RAMALLAH: A Palestinian NGO has denounced what it called an <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/new-israeli-west-bank-measures-draw-palestinian-regional-backlash" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Israeli act</a> of revenge after a video showed far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir overseeing the abuse of detainees in a military prison. Just days before the start of Ramadan, Ben Gvir held a tour of Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank, Israel&#39;s Channel 7 reported. In footage filmed on Friday and broadcast by the channel, around 20 police officers are seen storming a hallway leading to prison cells, brandishing their weapons and firing stun grenades. They then pull five detainees from their cells, their hands tied behind their backs, forcing them face-down onto the floor. The operation took place as a bill proposing the death penalty for <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/buses-carrying-palestinian-prisoners-arrive-in-gazas-khan-yunis" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Palestinian prisoners</a> convicted of terrorism awaited a final vote in the Israeli parliament. &quot;This is all part of ongoing displays meant to take revenge on Palestinian detainees,&quot; Abdallah al Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners&#39; Club, told AFP on Saturday. &quot;Everything Ben Gvir and the far right government are doing affects not only the Palestinian people and prisoners in detention camps &ndash; it also impacts the global legal and human rights system,&quot; he added. Ben Gvir, known for his inflammatory rhetoric, is considered one of the most hardline members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s ruling coalition. &quot;It is simply a source of pride &ndash; arriving at a prison like this, a prison for terrorists, the vilest of the vile, seeing them like this,&quot; Ben Gvir said in the video. &quot;I want one more thing: to execute them &ndash; the death penalty for terrorists,&quot; he added. Hamas on Saturday said the remarks were &quot;a new war crime and a blatant challenge to international humanitarian law regarding prisoners&quot;. International rights groups have repeatedly warned of reported <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/uk-opposes-israels-annexation-of-occupied-west-bank" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">abuse</a> and mistreatment inflicted in Israeli prisons. While the death penalty exists for a small number of crimes in Israel, it has become a de facto abolitionist country, with the Nazi Holocaust perpetrator Adolf Eichmann the last person to be executed in 1962.

Middle East

In a footage broadcast on an Israeli channel, around 20 Israeli police officers can be seen storming a hallway leading to prison cells, brandishing their weapons and firing stun grenades. 

Palestinian NGO condemns Israeli act of 'revenge' after prisoner abuse video

Web Desk/AFP

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will push Donald Trump on Wednesday to take a tougher stance in nuclear talks with Iran, after rushing to Washington to stiffen the US president&#39;s resolve, AFP reported. Trump said on the eve of the hastily arranged White House meeting -- set to begin at 11:00 am local time (1600 GMT) -- that he was weighing sending a second US &ldquo;armada&rdquo; to the Middle East to pressure Tehran to reach a nuclear deal. Seizing tankers &nbsp;A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report published on Tuesday stated that US is weighing seizing tankers carrying Iranian oil to pressure Tehran, but using a strategy the White House directed at Venezuela is seen as likely to spark retaliation by Tehran and a surge in oil prices. Trump administration officials have discussed whether to seize additional tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil but have held off, concerned about Tehran&rsquo;s near-certain retaliation and the impact on global oil markets, US officials said. The US has seized several ships that have carried Iranian oil as part of its two-month-old blockade of sanctioned tankers serving Venezuela, the WSJ report said. &lsquo;Destructive influence&rsquo; &nbsp;But <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/netanyahu-to-discuss-iran-talks-with-trump-in-washington-wednesday" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Netanyahu</a>, making his sixth visit to the United States since Trump took office, will also be urging the US leader to take a harder line on arch-foe Iran&#39;s ballistic missile program, AFP reported. Tehran, which resumed talks with Washington last week in Oman, warned Monday of &ldquo;destructive influences&rdquo; on diplomacy ahead of the Israeli premier&#39;s visit. Netanyahu had been expected to come to Washington for a February 19 meeting of Trump&#39;s &ldquo;Board of Peace&rdquo; for Gaza, but reportedly brought forward his visit as the US-Iran talks proceeded. What does Trump think?&nbsp;While talking up hopes of a nuclear deal, Trump warned in an interview with the Axios news outlet on Tuesday that he was &ldquo;thinking&rdquo; of sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the region. &ldquo;Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,&rdquo; Trump told Axios. &ldquo;We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going.&rdquo; Trump, who ordered US strikes on Tehran&#39;s nuclear sites during Israel&#39;s 12-day war with Iran last June, separately told Fox Business that any deal would have to involve &ldquo;no nuclear weapons, no missiles.&rdquo; He added that Iran&#39;s leaders &quot;want to make a deal&quot; but &quot;it&#39;s got to be a good deal&quot;, saying Tehran had been &quot;very dishonest with us over the years.&quot; What are Netanyahu&#39;s goals?&nbsp;Netanyahu said as he left for Washington his talks would &quot;first and foremost&quot; be about the Iran negotiations, while adding that they would also discuss Gaza and other regional issues. &quot;I will present to the president our views regarding the principles for the negotiations,&quot; he said in a video statement before his departure.&nbsp; Netanyahu&#39;s office said he would highlight Iran&#39;s missile arsenal. Israel&rsquo;s concerns came to a head during their unprecedented war last year, during which Iran launched waves of ballistic missiles and other projectiles at Israeli territory, striking both military and civilian areas. So far, Iran has rejected expanding the scope of its talks with the United States beyond the issue of its nuclear program, though Washington also wants Tehran&#39;s ballistic missile program and its support for regional militant groups on the table. What about the West Bank?&nbsp;The meeting will also come amid growing international outrage over Israeli measures to tighten control of the occupied West Bank by allowing settlers to buy land directly from Palestinian owners.Israel&#39;s security cabinet approved the move ahead of Netanyahu&#39;s Washington visit.&nbsp; It is unclear whether the US president intends to bring them up. A US official said on Monday that Trump &quot;does not support Israel annexing the West Bank&quot; and wants stability, while holding off from directly criticizing the Israeli government&#39;s moves. How many meetings?&nbsp;Wednesday&#39;s meeting will be the sixth encounter between the two leaders on US soil since Trump returned to office in January 2025 -- five times at the White House and once at the Republican&#39;s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. A seventh meeting took place in Jerusalem in October when Trump announced a ceasefire in Gaza.

Tehran, which resumed talks with Washington last week in Oman, warned Monday of ‘destructive influences’ on diplomacy ahead of the Israeli premier's visit.

