Netanyahu expects news on hostages, Hamas says it agrees to Witkoff deal

The humanitarian aid distribution center in Rafah in the Gaza Strip will not open on Monday due to logistical reasons.

This is a developing story.

Left-leaning Israeli organizations reported several instances of violence on Monday in the Old City and the Arab Quarter of Jerusalem. 

Monday marks Jerusalem Day, which is notably when violence breaks out in Arab sections of the city. 

The Hamas controlled-Palestinian Interior Ministry called on Gaza residents not to cooperate with the new aid mechanism initiated by Israel, Walla reported on Monday. It claimed this is an "intelligence operation for information gathering," which, they argue, will lead to "fights over a piece of bread."

The terror organization reportedly claims that the new aid distribution mechanism is an intelligence operation aimed at collecting information and creating internal division, and that, according to them, Israel is using food as a weapon of war: "Resistance will force Israel to return to the old mechanism."

The Hamas-controlled ministry said that a "dubious" organization operates the new mechanism and aims to gather information using biometric eye-scanning technology, according to Walla.

In separate press conferences ahead of their weekly party meetings at the Knesset on Monday, opposition leader and Yesh Atid chairman MK Yair Lapid and National Unity chairman MK Benny Gantz called on IDF Maj. Gen. David Zini to announce that he will not accept the appointment of Shin Bet head unless the appointment was carried out according to law.

Lapid in his comments said that the previous government spent “many hours” deliberating the appointment of outgoing Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, and that the appointment was one of the “most important” government appointments.

Both Lapid and Gantz quoted reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to appoint Zini after speaking to him for a short period during a visit to the IDF’s Ze’elim base approximately two weeks ago. According to Lapid, the appointment was conducted so hastily that it “raised the concern” that the prime minister knew it would be frozen by the High Court and planned on using it as another excuse to criticize the court.

Hamas has executed four men for looting some of the aid trucks that have begun entering Gaza, sources familiar with the incident said on Monday, as a clan leader in southern Gaza issued a challenge to the militant group over guarding the convoys.

One source said the four were involved in an incident last week when six security officials were killed by an Israeli airstrike as they were working to prevent gang members from hijacking aid trucks.

"The four criminals, who were executed, were involved in the crimes of looting and causing the death of members of a force tasked with securing aid trucks," one of the sources told Reuters.

Israel on Monday rejected a proposal crafted by Hamas for a partial deal that would see the release of five hostages.

"[The proposal is] very far away from the outline that we are willing to negotiate on," an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post.

The proposal was formulated by Hamas and passed on to the US through direct backchannel communications. The US then presented the proposal to Israel. Notably, the US didn't say whether it supported the proposal or not.  

Hamas bears full responsibility for provoking the war in Gaza, using its own people as human shields, and placing military infrastructure beneath civilian sites, but it is time for Israel to make a truce, according to Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

“Hamas’s trap dragged Israel into a war that the civilian population is paying for,” Tajani said in an interview with Italian broadcaster Rai 3’s Re Start show. “Hamas has a huge responsibility toward its own people, which it is using as a human shield,” he added, calling it “criminal to build military bases under hospitals.”

The remarks come as Israel faces mounting international calls to end its military campaign in Gaza, now in its eighth month. Tajani’s comments underscore continued Western support for Israel’s right to defend itself while also signaling a growing demand for a shift in approach.

The Israeli government "welcomed" Benjamin Netanyahu's intention to appoint Major General David Zini as the head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), according to a statement read at an Israeli Security Cabinet meeting on Monday, the Jerusalem Post has learned. 

"The government calls on all relevant parties to remove obstacles and expedite the process of approving the appointment, which is essential for Israel's security. The government emphasizes the importance of appointing a permanent head of the Shin Bet during wartime and urges against resorting to the appointment of a temporary replacement," it declared. 

The majority of medical equipment stocks have run out in Gaza, while 42% of basic medicines, including painkillers, are out of stock, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

"We are at stock zero of close to 64% of medical equipment and stock zero of 42% of essential medicines and vaccines," Hanan Balkhy, the WHO's Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, told reporters in Geneva.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held a joint press conference in Jerusalem on Monday morning.

"Today, to our enemies, I say once again: Israel will never surrender to terrorism," Sa'ar stated.

Noem's visit to Israel follows the killing of two Israeli embassy staff, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, in Washington on Wednesday night.