Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Monday urged US President Donald Trump to end the war on Gaza and allow aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave.

"I make a general appeal to all countries of the world, to the European Union, to the United States, to our brothers in the Arab region. We are making every effort during this difficult period to stop the war, bring in aid, and end this crisis," Sisi said in a televised address.

He continued, "I make a special appeal to President Trump, because I personally believe that he, with his capabilities and his standing, is the one capable of stopping the war, bringing in aid, and ending this suffering."

The Egyptian president indicated that his speech came "in response to what is being circulated" and as a reminder of "our positions, which have always been positive."

He stressed that a large number of aid trucks are ready to cross the Rafah crossing, "and we cannot prevent them. Neither our values, the circumstances, nor our national and moral responsibility allow us to do so. But the crossing must be open on the Palestinian side for aid to enter."

Recently, the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza due to the Israeli blockade and US-backed war of extermination has reached unprecedented levels, according to local and international reports. Deaths from malnutrition and dehydration have increased, with the total number of martyrs reaching 147, including 88 children, according to medical sources in the Strip.

Since late May, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been leading a US-Israeli project to control food distribution in the besieged Strip, replacing international organizations that have rejected the project, describing it as a trap for killing civilians and a tool for displacing and humiliating the population.

For his part, the US President said in statements from Scotland today that the situation in Gaza is "very horrific" and that there is "real hunger," promising to open "food centers without barriers."

Since October 2023, the Israeli occupation army has been waging a war of extermination against the population of the Gaza Strip. This war has so far resulted in the martyrdom of approximately 60,000 Palestinians, the injury of more than 145,000, and the displacement of nearly the entire population of the Strip, amidst destruction unprecedented since World War II, according to Palestinian and international reports.

The United Nations conference on a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and the implementation of the two-state solution kicked off today, Monday, in New York, under the auspices of France and Saudi Arabia.

In the opening session, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called for the conference to be a "turning point" for the implementation of the two-state solution, stressing that his country had unleashed unstoppable momentum toward a political solution in the Middle East.

Barrow also called for an end to the war and suffering in the Gaza Strip and the start of a permanent ceasefire, noting that "it is unacceptable for children and women to be targeted while seeking aid" in the besieged enclave.

He stressed that the transition must be made from the end of the war on Gaza to an end to the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

pivotal station

For his part, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud considered the conference a "pivotal milestone" toward activating the two-state solution and ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

He commended French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement of his country's intention to recognize the State of Palestine, stressing that achieving stability in the region begins with granting the Palestinian people their rights.

He also called for an immediate end to the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza caused by Israeli violations, stressing that the Arab Peace Initiative is a comprehensive basis for any just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue.

Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi affirmed during the conference that the State of Qatar seeks to promote the concepts of peace and justice through a culture of dialogue and coexistence, believing that peace narratives must be consistent with the principles of international law and the two-state solution.

He expressed his hope that the conference would contribute to supporting the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.

For his part, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in a speech marking the occasion, considered the two-state solution the only framework rooted in international law, endorsed by the General Assembly, and internationally supported.

He warned that this solution was now "more distant than ever," calling for the conference to be a turning point in ending the Israeli occupation and achieving peace in the region.

He also considered the current conflict in Gaza to be destabilizing for the region and the entire world, and that ending it requires political will. He also condemned the gradual annexation of the occupied West Bank, which he deemed "illegal" and called for its halt.

Postponement of the conference

It's worth noting that the international conference on the two-state solution was scheduled to be held in New York from June 17 to 20 to develop a roadmap leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state. However, the Israeli attack on Iran on June 13 prompted several Middle Eastern delegations to withdraw from attending, leading to its postponement.

According to diplomatic sources, the administration of US President Donald Trump has exerted extensive diplomatic pressure to prevent governments from participating in the conference, sending telegrams urging them not to attend.

The conference comes as Israel, with US support, continues its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. More than 204,000 Palestinians have been killed and wounded, most of them children and women, and over 10,000 are missing. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced, and a famine has claimed the lives of many.

Many view the conference as a last-ditch international attempt to revive the political process toward a two-state solution, given the deadlock in negotiations and the ongoing aggression against Gaza and the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he did not know whether he agreed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's assessment yesterday that there was no famine in Gaza.

"Based on what we've seen on television, I would say absolutely not, because those children look very hungry, and there are a lot of hungry people in Gaza," Trump said, standing alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria, at the Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, repeatedly emphasizing the United States' contribution to aid to Gaza.

"We gave $60 million, and nobody thanked us. Other countries should step up," Trump said, adding that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had promised him that European countries would also contribute.

Trump said he was "trying to feed people now."

It is noteworthy that the total amount provided by the United States so far, according to what was announced by the US State Department.

Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with the allegations of Hamas's "seizure" of aid, saying, "We gave a lot of money to Gaza for food and everything else. Hamas stole a lot of that money from us, and they stole a lot of food."

For their part, Starmer and Trump said they would focus on Gaza during their meeting. Trump confirmed that he would not take a position on Palestinian statehood, but that he would not mind Starmer taking one.

It's worth noting that while both the United States and Israel have repeatedly claimed that Hamas has stolen massive amounts of aid supplies entering Gaza, neither government has provided any evidence to support this claim, according to reports from The New York Times and Reuters.

Reuters reported on Friday that an internal US government analysis found no evidence of Hamas systematically stealing US-funded aid supplies entering Gaza. The analysis was conducted by an office within the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and completed at the end of last June.

The analysis examined 156 incidents of theft or loss of US-funded supplies and found "no reports alleging that Hamas" benefited from the aid. The report also quoted a source familiar with US intelligence assessments as saying he was unaware of any US intelligence reports detailing Hamas's diversion of aid, and that Washington relied on Israeli reports.

A New York Times report published on Saturday (July 26) quoted senior Israeli military officials and other Israelis involved in the case as saying that the Israeli military had never found evidence that Hamas systematically stole UN aid. The Israeli military officials added that the UN aid system was largely effective in providing food to the desperate and starving population of Gaza.

Israel has exploited these false claims to undermine the UN food system in Gaza, establishing the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has set up aid distribution sites run by US security contractors that have become death traps for desperate Palestinians seeking food. Since the GHF began operating in late May, more than 1,100 Palestinian aid seekers have been killed, most of them near its sites.

While Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid, it has armed an ISIS-linked gang led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a criminal who admitted in an interview with The Washington Post last year that his group was looting aid trucks.

Israel also used allegations of Hamas diverting aid to justify the comprehensive blockade it imposed on Gaza in March, which violated the ceasefire agreement reached in January. The blockade was only slightly eased when the Global Humanitarian Relief Fund sites were established, and a limited number of aid trucks were allowed into Gaza in May.

As Palestinians inside Gaza die of starvation daily, international pressure is mounting on Israel to end the blockade and establish a ceasefire in Gaza. However, the United States continues to strongly support Israel despite the mass starvation.

Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem accused Europe and the United States on Monday of contributing to the "spillover" of genocide in Gaza, calling for international action to halt the mass killings and attempts at ethnic cleansing in the besieged enclave.

The organization said in a statement, "Europe and the United States have not acted to stop the genocide in Gaza, but rather have contributed to its spread. The situation there calls for international action to halt the Israeli genocide."

She stressed that the Israeli attack on civilians and defenseless citizens in Gaza "includes mass killing, forced displacement, and attempts at ethnic cleansing, creating catastrophic living conditions."

She also warned that this ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip "will extend and will not be limited to Gaza."

Regarding the situation of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, the organization said that these prisons have become "torture camps for thousands of Palestinians without trial."

It should be noted that since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a genocidal war in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.

The Israeli genocide, with American support, left more than 204,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that claimed the lives of many.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the images of starving children in the Gaza Strip represent a horrific scene that reflects the dire humanitarian conditions facing the Palestinian people in the Strip.

He added that Hamas cannot play any role in any future government in the Palestinian territories, explaining that peace and stability in the region require comprehensive solutions supported by all.

In his statements, Starmer stressed that the international community must act urgently and effectively to mobilize more countries to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, noting that the current situation requires a rapid response to ensure the provision of food and humanitarian aid to those in need.

He pointed out that Britain continues its efforts to work with international partners to alleviate the humanitarian suffering in Gaza.

Seven citizens were killed Monday evening after the occupation forces opened fire and bombed Rafah and Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to local sources, five citizens were killed and dozens of aid-seekers were injured by Israeli forces' fire north of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Two young men were also killed by an Israeli sniper's bullets near Bani Suhaila roundabout, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

It is noteworthy that 41 citizens were killed, including nine people waiting for humanitarian aid, and dozens were injured as a result of the ongoing Israeli occupation bombing of various areas of the Gaza Strip since dawn today.

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation forces have launched an aggression against the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of 59,821 citizens, the majority of whom were children and women, and the injury of 144,851 others. This is a preliminary toll, with a number of victims still under the rubble and on the streets, unable to be reached by ambulance and rescue crews.

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Today, Monday, Israeli occupation forces bulldozed agricultural lands belonging to citizens of Khirbet Masoud, southwest of Jenin, to expand a pastoral settlement outpost.

The head of the village council in Zabad, Saleh Amarneh, explained that the occupation bulldozers began this morning to level lands and olive trees owned by citizens of Zabad and Khirbet Masoud. The occupation army placed orange markers on the lands planted with olive trees, whose owners have ownership papers and a special title deed for them.

He added that the bulldozing is intended to serve and expand the pastoral colonial outpost established on the mountaintop in Khirbet Masoud, which was established in 2019. He noted that the settlers regularly assault farmers, spread their livestock across agricultural areas, and engage in acts of vandalism and destruction.

Khirbet Masoud is affiliated with the Zubdat Rural Council and consists of three population centers: Iraq al-Dawar, Khirbet Faris, and Khirbet al-Qusur. It is inhabited by approximately 350 people.

The occupation forces are bulldozing areas adjacent to the colonial outpost on the mountain, seizing dozens of dunams of agricultural land there. The area extends from Qaffin to the Ya'bad Mountains south of Jenin.

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The Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip warned that more than 40,000 infants who have not yet reached their first birthday are at risk of slow death due to the blockade imposed by the Israeli occupation forces on the Strip and their ban on the import of baby formula.

The office said in a statement on Monday that the Palestinian Strip is on the verge of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe threatening the lives of tens of thousands of infants as a result of the ban on the import of baby formula for 150 consecutive days.

He called for the immediate and unconditional opening of the crossings, and for urgent permission to bring in baby milk and relief aid.

The office also held the occupation, the countries involved in the genocide, and the international community fully responsible for every innocent life lost due to this systematic siege.

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Anthony Aguilar, a retired US Army Green Beret who worked as an armed contractor for the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), told the BBC that he witnessed the Israeli military committing war crimes against desperate, defenseless Palestinians during his time in Gaza.

"I saw IDF troops fire at crowds of Palestinians," Aguilar said. "I saw IDF troops fire a main battle tank shell from a Merkava tank at a crowd of people, destroying a civilian vehicle that was moving away from the site. I saw mortar shells being fired at the crowd to control it."

He also explained that other Gaza Humanitarian Foundation contractors were not adequately trained. Aguilar said, "My professional opinion of how the sites were set up was what I would describe as unprofessional; inexperienced, untrained, and not knowing how to conduct operations of this magnitude. That's my most moderate assessment."

He added: "In my most blunt assessment, I would say they are criminal. In my entire career, I have never witnessed this level of brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against a civilian population, a defenseless population that is starving. I have never witnessed this in all the places I have been involved in war, until I was in Gaza, at the hands of the Israeli military and American contractors."

When asked if he had witnessed war crimes, Aguilar said, "Without a doubt, I witnessed war crimes. I witnessed war crimes committed by Israeli forces. There is no doubt that the use of artillery shells, mortar shells, and tank shells against defenseless civilians is a war crime."

Since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating in Gaza at the end of May, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access aid, most of them near GHF sites, while others were killed while trying to reach UN aid trucks. Aguilar's testimony is consistent with eyewitness accounts of Palestinians who survived Israeli military attacks on aid seekers.

The Israeli occupation army has admitted to firing on unarmed Palestinians near GHF sites, including with artillery shells, but disputes the figures issued by the Ministry of Health in Gaza, claiming they are exaggerated. However, the figures are consistent with daily reports from Gaza, and the United Nations has published a death toll that was higher than the Ministry of Health's.

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In its report yesterday, the Commission of Prisoners' Affairs documented testimonies from inside Israeli occupation prisons confirming the continuation of systematic crimes against prisoners, including beatings and abuse, in addition to starvation and medical neglect.

The Commission stated that the Israeli prison administration continues to commit crimes against prisoners, with the fate of more than 10,000 prisoners, including women and children, increasingly at risk.

Among the testimonies documented by the Commission through its legal team at Ofer Prison is the case of prisoner Bilal Amro from the town of Dura, near Hebron, who suffers from severe back and foot pain due to the presence of platinum. He has repeatedly asked the prison administration for painkillers to alleviate his pain, but to no avail. He also suffers from severe visual impairment.

The Commission stated about the condition of prisoner Alaa Al-Adam from the town of Beit Ula in the Hebron Governorate, that he suffers from a skin allergy in the thigh area and severe itching as a result of his skin diseases without receiving the necessary treatment for his condition.

In the Negev prison, the Commission’s lawyer visited prisoner Hassan Imad Abu Hassan from the town of Yamoun, near Jenin, who has been suffering from scabies for more than three months. This is because, on the first day of his detention in Megiddo prison, the prison guards forced him to sleep on a bed that was originally intended for a prisoner suffering from scabies. As his health worsened, he was given ointment and began to improve. However, when the repression units stormed the room, they confiscated it and severely beat him for no apparent reason.

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An Israeli plan to establish a so-called "humanitarian city" in Rafah, a camp to house hundreds of thousands of Gazans in preparation for their expulsion from the Gaza Strip, has collapsed and work on it has been halted, a report said Monday, following the deepening war of extermination and starvation, and the subsequent international criticism and pressure.

A senior Israeli security source said regarding this plan, "There is no decision to advance it, and there is no alternative plan. The political echelon was certain that it was heading towards a kidnapped soldiers deal that included withdrawals from the axes that cut off the southern Gaza Strip, and therefore it appears that it has backed down from this step. It has been put aside for the time being," according to Yedioth Ahronoth.

In the context of international criticism and pressure on Israel, the newspaper said, "In recent weeks, the Israeli military has been surprised to discover that Western governments, including Israel's friends, have preferred to trust the Gaza Health Ministry over the Israeli side."

The security source was quoted as saying, "We have suffered tremendous damage. The problem is that most of our decisions are made in the 90th minute and in a hasty manner, instead of initiating operations like this, planning them in advance, convincing whoever needs to be convinced in the world, and preventing a crisis like this against Israel."

The atmosphere in Israel now indicates a significant decline in the war on Gaza, after it was forced to allow aid into the Strip, and even brought it in itself by airdropping some of the aid.

According to the newspaper's political analyst, Nahum Barnea, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially hesitated to launch a ground operation in the Gaza Strip after the October 7 attack, but "within weeks, he was pushed into a second extreme: not just the defeat of Hamas's military framework, but the annihilation of Hamas down to the last tunnel and last saboteur."

He added, "The Israeli military leadership knew that these were unachievable goals, not within the expected timeframe, not at a reasonable price, and not while dozens of hostages were being held." Despite this, the Israeli military waged a war of extermination on the Gaza Strip.

Barnea described the current situation in Israel as, "We have been severely battered, we have eaten rotten fish, and our friends in the world are trying to expel us from the town. The tragedy is so great that Netanyahu was forced to back down, stop, and suspend the military operation he ordered, surrender to the demands of the United Nations and international organizations, and drop food. Although the drop brings very little food, its images are useful."

He continued, "It's possible to debate the extent of Netanyahu's responsibility for the October 7 fiasco; he cannot be absolved of responsibility for what has happened since then. He cannot claim that they didn't wake him up, that he suffered from stomach poisoning, or that the attorney general is tying his hands. Gaza is all his."

Barnea believes that there are several lessons that the IDF leadership must learn from the international pressure on Israel, "the first of which is not to succumb to irresponsible ideas, even if they come from senior generals like Giora Eiland. Israel cannot expel and starve a population. Second, the IDF Chief of Staff must struggle for his professional reservations in all departments. The eyes of the soldiers are on him, as are the eyes of their families and the families of the kidnapped soldiers. They have no one to rely on but the IDF."

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Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said on Monday that one in three people in Gaza has not eaten for days, calling for the rapid delivery of aid and the establishment of a permanent ceasefire.

In a statement on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, Fletcher stressed that "Gaza is experiencing a humanitarian crisis before the eyes of the world," noting that those trying to obtain food aid are being shot at, and children are "melting" from hunger.

He explained that one in three people in Gaza had not eaten for days, and said, "Aid should not be withheld, delayed, or distributed under the threat of attack."

He stressed that aid convoys must be granted permission to cross the border quickly, and emphasized the need to end the targeting of people trying to obtain food aid.

Gaza is experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis in its history, with a severe famine intertwined with a genocidal war waged by Israel since October 7, 2023.

Since March 2, 2025, Israel has closed all crossings with the Gaza Strip and prevented the entry of most food and medical aid, causing a famine in the Strip.

According to the latest figures, 134 Palestinians, including 88 children, have died from famine and malnutrition since October 7, 2023.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) warned that malnutrition among children under the age of five doubled between March and June, as a result of the ongoing blockade.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization confirmed that malnutrition rates in Gaza have reached alarming levels, that the deliberate blockade and delays in aid have caused many lives lost, and that nearly one in five children under the age of five in Gaza City suffers from severe malnutrition.

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation forces have launched an aggression against the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of 59,821 citizens, the majority of whom were children and women, and the injury of 144,851 others. This is a preliminary toll, with a number of victims still under the rubble and on the streets, unable to be reached by ambulance and rescue crews.

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Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, warned Monday of an impending disaster as the hospital's diesel fuel supply runs out, indicating that only a few hours remain before a complete halt to healthcare services.

Hospital spokesman Khalil Al-Daqran said in a statement, "The continued power outage, in light of the lack of diesel fuel to operate the generators, will lead to a complete paralysis in all hospital departments, most notably operating rooms, intensive care, nurseries, and dialysis machines, putting the lives of hundreds of patients at immediate risk."

He called on all relevant authorities and international and humanitarian organizations to urgently intervene to provide sufficient quantities of diesel and ensure the continuity of medical services to citizens in the Central Governorate.

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Today, Monday, the Israeli occupation forces forced citizen Yousef Qaraeen, from the town of Jabal al-Mukaber, southeast of occupied Jerusalem, to demolish his home.

Local sources reported that Qaraeen's house, which has been standing for 12 years, has an area of 70 square meters and is inhabited by his wife and daughter.

The same sources added that the demolition came after the occupation authorities imposed several financial fines on Qara'in, under the pretext of building without a permit, amounting to more than 100,000 shekels.

The occupation authorities force citizens in occupied Jerusalem to demolish their homes on their own, claiming they lack permits. Those who refuse to do so have their homes demolished by bulldozers, and the owner is subject to heavy costs.

