"I decided to refuse [to enlist] because I studied in an international school with Palestinian and Israeli students, and seeing the oppression my classmates had to endure from Israel and the IDF made me realize I cannot take part in a system that does this kind of oppression," Schultz told journalists ahead of the demonstration.

Schultz, 18, finished 12th grade last summer and spent her last year of high school watching Palestinian friends grapple with the effects of the war. "I saw how the genocide affects Palestinian students; I saw my friends mourning their families getting killed in Gaza," she said.

"I cannot take part in the system that's committed those kinds of crimes." Her friends support her decision, she says, and while her family had difficulty with it, they want to bolster her as their child.

The demonstrators, who banged drums and chanted "On the home front and in the field, every soldier is a partner to murder," "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!" and "Daniel is refusing and I love her!" They also chanted "Soldier, halt! You're a terror operative!"

The signs the protesters carried included inscriptions calling to refuse mandatory military service, "Resist a genocidal army," as well as, "Not a murderer, not a rapist – I'm not setting foot in the army."

At Habima Square in the city center, marchers unfurled a banner reading, "We will not kill or be killed in the service of the settlements."

Onlookers expressed disgust at the provocative chants, sometimes shouting at the group, other times approaching to argue with members of the marching crowd. Some onlookers were shouting "shame on you!" and "go to Gaza!" at the marchers.

Two men passed by shouting threats as Daniel read her refusal letter into the megaphone; another came up to tut-tut disapprovingly at the group of demonstrators. Another man approached to ask them about their chants.

"From the river to the sea means that there won't be a place for us," he said to one of the drummers.

Such rallies, which are organized chiefly by the Mesarvot draft refusal network, are usually held outside the induction center. The organizers said that Schultz personally preferred to hold the rally in Tel Aviv, but that security concerns played a part as well.

The group, as well as members of the media covering them, have come under verbal and physical attack by far-right figures, often fellow teens, outside the induction center.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-10-23/ty-article/.premium/dozens-of-israelis-march-in-tel-aviv-in-support-of-teen-refusing-to-serve-in-idf/0000019a-11b3-d2fc-a79a-9ff78d9e0000

Critics have accused the Israeli leader of using the war to deflect attention from challenges to his position, and even his freedom. With the ceasefire in Gaza now in place, none of those challenges has gone anywhere.

Even the ceasefire – which Netanyahu has been at pains to present as a victory – is seen by some, including former Israeli ambassador Alon Pinkas, as stage-managed and forced upon him by a White House running out of patience with the growing financial and diplomatic costs of Israel’s war.

So, if he cannot find another war, what challenges does Netanyahu face before next year’s Israeli elections and beyond, and just how dangerous are they?

Let’s take a closer look.

Will the Israeli prime minister continue to face international isolation?
Israel has never been more isolated on the international stage than it is now, and for many, Netanyahu has become the face of that.

Over the last two years, Israel’s killing of more than 67,000 Palestinians and the scenes of the famine it has inflicted upon Gaza have led to revulsion across the world. In the short term, unless Netanyahu’s government can permanently ban international journalists from reaching Gaza, the increased coverage of what his government has inflicted upon the enclave is likely to cement Israel’s pariah status for some time.

However, Israel’s growing isolation has been apparent for months and, in September, Netanyahu appeared to be laying the groundwork for it to continue. Setting out his vision for a future ‘Super Sparta’ – a reference to the martial ancient Greek state – Netanyahu painted a picture of economic and diplomatic isolation and continuous warfare.

It did not go down very well. The Israeli stock exchange plummeted almost immediately, and the shekel nosedived against other currencies. The Israel Business Forum, representing 200 of the country’s largest companies, put it quite simply, “We are not Sparta.”

Could the right wing collapse Netanyahu’s coalition?
It could, but Netanyahu is already taking steps to avoid it.

Throughout the war, and the public battles over the independence of Israel’s judiciary beforehand, Netanyahu has relied heavily on the support of Israel’s far right.

Most obviously, this has been in the form of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, both of whom have objected to the ceasefire while remaining within Netanyahu’s governing coalition, for now.

Anticipating their possible departure, Netanyahu is reported to be introducing legislation to exempt ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students from the draft in the hope that this will prompt the return of ultra-Orthodox parties in the parliament to his government, ensuring its survival in the face of any defections.

Could the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) still find Netanyahu and Israel guilty?
They could.

In November 2024, the ICC issued international arrest warrants for war crimes against Netanyahu, former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas’s military commander, Mohammed Deif, who Israel has since killed.

The ICJ is also considering charges of genocide against Israel, for which many are certain to hold Netanyahu responsible if a guilty verdict is handed down.

There is currently no timeline for a verdict in the ICC case against Gallant and Netanyahu, and a conclusion in the ICJ case is not expected before the end of 2027, at the earliest. If found guilty, the ICC could impose a prison sentence of up to 30 years, while the ICJ would typically refer any guilty verdict to the UN Security Council for enforcement.

Could Trump desert Netanyahu?
It’s a real possibility.

Currently, the US is Israel’s principal economic and military sponsor, as well as its diplomatic bulwark in the face of international hostility. Without it, Israel – and by extension Netanyahu – would be in real trouble.

Whatever Netanyahu may claim, US President Donald Trump’s support has clear limits. In 2021, Trump was reportedly furious when Netanyahu became one of the first leaders to congratulate former US President Joe Biden on his election win.

He is also reported to have cut off contact with the Israeli prime minister in May over concerns that Netanyahu was trying to manipulate him.

More recently, Trump’s anger with Netanyahu reportedly peaked after Israel’s strike on Hamas negotiators in Doha in September, exclaiming: “He’s screwing me!”

Describing the build-up to the ceasefire, Trump has described how he “had it out” with Netanyahu and that he would not permit Israel to redeploy to Gaza, until “I say the word”.

Celebrating the inauguration of the ceasefire at the Israeli parliament later, Trump characterised the ceasefire as having been 3,000 years in the making, telling his audience, “And it’s going to hold up, too”.

He is unlikely to respond well to that being gambled away.

Will there be an Israeli inquiry into Netanyahu’s failings ahead of the October 7 attack?
It’s looking more and more likely.

Separate investigations into the army and intelligence service’s failures in the run-up to the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023 – which killed 1,139 people and saw about 250 abducted – exposed glaring oversights and confusion within Israel’s security services as they struggled to respond to an assault that they had not seen coming.

Both the army and intelligence chiefs resigned in the wake of each inquiry.

While Netanyahu raised no objections to those inquiries, he has resisted one into his own government’s role, claiming it would be politically biased and impractical during wartime.

But after the ceasefire, Israel’s High Court ruled unanimously that there was no longer “any real argument” to delay it, giving the government 30 days to respond.

Could Netanyahu go to jail?
Jail time remains a possibility for the Israeli prime minister.

Trump all but acknowledged the connection between Israel’s prolonged war on Gaza and Netanyahu’s corruption trials on Monday.

During his address to the Israeli parliament, Trump called upon Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu for what he described as “cigars and champagne”.

In reality, Netanyahu has been on trial in three corruption cases, all of which have continued – despite frequent delays – throughout the war.

The charges against the Israeli prime minister include bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, and could result in a 10-year prison term.

The family’s home: bombed. Thirty-seven members of the extended family: killed.

But it is the fate of his cousin Haitham that now haunts the Salem family.

In November 2024, Haitham Salem was arrested. The family had undertaken some rough repairs to their home and were sitting in a makeshift shelter on the day he was taken.

Israel’s siege of northern Gaza, which began in October 2024, was squeezing the life out of the family’s neighbourhood. By 20 November 2024, the UN was reporting that for 40 days, “virtually no aid” had reached north Gaza.

“Tanks were approaching our area, and there were strikes everywhere around us, so we decided to leave,” Alaa, 38, told Middle East Eye.

“Israeli drones dropped leaflets ordering us to move toward ‘al-Sheikh Zayed square’. When we arrived there, they separated women and children from men, allowing women and children to continue on their way, while the men were detained in al-Kuwait school,” he said.