Netanyahu to push Trump on Iran missiles in White House talks

WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM: Regional tensions have intensified dramatically as US President Donald Trump confirmed a naval fleet is advancing toward Iran, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on his rejection of Palestinian statehood, setting the stage for potential confrontation across the Middle East. Speaking at a ceremony in Iowa, President Trump announced that a significant naval presence is moving toward Iranian waters, expressing hope that Tehran would agree to negotiations.&nbsp; &quot;I hope Iran will make a deal with us,&quot; Trump stated, while simultaneously launching his midterm election campaign. The president claimed that in June, US forces eliminated Iran&#39;s nuclear capability through military operations that he said resulted in no civilian casualties. Trump&#39;s remarks came as the United States deployed the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to the Middle East and announced a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-to-conduct-multiday-military-exercise-in-middle-east" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">major multi-day Air Force exercise</a>&nbsp;in the region. The US military described the exercise as demonstrating America&#39;s ability to &quot;deploy, disperse, and sustain combat airpower&quot; across the region, though no specific dates or locations were disclosed. The American president told Axios news site that Washington has &quot;a big armada next to Iran&quot; but maintained that diplomatic talks remain viable.&nbsp; &quot;They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions,&quot; Trump insisted.&nbsp; He also took the opportunity to tout economic achievements, claiming America&#39;s economy has stabilized after what he called &quot;historic inflation&quot; a year ago, with investment volumes reaching $18 trillion. In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Netanyahu issued his own forceful statements, declaring that Israel would never allow the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza.&nbsp; &quot;It hasn&#39;t happened and it will not happen,&quot;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/will-block-establishment-of-palestinian-state-insists-israel-will-maintain-control-over-gaza-west-bank-netanyahu" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Netanyahu</a>said during a televised press conference, taking credit for having &quot;repeatedly blocked&quot; the implementation of a two-state solution. Netanyahu emphasized that Israel would maintain security control &quot;from the Jordan River to the sea,&quot; including Gaza. He stated that no reconstruction would occur in Gaza until Hamas is disarmed and the territory is demilitarized of weapons and tunnels. &quot;It will be done the easy way, or it will be done the hard way. But in any case, it will happen,&quot; the Israeli leader warned. The prime minister also addressed the Iranian situation, stating that while Trump would make his own decisions, Israel would act independently.&nbsp; &quot;If Iran makes the grave mistake of attacking Israel, we will respond with a force that Iran has never seen,&quot; Netanyahu threatened, referencing the 12-day war with Iran last June that saw Israeli strikes on military targets and the killing of senior Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian strongly condemned what he called US &quot;threats&quot; during a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Pezeshkian argued these threats were &quot;aimed at disrupting the security of the region,&quot; highlighting Tehran&#39;s growing alarm at the American military buildup. In a significant diplomatic move, Saudi Arabia&#39;s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reaffirmed the Kingdom&#39;s commitment to respecting Iran&#39;s sovereignty.&nbsp; According to the Saudi Press Agency, the Crown Prince made clear that Saudi Arabia rejects the use of its airspace or territory for any military actions against Iran, regardless of the source or direction of such attacks.&nbsp; He stressed Saudi support for resolving disputes through dialogue to enhance regional security and stability. The escalating crisis has its roots in Iran&#39;s deadly anti-government protests that began in late December. Trump had repeatedly warned Tehran of military intervention if protesters were killed and encouraged Iranians to overthrow state institutions, declaring &quot;help is on the way.&quot; However, he pulled back from ordering strikes earlier this month, claiming Tehran had halted more than 800 executions under American pressure. As the naval armada approaches Iranian waters and military exercises commence, the international community watches anxiously to see whether diplomacy can prevail over the threat of another Middle Eastern conflict.

Americas

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the Crown Prince made clear that Saudi Arabia rejects the use of its airspace or territory for any military actions against Iran, regardless of the source or direction of such attacks. 

Escalating tensions: Trump threatens Iran as Netanyahu vows no Palestinian state

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the charter for the Board of Peace (BoP) on Thursday at a ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, establishing an international body to resolve conflicts that he pledged would work &quot;in conjunction&quot; with the United Nations. The signing ceremony at the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-takes-davos-stage-as-greenland-dispute-looms-over-transatlantic-ties" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px; color: rgb(0, 115, 230);" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Economic Forum</a> formalized the organization with roughly 35 countries committing to join. Membership carries a $1 billion permanent fee. <h2 style="line-height: 2;" id="isPasted">During his speech, Trump characterized the day as &quot;very exciting&quot; and &quot;long in the making.&quot; He stated that the world is &quot;richer, safer, and much more peaceful&quot; than a year ago, claiming credit for &quot;settling eight wars.&quot;&nbsp;</h2> <h2 style="line-height: 2;" id="isPasted">The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza. However,&nbsp;a draft of the charter does not appear to limit its role to the Palestinian territory.</h2> &quot;Congratulations President Trump, the charter is now in full force, and the board of peace is now an official international organization,&quot; White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, according to AFP. Trump addressed concerns about the organization rivaling the United Nations, stating he wanted the board to work &quot;in conjunction&quot; with the UN. He did criticize&nbsp;the UN for failing to live up to its potential. Board of Peace members A senior White House official said on Wednesday that about 35 world leaders have committed to joining the Board of Peace out of roughly 50 invitations sent. These include <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-accepts-us-invitation-to-join-gaza-board-of-peace" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px; color: rgb(0, 115, 230);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Middle East allies</a> such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, and Egypt.&nbsp; North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)&nbsp;members Turkey and Hungary have also agreed to take part, as have Morocco, Pakistan, Indonesia, Kosovo, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Paraguay and Vietnam. The organization was formally authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 2803 in November 2025 for Gaza-specific operations, though the UN considers it an external initiative rather than part of the multilateral UN system. Executive council&nbsp; The founding executive council sits at the top of the Board of Peace with Trump as chairman. Its members are former British prime minister, Tony Blair,&nbsp;Trump&#39;s son-in-law, Jared Kushner,&nbsp;US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, the CEO of financial firm Apollo Global Management, Marc Rowan,&nbsp;World Bank Group President Ajay Banga,&nbsp; and Robert Gabriel, a US deputy national security adviser. Trump will serve&nbsp;as chairman for life with exclusive authority to adopt resolutions and modify subsidiary entities. The charter grants him final approval on all board decisions. Meanwhile, the Palestinians are missing from this Board of Peace.&nbsp;Nickolay Mladenov serves as the High Representative for Gaza, acting as a liaison between the organization and local administrators. Push back Multiple Arab and Muslim states have objected to Blair&#39;s involvement after his institute was involved in developing &quot;day-after&quot; plans for Gaza, alongside Israeli business figures, that included a coastal &quot;Trump Riviera&quot; resort. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has said the UK will opt out of signing the Board of Peace in Davos, joining a growing list of refusals that includes France, Norway, Sweden and Slovenia. Cooper cited concerns over Russian involvement. Russia, meanwhile, expressed interest in using frozen assets to pay the membership fee, but has not <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-says-putin-accepted-to-join-his-board-of-peace" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px; color: rgb(0, 115, 230);" rel="noopener noreferrer">formally</a> joined. Canada considered joining with conditions, but ruled out the $1 billion payment.

