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Israel-Hamas War Day 228: What's happening in Iran, Gaza, Iraq, Syria?

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 IDF soldiers operate atop a tank near the Gaza border, as seen from Israel, May 21, 2024 (photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
IDF soldiers operate atop a tank near the Gaza border, as seen from Israel, May 21, 2024
(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)

In complete secrecy: Egypt altered the hostage deal terms before handing to Hamas - report

Qatari officials have denied involvement with the altered deal, placing the blame squarely on Egypt.

By MAARIV, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 Palestinians react after Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 6, 2024. In Israel, protesters block a highway demanding the immediate release of hostages. (photo credit: REUTERS, REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON)
Palestinians react after Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 6, 2024. In Israel, protesters block a highway demanding the immediate release of hostages.
(photo credit: REUTERS, REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON)

Egypt altered ceasefire terms before handing agreements to Hamas, three anonymous sources told CNN News in a report published on Tuesday.

According to the report, Egypt changed the details of the deal submitted to the Hamas terrorist organization after it had been signed by Israel and before reaching Hamas. It was also reported that this move led to great anger among Israel, the US, and Qatar against the Egyptians.

One source even claimed that the Egyptians "deceived us all."

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Gaza aid truck attackers claim they were tipped off by IDF soldiers, police - report

A Palestinian aid lorry driver told the Guardian “There is full cooperation between the settlers and the army,” mirroring claims from Tzav 9.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 An Israeli soldier stands guard as a truck carrying humanitarian aid makes its way to the Gaza Strip at Erez Crossing in southern Israel, May 5, 2024. (photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
An Israeli soldier stands guard as a truck carrying humanitarian aid makes its way to the Gaza Strip at Erez Crossing in southern Israel, May 5, 2024.
(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)

Activists who attacked a humanitarian aid truck heading to Gaza claimed that they had been receiving intelligence from individual IDF soldiers on the trucks’ whereabouts, the Guardian reported on Tuesday.

Rachel Touitou, a spokesperson for Tzav 9 was cited as having claimed that the group was receiving some information from individual soldiers. However, she said It was not Tzav 9 that burned the trucks … this was not our action.”

“When a policeman or soldier’s mission is supposed to protect Israelis and instead he is sent to protect humanitarian aid convoys – knowing it will end up in the hands of Hamas – we cannot blame them or civilians who notice the trucks passing by their towns for providing intel to groups trying to block that aid,” she told The Guardian. 

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Ted Cruz accuses Biden, Blinken of funding Oct. 7 attacks by ‘showering cash on Iran’

Cruz also claimed that the White House was essentially telling Israel "not to kill the terrorists."

By HANNAH SARISOHN
 US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks alongside House Republican impeachment managers and other Senate Republicans during a press conference on the impeachment of U.S. Secretary of Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, April 16, 2024. (photo credit: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/Reuters)
US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks alongside House Republican impeachment managers and other Senate Republicans during a press conference on the impeachment of U.S. Secretary of Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, April 16, 2024.
(photo credit: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/Reuters)

In what was perhaps the most contentious bout of questioning during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s testimony on Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz lobbed stunning criticism of the Biden administration’s foreign policy at Blinken, saying he and President Joe Biden funded the attacks on October 7.

Cruz, the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, grilled Blinken over the number of barrels of oil Iran is now selling per day, compared to when he first took office, as well as the number of Iran’s ghost fleet ships.

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Blinken admits: Israel may not be willing or able to move on a Saudi deal

The conversation about normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia is complicated as it would have to involve the pathway to a Palestinian state.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF, REUTERS
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, June 7, 2023. (photo credit: Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy Saudi Royal Court/Handout via Reuters)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, June 7, 2023.
(photo credit: Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy Saudi Royal Court/Handout via Reuters)

The Israeli government might not be in the position to proceed with Saudi normalization given that such a deal requires a pathway to Palestinian statehood, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“The Saudis have been very clear that [normalization] would require calm in Gaza, and it would require a credible pathway to a Palestinian state,” Blinken said.

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Bipartisan senators condemn ICC, call for complementarity to be honored 

The senators claim the ICC decision will jeopardize peace negotiations in the Middle East.

By HANNAH SARISOHN
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). (photo credit: Bonnie Cash/Reuters)
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
(photo credit: Bonnie Cash/Reuters)

Eight senators released a statement on Tuesday morning slamming the ICC for jeopardizing efforts to bring about sustainable peace to the Middle East and risking negotiations to secure a hostage deal. 