Alaa was with Haitham and his brother Mohammed, as well as other cousins and men from the wider Salem family.

“After hours of humiliation and inspection, they [the Israelis] made us walk past cameras and tanks. Soldiers would call out the names of those they wanted to arrest.

"They called Haitham and his brother Mohammed, arresting them along with several other men. I was not detained, so they let us go,” Alaa said.

When, towards the end of January, the ceasefire deal signed by Hamas and Israel before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump came into effect, Alaa and his family returned home. They didn’t know where Haitham or his brother were and had been told nothing about them.

“After a while, Mohammed was released,” Alaa said. “When he came out, he told us Haitham was alive and well, but they had no knowledge of what was happening outside – Mohammed didn’t even know that many family members had been killed, or that our home had been completely destroyed.”

Death and detention
Haitham worked as an electrical engineer at Beit Lahia municipality in northern Gaza and was not affiliated to any political group.

While he was detained, Haitham’s wife Intisar and their children lived with Alaa and other family members. “They were enduring starvation and great fear in his absence. She was constantly anxious about him. Even after Mohammed told her Haitham was fine, she remained worried,” Alaa said.

Three weeks and four days before the ceasefire deal signed on 9 October, Israeli forces bombed the tent where Intisar and her children were sheltering in the al-Nasr area of Gaza.

Both of Haitham’s daughters, aged two and five, were killed instantly. His son, Baraa, aged eight, was only lightly wounded in the strikes. But he was poisoned by shrapnel fragments and later died. Intisar, severely wounded in the attack, died of her injuries a few days later.

“On the day of Haitham’s release, I went to Nasser Hospital to welcome him,” Alaa told MEE. “I was among the first to arrive, along with my brothers, Haitham’s father, and his brother.

"We arrived around 9am and waited. When the buses arrived, I started searching for Haitham and two of my cousins who were also detained,” he continued.

“But I was especially looking for Haitham. I didn’t want anyone to find him before me. I wanted to be the one to tell him what had happened, because I knew he wouldn’t be able to handle the news from anyone else. I knew only I could calm him down and help him bear it.”

As Alaa was looking for his cousin, someone tapped him on the shoulder and told him Haitham was calling for him. From behind the glass, Haitham was motioning to his cousin, asking where his children and wife were.

“I gestured with my hands as if praying, to tell him they had gone to God,” Alaa said. “Are you serious?” Haitham replied. “I need you to be strong, like I’ve always known you to be,” Alaa told his cousin.

“I rushed to coordinate with the Red Cross to bring him out of the bus. We brought a wheelchair for him,” Alaa told MEE. “When we reached him, he had fainted, but we managed to catch him in time, and he was given sedatives. He was in a terrible state – crying, trembling, unable to stand.”

In video footage seen by Middle East Eye, Haitham falls to the ground, clutches his stomach in pain, rocks back and forth, falls against a couple of plastic chairs, his legs shaking.

Holding a phone, he asks: “Are my kids alive? They’re dead… I swear they are dead. In four days, it was supposed to be my daughter’s birthday.” He holds up a bracelet he made for her while in Israeli detention. “I made this for her, I made it myself.”

“Haitham was supposed to be released earlier since he was just a municipal employee and unaffiliated with any group,” Alaa said. “But his brother Mohammed had been severely tortured. Under the intensity of torture, he falsely confessed that Haitham worked as an electrical engineer for Hamas.”

As a result, Alaa said, Haitham was brutally tortured himself for two weeks. “They unleashed police dogs on him, placed him in solitary confinement for a week, and gave him barely any food – just a spoon of strawberry jam or half an egg a day,” Alaa said.

Now Haitham Salem, a Palestinian electrical engineer, has returned to a Gaza that has been almost totally destroyed, a Gaza without his wife or children.

Released from Israeli detention, tears in his eyes, his body wracked with pain, he cried out. “My wife, I can’t find her… My beloved boy, every night I see you in my dreams.”

The flotilla, made up of at least 44 civilian boats carrying some 500 activists, was first intercepted late on Wednesday, with boats boarded and volunteers detained and taken to Israel. By noon on Thursday (09:00 GMT), the military said all but one vessel had been secured.

On Friday morning, a livestreamed video showed Israeli forces forcing their way on board the Polish-flagged Marinette, which reportedly has a crew of six, and was the last remaining operational vessel of the flotilla.

The flotilla organisers posted on X: “Marinette, the last remaining boat of the Global Sumud Flotilla, was intercepted at 10:29am local time, approximately 42.5 nautical miles from Gaza.”

Israel has enforced a blockade on Gaza since Hamas took control in 2007. Gaza’s residents have largely been trapped in the Palestinian territory since then, with the entry of food, goods, and aid strictly controlled by Israel.

Here is what we know.

What happened to the flotilla?
Israel has intercepted all the vessels in the Global Sumud Flotilla, a convoy carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, organisers said.

The country had vowed to stop the flotilla, claiming the volunteers were trying to “breach a lawful naval blockade”, but organisers say international law is clear that humanitarian aid should be let through.

Organisers reported that naval forces had first boarded several boats about 70 nautical miles (130 km) off Gaza’s coast, cutting communications and jamming signals as the flotilla neared the enclave. At least 13 vessels were seized on Wednesday. Activists on the boats also described tense encounters with unlit boats and drones shadowing the convoy on Wednesday. The group also said Israeli naval vessels had deliberately damaged ship communications to block distress signals and disrupt livestreams of the boarding.

Flotilla spokesperson Saif Abukeshek said people from 37 countries were taking part in the flotilla, including 30 from Spain, 22 from Italy, 21 from Turkiye and 12 from Malaysia.

The flotilla’s voyage has drawn global attention, and the detention of activists has triggered protests in cities including Rome, Buenos Aires and Istanbul. Those held included climate activist Greta Thunberg, former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, and European Parliament member Rima Hassan.

In a statement on Friday, the International Committee to Break the Siege of Gaza said some of the detainees from the Global Sumud Flotilla had begun a hunger strike after being detained by Israeli forces.

While the flotilla carried only a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid, organisers said their mission was to establish a maritime corridor into Gaza, where nearly two years of war have left the population facing an acute humanitarian crisis.

How did Israel respond?
Israel’s Foreign Ministry released a video on Wednesday of a navy officer warning the flotilla that it was approaching a restricted zone and that any aid must go “through established channels”.

Israeli UN ambassador Danny Danon said activists would be deported after Yom Kippur ends on Thursday.

“Those detained would normally go through a legal process, but Israel is currently under near-total shutdown because of the Yom Kippur holiday,” Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Doha, said.

“That means courts and prisons are not functioning, creating a limbo for the activists if they are detained.”

Another ministry video showed climate activist Greta Thunberg surrounded by soldiers on a boat deck. “Several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port,” the ministry said on X, adding, “Greta and her friends are safe and healthy.”

Since 2009, Israel has formally enforced a naval blockade it says is necessary to prevent weapons from being smuggled in. Israeli authorities have also alleged that some flotilla organisers are connected to Hamas, a claim the activists strongly reject as unfounded. Israel has yet to present any evidence to prove its claims.

Has this happened before?
Vessels and convoys have attempted to break the blockade of Gaza since 2010. A few of those include:

2010 – The Mavi Marmara incident: Israeli commandos boarded the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Clashes broke out, and 10 activists were killed, drawing global condemnation and straining Israel-Turkiye relations.

Israel apologised for “operational mistakes” in the raid in 2013. A compensation deal is still being negotiated between the two countries. Israeli soldiers and officials who took part in the attack are being tried in absentia in Turkiye for war crimes.

2011-18 – Smaller flotillas stopped: Several subsequent flotillas, including in 2011, 2015, and 2018. Israel typically diverted the ships to Ashdod port, detained activists and confiscated cargo. In 2018, activists were arrested, and some reported they were tasered and beaten.

2024 – Flotilla attempts: Activist groups continued organising flotillas, but Israel either prevented them from leaving ports abroad or intercepted them before they could approach Gaza.

2025 – The Madleen: Several flotilla missions set sail to challenge Israel’s naval blockade. One such mission in June involved the ship Madleen, which departed from Catania, Sicily, with food, medical supplies, baby formula and other essential goods. It also carried activists, including Thunberg. In the early hours of June 9, the Israeli navy intercepted and boarded the Madleen in international waters, using a chemical irritant spray. It seized the vessel and detained the 12 people on board. The activists were deported after being processed in Israel.

What else do we know about the current flotilla?
The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail in late August 2025, departing from ports in Spain and Italy before stopping in Greece and Tunisia as it made its way across the Mediterranean.

The mission began with more than 50 vessels representing at least 44 countries, carrying hundreds of international volunteers, activists and lawmakers. Among them are 24 Americans, including several military veterans, according to the organisers.

On board were symbolic yet significant amounts of humanitarian cargo, including food, medical supplies and other essentials for Gaza’s starved population.

Activists reported several hostile encounters at sea, including suspected drone attacks near Malta and Crete, which left some vessels damaged and forced them to withdraw. By the time the flotilla neared the eastern Mediterranean, 44 boats remained in the convoy.

International attention grew as the flotilla pressed on. Spain and Italy deployed naval vessels to monitor its progress and offer assistance if required, while governments across Europe and beyond urged restraint from all parties.

Have other governments responded to Israel’s arrest of flotilla activists?
Multiple countries have condemned Israel’s actions.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim condemned in the “strongest terms” Israel’s “intimidation and coercion” of vessels carrying “unarmed civilians and life-saving humanitarian supplies for Gaza”. Israel, he said in a post on X, had shown “utter contempt not only for the rights of the Palestinian people but also for the conscience of the world”. At least 12 Malaysian nationals were on the boats intercepted by Israel so far.
Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Harris said he had spoken to his counterparts of the European Union member states that were represented in the flotilla after the Israeli forces’ raid and the activists’ detention. He called the Israeli action “very concerning”, describing the flotilla as “a peaceful mission to shine a light on a horrific humanitarian catastrophe”. Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said its embassy in Tel Aviv was speaking with Israeli authorities. “Our focus now is on assisting citizens immediately impacted and their families. This will be the priority for our team over the coming hours,” it said.

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has expelled Israeli diplomats from the South American country in response to the detention of flotilla activists, including two Colombian nationals. In a post on X, Petro also said a free trade agreement between Colombia and Israel had been “denounced immediately”. He added, in a separate post: “Here Netanyahu demonstrates his worldwide hypocrisy and why he is a worldwide criminal who must be captured.”
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said on Telegram that Israel’s move to stop the boats from getting to Gaza “exposes, once again, the criminal nature of the Zionist regime”. He added, “The blockade of humanitarian aid is a tool of deliberate war, the continuation of genocide by other means, seeking to annihilate the population by starvation to complement their indiscriminate bombings.”

Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s naval interception of the flotilla. It called Israel’s actions a “terrorist” act.

Germany, a key ally of Israel, urged Israel to guarantee the safety of all those on the flotilla. “We were in contact with the Israeli government and called on them to comply with their obligations under international law and to act with proportionality. We also called for the protection of all those on board to be guaranteed; to our knowledge, this has been done,” said a spokesperson. The German embassy in Israel said it was trying to establish contact with any German nationals involved.

Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali al-Yahya said the country was closely watching for news of its detained nationals on board the GSF vessel, the Spectre, which was intercepted by the Israeli navy, and that his ministry “is exerting all possible efforts to ensure the safety of the citizens and is working for their immediate release”. According to the flotilla tracker, three Kuwaiti nationals took part in the aid convoy.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni repeated earlier criticism of the flotilla but said the country was working to ensure 22 Italians who had been detained were returned home. “Obviously, we will do everything we can to ensure these people can return to Italy as soon as possible,” she told reporters at a European Union meeting in Denmark. “I continue to believe that all this brings no benefit to the Palestinian people.”

“I made it clear that the 20 points that President (Donald) Trump made public are not ours. Changes were made to our draft. I have the record,” Dar said, speaking to politicians on Friday, according to remarks carried by Dawn news.

His comments come after the White House on Monday released a plan with fanfare that would include a ceasefire, the return of all captives, Hamas disarmament, and a new political architecture for post-war Gaza – one that would exclude the Palestinian group.

Its release came a few minutes before Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood next to each other at the White House to announce the plan. There, Trump told Hamas it had 72 hours to accept the proposal. On Tuesday, he gave the Palestinian group three to four days to agree to the plan.

Meanwhile, Hamas political bureau member Mohammad Nazzal told Al Jazeera on Thursday that the group was discussing Trump’s plan and would soon announce its position on the proposal. “We are not dealing [with the plan] under the logic that time is a sword pointed at our neck,” Nazzal said.

The published document was presented as a joint effort between Israel, the US and a number of Arab and Muslim countries. Last week, several leaders from the Arab and Muslim world discussed the plan at a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

But while there are no official records of what was discussed at that mini-summit, Axios reported that the proposal announced by the American and Israeli leaders earlier this week contained “significant changes”, requested by Netanyahu, to the draft that had been agreed on by the Arab leaders and Trump.

The amendments were made during a six-hour meeting between Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Netanyahu, the report said. The revised version ties Israel’s withdrawal to Hamas’s disarmament and allows Israel – after a withdrawal in stages – to remain within a buffer zone inside the enclave until there are no risks of any “terror threat”, it added.

A group of eight Arab and Muslim countries, including Pakistan, Qatar, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, welcomed Trump’s announcement in a joint statement.

Qatar has said that it agrees with the aims of the plan, and seeks further discussions on its details.

“If we speak of the main objectives, there are objectives that it [the US plan] achieves, such as ending the war, and there are things that need clarification, which certainly need discussions and negotiations,” Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani told Al Jazeera.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty also said that more talks were needed. According to the US proposal, an international body chaired by Trump would have oversight, while a Palestinian technocratic committee would handle civilian governance until the Palestinian Authority reforms itself. To take care of security, according to the proposal, a stabilisation force would be deployed.

“There are a lot of holes that need to be filled; we need more discussions on how to implement it, especially on two important issues – governance and security arrangements,” Abdelatty said on Thursday.

Experts pointed out that there are sticking points. There are questions on whether Hamas will agree to disarm since it has repeatedly said it would not, as the main face of Palestinian armed resistance.

The current proposal also nods vaguely at how reforms may open a pathway to Palestinian statehood, which is not recognised as a right but as the “aspiration of the Palestinian people”.

The plan does not mention the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza – a significant shift from Trump’s earlier lambasted position when he suggested the relocation of the population outside the enclave to turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, which was heavily criticised as ethnic cleansing.

It also ruled out the occupation of Gaza and the annexation of the occupied West Bank – actions that Netanya’s far-right coalition members are pushing for.

Should Hamas refuse the deal, Trump ominously told Netanyahu, “You will have our full backing to do what you have to do.”

Trump promised “greatness in the Middle East” and “something special” in another all-caps post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday. He has made repeated statements recently that it is time for the war to end.

Netanyahu, for his part, told Fox News that Israel is working with Washington to “make [the plan] a go”.

The 21-point “day after” war plan was first presented to Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meetings in New York last week.

According to numerous Israeli and Western reports, the plan says Hamas must release all 48 remaining captives in Gaza, about 20 of whom are believed to be alive, within two days.

Hamas fighters will allegedly be allowed to leave Gaza or offered amnesty if they renounce resistance. Significant humanitarian aid will be allowed into the famine-stricken enclave, some Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli military jails, and Israeli forces will gradually withdraw.

The Palestinian group said in a statement on Sunday that it had received no new proposal from mediators Egypt and Qatar, both of whom have reportedly received the Trump proposal.

But Hamas said it would consider a new offer to end the war, as its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, warned that contact was lost with teams holding two Israeli captives in Gaza City amid an expanding Israeli ground invasion and aerial bombardment, which is killing dozens of Palestinian civilians daily and destroying the area further.

Netanyahu’s balancing act
The Israeli prime minister appears to be embracing the plan even though – if implemented as presented – it goes against some of his far-right government’s core positions.