The signing ceremony at the World Economic Forum formalized the organization with roughly 35 countries committing to join. 

PM Sharif signs Trump-led Board of Peace charter in Davos

TEHRAN: Iran&#39;s military chief warned on Wednesday that Iran will not stand by and allow itself to be threatened by outside powers, after the United States and Israel backed anti-government protests. &quot;The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the escalation of hostile rhetoric against the Iranian nation a threat and will not tolerate its continuation without responding,&quot; General Amir Hatami said, according to the Fars news agency. Hatami, commander of the Iranian army but not Iran&#39;s most senior officer, warned that &quot;if the enemy makes a mistake&quot; Iran&#39;s response would be more robust than during last June&#39;s 12-day war with Israel. In recent days, US President Donald Trump has threatened to intervene in Iran &#39;if demonstrators were killed&#39;, while Israel&#39;s Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for the protests. On December 28 merchants in Tehran staged a protest against soaring prices and the collapse of the rial, triggering a wave of similar actions in several cities, some of them deadly. The demonstrations have yet to reach the scale of a 2022 to 2023 movement, let alone that of the mass 2009 street protests that followed disputed elections. But the economic protests have attracted international attention, including from the leaders of the Islamic republic&#39;s international foes. &quot;We&#39;re watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they&#39;re going to get hit very hard by the United States,&quot; Trump told reporters on Sunday. Netanyahu, meanwhile, told Israel&#39;s cabinet: &quot;We stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Iranian people and with their aspirations for freedom, liberty and justice.&quot; On Monday, the Iranian foreign ministry accused Trump and Netanyahu of inciting violence and trying to &nbsp;undermine Iran&#39;s national unity. The war in June began with an unprecedented Israeli attack on Iranian military and nuclear facilities. The United States briefly took part in the strikes, hitting three major Iranian nuclear sites.

In recent days, US President Donald Trump has threatened to intervene in Iran if demonstrators were killed, while Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed support for the protests.

Iran army chief threatens response to Trump and Netanyahu's 'threats'

