International
Netanyahu says he is prepared for a “partial agreement” with Hamas but “not to stop the war” in Gaza
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has assured that he is “prepared for a partial agreement” with Hamas to achieve the return of part of the hostages who continue to be kidnapped in Gaza, but insisted that he will not end the war until he destroys the Islamist group.
“We are obliged to continue fighting after a pause to achieve our goal of destroying Hamas,” he defended last night on the program “Los patriotas”, of the right-wing channel Channel 14, in his first interview in a Hebrew media since October 7.
Shortly after its broadcast, the Prime Minister’s Office sent a statement clarifying that “it is Hamas who opposes the agreement, not Israel,” in the face of the criticisms of Netanyahu for his statements.
“The prime minister has made it clear that we will not leave Gaza until the return of the 120 hostages, alive and dead,” the statement said.
In response, Hamas published a text insisting that any agreement must include “a clear statement of a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip” as an “inevitability to block Netanyahu’s attempts to evade, deceive and perpetuate aggression.”
The Islamist organization assured that Netanyahu’s statements “are a clear confirmation of his rejection of the recent Security Council resolution and President Biden’s proposals.”
The resolution, approved on June 10, supported the proposed truce of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, on which Israel and Hamas are negotiating in recent weeks under the mediation of the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
This draft American agreement raises, in its first phase, a temporary ceasefire in which there would be a partial exchange of hostages (women, elderly and wounded), in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
However, Hamas and Israel always clash on the same red line: the definitive ceasefire, an indispensable condition for Islamists and something unacceptable for Netanyahu, whose war objectives first go through the destruction of their military and government capabilities.
About the course of the offensive, the prime minister said in the interview that “the high-intensity scenario of the war will end” and will occur “very soon.”
The relatives of the hostages reacted on Monday to the statements in favor of Netanyahu’s partial exchange, criticizing that “ending the fight in Gaza without releasing the hostages would be a national failure and a distancing from the war objectives.”
In addition, the Israeli anti-government movement of the Black Flags called a march in Jerusalem on Thursday at 19:00 (16:00 GMT) against the prime minister, who is blamed for financing Hamas, provoking October 7 and not taking the hostages out of Gaza.
This same group blocked an entrance road to Tel Aviv this morning, justifying that “the hostages are abandoned in Gaza, the north on fire and another war about to begin” while Netanyahu’s Executive “abandons” the citizenry.
Another group, Changing Direction, protested on Monday in front of the headquarters of Hitadrut, the Federal Labor Generation of Israel, to call for early elections and a general strike in the country.
Of the 251 kidnapped on October 7, 116 captives remain in the enclave, at least 40 of them dead according to Israel – more than 70 according to Hamas -; while there are four other hostages for years, two of them dead.
Since the war began, Israel and Hamas only achieved a one-week truce agreement at the end of November, which allowed 105 hostages to be released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction