Gaza ceasefire 2nd-phase negotiations begin this week – Israel
- Negotiations for the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal “will happen this week”, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says, after Israel gave mixed signals about its engagement.
- Hamas leader in Gaza Khalil al-Hayya says four Israeli captives’ bodies will be handed over in the war-torn enclave on Thursday and six living abductees on Saturday as part of the precarious ceasefire agreement with Israel.
Germany event on Israel’s war on Gaza forcibly relocated by police
A conference in Berlin addressing issues surrounding Palestine and the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza was forcibly relocated by German police.
The “Reclaiming the Discourse: Palestine, Justice, and Truth” event – featuring UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese and prominent human rights figures – was moved after the original venue “faced coercion from German politicians and Berlin police”, Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25) said in a statement.
The organisers, who planned for a larger audience, were forced to scale it down with the new venue holding just 200 attendees.
Albanese, who has faced repeated cancellations of her events in Germany, was again targeted by authorities, raising concerns over the country’s treatment of dissenting voices. “This is an outright attack on democracy and free speech,” DiEM25 said.
Israeli families press PM Netanyahu to act on truce’s phase two
If you ask families of Israeli captives where things stand right now when it comes to ceasefire negotiations, they say more pressure is needed on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
That’s because they’ve repeatedly accused him of trying to sabotage the deal, of not going to phase two, of sacrificing the lives of the remaining captives because they’re soldiers.
He is more interested in keeping his coalition together – a coalition that by and large is not committed or happy about the idea of stopping the war and withdrawing from Gaza.
But we heard from the Prime Minister’s Office that Netanyahu will send his close confidante – Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer – to be in charge of negotiations on phase two.
That indicates how closely Netanyahu will be monitoring and controlling those talks. But at least we now have an announcement that phase two of the negotiations will begin at some point, starting with talks with the US envoy Steve Witkoff.
Lebanon teams retrieve 23 bodies after Israeli pullout
Lebanon’s civil defence agency has recovered 23 bodies from several border towns after Israeli troops withdrew from some southern towns under a ceasefire deadline.
“Specialised teams today … managed to remove 14 bodies from Meiss el-Jabal, three from Markaba, and three from Kfar Kila, in addition to three from Odaisseh,” said a statement published by the state-run National News Agency.
Lebanese leaders said the Israeli military’s continued presence in five locations is an “occupation” and Beirut is in touch with France and the United States to press the army to completely withdraw from southern Lebanon.
