Israel-Hamas War Day 242: What's happening in Gaza, Middle East?

US President Joe Biden said in an interview conducted with TIME magazine and published on Tuesday that it was understandable for people to conclude that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was extending the war for his political interests. 

“There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion,” Biden responded when asked on the matter. 

A spokesperson from Qatar's foreign ministry stated on Tuesday that they received an Israeli proposal for hostage negotiations and a ceasefire in Gaza, noting that it reflects the positions outlined by US President Joe Biden. 

The spokesperson said that the proposal had been passed along to Hamas, and the current proposal is much closer to the positions of both sides. 

Hamas has called on the United Nations on Tuesday to enter Israel into its blacklist of countries that have committed crimes against children, according to a statement published on the terror group's official Telegram channel. 

"On the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, we call on the United Nations to include the Zionist occupation (Israel) in its blacklist of entities that target children with murder, torture, and displacement," the statement read. 

"We also call on the international community, states and governments, and institutions concerned with children’s rights to assume their political and humanitarian responsibilities towards the children of Palestine," the statement concluded. 

The possibility of swarms of infiltrating drones along with missiles and mortar fire on Israel's northern border isn't a far-fetched scenario, said IDF Brig.-Gen. (res.) Zvika Haimovich amid ongoing tensions with Lebanon.

Speaking to Radio North 104.5FM, Haimovich, former air defense chief, said, "It's true that what's happening in the North can be called a drone war. It's not the main thing Hezbollah uses, but they do have the ability to use it, while our side has a weakness."

He continued, "We remember what happened in December where [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah said that peace in the South would mean peace in the North, but we're still waiting for a deal.... Whether we wanted to or not, we also linked the fighting in the North and South." 

Hezbollah's deputy head Naim Qassem told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that the terror group's decision was not to widen its months-long war with Israel, but that it would fight if a full-scale war is imposed on it.

The comments were carried in a newsflash on Al Jazeera's broadcast ahead of the interview's airing.

Hamas has stated it will not send a delegation to the hostage deal negotiations in Cairo until Israel gives its final approval for the proposed deal, according to the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen on Tuesday, citing a Hamas official. 

"Our basic condition now is that we obtain official, declared and explicit Israeli approval for the previous paper, otherwise it is not possible to enter into rounds and discussions from scratch," the official reportedly said. 

Qatar stressed on Tuesday that there should be a clear position from both parties to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

"We are waiting for a clear Israeli position that represents the entire government in response to the US's Gaza proposal," Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari added.

Israel is fighting an existential public relations war for its right to self-defense, Ambassador Mike Herzog told the annual Jerusalem Post Conference in New York as he reflected on the last nine months of the Gaza war.

"While we fight the military war on the ground in Gaza, we fight another war which is critical as well, the war to defend our right to exist, our right to defend ourselves,” he said in a conversation with Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief Zvika Klein.

“It's a war of perceptions and narratives. It's a war against those who want to delegitimize the State of Israel. It is a critical war, and we need to think about this strategically, long term,” said Herzog, who has been Israel’s Ambassador to the US since the war began on October 7.

“For us, this war is existential. It touches on existential nerves,” he said.

Former US Vice President Mike Pence, who spoke with Klein before Herzog, attacked US President Joe Biden on his Israel record during the war.

“If there was ever a time when America should be sounding a clear sound of support for Israel, that is now,” the veteran Republican politician said.

Israeli ambassador to the US Mike Herzog seen during the Jerusalem Post Annual Conference in New York, June 3, 2024 (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

US support amid Israel's challenges

“Whether its domestic politics or lapse of judgment, I have been deeply disappointed, as have tens of millions of Americans, to see President Biden’s faltering rhetoric on Israel,” he said.

Herzog who works with the Democratic Biden administration daily, said that the President had stood with Israel, as he listed the many gestures of support.

“Since the beginning of the war, we have enjoyed a supply of weapon systems and munitions to the tune of billions of dollars,” Herzog said.

“We just saw the passing of the supplemental [budget], which is the biggest ever. The US vetoed four anti-Israel resolutions at the UN [Security Council].

“They stood with us at the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice,” Herzog said.
“And when we are massively attacked by Iran, with hundreds of munitions on the night between April 13 and 14th, they stood with us,” he said.

But, he noted, there are policy differences, although he did not elaborate.

“These are dark days, but we must keep our faith and hope.

“I’m hopeful that, ultimately, we'll see better days. And I am a great believer in the relations between Israel and the US. The American people are with us,” Herzog said.

He recalled the fateful moments at the start of the Gaza war, when Hamas invaded southern Israel early in the morning, what would have been close to midnight in Washington.

He immediately put the embassy in war mode and contacted a senior person at the White House.

“It was past midnight. I said this is not another usual situation. And the guy wrote me back. ‘We are with you now.’”

The annual Jerusalem Day flag parade, set for Wednesday afternoon, will proceed along its traditional route, mirroring the path of previous years, from central Jerusalem to the Western Wall via the historic avenues of the Old City. 

A judge ordered the release of a Palestinian woman who illegally infiltrated Israeli territory because "the war has subsided." This is despite how the IDF is currently fighting in both the North and South and with tensions rising in the West Bank.