GAZA CITY: Israel launched at least three air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing at least 30 and wounding dozens, Gaza&rsquo;s civil defense said, shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to carry out fresh attacks. Mahmud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza&rsquo;s civil defense agency, told AFP that &ldquo;the occupation is now bombing Gaza with at least three air strikes despite the ceasefire agreement.&rdquo; Witnesses also reported hearing explosions. Basal, later on Wednesday, said, &ldquo;At least 30 killed and dozens of wounded as a result of the Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, and our crews are still working to recover the dead and wounded from under the rubble.&rdquo;&nbsp; Israel&rsquo;s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, earlier said that Hamas had attacked Israeli troops despite the ongoing ceasefire, vowing that the group would &ldquo;pay a heavy price.&rdquo; &ldquo;Hamas will pay a heavy price for attacking IDF soldiers in Gaza and for violating the agreement to return the bodies of the hostages,&rdquo; Katz said in a statement. &ldquo;This is a crossing of a red line, and the IDF will respond with great force.&rdquo; Before the strikes, Prime Minister Netanyahu had instructed the military to conduct &ldquo;intense strikes&rdquo; in Gaza, accusing Hamas of breaking the US-brokered ceasefire. However, Hamas rejected the allegations, saying its forces had not carried out any attack on Israeli troops. &ldquo;Hamas affirms that it has no connection to the shooting incident in Rafah and reaffirms its commitment to the ceasefire agreement,&rdquo; the group said in a statement.

"The occupation is now bombing Gaza with at least three air strikes despite the ceasefire agreement." 

Israel strikes kill at least 30 in Gaza as Hamas denies attacking troops

TEL AVIV: US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday to shore up the fragile US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, following a burst of deadly violence and questions over how to move forward with the plan for long-term peace. Vance was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials and is expected to stay in the region until Thursday. His visit follows Monday&#39;s arrival of White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump&rsquo;s son-in-law. Vance met with them upon landing. Vance is also expected to meet with families of hostages whose remains are still in Gaza and some of the living hostages released last week. Earlier on Tuesday, Witkoff and Kushner met with nine of them. Hamas said it has recovered the remains of two more hostages and planned to hand them over Tuesday evening. The ceasefire took effect on October 10. While it has been tested by fighting on Sunday and mutual accusations of violations, both Israel and Hamas have said they are committed to the deal. Trump has made clear he wants it to succeed. Pressure for the ceasefire&#39;s second phase The head of Egypt&rsquo;s intelligence agency, Maj Gen&nbsp;Hassan Rashad, traveled to Israel on Tuesday to meet with Netanyahu, Witkoff and others over the ceasefire&#39;s implementation, according to Netanyahu&rsquo;s office. The high-level meetings highlight the urgency of launching negotiations for the second phase of the US plan. Hamas negotiators reiterated that the group is committed to ensuring the war &ldquo;ends once and for all.&rdquo; &ldquo;From the day we signed the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, we were determined and committed to seeing it through to the end,&rdquo; Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, who is in Cairo, told Egypt&rsquo;s Al-Qahera News television late Monday. He said Israel has complied with aid deliveries in the Gaza crossings according to the agreement, but asked mediators to pressure Israel to deliver more shelter, medical supplies and cold-weather items before winter arrives. Israel identifies another body of a hostage Israel confirmed Tuesday that Hamas released the body of Tal Haimi, who was killed in the October 7, 2023 attack. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel is waiting for Hamas to turn over the remains of 15 hostages. Thirteen have been turned over since the ceasefire began. Under the deal, Israel is releasing 15 bodies for the remains of each dead hostage, according to Gaza&#39;s Health Ministry. It said Israel had transferred the bodies of another 15 Palestinians to Gaza, for a total of 165 since earlier this month. Aid into Gaza increases, while prices rise International organizations said they were scaling up humanitarian aid entering Gaza, while Hamas-led security forces launched a crackdown against what it called price gouging by private merchants. The World Food Program said it had sent more than 530 trucks into Gaza in the past 10 days, enough to feed nearly half a million people for two weeks. That&#39;s still well under the 500 to 600 that entered daily before the war. The WFP also said it had reinstated 26 distribution points and hopes to scale up to its previous 145 points across Gaza as soon as possible. Residents said prices for essential goods soared on Sunday. Israel has threatened to halt humanitarian aid. Mohamed al-Faqawi, a Khan Younis resident, accused merchants of taking advantage of the perilous security situation. &ldquo;Our concern stems from the wicked merchants,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They are exploiting us.&rdquo; On Monday, Hamas-run security forces raided shops across Gaza, closing at least 10 shops and warehouses, and forced merchants to lower prices, according to a unit of Hamas focused on stopping collaboration with Israel and price gouging. Hamas also has imposed more order on the streets, allowing aid trucks to move safely and halting looting of deliveries. Nahed Sheheiber, head of Gaza&rsquo;s private truckers&rsquo; union, said there was no stealing aid since the ceasefire started. &ldquo;Trucks drive safely,&rdquo; he said. Gaza doctors say bodies returned with signs of torture A senior health official in Gaza said some bodies of Palestinians returned by Israel bore &ldquo;evidence of torture&rdquo; and called for a United Nations-launched investigation. So far, only 32 of the bodies have been identified, according to Gaza&#39;s Health Ministry. The ministry&#39;s general director, Dr Muneer al-Boursh, said in a social media post late Monday that some had evidence of being bound with ropes and metal shackles, blindfolds, deep wounds, abrasions, burns and crushed limbs. It was not immediately clear if any of the bodies had been prisoners; they are being returned without identifications or details on how they died. The bodies could include Palestinian detainees who died in Israeli custody or bodies taken out of Gaza by Israeli troops during the war. The Israel Prisons Service denied that prisoners had been mistreated, saying it had followed legal procedures and provided medical care and &ldquo;adequate living conditions.&rdquo; Israeli hostages released from Gaza have also reported being bound by metal shackles and harsh conditions, including frequent beatings and starvation. The Israel war on Gaza has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza&rsquo;s Health Ministry. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll. Thousands more people are missing, according to the Red Cross.

