{"id":151665,"date":"2025-05-31T11:15:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-31T11:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/hamas-must-accept-hostage-deal-or-be-annihilated-warns-israeli-defence-minister-middle-east-crisis-live-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2025-05-31T11:15:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T11:15:08","slug":"hamas-must-accept-hostage-deal-or-be-annihilated-warns-israeli-defence-minister-middle-east-crisis-live-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/hamas-must-accept-hostage-deal-or-be-annihilated-warns-israeli-defence-minister-middle-east-crisis-live-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamas must accept hostage deal or be \u2018annihilated\u2019, warns Israeli defence minister \u2013 Middle East crisis live – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Threat by Israel Katz comes as UN warns that the entire population of Gaza is at risk of famine
Gaza is hungriest place on Earth, warns UN<\/a>
Israel<\/strong> has said Hamas<\/strong> must accept a hostage deal in Gaza<\/strong> or \u201cbe annihilated\u201d, as Donald Trump<\/strong> announced that a ceasefire agreement was \u201cvery close\u201d.
It comes amid dire conditions on the ground, with the United Nations<\/strong> warning that Gaza\u2019s entire population was at risk of famine.
Agence-France Presse (AFP) reported that on Friday, defence minister Israel Katz<\/strong> said Hamas<\/a> must agree to a ceasefire proposal presented by US<\/strong> envoy Steve Witkoff<\/strong> or be destroyed, after the Palestinian<\/strong> militant group said the deal failed to satisfy its demands. However, Hamas said it was still considering the text.
\u201cThe Hamas murderers will now be forced to choose: accept the terms of the \u2018Witkoff deal\u2019 for the release of the hostages \u2013 or be annihilated,\u201d said Katz.
Negotiations to end nearly 20 months of war in Gaza have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming operations in March after a short-lived truce.
In the US, the Trump told reporters \u201cthey\u2019re very close to an agreement on Gaza\u201d, adding: \u201cWe\u2019ll let you know about it during the day or maybe tomorrow.\u201d
Meanwhile, food shortages in Gaza persist, with aid only trickling in after the partial lifting by Israel of a more than two-month blockade.
Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN\u2019s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha)<\/strong>, called Gaza \u201cthe hungriest place on Earth\u201d<\/a>. He said:
<\/path><\/svg>It\u2019s the only defined area \u2013 a country or defined territory within a country \u2013 where you have the entire population at risk of famine.
In other developments:
Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), has described the difficulties faced by the UN in delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip as an \u201can operational straitjacket\u201d.<\/strong> Laerke said the mission to deliver aid was \u201cin an operational straitjacket that makes it one of the most obstructed aid operations not only in the world today, but in recent history\u201d. Once truckloads entered Gaza, they were often \u201cswarmed by desperate people\u201d, he said.
Israel will not allow a planned meeting in the Palestinian administrative capital of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, to go ahead, an Israeli official said on Saturday,<\/strong> after media reported that Arab ministers planning to attend had been stopped from coming. The delegation included ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Palestinian Authority officials said.
Israeli airstrikes have struck western Syria<\/a>, the Israeli military and Syrian state media have said, and reportedly one civilian has been killed in the first such attack on the country in nearly a month. <\/strong>\u201cA strike from Israeli occupation aircraft targeted sites close to the village of Zama in the Jableh countryside south of Latakia,\u201d state television said.
Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Iran considers nuclear weapons \u201cunacceptable\u201d<\/strong>, reiterating the country\u2019s longstanding position amid delicate negotiations with the United States. Iran has held five rounds of talks with the US in search of a new nuclear agreement to replace the deal with major powers Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
The commander of Kurdish forces that control northeast Syria said on Friday that his group is in direct contact with Turkey and that he would be open to improving ties<\/strong>, including by meeting Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan.
Al Jazeera has reported that Gaza\u2019s al-Shifa hospital<\/strong> is operating at just 20% capacity<\/strong>, according to the medical complex\u2019s director.
Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya<\/strong> told the news outlet:
<\/path><\/svg>We are facing a tragic situation, and every day kidney patients die due to the inability to treat them.<\/em>
International organisations are trying hard to provide assistance, but the occupation is preventing the entry of aid.<\/em>
The comments come as hospital officials claim 27 people were killed in new <\/a>Israeli<\/a><\/strong> airstrikes in the <\/a>Gaza Strip.<\/a><\/strong>
Saudi Arabia\u2019s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud<\/strong> has delayed a planned trip to the West Bank<\/strong> after Israel<\/a> blocked it, a Saudi source told Reuters.<\/p>\n

Palestinian sources said the visit was at the invitation of the Palestinian Authority (PA)<\/strong> to host a Saudi-led delegation of Arab foreign ministers in Ramallah<\/strong> in the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n

The ministers needed approval from Israel which controls access to the West Bank.
The Times of Israel<\/a> reports that today, a convoy of tractors that set out from kibbutzim across Israel<\/strong> has arrived at Hostages Square<\/strong> in Tel Aviv<\/strong>, calling for the return of hostages held in Gaza<\/strong>.
Organised by the Kibbutz Movement<\/strong> and the Hostages Families Forum<\/strong>, it marks more than 600 days since the hostages were taken by Hamas<\/strong> in October 2023.
Israeli<\/strong> airstrikes have struck western Syria<\/a><\/strong>, the Israeli military and Syrian state media have said, and reportedly one civilian has been killed in the first such attack on the country in nearly a month.
Earlier this month Damascus<\/strong> had announced indirect talks with Israel<\/a> to calm tensions, and the US<\/strong> called for a \u201cnon-aggression agreement\u201d between the two countries, which are technically at war.
\u201cA strike from Israeli occupation aircraft targeted sites close to the village of Zama in the Jableh countryside south of Latakia,\u201d state television said.
State news agency Sana reported one civilian was killed \u201cas a result of an Israeli occupation airstrike targeting the vicinity of Zama\u201d.
The Israeli military said it had \u201cstruck weapon storage facilities containing coastal missiles that posed a threat to international and Israeli maritime freedom of navigation, in the Latakia area of Syria\u201d.
\u201cIn addition, components of surface-to-air missiles were struck,\u201d it said, adding it would \u201ccontinue to operate to maintain freedom of action in the region, in order to carry out its missions and will act to remove any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens\u201d.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights<\/strong> meanwhile reported that jets likely to be Israeli struck military sites on the outskirts of Tartus<\/strong> and Latakia<\/strong>.
Hamas<\/strong> said on Friday it was still reviewing a US<\/strong> proposal for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip<\/strong>, where 27 people were killed in new Israeli<\/strong> airstrikes, according to hospital officials.<\/p>\n

The ceasefire plan, which has been approved by Israeli officials, won a cool initial reaction Thursday from the militant group, reports the Associated Press (AP). But President Donald Trump<\/strong> said on Friday negotiators were nearing a deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re very close to an agreement on Gaza, and we\u2019ll let you know about it during the day or maybe tomorrow,\u201d Trump told reporters in Washington<\/strong>. Late in the evening, asked if he was confident Hamas would approve the deal, he told reporters: \u201cThey\u2019re in a big mess. I think they want to get out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

US negotiators have not publicised the terms of the proposal, but a Hamas official and an Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, told the AP on Thursday that it called for a 60-day pause in fighting, guarantees of serious negotiations leading to a long-term truce and assurances that Israel<\/a> will not resume hostilities after the release of hostages, as it did in March.<\/p>\n

In a terse statement issued a few hours before Trump spoke, Hamas said it is holding consultations with Palestinian<\/strong> factions over the proposal it had received from US envoy Steve Witkoff<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A United Nations<\/strong> spokesperson, St\u00e9phane Dujarric<\/strong>, urged the parties to \u201cfind the political courage\u201d to secure an agreement.