“The application for arrest warrants also draws a false equivalence between Israel with its longstanding commitment to the rule of law, and Hamas’ theocratic, autocratic, and unaccountable rule over Gaza," according to the statement. "To state the obvious: Israel is a functioning democracy, while Hamas is a terrorist organization.

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Full IDF draft of haredi men would obviate reserve duty by 2045, IDI research shows

The defense ministry announced in February that at the current rate of enlistment, it will need to lengthen IDF service for mandatory soldiers from 32 to 36 months.

By ELIAV BREUER
 Haredim arrive at the IDF recruitment center in Tel Hashomer to process their draft exemptions. (photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)
Haredim arrive at the IDF recruitment center in Tel Hashomer to process their draft exemptions.
(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)

If haredi men serve in the IDF at the same rate as the general Jewish public, the IDF will no longer need reservists to carry out its operational duties, according to research conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute that was presented at the annual Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

Amid public debate over the long-standing exemption of haredi men from IDF service and the IDF's plan to increase the length of mandatory and reserve duty of those who do serve, the research, which was presented during a panel titled "Economic and Social Ramifications of Burden Equality," examined the effect of a number of scenarios of haredi service until 2050.

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Blinken: ICC arrest warrants would harm hostage deal efforts

Blinken spoke one day after ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced his plan to seek arrest warrants against top Israeli and Hamas leaders.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 29, 2024. (photo credit: REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 29, 2024.
(photo credit: REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL)

An ICC decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders would complicate efforts for a deal to release the remaining 128 hostages in Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

He spoke one day after ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced his plan to seek arrest warrants against top Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

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ICC requests 'like charging US and Al-Qaeda after 9/11', says Netanyahu in 'ABC' interview

“Every democracy will be pulled into the [ICC] dock. We’re first, and you’re next. People understand that,” Netanyahu said.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
 Netanyahu, Swords of Iron (photo credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Netanyahu, Swords of Iron
(photo credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Western democratic leaders will also be hauled before the International Criminal Court unless a way is found to prevent Israelis from standing trial there, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC on Tuesday.

“Every democracy will be pulled into the [ICC] dock. We’re first, and you’re next. People understand that,” Netanyahu said.

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Comptroller: 60% of IDF purchases fail quality control tests

This issue is exacerbated, the report noted, by the fact that the IDF does not report comprehensive data on quality control failures to the Defense Ministry, which manages the purchases.  

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englmann attends a press conference to announce the opening of an investigationn into Israel's Mount Meron disaster, at the State Comptroller offices in Jerusalem, May 3, 2021.  (photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englmann attends a press conference to announce the opening of an investigationn into Israel's Mount Meron disaster, at the State Comptroller offices in Jerusalem, May 3, 2021.
(photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)

State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman on Tuesday warned in an annual report that 60% of IDF equipment purchases fail quality control tests.

This issue is exacerbated, the report noted, by the fact that the IDF does not report comprehensive data on quality control failures to the Defense Ministry, which manages the purchases.  

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Egypt’s relationship with Hamas, what does history tell us? - analysis

October 7 deeply impacted Egypt, however, Cairo has not appeared to excoriate Hamas for the attack, leaving questions about how this all transpired.

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN
 Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inspects the Egyptian military units in Suez, as he told the media in his speech that Cairo is playing a very positive role in de-escalating the Gaza crisis, Egypt, October 25, 2023 in this handout picture courtesy of the Egyptian Presidency. (photo credit: THE EGYPTIAN PRESIDENCY/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inspects the Egyptian military units in Suez, as he told the media in his speech that Cairo is playing a very positive role in de-escalating the Gaza crisis, Egypt, October 25, 2023 in this handout picture courtesy of the Egyptian Presidency.
(photo credit: THE EGYPTIAN PRESIDENCY/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

As the Israel Defense Forces push deeper into Rafah they are finding tunnels and dismantling Hamas terrorist infrastructure. The offensive in Rafah was opposed by Egypt before it happened, however there have been less statements since it actually began. There remains a lack of clarity about Egypt’s overall position today and also what may have transpired in the years leading up to October 7.

It's important to begin the process of understanding how Hamas became so powerful prior to the October 7 attack. How did it stockpile so many weapons? Where did the weapons come from? Hamas manufactures many types of rockets locally, but it also acquired RPGs and other types of systems that appear to have been trafficked from abroad.

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