03/09/2024 11:57
The Guardian
Israel’s prime minister vowed that Israel would not relinquish control over a strategic corridor along the Gaza-Egyptian border, despite widespread protests. Plus: the first hydrogen-powered passenger train in the USDon’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning.Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, defied protests at home and criticism from Joe Biden by vowing on Monday that Israel would not relinquish control over a strategic corridor along the Gaza-Egyptian border, entrenching a position that has emerged as a key obstacle to a ceasefire deal.What did Joe Biden say? Biden told reporters that he did not believe Netanyahu was doing enough to secure a ceasefire deal with Hamas. He said his administration was “very close” to proposing a “final” hostage deal to both sides that has assumed new urgency since the discovery of the bodies, including that of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin.What has the international response been? The UK has suspended some arms export licences to Israel because of a “clear risk” they may be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law. Netanyahu called the UK’s decision “shameful”.Will the protests continue? While an Israel court ordered an end to the nationwide general strike that brought much of Israel’s economy to a standstill on Monday, the Hostage Families Forum vowed that protests would continue in the interests of the 101 hostages still unaccounted for in Gaza, of whom Israeli intelligence believes about a third are already dead.How has Hamas responded? Hamas’s armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, said that hostages would return to Israel “inside coffins” if military pressure continued and warned that new instructions were issued in June to militants guarding the captives on what to do if Israeli troops approached. The Israeli military said that the six hostages were killed by their captors shortly before their bodies were found in a tunnel complex under Gaza.What was Donald Trump up to this weekend? Trump did an interview with Fox News, during which he accused Harris of mistreating Mike Pence – the former vice-president who Trump’s supporters said should be hanged during the January 6 insurrection that he incited. Continue reading...
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