Here are some of the latest images coming in today via the newswires:
The commander of Kurdish<\/strong> forces that control north-east Syria<\/strong> said on Friday that his group is in direct contact with Turkey<\/strong> and that he would be open to improving ties, including by meeting Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan<\/strong>, reports Reuters.
The public comments represented a significant diplomatic overture by Mazloum Abdi<\/strong>, whose Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)<\/strong> fought Turkish troops and Ankara<\/strong>-backed Syrian rebels during Syria\u2019s 14-year civil war.
Turkey has said the main Kurdish group at the core of the SDF is indistinguishable from the militant Kurdistan Workers\u2019 party (PKK)<\/strong>, which decided earlier this month to disband after 40 years of conflict with Turkey.
According to Reuters, Abdi told regional broadcaster Shams TV in an interview aired on Friday that his group was in touch with Turkey, without saying how long the communication channels had been open. \u201cWe have direct ties, direct channels of communication with Turkey, as well as through mediators, and we hope that these ties are developed,\u201d Abdi said.
There was no immediate comment from Turkey on Abdi\u2019s remarks.
Abdi said his forces and Turkish fighters \u201cfought long wars against each other\u201d but that a temporary truce had brought a halt to those clashes for the last two months. Abdi said he hoped the truce could become permanent.
When asked whether he was planning to meet Erdo\u011fan, Abdi said he had no current plans to do so but \u201cI am not opposed \u2026 We are not in a state of war with Turkey and in the future, ties could be developed between us. We\u2019re open to this\u201d.
The Al-Monitor news website reported on Friday that Turkey had proposed a meeting between Abdi and a top Turkish official, possibly Turkey\u2019s foreign minister or its intelligence chief. A Turkish diplomatic source denied the report, saying \u201cthe claims about Turkey and our country\u2019s authorities\u201d in the story were \u201cnot true\u201d, without elaborating.
In December, Turkey and the SDF agreed on a US<\/strong>-mediated ceasefire after fighting broke out as rebel groups advanced on Damascus<\/strong> and overthrew Bashar al-Assad<\/strong>.
Abdi in March signed a deal with Syria\u2019s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa<\/strong> to incorporate the semi-autonomous administration of north-east Syria into the main state institutions based in Damascus. On Thursday, Erdo\u011fan accused the SDF of \u201cstalling\u201d implementation of that deal.
In the interview, Abdi denied accusations that the SDF was in contact with Israel<\/a>. \u201cPeople have accused us of this. In this interview, I am saying publicly that we have no ties with Israel,\u201d he said. But he said his group supported good ties with Syria\u2019s neighbours. According to Reuters, when asked if that included Israel, Abdi responded, \u201cwith everyone.\u201d
Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi<\/strong> said on Saturday that Iran<\/strong> considers nuclear weapons \u201cunacceptable\u201d, reiterating the country\u2019s longstanding position amid delicate negotiations with the United States<\/strong>.
\u201cIf the issue is nuclear weapons, yes, we too consider this type of weapon unacceptable,\u201d Araghchi, Iran\u2019s lead negotiator in the talks, said in a televised speech, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). \u201cWe agree with them on this issue.\u201d
Iran has held five rounds of talks with the US in search of a new nuclear agreement to replace the deal with major powers president Donald Trump<\/strong> abandoned during his first term in 2018.
The two governments are at odds over Iran\u2019s uranium enrichment programme, which Washington<\/strong> has said must cease but which Tehran<\/strong> insists is its right under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT)<\/strong>.
Nonetheless, Trump said on Wednesday that \u201cwe\u2019re having some very good talks with Iran\u201d, adding that he had warned Israeli<\/strong> prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/strong> against striking its nuclear facilities as it would not be \u201cappropriate right now\u201d.
