Devastation in Gaza as Israel wages war on Hamas

Hamas said they had informed mediators on Thursday that they are “prepared to reach a comprehensive agreement” that includes a full hostage and prisoner exchange deal if Israel stops its war in Gaza. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A statement from the group said while they had shown “flexibility and positivity in dealing with the efforts of the mediators throughout all previous rounds of indirect negotiations,” Israel, Hamas said, had used the months of ongoing talks as a cover to continue its war in Gaza.

“Hamas and the Palestinian factions will not accept being part of this policy of continuous negotiations in the face of aggression, killing, siege, starvation, and genocide of our people,” the Hamas statement said.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted that the war must continue until Hamas is completely destroyed.

All pieces of the temporary pier off the coast of Gaza have been relocated to the port of Ashdod for repair, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said Thursday.

“Earlier today, IDF engineers removed the anchored portion of the Trident pier from the beach, so as of this afternoon, all sections of the Trident pier have been relocated to the port of Ashdod for rebuilding and repairing,” she said.

The pier was damaged on Tuesday due to a storm and high seas causing a portion of the pier to separate. Singh said two of the four vessels that were beached over last weekend have also been recovered; the US is currently working with the Israeli Navy to recover the remaining two vessels beached on the coast of Gaza.

“As a reminder, the rebuilding and repairing of the pier will take over a week and following completion, the Trident pier will be re-anchored to the coast of Gaza,” Singh said.

Israel’s National Unity party, led by war cabinet member Benny Gantz, has proposed a bill to dissolve the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and trigger new elections in the fall.

“This is a continuation of the initiative led by the chairman of the State Camp, Minister Benny Gantz, to hold elections with broad consensus by October, one year after the massacre,” Gantz’s press office said in a statement.

Knesset member Pnina Tamano-Shata submitted the bill on Thursday.

“October 7th is a disaster that requires us to regain the people’s trust and establish a broad and stable unity government that can lead us safely through the enormous challenges in security, the economy, and above all, in Israeli society. Submitting the bill now will allow us to advance it further in the current session,” Tamano-Shata said in a statement.

By proposing the bill, the National Unity Party members will now have the opportunity to table it during the Knesset’s summer session in which they will hold a vote to decide whether to dissolve parliament in September and hold fresh elections in October.

Some context: Currently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a 64-member governing coalition that gives him a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

While Gantz had performed well in polls from earlier this year, recently his favorability has dropped, according to CNN global affairs analyst Barak Ravid.

Gantz has repeatedly criticized Netanyahu’s leadership throughout the conflict in Gaza. Earlier this month, Gantz threatened to withdraw from the government if the war cabinet did not lay out a plan by June 8 to free the hostages and eliminate Hamas. scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx scx

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