Most notably, the vision claims to leave the door open for a future Palestinian state, something top Israeli leaders have said they would never allow.

The plan underscores that it does not want to forcibly expel Palestinians from Gaza, and that they will have a right of return if they choose to leave after two years of genocidal war has left most of the enclave in ruins.

That is, while Netanyahu’s top ministers and coalition partners, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have fervently pushed for destroying what is left of Gaza and “encouraging voluntary migration” without return.

They want to cut off all food, water and medicine as Israel did for months, starting March 18 when it torpedoed a previous ceasefire with Hamas, leading to famine and mass starvation. And they want to rebuild illegal Israeli settlements inside Gaza after seizing and militarily controlling the area while annexing the occupied West Bank.

The two far-right hardliners, who live in illegal settlements, along with other ministers and leaders of violent settler organisations, and have been sanctioned by several Western governments, have already blasted the plan by Trump, whom they have repeatedly praised as Israel’s biggest-ever ally in the White House.

They believe Netanyahu has no mandate to accept such a deal without eliminating Hamas, which was set as a key goal of the war in October 2023.

But Netanyahu may be squeezed by Trump, whom he will want to appease after the White House’s unconditional support and diplomatic cover.

In the Israeli Knesset, Netanyahu’s coalition, led by his Likud party with 32 seats, is already on the precipice as it is running a minority government, which holds 60 out of 120 seats.

Two major ultra-Orthodox parties put Netanyahu in a tight spot when one quit the government and the other left the coalition in mid-July over failure to guarantee future exemption from military conscription for religious students amid the war.

Smotrich and Ben-Gvir’s parties hold 13 seats, meaning they could potentially topple Netanyahu’s much-criticised government and force new elections if they all pulled out of the coalition.

Ben-Gvir actually resigned from his cabinet post in January in protest against the ceasefire with Hamas that brought back a number of captives, but soon returned after Israel started bombing Gaza again.

But the far-right figures are unlikely to bring down the coalition anytime soon, as Israel continues to block most aid to Gaza while pushing deeper inside its largest urban centre with tanks and launching explosives from the air and sea.

Numerous Israeli raids and settler attacks are launched against Palestinians on a daily basis in the West Bank as Israel grabs more land and demolishes local homes despite Trump’s claim that he will not allow annexation of the territory.

Trump’s new proposal currently seems provisional at best, too, and will take a long time to implement even if it is agreed by all and manages to secure a UN mandate.

Structure of Gaza’s future governance
The plan put forward by Trump has been drafted in collaboration with Israel and an organisation run by Tony Blair, who was the United Kingdom’s prime minister during the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, based on false claims of weapons of mass destruction.

It considers appointing him as the head of a newly established entity called the Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA), which would administer Gaza after Hamas is ousted for up to several years.

Israel’s Haaretz newspaper on Monday released a document that it said contained the full power structure of the authority, which puts senior international diplomats and businesspeople at the top and the Palestinians running things on the ground at the bottom.

The international board of GITA, which will initially be based in Egypt or elsewhere near but outside Gaza due to the chaotic situation created by Israel on the ground, could include a UN official, renowned Egyptian businessmen, and Muslim members in an attempt to build credibility.

It will reportedly have an executive secretariat, with five commissioners operating under it to oversee humanitarian affairs, reconstruction, legislation, security oversight, and coordination with the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is urged to undergo reforms for a promise it will take charge of governance at an undisclosed future timeline.

Under them will be a Palestinian technocratic authority appointed by the board to handle some implementation on the ground as a multinational stabilisation force takes charge of border crossings, Gaza’s coastline, and “perimeter zones” near Israel and Egypt’s borders that are currently occupied by Israel.

This is while Netanyahu and others have insisted Israel will have “security control” over the enclave.

GITA is envisaged to have a $90m management budget in the first year, bumped to $133.5m and $164m in the two years after that, respectively. Those figures do not include the top expenses, such as reconstruction and humanitarian aid.

Many delegates walked out as Netanyahu approached the podium.

"We're not done yet," Netanyahu said. "The final elements, the final remnants of Hamas, are holed up in Gaza city. They vow to repeat the atrocities of Oct. 7 again and again and again, no matter how diminished their forces. That is why Israel must finish the job, that is why we want to do so as fast as possible."

Hours before his speech, Netanyahu's office announced his address to the U.N. General Assembly would be broadcast live on loudspeakers aimed at Gaza from the Israeli side of the border.

Netanyahu said he hoped Israeli hostages in Gaza could hear his message through the loudspeakers, and took a moment to directly address them in Hebrew and in English.

"Our brave brothers, this is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking to you live from the United Nations. We have not forgotten you, not even for a second. The people of Israel are with you. We will not falter and we will not rest until we bring all of you home," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu also said his speech was being streamed live to the cellphones of Gazans.

"So, to the remaining Hamas leaders and to the jailers of our hostages, I now say, 'Lay down your arms, let my people go, free the hostages, all of them, the whole 48, free the hostages now. If you do, you will live. If you don't, Israel will hunt you down,'" Netanyahu said.

Before departing Tel Aviv on Thursday, Netanyahu vowed to take a strong stance against the countries that had formally announced their support for an independent Palestinian state during the annual global summit

"I have a message for these leaders, when the most savage terrorists on Earth are effusively praising your decision, you didn’t do something right, you did something wrong, horribly wrong," the prime minister said in his U.N. speech.

"It will be a mark of shame on all of you," Netanyahu added.

In addition to a frosty reception from heads of state opposed to Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza, Netanyahu is expected to face protests while in New York.

Family members of some of the hostages held in Gaza have announced plans to demonstrate outside of the U.N. headquarters during the prime minister's speech, calling on Netanyahu and other leaders to prioritize the release of the hostages.

An isolated Israel
Even before Netanyahu arrived in New York, Israel's isolation at the United Nations was evident.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani labeled Israel as a "rogue government" during his speech to the assembly on Tuesday, calling the Israeli airstrike on Hamas leadership in Doha earlier this month a "treacherous attack."

"They visit our country and plot to attack it. They negotiate with delegations and plot to assassinate the members of the negotiation teams. It is difficult to cooperate with such a mentality that does not respect the most minimum standards of cooperation," he said. "It is impossible."

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres decried the war in Gaza during his remarks opening the General Debate.

"The scale of death and destruction are beyond any other conflict in my years as secretary-general," he asserted.

"Nothing can justify the horrific Hamas terror attacks of October 7 and the taking of hostages, both of which I have repeatedly condemned. And nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," Guterres added.

He also called on Israel to fully comply with provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice, which require Israel to take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza.

The Israeli government has long held that the United Nations is biased against Israel and has denied violating international law.

However, rulings from another global tribunal — the International Criminal Court (ICC) — may have altered Netanyahu's travel plans.

The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister, and flight data from his journey to New York showed his plane took an indirect route to New York, avoiding the airspace of countries that could enforce the warrant.

Israel's government has not commented on why the longer route was selected.

MORE: Netanyahu's jet largely avoids European airspace in unusual route to New York
Both Israel and the United States are not party to the Rome Statute, which is the treaty that established the ICC and have not consented to its jurisdiction. The Trump administration has also taken several steps to penalize the ICC for issuing warrants for the arrests of Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials.

Netanyahu returns to Washington
While in the U.S., Netanyahu is also slated to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington — marking the fourth time the two have met face-to-face since Trump's return to the White House.

This private meeting may prove much more consequential for Israel and the broader Middle East than Netanyahu's speech on the global stage.

U.S. and Israeli officials say the leaders are expected to discuss what retaliatory actions Israel may take in response to the growing push to recognize a Palestinian state at the U.N.

The two also held a phone call on Thursday, according to the White House.

Although Trump and Netanyahu are close allies, the meeting comes at a time when both have diverging agendas. The prime minister has been contemplating annexing additional territory in the West Bank– something the president has vowed he won't permit.

"I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope, I will not allow it," Trump said on Thursday. "It's not going to happen."

The president also expressed renewed hope for an agreement to resolve the conflict and free the hostages from Gaza, predicting it could happen "soon."