The Israeli municipality in Jerusalem refuses to grant Palestinian citizens building permits and demolishes or forces them to demolish their homes. This practice violates international law and humanitarian principles that guarantee the right to housing. This practice is part of the Israeli occupation's systematic practice of forcibly displacing Palestinians from Jerusalem in exchange for expanding settlements in and around the city.

It is noteworthy that the number of homes and facilities destroyed by the Israeli occupation authorities in the governorate, since the beginning of the aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, has reached 623. These included residential homes, some of which had been inhabited for decades, and others under construction, in addition to commercial and economic facilities that constitute a source of livelihood for dozens of Jerusalemite families, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.

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The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday that all citizens in the Gaza Strip are hungry, but children are "suffering the most."

"Everyone is hungry in Gaza, but children are suffering the most," UNICEF added in a post on the X platform.

"Instead of going to school, boys and girls risk their lives in the hope of getting some food," she continued.

She stressed that "sufficient quantities of aid must now be allowed in."

Gaza is experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis in its history, with a severe famine intertwined with a genocidal war waged by Israel since October 7, 2023.

Despite international, UN, and Palestinian warnings of the looming famine in Gaza, Israel has continued to completely close the Strip's crossings to humanitarian, relief, and medical aid since March 2nd. This is an escalation of its starvation policy since the start of the war, amid warnings of the threat of mass death toll for more than 100,000 children in the Strip.

According to the latest figures, the death toll from famine and malnutrition has reached 134, including 88 children, since October 7, 2023.

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The United States and the European Union reached a trade agreement on Sunday, ending the trade standoff between the world's most important economic partners over the past months.
The agreement came after decisive negotiations between US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland, and includes the imposition of a 15 percent US tariff on all goods imported from the European Union.
The agreement represents a reduction in the 30 percent import taxes that Trump threatened to impose starting Friday.
Trump emphasized that the 27-nation European Union will open its markets to American exporters, with full tariff exemptions for certain products.
For her part, Ursula von der Leyen praised the agreement, stressing that it would "bring stability to both allies," which together represent nearly a third of global trade.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on major US trading partners in an attempt to reorganize the global economy and reduce the US trade deficit.
In addition to the European Union, Trump also reached tariff agreements with the United Kingdom, Japan, Indonesia, and Vietnam, though he fell short of his stated goal of "90 deals in 90 days."
The negotiations for the agreement between Trump and Ursula took place at the Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire, Scotland, where Trump is visiting for five days.
"We have reached an agreement," the US president said after a brief meeting with the European Commission president. "It's a good agreement for everyone. It will bring us closer together."
Von der Leyen hailed the agreement, describing it as a "huge deal" after "arduous negotiations."
Under the agreement, Trump said the EU would boost its investments in the United States by $600 billion, purchase hundreds of billions of dollars in American military equipment, and spend $750 billion on the U.S. energy sector.
While Ursula explained that energy investment will focus on American liquefied natural gas, oil, and nuclear fuel, to help reduce Europe's dependence on Russian energy sources.
“I would like to personally thank President Trump for his personal commitment and leadership in achieving this milestone,” she said.
"He's a tough negotiator, but he's also a great deal maker," she added.
Trump also indicated that the 50 percent tariffs he imposed on global steel and aluminum would remain in place.
Both parties can consider this agreement a victory for each of them.
The European Union could have faced even worse tariffs from the United States, but it achieved the same 15 percent agreement that Japan reached with Trump. Of course, the agreement was not as good as the one Britain obtained, as US tariffs on its products did not exceed 10 percent.
For the United States, the agreement means $90 billion in tariff revenue will flow into government coffers, according to trade figures with the European Union last year, in addition to hundreds of billions of dollars in investment that will flow into the American economy.
Total trade in goods between the European Union and the United States amounted to approximately $975.9 billion last year. The trade balance was favored by the Europeans, with the United States importing approximately $606 billion worth of goods from the EU, while US exports to the EU totaled $370 billion.
This imbalance, or trade deficit, is a point of contention for Trump, who says such trade relationships mean the United States is "losing."
Had Trump carried out his previous threats to impose heavy tariffs on Europe, many products would have been subject to import taxes, from Spanish medicines to Italian leather, German electronics, and French cheese.
The European Union threatened at the time that it was ready to respond by imposing tariffs on American goods, including auto parts, Boeing aircraft, and beef.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans to meet Trump at Turnberry on Monday.
Trump is scheduled to visit Aberdeen on Tuesday, where his family owns another golf course, and will open a third next month.
The President and his sons intend to participate in cutting the ribbon at the opening of the new stadium.

Source: BBC

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An Israeli military investigation has revealed new details about the battle at Kibbutz Sufa, which took place on October 7, 2023, as part of Hamas's surprise attack on the Gaza Envelope settlements.

Although the Israeli army failed to immediately repel the attack, the swift action of the local guard unit, supported by armed civilians and subsequent military forces, helped prevent a greater disaster and save many lives, Haaretz reported Monday.

The investigation revealed that the Nahal unit's resistance at the Sufa position impeded the advance of the first wave of Hamas fighters toward the kibbutz and delayed the arrival of reinforcements from resistance factions, reducing the number of infiltrators and significantly impacting the course of the battle.

Despite failures in preparedness and advance deployment, the investigation concluded that "the courage of the guard unit, the armed civilians, and the army forces who fought under difficult conditions prevented an even greater disaster at Kibbutz Sufa."

The attack began at dawn when approximately 50 Hamas fighters infiltrated across the border toward Kibbutz Sufa. A guard unit of only four men at the beginning of the day was the first to engage the attackers and managed to repel the first wave on its own. Later, armed civilians joined them, and military reinforcements from the Nahal Brigade, the 80th Division, and the Armored Corps soon arrived.

Some fighters managed to breach the fence surrounding the kibbutz and reach its homes. At 6:52 a.m., four fighters arrived at the western gate on two motorcycles, killed a member of the guard unit, then entered the kibbutz and began a shooting spree.

Shortly after the attack began, an armored corps tank advanced to a position near the fence and fired continuously at the fighters for three hours. The tank crew later estimated that they had killed approximately 200 Hamas operatives, who were traveling in cars and motorcycles.

An attack helicopter in the area also contributed to killing a large number of attackers and participated in the ceasefire on the kibbutz.

The battle resulted in the deaths of 14 soldiers and the wounding of 50 others around the kibbutz, while three civilians, including two from the guard unit, were killed. The guard unit prevented the attackers from infiltrating most of the houses, despite their overwhelming numerical superiority. The guard unit was operating at half its usual capacity, but with the support of civilians and army reinforcements, it was able to contain the attack.

At 10:30 a.m., a new attack began from the orchards north of the kibbutz, with approximately 30 fighters opening fire on homes. The expanded emergency response unit responded, and one of the unit's members was seriously wounded in the encounter and later died despite the efforts of his father, a paramedic.

Around 12 noon, additional military reinforcements arrived, killing several militants and ending the attack. The investigation indicated that the arrival of these forces at a crucial time played a significant role in saving the kibbutz.

That same morning, fierce fighting erupted in nearby areas, particularly at the nearby Sufa military site, where Hamas temporarily seized control of parts of it, killing nine soldiers and wounding 30 others.

In the Nirim Monument area, four Nahal patrol fighters were killed, including the company commander and a platoon commander. The deputy patrol commander was also killed on the road to the site.

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Israeli Finance Minister and Religious Zionism Party leader Bezalel Smotrich announced that he will not withdraw from the government for the time being due to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to allow aid into the Gaza Strip and a daily ceasefire of several hours.

Smotrich opposes this decision, from which Netanyahu's office claimed that Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir were excluded from and not invited. However, Smotrich said in a statement last night that "it is not right to make political calculations in a war," adding that "we will be tested according to the results – the defeat of Hamas," according to media reports on Monday.

Smotrich continued, "We are advancing a good strategic process, and it's not worthwhile to expand on it now. In a short time, we will know if it was successful and where we are headed."

Ben-Gvir had proposed to Smotrich that they work together against Netanyahu and form a "blocking bloc" against negotiations with Hamas over a ceasefire agreement to end the war on Gaza and a prisoner exchange. In this context, Ben-Gvir also sought to persuade rabbis to pressure Netanyahu.

Smotrich rejected Ben-Gvir's proposal, saying the situation was too serious to issue a warning to withdraw from the government, while Ben-Gvir continues to insist on his proposal.

A far-right official warned that "the tactic of endless threats weakens the one threatening, and essentially weakens the government on the eve of historic decisions. It's not good for the public in Israel and around the world to believe that everything that's happening is the result of blackmail by Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. If the situation continues like this, it's better to agree to early elections and implement what needs to be done on the Gaza front, regarding the kidnapped soldiers and normalization, in the remaining months," Channel 12 reported.

Smotrich's remarks come days after he participated in a conference held in the Knesset titled "The Gaza Riviera – From Vision to Reality," which discussed settlements in the Gaza Strip. Smotrich said at the conference, "The chief of staff told me a week ago that a security annexation of the northern areas of the Strip should be implemented."

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Medical sources at Al-Shifa Hospital announced the death of infant Mohammed Ibrahim Adas due to severe malnutrition and a lack of infant formula in the Gaza Strip.

The Gaza Strip is experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis due to the ongoing blockade imposed by the Israeli occupation forces. This brings the total number of deaths from famine and malnutrition to 134, including 88 children.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) warned that malnutrition among children under the age of five doubled between March and June, as a result of the ongoing blockade.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization confirmed that malnutrition rates in Gaza have reached alarming levels, that the deliberate blockade and delays in aid have caused many lives lost, and that nearly one in five children under the age of five in Gaza City suffers from severe malnutrition.