Trump has not ruled out military action but said he wants space to make a deal first, and has also said that Israel, and not the US, would take the lead in any such strikes.
Lebanese<\/strong> official media said an Israeli<\/strong> strike killed one person in the south on Saturday despite a six-month-old ceasefire, as Israel<\/a> said it targeted a Hezbollah<\/strong> militant.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said a man was killed when an Israeli drone targeted his car as he was heading to pray at a mosque in Deir al-Zahrani<\/strong>, about 20km (12 miles) from the Israeli border.
Israel has continued to bomb Lebanon<\/a> despite the 27 November truce that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of open war.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Israeli army said the strike killed a regional commander \u201cof Hezbollah\u2019s rocket array\u201d.
It said that during the conflict, the operative \u201cadvanced numerous projectile attacks \u2026 and was involved recently in efforts to reestablish Hezbollah\u2019s terrorist infrastructure\u201d in south Lebanon.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah fighters were to pull back north of the Litani River<\/strong>, 30km (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle military infrastructure to its south. Israel was to withdraw all forces from Lebanon but it has kept troops in five areas it deems \u201cstrategic\u201d.
The Lebanese army has deployed in the south and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure.
Gaza<\/strong> is \u201cthe hungriest place on Earth\u201d, according to the UN<\/strong>, which has warned that the Palestinian<\/strong> territory\u2019s entire population is at risk of famine.
Jens Laerke<\/strong>, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs<\/strong>, said the territory was \u201cthe only defined area \u2013 a country or defined territory within a country \u2013 where you have the entire population at risk of famine. One hundred per cent of the population at risk of famine,\u201d he said on Friday.
Laerke detailed the difficulties faced by the UN in delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip<\/strong>. Nine hundred trucks of humanitarian aid had been authorised by Israel<\/a><\/strong> to enter the strip since the blockade was partially lifted, but so far only 600 had been off-loaded on the Gaza side of the border, and a smaller number of shipments had then been picked up for distribution within the territory because of security considerations, he said.
Laerke said the mission to deliver aid was \u201cin an operational straitjacket that makes it one of the most obstructed aid operations not only in the world today, but in recent history\u201d.
Once truckloads entered Gaza, they were often \u201cswarmed by desperate people\u201d, he said.
Daniel Meron<\/strong>, Israel\u2019s UN ambassador, rejected the claim, saying UN agencies \u201ccherrypick the facts to paint an alternative version of reality and demonise Israel\u201d.
\u201cIn a desperate effort to remain relevant, they lambast the best efforts of Israel and its partners to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid to the civilian population. UN feeds Hamas<\/a>, we make sure aid gets to those in need,\u201d he wrote on X.
In a reflection of the increasingly dire conditions inside the territory, a UN spokesperson said late on Friday that \u201carmed individuals\u201d had raided a warehouse at a field hospital in <\/a>Deir al-Balah<\/a><\/strong>, \u201clooting large quantities of medical equipment, supplies, medicines, nutritional supplements that was intended for malnourished children\u201d.
Israel<\/strong> will not allow a planned meeting in the Palestinian<\/strong> administrative capital of Ramallah<\/strong>, in the occupied West Bank<\/strong>, to go ahead, an Israeli official said on Saturday, after media reported that Arab ministers planning to attend had been stopped from coming.
The delegation included ministers from Jordan<\/strong>, Egypt<\/strong>, Saudi Arabia<\/strong>, Qatar<\/strong> and the United Arab Emirates<\/strong>, Palestinian Authority<\/strong> officials said. The ministers would require Israeli consent to travel to the West Bank from Jordan, reports Reuters.
An Israeli official said the ministers intended to take part in \u201ca provocative meeting\u201d to discuss promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
\u201cSuch a state would undoubtedly become a terrorist state in the heart of the land of Israel,\u201d the official said, according to Reuters. \u201cIsrael will not cooperate with such moves aimed at harming it and its security.\u201d
A Palestinian Authority official said that the issue of whether the meeting in Ramallah would be able to go ahead was under discussion.
The move comes ahead of an international conference, co-chaired by France<\/strong> and Saudi Arabia, due to be held in New York<\/strong> on 17-20 June to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood.
Israel has come under increasing pressure from the United Nations<\/strong> and European<\/strong> countries which favour a two-state solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, under which an independent Palestinian state would exist alongside Israel.
French president Emmanuel Macron<\/strong> said on Friday that recognising a Palestinian state was not only a \u201cmoral duty but a political necessity\u201d.
Israel<\/strong> has said Hamas<\/strong> must accept a hostage deal in Gaza<\/strong> or \u201cbe annihilated\u201d, as Donald Trump<\/strong> announced that a ceasefire agreement was \u201cvery close\u201d.
It comes amid dire conditions on the ground, with the United Nations<\/strong> warning that Gaza\u2019s entire population was at risk of famine.
Agence-France Presse (AFP) reported that on Friday, defence minister Israel Katz<\/strong> said Hamas<\/a> must agree to a ceasefire proposal presented by US<\/strong> envoy Steve Witkoff<\/strong> or be destroyed, after the Palestinian<\/strong> militant group said the deal failed to satisfy its demands. However, Hamas said it was still considering the text.
\u201cThe Hamas murderers will now be forced to choose: accept the terms of the \u2018Witkoff deal\u2019 for the release of the hostages \u2013 or be annihilated,\u201d said Katz.
Negotiations to end nearly 20 months of war in Gaza have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming operations in March after a short-lived truce.
In the US, the Trump told reporters \u201cthey\u2019re very close to an agreement on Gaza\u201d, adding: \u201cWe\u2019ll let you know about it during the day or maybe tomorrow.\u201d
Meanwhile, food shortages in Gaza persist, with aid only trickling in after the partial lifting by Israel of a more than two-month blockade.
Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN\u2019s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha)<\/strong>, called Gaza \u201cthe hungriest place on Earth\u201d<\/a>. He said:
<\/path><\/svg>It\u2019s the only defined area \u2013 a country or defined territory within a country \u2013 where you have the entire population at risk of famine.
In other developments:
Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), has described the difficulties faced by the UN in delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip as an \u201can operational straitjacket\u201d.<\/strong> Laerke said the mission to deliver aid was \u201cin an operational straitjacket that makes it one of the most obstructed aid operations not only in the world today, but in recent history\u201d. Once truckloads entered Gaza, they were often \u201cswarmed by desperate people\u201d, he said.
Israel will not allow a planned meeting in the Palestinian administrative capital of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, to go ahead, an Israeli official said on Saturday,<\/strong> after media reported that Arab ministers planning to attend had been stopped from coming. The delegation included ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Palestinian Authority officials said.
Israeli airstrikes have struck western Syria<\/a>, the Israeli military and Syrian state media have said, and reportedly one civilian has been killed in the first such attack on the country in nearly a month. <\/strong>\u201cA strike from Israeli occupation aircraft targeted sites close to the village of Zama in the Jableh countryside south of Latakia,\u201d state television said.
Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Iran considers nuclear weapons \u201cunacceptable\u201d<\/strong>, reiterating the country\u2019s longstanding position amid delicate negotiations with the United States. Iran has held five rounds of talks with the US in search of a new nuclear agreement to replace the deal with major powers Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
The commander of Kurdish forces that control northeast Syria said on Friday that his group is in direct contact with Turkey and that he would be open to improving ties<\/strong>, including by meeting Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan.<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Threat by Israel Katz comes as UN warns that the entire population of Gaza is at risk of famineGaza is hungriest place on Earth, warns UNIsrael has said Hamas must accept a hostage deal in Gaza or \u201cbe annihilated\u201d, as Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire agreement was \u201cvery close\u201d.It comes amid dire conditions on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":151666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}