Vice President J.D. Vance arrives at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, October 21, 2025. (AP)

US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel to reinforce the Gaza ceasefire, meeting Prime Minister Netanyahu and regional officials amid renewed tensions, hostage recoveries, humanitarian challenges, and efforts to advance the second phase of the peace plan.

US vice president visits Israel to support fragile Gaza ceasefire

RAFAH: Israeli military jets struck the Rafah area in southern Gaza on Sunday in response to alleged militant attacks on Israeli forces, Reuters reported. The Israeli military said that militants fired anti-tank missiles and opened fire on troops, actions described as a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement. It vowed to respond firmly to these provocations. According to the military statement cited by Reuters, &ldquo;militants opening fire on Israeli troops is a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.&rdquo; The strikes were carried out to neutralize the threat posed by those militants. Meanwhile, AFP reported that&nbsp;Hamas&#39; armed wing stated on Sunday that the group is fully committed to the ceasefire agreement with Israel and denies any knowledge of clashes in Rafah, where Israeli air strikes occurred.&nbsp; The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement, &quot;We reaffirm our full commitment to implementing all agreements, primarily the ceasefire throughout the Gaza Strip.&nbsp;We have no information about any incidents or clashes in Rafah, as these areas are controlled by the occupation, and our contact with remaining groups there has been lost since the war resumed in March this year.&quot;

The Israeli military said that militants fired anti-tank missiles and opened fire on troops, actions described as a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Israel strikes Gaza after claiming attack on its forces

