Another short update today, as we are preparing for today’s celebration of my father’s 90th birthday in Vancouver, and the rest of my siblings have descended on the city. My Israeli sister has been here since I arrived, and on Monday night we found ourselves dining at Ofra’s Kitchen, a one woman vegan operation with a big Israeli flag in the window and Israeli food on the menu. I enjoyed a delicious felafel and I encourage you to stop in if you are ever in the neighbourhood.
Image: View from inside Ofra’s Kitchen in Vancover — Photo by David Roytenberg
As Israel pulls most of its forces out of Gaza, and pushes much more humanitarian aid in, the hostage talks have resumed in Cairo. Given the pressure on Israel, both from domestic demands for a deal, and global rhetoric against Israeli actions in Gaza, it’s hard to see why Hamas would see the necessity of making any concessions at all. And at every such meeting, after a flurry of leaks about supposed progress, the answer coming back from Hamas is unsurprisingly, “No, our position is exactly what it was before.”
Then after each such round there is a flurry of consultations and pressure on Israel for more concessions, new claims that a deal is close and the same response from Hamas.
In an interview recorded last Wednesday, Biden seemed to abandon the pretence that this is a negotiation and said, Israel should just declare a ceasefire for six to eight weeks. The urgency of freedom for the hostages seemed to have vanished from the conversation.
However in statements on Tuesday, spokespeople for the administration said the ball is in Hamas’ court, and that concessions by them were needed to finalize a deal.
Netanyahu announced while speaking to an army unit finishing its training, that the redeployment of the army from Khan Yunis did not mean the end of the war is near. He stated a date for an invasion of Rafah, has been set. However Defense minister Gallant contradicted him denying that a date a has been finalized.
The opening of additional aid routes and the withdrawal of most Israeli troops seems designed to test whether the negotiations are more than a charade. The Israeli air campaign reportedly took out a senior Hamas commander in Khan Younis and this morning another strike was said to have killed three sons of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyah.
Meanwhile escalating violence in the north keeps Israelis from returning home to northern communities. Israel continues to inflict a price on Hezbollah for the ongoing violence, killing another senior commander in an air strike on Monday.
Threats of punishment by Iran for Israel’s killing of two top generals of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were met by threats from Israel of direct attacks on the Iranian homeland in response to any attack emanating from their territory.
In Philadelphia, a court ordered the Bryn Mawr film festival to rescind its decision to cancel the showing of an Israeli film, which organizers said would be seen as an endorsement of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Wishing all of you a peaceful day, and may God bless and protect the brave soldiers of the IDF, including the Nahal brigade which is still on ground in Gaza, and all those guarding Israel’s borders.
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Good to see you visited Ofra's. It is a nice little place to have a good Israeli meal. Ofra had a hard time during all the protests but she bounced back and got a lot of support.
It is hard as Jews to always be wrong, on the world stage.
I will continue to say and pray, what we are all saying - Bring The Hostages Home, now.