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Israeli occupation forces arrested 12 citizens from various areas in the West Bank at dawn on Monday morning.

In Bethlehem, the occupation forces stormed the city and raided several neighborhoods, including Al-Saff Street and Al-Obeidi Housing, and arrested: Wael Ismail Salama Obayyat, Nabil Ahmed Salem Obayyat, Kamal Ali Abdullah Nawawra, and Ahmed Adnan Qaraqe.

Meanwhile, occupation forces stormed the town of Al-Khader in the south, raided and searched a number of homes, and ransacked their contents.

In Ramallah, occupation forces raided several neighborhoods in the city of Al-Bireh and arrested Mahmoud Omar Karara and Nour Al-Din Karakra after raiding their homes and ransacking their contents. They also arrested citizen Muhammad Safi Abu Laila, from the village of Al-Mazra'a Al-Gharbiya.

In Qalqilya, occupation forces stormed the town of Azzun from its main northern entrance and arrested Yamen Bassam Salim, Saeed Mazid Salim, and Ayham Bilal Ghanawi after raiding and searching their homes and vandalizing their contents.

In Hebron, occupation forces arrested Saddam Al-Salameen from the town of As-Samu and Khalil Hassan Hamdan from the town of Bani Naim after raiding and searching their homes.

Meanwhile, the occupation forces severely beat and abused Al-Salameen and Hamdan during the arrest operation.

In the same context, the occupation forces set up several military checkpoints at the entrances to Hebron and its towns, villages, and camps, and closed a number of main and secondary roads with iron gates, cement blocks, and earth mounds.

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Hind Shareeda

His Beatitude Pope Leo XIV, the Most Reverend and Most Respected,
Peace of love that unites and does not separate.
I, journalist Hind Shraideh, write to you from occupied Palestine, from the land where Jesus Christ was born, died, and rose again, bringing you a cry for help from the heart of Golgotha, where an entire people is still being crucified.
For nearly two years, two million Palestinians in Gaza have been subjected to systematic genocide by the Israeli occupation, a genocide that has killed civilians and besieged all forms of life there, resulting in more than 60,000 martyrs and thousands more wounded. Nothing has been spared: no homes, no churches, no mosques, no schools, no universities, no hospitals, no cemeteries. Even embryo banks were not spared, heralding the death of every potential Palestinian life.
What is happening today is forced starvation, the product of an Israeli policy filled with blind hatred. It has become a crime that is worsening daily, constantly targeting men, women, children, and the elderly.
On the 660th day since the genocide began, the Gazans, the "wretched of the earth," are resisting with all their might, with their steadfastness on the ground. The Israeli killing machine is ready to track down and slaughter Palestinians based on their identity, and our identity—Muslims and Christians alike—is Palestinian. More than 4% of the Christian community in Gaza have been martyred, despite taking refuge in churches that have been transformed into shelters. The Israeli occupation is not content with killing bodies; it seeks to erase the Christian presence, which refuses displacement and bears the cross of steadfastness in Gaza. It is attempting to target it in order to empty it and uproot it spiritually by various means, thus excluding Gaza from the world, once an integral part of the Christian pilgrimage map.
It is a policy of isolating Gaza and continually practicing ethnic cleansing to empty it of Palestinian presence. Despite the sinister plans, the people of Gaza, including members of the church, have persevered, demonstrating that faith in Gaza is not a passing ritual, but a daily resurrection, lived out in their flesh as a way of life in the face of darkness.
And among those who were martyred, and those who were captured in secret detention camps, and were subjected to all kinds of torture at the hands of an army possessed by hatred and racism, there are those who survived the shells and missiles, but are starving amidst inhuman traps. The people of Gaza have become like ghosts, suffering from the transparency of their bones amidst starvation, wandering in the ruins of the destroyed city streets, searching for scraps of flour, falling one after the other from drought and hunger, in an artificial famine, created by a colonialist system that decided with complete determination and premeditation, and in full view of the entire world, in front of cameras and with official statements, to tighten the noose on Gaza.
The people of Gaza are suffering from betrayal, betrayal by everyone they once bet on. They have lost faith in everything they once believed in, such as international law, and in everything that has not yet been able to stop the bloodshed and establish justice for them. Some of them told me: Perhaps our prayers do not reach the sky, which is already distorted by the rockets and the drone that never leaves their hearts day and night. Others let out screams of pain that went beyond the logic of supplicating to God, as you could see Him gathering the torn remains of their children among the tents. A burning cry from the wound, and a deep sense of loneliness and abandonment, like Jesus wept in the Garden of Olives, crying out: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?!"
Another friend, a lawyer, said he was forced to burn his law books for warmth last winter, due to the fuel crisis, wood scarcity, and the high cost of everything. My lawyer friend had come to the conclusion that the law would not save his life or the lives of his children. He had better use his mind amid the struggle for survival, choosing between his books stacked on the broken shelf in his shattered library and keeping his children warm. He decided to choose the latter, and survive until further notice.
Even the sea, the refuge of the western Gazans, is occupied by Israeli snipers, armed with quadcopters programmed with artificial intelligence to target any fisherman attempting to harvest their daily bread from the depths of the sea, God's free gift. But this, too, is now forbidden to them.
History will one day record that a genocide took place before the eyes of the world, which witnessed it and did not dare to condemn and hold the killer accountable. History will one day record that trucks piled up at the crossings, a stone's throw from Gaza, and were closed for fear of "Israel's" wrath. And that brave ships, such as the "Conscience" and "Madeleine" flotillas, attempted to break the blockade, but were surrounded, their crews arrested, and denied access to Gaza's shores.
There is nothing left but hope... only hope that keeps us Palestinians steadfast and clinging to life. And with this hope that surrounds me, I send you this letter.
His Beatitude the Pope,
From your previous service in Peru, you know what it means to be hungry and to have a rumbling sound of empty stomachs. You saw refugees, welcomed them into churches that opened shelters and community kitchens for them, and stood up against tyranny and political injustice, demanding an apology from Alberto Fujimori and siding with the people, the true source of legitimacy.
Despite the pain, destruction, and starvation, our hearts still cling to hope, the hope of the Risen One. Today, full of faith and hope, we call upon you to step out in a different way, away from the statements and calls from your balcony, and to devote yourself to carrying out prophetic action in a time of wickedness that no longer hears your calls and has decided to close its ears so as not to hear the voice of justice and peace. We call upon you to heed the command of Christ:
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Matthew 25:35-36
We call upon you, as the head of the Church and the Holy See, from the stronghold of the papal cathedral, St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, built with the blood of the holy rock and martyr, St. Peter the Apostle, to set sail in the "Justice" flotilla with a group of cardinals and clerics of various faiths, and a group of human rights activists and people of conscience, and to break the siege on Gaza.
I won't promise you safety, as the occupying power doesn't allow anyone to provide relief to the Palestinians. But the equation is difficult: Either we exist or we don't exist, which requires exceptional courage and profound prophetic action, for which we count on you.
Come, try it. Invest in your international immunity and your American citizenship. Perhaps they will help us break the blockade, and perhaps your arrival will expose what the Israeli occupation has done to previous relief flotillas, and what it is trying to do today to the "Handala" ship.
Jesus Christ said it on the Mount of Beatitudes:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
We call upon you, in his name, and in the name of the Holy Family who passed through Gaza on their way to Egypt, to help the people of Gaza, to break this unjust siege, and to arrive in Gaza on a ship loaded with food, medicine, baby milk, and prosthetic limbs.
Please do not send us away disappointed. Perhaps the sinking of your ship will be the beginning of a miracle, and your coming will be a blessing after which convoys of mercy will be unleashed. Perhaps you will perform the miracle of the loaves and fishes once again, feeding the hungry in Gaza and supporting their legendary steadfastness.