Maham Khan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu no longer enjoys the excuse of waging a war on Gaza to manipulate corruption charges, opposition, and public scrutiny. Legal challenges Netanyahu is currently confronting three separate corruption trials. According to AFP, he faces allegations of receiving luxury items valued at over 260,000 USD, including cigars, jewelry, and champagne from wealthy businessmen in exchange for political favors. On June 29, 2025, an Israeli court postponed Netanyahu&#39;s testimony in the corruption trial. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for the case to be &lsquo;cancelled&rsquo;. In his recent address to the Knesset in Tel Aviv, Trump asked Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu. Political opposition Yesh Atid, led by Yair Lapid, represents the primary opposition bloc. However, the group faces significant challenges in presenting a unified alternative to Netanyahu&#39;s government. Reuters reported in September 2025 that the opposition&#39;s attempt to dissolve parliament and force early elections failed, primarily due to ultra-Orthodox factions striking a deal with Netanyahu on mandatory military service. The opposition&#39;s internal fragmentation remains a critical weakness, with deep ideological differences preventing a united front. Coalition dependencies Netanyahu&#39;s government heavily relies on far-right parties like Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism. Party leaders Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have threatened to destabilize the coalition over policy disagreements, particularly concerning the Gaza ceasefire deal. British politician Callum Miller noted that Netanyahu&#39;s dependency on far-right partners forces more radical actions, prioritizing coalition unity over national interests. Military establishment critique The Israeli security establishment has sharply criticized Netanyahu&#39;s leadership. As documented in &lsquo;Netanyahu vs The Generals: The Battle for Israel&#39;s Future,&rsquo; high-ranking security officials have publicly challenged the government&#39;s strategic decisions. Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the US, stated in October 2025 that Israel has exhausted major military options against Hamas. Judicial reform controversies A bill passed in March 2025 allows what the Israeli opposition termed as increased government influence over judicial appointments. Many have raised substantial concerns about judicial independence. Reuters reported in April 2023 that thousands of Israelis have protested in Tel Aviv against the government&#39;s judicial reform plans. In July 2023, AFP described mass protests and strikes across Israel sparked by the government&#39;s reform initiatives. War on Gaza management Netanyahu has faced mounting criticism over the conflict&#39;s management. The Guardian reported on October 14, 2025, that Netanyahu&#39;s rhetoric emphasized continued military presence, contradicting claims of a &lsquo;concluded conflict.&rsquo; Reuters noted that opposition leader Benny Gantz withdrew from the emergency war cabinet, criticizing what he believed had been Netanyahu&#39;s lack of strategic planning. Hostage families&#39; pressure The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has become a powerful opposition voice. AFP reported that many family members demonstrated against Netanyahu during his United Nations General Assembly speech. In October 2025, Reuters reported the forum&#39;s continued dissatisfaction with the ceasefire-hostage deal. Political prospects The Israel Democracy Institute&#39;s October 2025 report revealed mixed public sentiment with only over 40% of Israelis having trust in Netanyahu. A Maariv poll in The Times of Israel on October 10 showed Netanyahu&#39;s Likud party projected to win 27 Knesset seats, a slight increase from previous standings. While still significantly short of a majority, this shows uptick in positive public perception. The temporary boost is likely from the hostage-ceasefire deal. However, the same Democracy Institute study showed that 64% of Israelis believe Netanyahu should resign over the October 7, 2023 security failures. His ability to maintain political relevance amidst significant opposition indicates a capacity for strategic political maneuvering. Existing public opinion data suggests that he may be able to form a coalition government in the upcoming October 2026 elections.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, DC, US, September 29, 2025. (Reuters)

Articles

Netanyahu faces mounting legal, political, and public challenges after Gaza war, with corruption trials, opposition criticism, and 64% of Israelis believing he should resign over security failures.

Can Netanyahu survive the odds after Gaza peace deal?

TEL AVIV: Israel&#39;s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was back in a Tel Aviv court on Wednesday for the latest hearing in his long-running corruption trial, which opened in May 2020. The prime minister kept a smiling face as he and his entourage of several ministers from his conservative Likud party were heckled by protesters en route to the tribunal. It comes after US President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that the Israeli premier should be pardoned in his three separate corruption cases. His latest appearance at the Tel Aviv court also follows the return of the hostages taken by Hamas as part of Trump&#39;s US-brokered plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. In one case, Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods, including champagne, cigars and jewellery, from billionaires in exchange for political favours. In two other instances, Netanyahu is also charged with attempting to negotiate better press coverage from two Israeli media outlets. He has denied any wrongdoing, claiming to be the victim of a political plot. During his current term, which started in late 2022, Netanyahu has proposed far-reaching judicial reforms that critics say sought to weaken the courts. Those prompted massive protests that only abated after the onset of the Gaza war, sparked by Hamas&#39;s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. In an address on Monday to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, Trump told the chamber that Netanyahu should receive a pardon in the graft cases. &quot;Cigars and champagne, who the hell cares about that?&quot; Trump joked, before asking his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog: &quot;Why don&#39;t you give him a pardon?&quot; The Israeli premier is also subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on suspicion of ordering war crimes in his government&#39;s assault on Hamas militants in Gaza. Netanyahu holds the record for the most years spent at the head of Israel&#39;s government, having served 18 years in several stints as premier since 1996.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on while President Donald Trump addresses the Knesset, Israel's parliament, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Jerusalem. (AP)

Articles tagged with "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu"