Israel, Hamas defiant
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Omer looks different now, after spending 505 days in captivity in Gaza. His brown hair is cropped shorter than the floppy waves that fell across his forehead back in 2023 – an image familiar to Israelis from posters demanding the return of the hostages who had been kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7th attacks.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a controversial U.S.-backed aid distribution initiative supported by Israel, is currently the primary method for Palestinians in devastated Gaza to access supplies in designated spots after Israel lifted its aid blockade in mid-May.
Thirteen women and two men who survived captivity by Hamas said they experienced or witnessed sexual violence while held hostage in Gaza, according to a new report by a group of Israeli researchers known as the Dinah Project.
Yet according to multiple testimonies from Gaza, Hamas is on its last legs. Its military and political leadership has been almost entirely eliminated. Its government no longer governs. Gangs and looters are filling the vacuum.
As Israel and Hamas move closer to a ceasefire agreement, Israel says it wants to maintain troops in a southern corridor of the Gaza Strip — a condition that could derail the talks.
President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu have said they believe a 60-day deal to return half the hostages and a temporary ceasefire in Gaza will happen soon.
A U.N. Commission of Inquiry into sexual assault on October 7 found that Israeli women were subjected "to gender-based violence such as physical, sexual and psychological violence, including threats of such acts, coercion and arbitrary deprivation of liberty."
An Israeli report released Tuesday accuses Hamas of using sexual violence as a weapon of war during its Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas near the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, the first targeted killing in the area for several months.
22hon MSN
Ruby Chen, father of Hamas hostage Itay Chen, on the fight to bring the remaining captives home after President Trump hinted a deal may be on the horizon.