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Israel’s prime minister says he “will not surrender to pressure” amid growing calls for him to agree a deal to end the conflict in Gaza.

Speaking in an address to the nation, Benjamin Netanyahu said there were “certain things we won’t compromise on” with Hamas.

Mr Netanyahu said he was “fully committed” to advancing negotiations for a ceasefire, but claimed the Palestinian militant group was “refusing” any proposal.

The Israeli prime minister also vowed that Israel would not give up control of the Philadelphi corridor in Gaza – a narrow piece of land in southern Gaza which leads to its border with Egypt – which he described as “Hamas’ lifeline”.

Mr Netanyahu’s comments came amid intense pressure over the deaths of six more Israeli hostages.

People attend a demonstration calling for the immediate return of hostages held in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, outside Prime Minister office in Jerusalem September 1, 2024. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
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People called for the immediate return of hostages held in Gaza outside in Jerusalem on Sunday. Pic: Reuters

Speaking against a backdrop of some of the largest protests his government has seen since the outbreak of the war in Gaza almost 11 months ago, Mr Netanyahu issued a message of unity, urging that Israel “must stand united as one”.

Some half a million people are estimated to have taken the streets of Israel on Sunday to express anger at his government’s failure to secure a ceasefire deal after the six hostages were found dead in an underground tunnel in Gaza on Saturday.

Mr Netanyahu issued an apology to the families of the hostages for failing to return them alive and asked for forgiveness.

But he also hit out at the suggestion that their deaths should result in more pressure on Israel to agree to a deal, and said Hamas would pay a “heavy price” for killing the hostages in “cold blood”.

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Joe Biden meets Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House
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Joe Biden said Mr Netanyahu wasn’t doing enough to get a deal for the hostages. Pic: Reuters

The Israeli Health Ministry said post-mortem examinations had determined the hostages had been shot at close range and died on Thursday or Friday.

Hostage Families Forum, which organised the protest over the weekend, blamed the Israeli government for the deaths, and said the hostages could have been returned alive if a deal had been struck with Hamas to end the conflict in Gaza.

Netanyahu’s crisis is getting worse – and Israel may never forgive him

One thing is undisputedly clear: even if the first six-week phase of a ceasefire was agreed, there is no chance of it being extended.

Netanyahu has weathered many storms in his long years as the country’s leader, but none as big as this.

He believes his approach to Gaza is the right one and he is convinced he can ride out this pressure.

Maybe, but his refusal to compromise and the fate of the hostages at stake, he is boxing himself into a corner Israel might never forgive him for.

Click here to read Alistair Bunkall’s full analysis

“The delay in signing the deal has led to their deaths and those of many other hostages,” they said in a statement.

‘Take it or leave it’

US President Joe Biden added to the pressure by saying Mr Netanyahu was not doing enough to reach a deal for a ceasefire and hostage release.

The outgoing US president nonetheless said a final hostage deal between Israel and Hamas was “very close”.

It comes amid reports that Mr Biden was considering offering a final “take it or leave it” deal to Israel and Hamas as soon as this week, according to two people briefed on the discussions and quoted by Sky News’ US partner network NBC.

US Vice President Kamala Harris said this afternoon she had met the US hostage deal negotiation team.

She tweeted: “It is long past time for a ceasefire and hostage deal. We need to bring the hostages home and end the suffering in Gaza.”

Read more: Who are the six Israeli hostages confirmed dead?

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It is not clear how many hostages remain in Gaza.

Israel has been waging a war on the enclave since Hamas’ attack 11 months ago, which saw 1,200 people killed in southern Israel, with a further 250 taken hostage.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says at least 40,786 Palestinians have now been killed during Israel’s offensive on the densely populated Gaza Strip.

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Two bridges collapse in Russia – as seven people killed and dozens injured

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Two bridges collapse in Russia - as seven people killed and dozens injured

Seven people have been killed and dozens are injured after two bridges collapsed in Russia overnight.

A train derailed after a bridge collapsed on to it in the Bryansk region, killing the driver and six others.

Some 69 people were injured in the crash, with the train travelling from Moscow to Klimov at the time.

Earlier, local authorities blamed “illegal interference” for the incident.

Later, a bridge collapsed in Russia’s Kursk region while a freight train was passing over it.

Local officials said one of the train’s drivers was injured in the crash.

When a bridge collapsed in the Kursk region, part of the train fell down onto the road, and a fire started. Pic: RIA/Telegram
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The scene of the train crash in Kursk region. Pic: RIA/Telegram

Russia’s Baza Telegram channel, which often publishes information from sources in the security services and law
enforcement, reported, without providing evidence, that the bridge in Bryansk was blown up, according to initial information.

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There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Since the start of the war that Russia launched more than three years ago, there have been continued cross-border shelling, drone strikes, and covert raids by Ukrainian forces into the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions that border Ukraine.

Photo: Official Telegram channel of the Moscow Interregional Transport Prosecutor's Office
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Pic: Moscow Transport Prosecutor’s Office

Bryansk regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said: “Everything is being done to provide all necessary assistance to the victims.”

Emergency workers are at the scene of the train derailment, attempting to pull survivors from the wreckage.

Russia’s federal road transportation agency said the destroyed bridge passed above the railway tracks where the train was travelling.

Images from the scene show passenger cars ripped apart and lying amid fallen concrete from the collapsed bridge.

Other footage on social media appeared to be taken from inside vehicles which narrowly avoided driving onto the bridge before it collapsed.

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At least 21 killed in Gaza as they went to receive aid, Red Cross hospital says

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At least 21 killed in Gaza as they went to receive aid, Red Cross hospital says

At least 21 people have been killed in Gaza as they went to receive aid from an Israeli-backed foundation, according to a nearby hospital run by the Red Cross.

The hospital, which received the bodies, said another 175 people had been wounded in the incident in Rafah on Sunday morning.

The Associated Press also reports seeing dozens of people being treated at the hospital.

Witnesses have said those killed and injured were struck by gunfire which broke out at a roundabout near the distribution site.

The area is controlled by Israeli forces.

Ibrahim Abu Saoud, an eyewitness, said Israeli forces opened fire at people moving toward the aid distribution centre.

“There were many martyrs, including women,” the 40-year-old man said. “We were about 300 meters (yards) away from the military.”

Abu Saoud said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who he said had died at the scene. “We weren’t able to help him,” he said.

The Gazans had been trying to receive aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – an American organisation backed by both the US and Israeli governments.

It operates as part of a controversial aid system which Israel and the US claims is aimed at preventing Hamas from siphoning off assistance.

Israel has not provided any evidence of systematic diversion, and the UN denies it has occurred.

Earlier, Hamas-linked media had also reported more than 20 deaths in Rafah, saying they were as a result of an Israeli strike on an aid distribution point. Israel is yet to comment.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution of aid has been marred by chaos, and multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the delivery sites.

UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles because it allows Israel to control who receives aid and forces people to relocate to distribution sites, risking yet more mass displacement in the territory.

Before Sunday, at least six people had been killed and more than 50 wounded, according to local health officials.

The foundation says the private security contractors guarding its sites did not fire on the crowds, while the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots.

The foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the hospital’s claims.

In an earlier statement, it said it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early on Sunday “without incident”. It dismissed what it referred to as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos”.

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Israel confirms Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar was killed – as group makes counter-offer on ceasefire

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Israel confirms Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar was killed - as group makes counter-offer on ceasefire

Israel has confirmed its forces have killed Hamas’s Gaza chief, Mohammad Sinwar, as US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff called the group’s counter-offer on a ceasefire “totally unacceptable”.

Mohammad Sinwar became the leader of the militant group in the Gaza Strip after his older brother Yahya Sinwar was killed last October.

In a statement, the Israeli military said it had killed Sinwar on 13 May, and was the target of a strike on a hospital in southern Gaza.

Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied his death, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliament on Wednesday that he had been “eliminated”.

A handout image of Mohammed Sinwar from December 2023. Pic: Israeli Army / Reuters
Image:
A handout image of Mohammed Sinwar from December 2023. Pic: Israeli Army / Reuters

Who was ‘The Shadow’ Mohammed Sinwar?

Mohammed Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahyah Sinwar, the former leader of Hamas and mastermind behind the 7 October attacks, who was killed by IDF forces in Rafah last October.

In January of this year, Mohammed was confirmed as the new leader of Hamas in Gaza, following the death of his brother.

Among Palestinians, he never had the reputation of Yahya, but he was widely believed to have played a significant role in the kidnap and holding of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006 and demanded the release of Yahya Sinwar from Israeli prison as part of a swap deal.

Born in Khan Younis, Mohammed Sinwar rose through the ranks of Hamas to become a senior commander in Al Qassam Brigades, the group’s military wing.

He was known as ‘The Shadow’, in part because of the junior role he played to his older brother and also because few images of him exist.

He survived multiple assassination attempts and was previously incorrectly declared dead during Israel’s war in Gaza.

Sinwar had a reputation for being stubborn, and Israeli sources in the ceasefire negotiations blamed him for slowing the process and changing his demands at the last minute.

The IDF has confirmed he was with the commander of the Rafah brigade, Mohammed Shabanah, in tunnels underneath the European Hospital in Gaza when the IDF struck in mid-May. Shabanah’s death is significant because he was a likely successor to Sinwar.

It would leave Azadi al-Hadad, the Gaza City Brigade Commander, as the only living Hamas commander from 7 October.

He would likely be in line as the next Hamas chief in Gaza.

Hamas seeks changes in US ceasefire proposal

It comes as Hamas said it was seeking amendments to a US-proposed ceasefire deal, offering 10 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 18 in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

On Thursday, the White House said Israel agreed to a 60-day ceasefire proposal, which would see the release of nine living hostages and half of the known hostages who have died over the course of a week.

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Israel and Hamas would then continue talks to bring the remaining hostages home, but Israel would retain the right to resume military action in Gaza if talks were to break down.

In a statement about the proposal on Saturday, Hamas said its response “aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to our people in the Strip”.

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Israeli ambassador claims ‘no starvation in Gaza’

Hamas offer ‘totally unacceptable’ – Witkoff

Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy, Mr Witkoff, said on social media that Hamas’s response is “totally unacceptable and only takes us backwards”.

“Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,” he added.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters that the group has not rejected the proposal but added Mr Witkoff’s response was “unfair” and showed “complete bias” towards Israel.

Israel has not yet responded to Hamas’ counter-offer, but has previously rejected the conditions and demanded the complete disarmament and dismantling of the group.

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Meanwhile, Gaza aid groups have said dozens of World Food Programme (WFP) trucks carrying flour to Gaza bakeries had been hijacked by armed groups and subsequently looted by people.

The WFP added: “After nearly 80 days of a total blockade, communities are starving and they are no longer willing to watch food pass them by.”

Read more:
Last hospital in northern Gaza out of service
How the new Gaza aid system collapsed into chaos
UK will ‘seek to do more if it can’ for Gaza children – Lammy

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Amjad Al-Shawa, head of an umbrella group representing Palestinian aid groups, said hundreds more trucks were needed and accused Israel of a “systematic policy of starvation”.

Israel denies operating a policy of starvation and says it is facilitating aid deliveries via the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Instead, it accuses Hamas of stealing supplies.

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