Gaza City; no hostage deal yet; antisemitism on the rise; lawfare continues
Israel prepares to take over Gaza City
The Israeli army is pushing ahead with the planned offensive to conquer Gaza City and drive out Hamas from its remaining strongholds in the area. The security cabinet approved a general plan to seize Gaza City earlier this month. On Wednesday, the army began calling up 60,000 reservists expected to be drafted for the offensive.
The planned offensive is expected to force up to a million Palestinian civilians in Gaza City and its environs to flee south. It has sparked a major international outcry, with governments and humanitarian groups warning of potentially disastrous consequences for Gaza’s civilians, noting widespread malnutrition that has recently worsened significantly amid the 22-month war.
The IDF has said that hospital infrastructures in the southern Gaza Strip are being adapted for the absorption of the sick and wounded, alongside an increased entry of necessary medical equipment in accordance with the requests of the international aid organizations.
Negotiations
Earlier this week, Hamas announced it was willing to agree terms of an agreement along the lines of a deal that Israel had demanded several weeks ago. However Israel’s PM Netanyahu has indicated that he is not interested in the deal, which would pause fighting for 60 days and see around half of the hostages freed, with talks then held regarding the rest, as well as an end to the war. He has said Israel will only now accept a comprehensive deal to free all hostages.

Armed Palestinians sit on trucks carrying humanitarian aid near the Zikim border crossing between Israel and Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip | Photo: Khalil Kahlout/Flash90
Lies and misinformation about humanitarian aid in Gaza
In the meantime, lies and misinformation about humanitarian aid in Gaza abound.
Article 23 of the Fourth Geneva Convention requires that parties to a conflict allow the passage of essential goods intended for civilians. However, it also allows those parties to impose conditions to ensure that aid does not benefit hostile actors. To fulfil its obligations under Article 23, Israel facilitated the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a civilian-led initiative focused on delivering aid directly to the Palestinian population. The GHF model, supported logistically by the IDF but independent in mission and governance, attempts to reconcile humanitarian imperatives with operational security.
In an article published by thinc. this week, Michael Pushenko reports:
- “The GHF model demonstrates a lawful and effective humanitarian response under extraordinary conditions. It aligns with the need for aid delivery under the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Sphere Handbook, directly addressing the logistical and ethical challenges of operating in an active warzone.
- Instead of criticising the GHF, the international community should recognise its integrity and success. They should applaud its willingness to risk workers’ lives to ensure that civilians receive humanitarian aid. In the face of international and domestic threats, the GHF has consistently fulfilled its core mission of delivering aid.”
Antisemitism
The Antisemitism Research Center (ARC) by CAM has recorded a sharp 83.3% rise in acts of violence and threats of violence targeting Jews across the globe over the last two weeks. Notable examples from the past week included an attack on a Jewish family in Vienna, Austria, by an Uber driver and an incident in Montreal, Canada, where a man wearing a robe and keffiyeh accosted an Orthodox Jewish passerby, shouting, “We will f*cking k*ll you all, pigs.”
Other incidents tracked by the ARC around the world this week included:
- France: Vandals cut down an olive tree planted in a Paris suburb in memory of Ilan Halimi, a young Jewish man brutally murdered by an antisemitic gang in 2006.
- Poland: A Jewish visitor to the site of the Auschwitz death camp was harassed over an Israeli flag she was carrying.
- United States: Students in Heath, Texas found flags bearing Nazi symbols displayed at Rockwall-Heath High School.
- Australia: A hair salon owner in Melbourne verbally harangued and ejected an Israeli customer from her business after identifying his accent.
- Thailand: A man disguised as Adolf Hitler posed for selfies with tourists inside a club in Koh Samui and gave Nazi salutes.
Lawfare
The U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on Wednesday on four officials at the International Criminal Court in The Hague over its support of investigations of U.S. conduct in Afghanistan, as well as arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant. The move against two ICC judges and two ICC deputy prosecutors follows U.S. President Trump’s executive order from February that imposed sanctions on the court’s chief prosecutor and further sanctions on four ICC judges in June.
- “The International Criminal Court continues to disregard national sovereignty and facilitate lawfare through efforts to investigate, arrest, detain and prosecute American and Israeli nationals,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote.
Breaking Hamas’ Grip: Humanitarian Aid and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) delivering over 130 million meals
Article 23 of the Fourth Geneva Convention requires that parties to a conflict allow the passage of essential goods intended for civilians. However, it also allows those parties to impose conditions to ensure that aid does not benefit hostile actors. To fulfil its obligations under Article 23, Israel facilitated the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a civilian-led initiative focused on delivering aid directly to the Palestinian population. The GHF model, supported logistically by the IDF but independent in mission and governance, attempts to reconcile humanitarian imperatives with operational security.
> Read more..
Feeding Gaza, Fighting Hamas: What the World Gets Wrong About Israel’s Humanitarian Aid
Even as the war rages and dozens of hostages remain in Hamas captivity, Israel continues facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid — food, water, fuel, and medicine — into Gaza, the coastal enclave controlled by the terrorists responsible for October 7th. Much of that aid is then stolen, obstructed, or exploited by Hamas.
> Read more..
Has Israel lost the war? Gaza and the illusion of victory
Though critics pretend otherwise, Jerusalem has exercised restraint that no other military would. It has bent over backward to protect civilians—at enormous strategic and political cost.
> Read more..
Trump admin imposes sanctions on four ICC officials
“We will continue to hold accountable those responsible for the ICC’s morally bankrupt and legally baseless actions against Americans and Israelis,” wrote U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
> Read more..
SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK:
Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.