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Dr. Fawzi Ali Al-Samhouri

First, we must consider two opposing and contradictory positions regarding the recognition of the Palestinian state, between those who support it, those who oppose it, and those who reject it, despite the recognition of 149 countries, or 77% of the total members of the United Nations General Assembly, in order to understand the meanings of each position.
First: The position in support of recognizing the Palestinian state:
Recognition of the Palestinian state by the overwhelming majority of countries in the world in general and by a European country that is a permanent member of the Security Council and occupies an important position among the countries of the European Union, such as France:
▪ The deprivation of the Palestinian people from enjoying their fundamental and inalienable right to freedom, independence, self-determination and the establishment of their independent state on the soil of their homeland must end.
▪ Recognizing that it is time for the international community to fulfill its duties in stopping the violation of the United Nations Charter, which guarantees all peoples the right to self-determination, and emphasizing that the Palestinian people are an integral part of the peoples of the world, and thus enabling them to exercise their natural right to enjoy their basic rights, like the rest of the peoples of the world, without discrimination.
▪ A fundamental step towards working to embody the establishment of an independent and internationally recognized Palestinian state as a practical reality, in implementation of the United Nations Charter and international resolutions issued by the Security Council and the General Assembly over the past decades, most notably Security Council Resolution 2334 and General Assembly Resolution No. 10/24.
▪ Recognizing Palestinian sovereignty over all of its occupied land by ending the Israeli and American claims that these are disputed lands and not occupied.
▪ The French decision comes in respect of the International Court of Justice’s decision calling for an end to the Israeli occupation and the changes it resulted in, and its conclusion regarding the illegality and illegitimacy of the Israeli colonial occupation of the West Bank, including Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, and its call to end the Israeli occupation.
Second, the position opposing recognition of the Palestinian state:
As for the position opposing recognition of the Palestinian state and thus continuing to deprive the Palestinian people of their natural right to establish their state, such as the American position and its protégé, the Israeli colonial entity, means:
First: The coup of a superpower like the United States against the principles, goals and Charter of the United Nations to establish international peace and security and the values of justice and equality among the countries and peoples of the world.
Second: Embodying the principle of the right of might, i.e. revealing the policy of the law of the jungle by excluding the principle of the might of right?
Third: Supporting the continuation of the Israeli colonial occupation of the territories of the occupied Palestinian state, internationally recognized under General Assembly Resolutions No. 181 and 19/67/2012, in an effort to pursue an aggressive, expansionist, colonial policy.
Fourth: Disregard the decisions of the International Court of Justice and all international resolutions related to the Palestinian issue, which call for an end to the Israeli occupation of the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories.
Fifth: Evading its obligations as a permanent member of the Security Council and sponsor of the Oslo Accords to work to guarantee and ensure the implementation of bilateral agreements and international resolutions by obligating Israel to implement them under penalty of sanctions.
Sixth: Undermining the principles of international justice, represented by the refusal to implement and respect the decisions issued by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, which means giving the rogue Israeli entity free rein to continue committing its crimes and enabling it to escape accountability and punishment by undermining the existing global order and rejecting the establishment of a new multipolar global order.
Seventh: Refusal to recognize the Palestinian state, as this would undermine the expansionist Israeli-American policy and its negative repercussions on American influence and hegemony.
Eighth: Fueling and maintaining regional and international conflict to serve American interests and declining influence on the global stage.
Does recognizing the Palestinian state strengthen or undermine security and peace?
It has been proven conclusively that American policy and its axis:
▪ By not recognizing, but rather denying, the rights of the Palestinian people to freedom, independence, self-determination, and the establishment of their independent state, in implementation of the General Assembly resolutions on the liquidation of colonialism and the prohibition of the occupation of the territory of another state.
▪ Blind support for the ongoing aggressive Israeli policy and the perpetuation of its occupation of the Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since the June 1967 aggression.
▪ Enabling it to evade the implementation of international resolutions and accountability from punishment for its internationally punishable crimes.
▪ Justifying its crimes since its creation in 1948 under the pretext of security and self-defense.
All of this did not lead to achieving and consolidating international peace and security, but rather led and will lead to undermining the regional and international peace that the world has witnessed in the past, is currently witnessing, and will witness in the future.
So the American pretext for rejecting French President Macron's decision to recognize the Palestinian state next September, which is that it obstructs peace, in addition to the arbitrary American veto refusing to recognize the State of Palestine as a fully functioning state with full rights and duties in the General Assembly, is refuted by reality and confirms the aggressive American approach of subjecting the Arab region to its complete hegemony for decades to come, whose goals have become clearly and unambiguously evident during the era of the current American administration headed by Trump, and which is being implemented by the war criminal Netanyahu, who claims that he is working to change the Middle East and even the world.
Based on the above, and after the failure of the US policy through its previous and current policy to achieve peace and end the conflict, it has no choice but to restore respect for the principles and objectives of the United Nations and its Charter by obligating Israel to end its occupation of the occupied Palestinian territories, which are internationally recognized, with Jerusalem as its capital, and enabling the Palestinian people to achieve freedom and independence and establish their independent state. This requires President Trump to adopt a new policy that, if adopted, will inevitably lead to the consolidation and embodiment of regional security and peace by working to immediately lift the veto by recognizing the Palestinian state as a permanent member state, and by immediately stopping the war of genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, lifting the comprehensive siege on the Gaza Strip, and beginning to implement General Assembly Resolution No. 10/24 issued last September and Security Council Resolution No. 2334.
Then all obstacles and impediments to the realization of regional and international peace and security will be removed. Otherwise, no matter how much the US administration exerts its power and might, it will continue to live in international political isolation and will remain accused of complicity in committing crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, "forced displacement," war, and against humanity perpetrated by the Israeli terrorist entity. Consequently, the continued undermining of international peace and security will lead to the decline of its leadership, even if after a while.
Recognizing the Palestinian state under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and implementing relevant international resolutions is the only way to consolidate regional and international security and peace and uphold the values of truth, justice, and human rights.

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Iyad Shamasneh

In a move described as the most dangerous shift since the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, the Israeli Knesset approved, in its first reading, a bill imposing full Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, thereby violating the Green Line and all interim agreements signed with the Palestinian side since the 1993 Oslo Accords.
This move, prompted directly by the right-wing nationalist and religious parties within the ruling coalition, has reshuffled the geopolitical landscape in occupied Palestine and sparked mixed regional and international reactions, amid warnings of the collapse of what remains of the legal framework for a political solution based on the two-state principle.
This legislation comes in the context of escalating settlement expansion in the West Bank, where the number of settlers now exceeds 750,000, spread across more than 150 settlements and outposts. Although Israel's de facto sovereignty over the territory has existed for years, this law seeks to legally and constitutionally consolidate it by incorporating the West Bank into the Israeli judicial and sovereign system.
Although the law is still in its preliminary stage (the first of three readings required for final approval), its passage at this stage represents a highly significant political signal regarding the strategic direction of the current Israeli government, which is led by a hard-right coalition that includes parties such as Likud, Religious Zionism, and Shas.
From a Palestinian perspective, the vote represents a final step toward undermining the two-state solution. It not only annexes Area C—which constitutes more than 60% of the West Bank—but also includes the entire West Bank, including major Palestinian cities. If implemented, it would mean one of two things:
1. Forced dissolution of the Palestinian Authority: There is no longer any legal basis for its continued existence under the Oslo Accords.
2. Imposing formal apartheid: Palestinians live under Israeli sovereignty without civil or political rights equal to settlers.
The Palestinian Authority's response so far has been limited to statements of condemnation and threats to reconsider the "security relationship" with Israel, without taking any practical steps. However, the magnitude of the Israeli decision this time could push it to collapse or completely retract any previous commitments.

Regarding the international position, the European Union expressed its "deep concern," stressing that the move "violates international law and Security Council resolutions," while the United Nations issued a statement calling on Israel to "cease unilateral measures that undermine the two-state solution."
However, on the practical level, there were no indications that the international community was prepared to impose sanctions or deterrent measures. As for the United States, the administration expressed "reservations," with timid calls to halt the unilateral steps. At the same time, it did not link the move to any tangible consequences, giving Israel an implicit green light to continue. For their part, some countries in Latin America and Africa with growing relations with Israel welcomed the decision, deeming it a "domestic sovereign matter."
Under international law, imposing sovereignty over occupied territory constitutes a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into occupied territory or changing its legal and administrative character.
The decision also undermines the principle of the "right to self-determination" guaranteed to the Palestinians by the United Nations, and may strengthen Palestinian demands in international forums to review Israel's legal status and open cases before the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
The Israeli Knesset's first reading of the bill imposing full Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank was not a symbolic step or a mere political maneuver in a season of volatile coalitions. Rather, it constituted a clear political declaration of a radical strategic shift in the nature of the Zionist project toward the occupied Palestinian territory. It is, simply put, a watershed moment between two eras: before legal annexation and after.
If this law is completed with its remaining readings, Israel will have hammered the final nail into the coffin of the two-state solution, declaring the end of the Oslo Accords and paving the way for a radical shift in the nature of the conflict and its outcomes. In this context, four central scenarios emerge that could potentially shape the next phase:
First: A widespread Palestinian popular escalation
Observers believe that the Knesset vote could ignite a new wave of Palestinian anger, similar to previous uprisings, but more complex in context and composition. The current Palestinian generation, raised by settlements, the wall, and the erosion of political hopes, is more inclined toward direct and decentralized action.
• The field is prepared: The rising tension in the northern West Bank (Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm), the proliferation of individual weapons, and the emergence of local resistance groups unconnected to traditional organizations are all factors that portend an imminent escalation.
• Renewable tools: civil disobedience, blocking bypass roads, and widespread strikes, which may be complemented by limited but painful armed resistance operations.
• The symbolism of the moment: The escalation, this time, does not come in protest against a local aggression or settlement, but rather in response to legislation to abolish the homeland itself.
Second: The erosion of the Palestinian Authority and the West Bank entering a political vacuum.
With the loss of the legal and political basis of the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority finds itself facing an existential dilemma: it is no longer a "transitional" authority toward statehood, and it lacks real tools of governance under Israeli sovereignty.
• Decline of function: The transformation of power into a mere service tool without a political horizon will gradually undermine its legitimacy.
• Threat of collapse: In light of economic pressures, the withholding of tax funds (clearance), and popular protests, a gradual process of institutional erosion may begin, leading to the possibility of administrative or security collapse in some areas.
• The result: a political vacuum that could be filled by local forces or resistance groups, or even a direct occupation in which Israel returns to the previous “civil administration” model, with all the costs and burdens that this entails.
Third: Regional reaction - Jordan in the eye of the storm
Jordan remains the country most strategically affected by any change in the status of the West Bank, for geographic, demographic, and political reasons.
• Concern about an alternative homeland: Every change in the situation in the West Bank brings to the surface Jordanian fears of exporting the population crisis to it, whether practically or politically.
• Threat to Hashemite guardianship: Full Israeli sovereignty means the annexation of Jerusalem as well, which threatens Jordan’s traditional role in custodianship of holy sites.
• Response scenario: Oman may resort to gradual steps that include reducing diplomatic representation, internationalizing the file, and perhaps threatening to re-evaluate the Wadi Araba Agreement, without slipping into a comprehensive confrontation.
Fourth: The return of the Palestinian issue to the forefront of the international scene.
Despite the world's preoccupation with the war in Ukraine and the US-China rivalry, the full annexation legislation could push the Palestinian issue from the margins to the forefront once again.
• Action at the United Nations: The Palestinian Authority is expected to demand an emergency session of the Security Council, and to activate previous resolutions condemning settlements and calling for withdrawal from the occupied territories.
• Support from human rights organizations: International organizations such as Human Rights Watch and B'Tselem may escalate their characterization of Israel as an apartheid state, which could contribute to changing the international mood.
• Limits of influence: The lack of American will to impose binding measures on Israel remains the biggest stumbling block to any effective international action, meaning that the international position may remain limited to condemnation without executive measures.
Thus, the first reading of the Israeli Knesset's vote on legislation extending full sovereignty over the West Bank is not merely a passing legislative step. Rather, it represents a pivotal moment that heralds the end of one phase and the beginning of another. It heralds a strategic shift in Israeli political doctrine, effectively ending the Oslo process and redefining the existing reality as a settler-colonial regime that seeks to impose facts rather than negotiate, and control rather than compromise.
The looming scenarios—from the outbreak of a new intifada, to the collapse of the ruling institutions, to the escalation of regional tensions, to the re-internationalization of the Palestinian issue—are no longer mere theoretical speculation, but rather real transformations advancing at an accelerating pace.
At this juncture, the Palestinians once again find themselves faced with a major equation: either accept a legalized apartheid system, or reformulate the national project as a liberation movement against a colonial regime that does not recognize rights and does not allow for a just settlement.
Conversely, if the international community wants to preserve what remains of the credibility of its legal and moral system, it must reconsider its policies toward this conflict and move beyond the language of statements to reactivate international law as a tool for accountability, not merely a rhetorical framework. The Palestinian issue today is no longer simply a matter of borders, but rather a matter of freedom and the right to self-determination in the face of a regime that completely rejects the logic of partnership and peace.

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Hamada Faraana

I was pleased to meet the Secretary-Generals of the leftist nationalist parties: the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, the Workers' Party, the Reform and Renewal Harvest Party, the Civil Democratic Party, and the Nationalist Movement Party. Their response to my invitation and the success of the meeting, which was attended by a number of trade union and independent figures, took place on Saturday, July 26, 2025.
The meeting of the five nationalist and leftist parties with independent individuals discussed:
First, to continue the initiative aimed at eliminating the differences, disagreements, and interpretations that resulted from the previous parliamentary elections, especially between the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and the Jordanian Communist Party.
Second, work theoretically and practically towards consolidating and strengthening relations between the parties of the nationalist and leftist currents, as a necessary prelude to bringing together the remaining political forces belonging to this broad dual current, and to coordinate and form a pluralistic national alliance in the local council and provincial council elections, leading up to the House of Representatives elections, and benefiting from the results of the failure of the leftist and nationalist parties in previous electoral cycles.
In the same vein, work towards an alliance in the elections of professional and labor unions, and any similar general elections.
Third, reviewing proposed initiatives presented on the Jordanian political scene, including:
The initiative of the three leftist parties: the Communist Party, the People's Democratic Rally Party, and the Popular Unity Party, towards the National Front.
The Civil Democratic Party initiative presented by the party's chairman, Engineer Jamal Qamouh, in which he said:
"Our proposed project aims to unify the democratic movement in Jordan. Discussions about the unity of the left (the democratic movement) are not new. Before the parliamentary elections, six parties from this movement entered into serious dialogue to form an alliance in the last elections. However, practical complications led to a dead end, and the party entered into a separate alliance with the Social Democratic Party, with which it shares the principles of social democracy. The result was a fragmentation of votes and the loss of this broad movement's opportunity to obtain a reasonable number of seats.
Qamouh said the party's executive office has decided to launch this initiative and explore innovative ways to overcome obstacles. The initiative does not include inviting licensed parties, but will include independents who identify with this movement, leading to a national forum that lays the foundations for unity and commits to a credible roadmap for achieving it.
Independent attendees and union leaders submitted a written paper at this meeting that included the following text:
First, we work for Jordan's security, stability, progress, democracy and pluralism.
And to fulfill rights and duties on the basis of equality, justice and equal opportunities, and in accordance with the royal parliamentary constitutional system that is based on respect for:
1- The head of state, His Majesty the King, with the values, requirements and continuity he represents.
2- Transparent and clean parliamentary elections.
3- Party parliamentary governments.
4- Elected local councils, as a powerful force.
Second: 1- Supporting the survival and steadfastness of the Palestinian Arab people on their homeland, which has no other homeland: Palestine.
2- Support his struggle to regain his national rights in his homeland to equality, freedom and independence.
3- The return of refugees and the restoration of their properties in the cities and villages from which they were previously expelled.
Third: Our tools for action: a civil, democratic, constitutional, and legal system, in accordance with the results of the ballot boxes and respect for their outcomes.

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Dr. Ahmed Rafiq Awad

The scenes that bring shame to all systems, slogans and entities, where children and the elderly are dying of hunger as well as bombing, are horrific by all standards. Enlightened, liberal, democratic Israel, which represents light, civilization, progress and science and claims to represent Judaism, accepts to bomb a defenseless people with airplanes and then imposes a siege that prevents the flow of medicine and food. What's worse is that there are those who support, collude, remain silent, adapt, ignore or feign compassion. All of these are responsible. All of these may pay the price sooner or later.
The humanitarian aid that should be brought into the Gaza Strip has turned into a real battle raging all over the world. Israel wants this aid to be a tool for dismantling Palestinian society and concentrating it in places where it is easy to monitor them or throw them outside the borders. Israel wants this aid to weaken Hamas and push it into clashes with segments of the Palestinian public. It wants this aid to help it in its military and security operations through operations of overthrow and arrest. It wants it to circumvent international bodies, confront global trials, and reduce the international criticism that surrounds it from all sides. Israel wants this aid to be a cosmetic tool on the one hand, a defense tool on the other, a security tool on the third hand, and a social tool on the fourth. For this reason, Israel spent millions of dollars to establish what is called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, because what it obtains through this foundation is worth these millions. It seems that Israel persuaded America to put its name on this foundation so that it would take on an international character. It seems that America is convinced that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is an alternative to all international bodies. Although many reliable international parties have refused to deal with this ominous foundation, Israel and America are determined. On that incomprehensible insistence.
By monopolizing the provision of aid in this humiliating, degrading and shameful manner, in addition to the martyrdom of nearly a thousand Palestinians and the wounding of approximately ten thousand, Israel believes that providing aid achieves what it wants in terms of security, image and defense. Israel’s prevention of the entry of aid and its distribution through international bodies, especially UNRWA, means that Israel is not fighting Hamas, as it claims, but rather wants to punish all Palestinians, considering them all guilty and that there is no hope for their reform or cooperation with them today or tomorrow. Israel’s decision to starve the Palestinians in this way is a real adventure for the entire future.
Closer to Israel, other parties, without naming them, have also turned aid into a tool for profit, monopoly, pressure, interference, presence, point-scoring, and open competition. Before aid enters the Gaza Strip, it faces objections, contradictions, and bureaucracy. Once it enters the Gaza Strip, it faces theft, kidnapping, sale, monopoly, and everything else you can think of.
Aid, which is supposed to be primarily humanitarian, has become a major blackmail tool, with everyone seeking to use it to score whatever positions, profits, and positions they want. And without naming any party, this aid has, for nearly 22 months, truly transformed into a global story in which certain parties are not ashamed to be the criminal and evil party. All of this is at the expense of a child in Gaza who screams from the bottom of his heart: I am hungry, or a pregnant woman who falls to the ground in hunger and surrender.
Whoever watches this without feeling a split heart, humanity is innocent of him.

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Dozens of civilians were killed and injured on Monday morning as a result of continued Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Three Palestinians were targeted in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a house in the Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

In a simultaneous development, medical sources in the southern Gaza Strip reported a new massacre, with intense Israeli shelling of the Japanese and Mawasi neighborhoods west of Khan Yunis resulting in the deaths of more than 10 displaced persons and the injury of approximately 40 others with varying degrees of severity.

This suffering comes amid an Israeli escalation targeting populated residential areas, amid warnings of worsening racial tensions amid mounting pressure on medical departments and the inability of camps to accommodate the growing number of people in need.

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Settlers attacked the town of Taybeh, east of Ramallah, at dawn on Monday, burning two vehicles and spray-painting racist graffiti on the walls.

Local sources reported that settlers infiltrated the town at dawn today, attacked residents' homes, and set fire to two vehicles, completely destroying them. They also wrote racist and threatening slogans on the exterior wall of one of the homes.

The sources added that the occupation forces stormed the town with several military vehicles following the attack.

On June 4, settlers established a new colonial outpost on the ruins of the homes of a Palestinian family who had been displaced nearly a year earlier following a series of violent attacks in the town of Taybeh.

On July 7, settlers set fire to the historic St. George (Al-Khader) cemetery and church in the town, sparking widespread ecclesiastical and international outrage, which condemned the settlers' attacks on holy sites and places of worship.

On July 14, a number of patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem, along with diplomats from more than 20 Arab and foreign countries, visited the town of Taybeh, amid a dangerous escalation in settler attacks on the town, its property, and its holy sites, particularly Christian churches and cemeteries.

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Major General Bilal al-Natsheh: Islamic and Christian clerics are no longer immune from the oppression of the occupation authorities, which pursue a policy of gagging.
Archbishop Atallah Hanna: The Mufti's arrest is a message of threat and intimidation to the spiritual and national authorities in Jerusalem, to force them to remain silent.
Dr. Hassan Khater: Several messages and dangerous implications of the Mufti's arrest indicate that the situation has reached unprecedented levels of oppression of Palestinians.
Jawdat Manna: A blatant violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and a flagrant assault on a widely respected religious figure.
Mazen al-Jabari: An additional link in the chain of Israeli measures aimed at emptying Al-Aqsa of its national and religious content.
Ismail Muslimmani: The Al-Aqsa pulpit has become a new arena for confrontation, and the Mufti's voice, which expressed pain and suffering, has become a security target.

As part of its open criminal war against all Palestinians, whether in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, including Jerusalem, the occupation police arrested the Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories and preacher of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, last Friday from within the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards.
According to the Islamic Endowments Department, Israeli police arrested Sheikh Hussein after he delivered his Friday sermon, during which he denounced the occupation's starvation policy against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
Jerusalemite activists, clerics, and analysts spoke to "I" and condemned the arrest of the Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the preacher of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. They considered this arbitrary measure a message of threat and intimidation to the spiritual and national authorities in Jerusalem, to force them to remain silent.
They said the Mufti's arrest carries several dangerous messages and implications, indicating that the situation has reached unprecedented levels of oppression of Palestinians. They emphasized that the arrest of Sheikh Hussein from within the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the mosque and a blatant assault on a widely respected religious figure.
They explained that the Al-Aqsa pulpit, which is supposed to remain free and protected, has become a new arena for confrontation, and the Mufti's voice, which expressed pain and suffering, has become a security target. They emphasized that the arrest of Sheikh Hussein is yet another link in a series of Israeli measures aimed at emptying Al-Aqsa Mosque of its national and religious significance.



A blatant assault on a religious and high stature

The Secretary-General of the Popular National Conference for Jerusalem, Major General Bilal al-Natsheh, condemned the treatment of His Eminence, the Grand Mufti, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, by Israeli police after delivering the Friday sermon and prayers at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Al-Natsheh considered this interference unjustified and a blatant assault on a prominent religious figure in Palestine and Jerusalem.
He said: "The Mufti spoke only the truth and accurately described the conditions of the Palestinian people, who are being killed and displaced in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and are being besieged and abused in Jerusalem."
He stressed that Muslim and Christian clerics are no longer immune from the oppression of the occupation authorities, who pursue a policy of silencing voices and consider any description of the deadly situation in Palestine to be incitement.
Al-Natsheh called on the free world, Arabs and Muslims to take immediate action to put an end to Israel's rampant corruption.


Targeting the thought, message and authentic belonging

In turn, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia, Archbishop Atallah Hanna, condemned the arrest of the Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, considering this move a threatening message to the spiritual and national authorities in the Holy City.
He said: "This arrest is part of a systematic policy aimed at silencing free voices and forcing religious and national leaders in Jerusalem to remain silent about the ongoing targeting of the Palestinian people, whether in the Gaza Strip, where a war of genocide is being perpetrated, or in the West Bank and Jerusalem, where the city's identity, history, heritage, and holy sites are being targeted.
He added, "We stand in solidarity with Sheikh Mohammed Hussein and express our strong rejection of his arrest, as he is a religious and national symbol in the Holy City. Targeting him is not just targeting him personally, but rather targeting his thought, message, and authentic affiliation to this Holy Land."
Bishop Hanna concluded by emphasizing that this escalation will not deter spiritual and national leaders from fulfilling their role in defending Jerusalem, its people, and its Islamic and Christian holy sites.

Israeli oppression has reached the pulpit of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

For his part, Dr. Hassan Khater, head of the Jerusalem International Center for Studies, said that the Mufti's arrest carries several dangerous messages and implications, indicating that the situation has reached unprecedented levels of oppression of Palestinians and the targeting of even symbolic figures:
First: It is clear that Israeli oppression has reached the pulpit of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, this pulpit that has always represented the voice of truth, and it is the free pulpit from which everything that preachers fail to say on other pulpits in the region in general is said. Therefore, it is clear that the occupation wants to silence this pulpit, weaken its influence, and obliterate its presence.
Second: The occupation is also sending a message that there is no longer any immunity for symbolic Palestinian figures such as the Mufti and others, and this may be the beginning of a broader targeting that will affect a greater number of official religious, political and economic figures.
Dr. Khater said: "Everything Palestinian has become a target, and we had already witnessed the arrest of Sheikh Ekrima Sabri before this incident."
Third: There is another message, which is that the images of Israeli oppression have reached unprecedented levels. The arrest of the Mufti based on the Friday sermon reflects a great harmony with what is happening in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and even the territories occupied in 1948, in terms of the suppression of opinion and expression of opinion, even through social media, by liking a post, sharing a specific post, or publishing a specific opinion criticizing the occupation and its crimes.
He stressed that what happened was a clear and explicit expression that things were heading in the direction of more repression and further confiscation of what remained of marginal freedoms.
Dr. Khater pointed out that by arresting the Mufti, a prominent religious figure, the occupation is sending a message to numerous parties regarding its indifference to any Arab, Islamic, or even international stances or reactions.
He added: "The occupation's crimes and violations against these symbols, and even against holy sites and the Palestinian people, are no longer met with fear of any reaction, whatever its nature or from any quarter. This reflects the height of Zionist arrogance and rebellion against all international norms, values, and laws."


Preparing for an atmosphere of tension in Al-Aqsa Mosque

For his part, the coordinator of the International Campaign to Defend Jerusalem, Jawdat Manna, considered the Israeli occupation forces' arrest of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, from within the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, last Friday, a blatant violation of the sanctity of the mosque, the place of the Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey (peace be upon him), and a deliberate assault on a religious figure who is respected officially, popularly, and within Islamic circles as a whole.
He stressed that the International Campaign to Defend Jerusalem reiterates its strong condemnation of His Eminence's arrest without justification, but rather as part of the ongoing attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem, the provocation of worshippers, and the creation of an atmosphere of tension in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Manaa pointed out that the reason given by the occupation authorities for the arrest of His Eminence the Mufti does not justify this illegal and immoral measure simply because His Eminence condemned Israel's policy of starving Palestinian citizens in the Gaza Strip, a war crime that has been widely condemned internationally.
He said: "We understand that His Eminence's arrest, simply for condemning the starvation policy, is an Israeli endorsement of this policy and an admission of its responsibility for it, as well as other measures that include the severe restrictions it imposes on access to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and logistical support for settler incursions into the mosque."
Mana' asserted that this practice amounts to madness, demonstrating support for the starvation of more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and hundreds of thousands more in the West Bank, caused by Finance Minister Smotrich's imposition of restrictions on the transfer of funds due to the Palestinian Authority's treasury. Therefore, the humanitarian duty of condemning the starvation of the Palestinian people separates a world that condemns it from an entity that rejoices in it through the mouths of ministers in Netanyahu's fascist government.

Violation of the Jordanian-Israeli peace agreement

Manaa believes that the Mufti's arrest reaffirms Israel's violation of the Jordanian-Israeli agreement and its blatant breach of its provisions, which stipulate respect for the Jordanian role and the Hashemite custodianship of Islamic and Christian holy sites, and which clearly indicate the preservation of the historical and legal status of the Noble Sanctuary.
He added: "This blatant action took place in a place sacred to all Muslims, located in an occupied city over which Israel has no sovereignty, but rather the State of Palestine, in accordance with United Nations laws and international resolutions that do not recognize the annexation of East Jerusalem nor US President Donald Trump's recognition of it as the alleged capital of the Israeli occupation entity."
Manaa explained that Israeli practices in this holy place, such as raids and arrests, such as the one that resulted in the arrest of approximately 400 worshippers from inside the mosque, are considered a blatant violation of the sanctity of the holy sites and the powers of the Palestinian and Jordanian Ministries of Endowments in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, as they stormed the audio and security rooms in the mosque, a matter that has occurred repeatedly and has been followed by tension and violent confrontations between the invading Israeli forces on one side and the Palestinian worshippers on the other.
He reminded Israel and those behind it that Jerusalem, where Islamic and Christian holy sites are located, is occupied Palestinian land, and that its practices, including Judaization operations inside the mosque, such as raids, and its surroundings in the city with settlements and military checkpoints, are all illegal measures that deserve Palestinian, Arab and international condemnation and denunciation.

An escalating campaign of intimidation and repression

For his part, researcher and writer specializing in Jerusalem affairs, Mazen al-Jabari, stressed that the arrest by Israeli occupation forces of the Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, as he was leaving the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. The arrest came after his sermon, in which he addressed the tragedy of hunger suffered by the people of the besieged Gaza Strip, comes in the context of an escalating campaign of intimidation and repression practiced by the occupation authorities against anyone who expresses their rejection of the war crimes and systematic starvation affecting more than two million people in the Strip.
Al-Ja'bari pointed out that this arrest constitutes yet another link in a series of Israeli measures aimed at emptying Al-Aqsa Mosque of its Palestinian national and religious significance, limiting it to its role as a place for prayer only, without any significance related to Palestinian identity or struggle.
He said: "Under Netanyahu's government, the most extremist in Israel's history, Israel is transforming into a fascist and racist entity implementing a systematic program of starvation, displacement, and war crimes, with direct American and Western support."
Al-Ja'bari added that the Israeli government has intensified its policies in Jerusalem, particularly over the past two years, to advance the Judaization and settlement project, at the heart of which is an attempt to impose new realities on Al-Aqsa Mosque and transform it into a shared religious site for Muslims and Jews, in a way that serves the Israeli biblical narrative.


A violation with profound political, religious and media implications

In turn, writer and political analyst Ismail Muslimmani said, "In a dangerous precedent that reflects the extent of Israeli targeting of Islamic holy sites, occupation forces stormed the audiovisual room at Al-Aqsa Mosque and arrested Sheikh Mohammed Hussein following his Friday sermon, in which he criticized the starvation policy imposed on the Palestinian people."
He emphasized that this scene is not merely a passing event, but rather carries profound political, religious, and media implications, revealing the nature of the confrontation imposed by the occupation on all forms of Palestinian expression, even from the pulpit of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Muslimani said that this raid was not directed solely at the "audio room," but rather at the voice itself, at the word emanating from the heart of the holy city, exposing a reality that Israel is trying to obscure. When Israeli forces move to silence a preacher and confiscate the equipment used to broadcast the sermon, they are attempting to impose their control not only over the space but also over consciousness and conscience, in an attempt to subject the mosque to security surveillance that undermines the essence of its religious and national message.
Muslimani believes that the arrest of Sheikh Mohammed Hussein, one of the most prominent religious and national figures in Jerusalem, comes within a broader context of attempts to undermine any resistance or even critical discourse, especially when it comes from a platform as symbolic as Al-Aqsa.
He pointed out that the content of the sermon, which described the occupation's policy as a systematic starvation of Palestinians, crossed the "red line" drawn by the occupation, necessitating a punitive response that conveyed a message of intimidation to other preachers and religious institutions.
He added: "The irony is that the mosque's pulpit, which is supposed to remain free and protected, has become a new arena of confrontation, and Sheikh Mohammed Hussein's voice, which expressed his pain and suffering, has become a security target."

A siege on bodies, minds and consciences

Muslimani explained that the Mufti's arrest after his sermon cannot be isolated from this policy, which views every word of resistance as a danger that must be contained or suppressed. Thus, the occupation not only imposes a siege on bodies but also extends to besiege minds and consciences.
He said that what happened was not merely a violation of the sanctity of a mosque, but rather an assault on the dignity of a people and a pathetic attempt to silence the truth. However, he emphasized that the voices emanating from Al-Aqsa Mosque are still capable of disturbing the occupation, and that when words emerge from the heart of suffering, they become a weapon no less effective than stones, if not more so.
Muslimmani touched on the political implications of the arrest, which are:
1. Suppression of dissenting voices:
The sermon delivered by the sheikh included a clear denunciation of the "starvation policy," which upset the occupation, and the response was security-related, not political, in an attempt to intimidate other preachers.
2. The policy of strangling the word before strangling the body:
Arrests and summonses indicate the occupation's efforts to suppress the Palestinian narrative, even within mosques, especially when it addresses sensitive topics such as the siege and hunger.
3. A warning message to the Palestinian street:
"Whoever criticizes in public will be held accountable," especially if the pulpit is Al-Aqsa Mosque and the preacher is a public figure.
Regarding the timing and context, Muslimani noted that it coincides with a major escalation in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, and timid international criticism of the blockade and starvation policies.
He added, "Therefore, targeting the sheikh and the Friday sermon is part of an authoritarian response to attempts to break the global silence, especially if mosques begin to turn into platforms for exposure and exposure."
Regarding the symbolic messages drawn, Muslimmani said: "Al-Aqsa Mosque is not just a place of worship, but also an arena for confrontation and a clash of narratives. Sheikh Mohammed Hussein represents the connection between religion and national dignity, and targeting him is a threatening message to every similar voice. Israel treats free speech as a security threat, not just an opinion."

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Tom Fletcher, the UN emergency relief chief, said that Israel eased some restrictions on the movement of aid into Gaza on Sunday, after Israel decided to "support an increase in the volume of aid for a week."

Fletcher added in a statement that initial reports indicate that more than 100 trucks loaded with aid have been collected from the crossings for transport to Gaza.

"This is progress, but massive amounts of aid are needed to ward off famine and a catastrophic health crisis," he added.

He said the UN would seek to reach "as many hungry people as possible" during the week.

Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme confirms that it has enough food in the region, or on its way, to feed more than 2.1 million people in the Gaza Strip for approximately three months.

Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya confirmed in his speech that progress had been made in the talks with Israel, and that the movement was surprised by the Israeli withdrawal. Al-Hayya, who currently resides in Qatar and is a member of the movement's negotiating team, said, "In the last round of negotiations, there was clear progress. We agreed to a large part of what the mediators proposed, and they conveyed to us positive responses from the Zionist occupation. We were surprised by the occupation's withdrawal from the negotiations," and that US Special Envoy Steve Voytkov "was coordinating with them."

Al-Hayya added that the occupation's Chief of Staff is covering up his army's failure to carry out genocide in Gaza, noting that the occupation's withdrawal from the negotiations is a transparent move aimed at wasting time and further genocide in Gaza.

Al-Hayya said there was no point in "continuing talks amidst a siege of destruction and starvation... We reject the shameful spectacle of so-called airdrops of aid. The real step is to open the crossings and allow aid to enter in a dignified manner for our people."

The Hamas leader also sharply criticized Egypt for its failure to aid Gaza, saying, "Egypt's leadership, its army, and its tribes—will your brothers in Gaza starve to death on your border?" He asked Cairo to "firmly declare that Gaza will not starve to death, and will not accept the Rafah crossing remaining closed to Gaza's residents."

Earlier on Sunday, Egyptian sources reported that aid trucks began entering Gaza from Egypt for the first time since the ceasefire on January 19.

On Sunday morning, Israel announced it would begin a daily "humanitarian truce" in three densely populated areas of Gaza, amid mounting international pressure to alleviate the worsening hunger crisis in the territory.

Other measures announced include the resumption of airlifts, the activation of the desalination plant, and the provision of humanitarian corridors to facilitate the delivery of UN aid to Gaza.

It's worth noting that last week, the Strip slid into a full-blown famine crisis, with dozens dying of starvation. According to the World Food Program, 90,000 women and children are in dire need of immediate treatment for malnutrition, while one in three people suffers from food shortages for days. Doctors in Gaza described their struggle to cope with the influx of patients seeking treatment for malnutrition, given the limited tools available to them to provide assistance.

"The malnutrition ward at the hospital is extremely overcrowded," Dr. Ahmed Al-Farra, director of the pediatric department at Nasser Medical Complex, said in a press statement. "Due to the large number of cases, some children are forced to sleep on the floor."

The hunger crisis has affected almost everyone in the Gaza Strip, with organizations like the United Nations describing their staff as “walking corpses.”

Even before the Israeli prime minister resumed the war on March 18, Israel had blocked all aid from entering Gaza on March 2, in what it described as an attempt to pressure Hamas to release the hostages.

In May, Israel began allowing small amounts of aid into Gaza, mostly through the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Israel proposed GHF as an alternative to the UN aid system after alleging—without providing evidence—that Hamas was systematically stealing aid from the UN.

More than 1,000 people have been killed while trying to obtain aid, most of them near food distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. In total, Israel has allowed 4,500 UN aid trucks into Gaza since May—an average of about 70 per day. This is a far cry from the pre-war numbers of 500 to 600 trucks per day, which the UN said was essential to help restore the health of Gaza's population.

The Israeli occupation authorities also announced the resumption of airdrops of aid, which humanitarian organizations said would provide a small amount of supplies. The Israeli occupation authorities also said that humanitarian corridors would be established to facilitate the entry of UN aid trucks into Gaza, although the number of trucks permitted to enter has not been specified.

NGOs say these steps may facilitate aid access, but with the ongoing mass famine, more is needed. In particular, humanitarian organizations have called for a complete ceasefire to deliver much-needed assistance to civilians.

For her part, Juliette Touma, UNRWA's Director of Communications, said in a statement on Sunday: "We must return to the levels we were at during the ceasefire, namely 500-600 aid trucks per day, managed by the United Nations, including UNRWA, and distributed by our teams at 400 distribution points."

She explained that relief agencies had previously succeeded in pulling Gaza back from the brink of famine, and that doing so again would require an unhindered flow of aid to "reverse the famine."

UNRWA, which Israel barred from operating in Gaza in January, has 6,000 aid trucks loaded with food, medicine, and other hygiene supplies in Jordan and Egypt. The World Food Programme said Sunday it has enough aid to feed Gaza's population for three months.

Israel's recent announcement also remains unclear regarding the duration of the ceasefires and corridors. Humanitarian workers have stated that consistency is essential to their work.

According to observers, Israel appears to be easing some of its restrictions on the UN's role in distributing aid in Gaza, but it is unclear to what extent. The UN has stated that it alone is capable of distributing aid efficiently within the Strip, pointing to the deadly killings around the World Health Organization facility as an example of the need for expertise.

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The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called on world governments on Sunday to exert all possible pressure on the Israeli occupation authorities to permanently halt the massacres in the Gaza Strip.

According to the UN News website, Türk stressed the need for countries to take concrete steps to ensure that the Israeli occupation complies with its obligations to provide adequate food and basic life-saving needs to the population of Gaza.

He expressed his outrage at the "unspeakable" daily tragedy in Gaza and the West Bank, denouncing the "destruction, killing, and dehumanization of Palestinians day after day," adding that "Gaza has become a miserable scene of deadly attacks and utter devastation, with children dying before the eyes of the world."

He noted that more than 200,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded since October 7, 2023, according to medical sources in the Gaza Strip, representing approximately 10% of the total population. He also condemned the killing of more than 300 UN staff members while performing their duties as a result of the occupation forces' military operations.

Türk affirmed the United Nations' readiness to support the Palestinians in building their state based on human rights and the rule of law, saying, "When that time comes, programs dedicated to supporting victims and survivors will be among the important paths toward achieving justice and accountability."