Dave DeCamp
Netanyahu
is set to discuss the potential Gaza deal in his meeting with Trump at the
White House
Mourners carry the bodies of Palestinian children killed in an
overnight Israeli strike on a house, according to the Gaza Health
Ministry, during a funeral at Al-Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, July 6,
2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Israel wants assurances from the
US that if it agrees to a 60-day Gaza ceasefire deal, it could restart its
genocidal war if it deems that its conditions are not met in negotiations with
Hamas, Middle East Eye reported on Friday, citing Israeli media.
Under the potential deal, the two
sides would conduct negotiations during the 60-day truce on reaching a
permanent ceasefire. According to an Israeli source speaking to Israel’s
Channel 14, the current proposal includes a secret side letter from President
Trump that would give Israel the green light to “renew the fire if our demands
with regards to the disarmament of Hamas and the exile of its leaders are not
met,” and Israel would be able to decide on whether or not to restart strikes
on Gaza.
A ceasefire deal reached between
Israel and Hezbollah in November 2024 also included a secret side letter from
the US to Israel that said Israel could continue to bomb Lebanon if it
determined Hezbollah was violating the deal. As a result, Israel has constantly
violated the ceasefire with airstrikes, ground raids, and its continued
occupation of areas of southern Lebanon.
The Middle East Eye report noted
that the Channel 14 report cited a “member of the political echelon,” a phrase
that’s often used to signal deliberate leaks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu. If it was a deliberate leak, that means its purpose could be to
sabotage ceasefire negotiations, as Hamas’s main demand is for a stronger
guarantee from the US that it’s committed to the deal turning into a permanent
ceasefire.
Hamas offered several amendments
to the US and Israeli proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, including a stronger
guarantee from the US, clearer language on the Israeli withdrawal from certain
parts of Gaza, and the unrestricted flow of aid led by the UN and the
Palestinian Red Crescent.
Netanyahu has already called the
Hamas amendments “unacceptable,” but also agreed to send negotiators to Doha
for indirect talks. According to Palestinian sources speaking to Reuters, the
first round of talks ended “inconclusively.”
During previous negotiations,
Netanyahu frequently made public demands that were unacceptable to Hamas to
scuttle the chances of a deal. An analysis published by Haaretz on Sunday
suggested that the Israeli leader is trying to undermine the current negotiations,
and that an agreement will likely only be reached if President Trump forces his
hand.
Netanyahu is due to meet with
President Trump at the White House on Monday, and the potential Gaza ceasefire
deal is expected to be a major topic of conversation, along with the recent
12-day US-Israeli war on Iran.
Another
1,088 were wounded as Israel's relentless strikes continued throughout the
weekend
Israeli forces in Gaza killed 288
Palestinians and wounded 1,088 over the past three days, according to daily
death toll updates from Gaza’s Health Ministry, as relentless US-backed Israeli
strikes continued to pound the Strip and aid seekers continued to be killed
while attempting to get food.
Heavy Israeli airstrikes hit
targets across Gaza on Sunday, including Gaza City, where at least 39 people
were killed, according to medical sources speaking to Al Jazeera. The
Associated Press reported that Israeli strikes on two houses in Gaza City killed
at least 20.
In the al-Mawasi tent camp in
southern Gaza, at least 18 people were killed by Israeli attacks, including two
families. “My brother, his wife, his four children, my cousin’s son and his
daughter. … Eight people are gone,” Gaza resident Saqer Abu Al-Kheir told the
AP.
In its latest update released on
Sunday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said 80 Palestinians were killed over the
previous 24-hour period. It said among those killed over the past day were
eight people seeking food, bringing the total number of aid seekers killed
since the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began
operating at the end of May to 751.
The Israeli military has admitted
to killing some civilians near aid sites but disputes the death toll from
Gaza’s Health Ministry. However, the number aligns with daily reports coming
out of Gaza, which have cited eyewitnesses, rescue workers, and medical staff
at hospitals. Studies have also found that the Health Ministry’s overall death
toll could be a significant undercount.
The Health Ministry said the
latest violence has brought its death toll since October 7, 2023, to 57,418 and
the number of wounded to 136,261. The numbers don’t account for all of the
Palestinians who are missing and presumed dead under the rubble, and estimates
that factor in indirect deaths caused by the Israeli siege and destruction of
all of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure bring the death toll into the hundreds of
thousands.
The
strikes came after the Houthis launched another missile at Israel
Israeli Defense Minister Israel
Katz on Sunday night announced “intense” Israeli airstrikes on Yemen, a series
of attacks that were confirmed by Yemeni media.
The attacks came after Yemen’s
Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, launched their latest missile attack
on Israel, as the Houthis have vowed their operations against Israel would
continue until the genocidal war and siege on Gaza come to an end.
According to Katz and Yemeni
media, the Israeli airstrikes targeted the Yemeni ports of Hodeidah, Ras Isa,
and Salif, which are all located in the Hodeidah Governorate on the Red Sea.
Repeating a threat from last week, Katz said Yemen would be “treated like
Tehran,” referring to Israel’s recent bombing campaign in Iran.
“Anyone who tries to harm Israel
will be harmed, anyone who raises a hands against Israel will have it cut off.
The Houthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions,” Katz said.
The Israeli minister also said
the Israeli strikes targeted the Galaxy Leader, a ship the Houthis seized in
2023 when the Yemeni group first started its attacks on Israel-linked shipping.
Also on Sunday, a Greek-owned
ship, the Magic Seas, was attacked in the Red Sea, forcing the crew to abandon
it. So far, the Houthis haven’t taken credit for the attack, which reportedly
involved small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, and drones, setting the ship
ablaze.
If the Houthis were responsible
for the attack, it would mark their first operation against a commercial vessel
this year. Yemeni attacks have focused on targeting Israeli territory and also
US warships during President Trump’s bombing campaign against Yemen, which
lasted from March 15 to May 6 and involved very heavy missile strikes and
massive civilian casualties.
The US bombing campaign failed to
deter the Houthis, and while Trump framed his ceasefire as a victory, the US
essentially gave up on trying to end Yemeni attacks on Israel. The latest round
of Israeli airstrikes is not expected to stop Houthi operations against Israeli
territory.
“Our support operations will
continue until the aggression against Gaza stops and the siege is lifted,”
Saree said on Sunday when announcing the latest missile attack on Israel.
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