Gaza while mostly avoiding outright criticism of its actions in occupied Palestinian territory.
Israeli opposition leader calls East Jerusalem march a ‘festival of hatred’
Yair Lapid says attacks on Palestinian residents and shops in occupied East Jerusalem, a routine occurrence during a march through the Old City on Jerusalem Day by Israeli ultranationalists, are a “disgrace” that some in the government bear responsibility for.
“The festival of hatred and racism, in which Jewish teenagers attack Arab neighbourhoods, has already become a tradition on Jerusalem Day in the Old City,” Lapid said in a social media post.
“It is a disgrace and an insult to Judaism. There is nothing Jewish about this violence. The government ministers who remain silent in the face of these events are complicit in this disgrace.”
Photos: Israeli ultranationalists march in occupied East Jerusalem
What we know so far on Gaza truce proposal
- Sources told Al Jazeera that representatives of Hamas and US special envoy Steve Witkoff have reached a draft ceasefire agreement in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
- However, a US official told Al Jazeera that, according to Witkoff, Hamas has not agreed to a proposal currently on the table, and what he’s seen from the Palestinian group is “disappointing and completely unacceptable”.
- Al Jazeera’s sources said the draft of the deal included a 60-day truce, the release of 10 living captives, and the return of bodies of others in return for Palestinian prisoners over two stages.
- Five Israeli captives would be freed at the start of the agreement, with the other five released on the 60th day, they said.
- An unnamed Israeli official, quoted by Reuters news agency, dismissed the announcement by saying “no responsible government could accept such an agreement”.
Only UNRWA capable of delivering aid to Gaza: Ex-spokesman
Chris Gunness, a former spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), says the usage of the aid distribution model by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is meant “to justify the weaponisation of humanitarian systems” and “to justify ethnic cleansing and genocide”.
Speaking to Al Jazeera after GHF chief Jake Wood’s resignation, Gunness said the focus should be on how to “stop the slaughter” in Gaza.
“The latest pictures I have seen of babies and young children coming out of Gaza, they look like the emaciated survivors of Hitler’s and the Nazis’ death camps that were liberated in 1945,” Gunness said.
“So the question is, will the Europeans and Americans who were so crucially involved in those tragic events in World War II now actually take effective action?” he asked.
“Will they stop the supply of arms, in compliance with the International Court of Justice? Will they stop trading with Israel, in compliance with European and their own legislations on arms on commercial trading with Israel?”
Gunness likened the GHF to a group of “mercenaries”, saying that it is not qualified or experienced to distribute aid in Gaza.
He stressed that the only organisation that is capable of delivering aid is UNRWA.