Israel’s Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, has strongly condemned United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for failing to hold Hamas accountable for sexual violence committed during conflicts. In a report submitted to the UN Security Council, the omission of Hamas from the list of groups suspected of sexual violence has drawn the ire of the Israeli government.
Families of hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza held an emotional Q&A panel in Tel Aviv, followed by a poignant performance where they marched as prisoners to the Kirya military base, pleading for help and urging the release of their loved ones.
An exhibit titled “6:29 AM The Moment Music Stood Still” opened in New York City, honoring the victims and survivors of the tragic Nova Music Festival. The exhibit features bullet-riddled bathroom stalls, burned cars, and harrowing testimonials from those who witnessed the horrors of that night. Hamas terrorists killed 370 people and kidnapped 44 at the concert dedicated to peace and love.
The United Nations and the US have called for a transparent and credible investigation into the discovery of mass graves at two major hospitals in Gaza after they were raided by Israeli troops. The UN human rights chief expressed horror at the destruction of the hospitals and the reported discovery of mass graves, while the US State Department called the reports ‘incredibly troubling.’ The Israeli military claims it exhumed bodies buried by Palestinians as part of its search for hostage remains, but the claims have not been independently verified.
Columbia University is once again the epicenter of radical protests, with anti-Israel agitators disrupting campus operations and inspiring similar actions at universities nationwide. The demonstrators’ open support for Hamas and their virulent antisemitism echo the New Left protests of 1968, albeit with a more sinister twist. While the current protests lack the scale and violence of their predecessors, they have nonetheless created an atmosphere of intimidation and fear for Jewish students.
The US State Department has presented conflicting views on whether Israel is held to a different moral standard than Hamas. Secretary of State Antony Blinken claims no double standard exists, while Ambassador David Satterfield asserts Israel is expected to adhere to a higher standard of conduct. This contradiction has emerged amid growing pro-Palestinian protests in New York City and concerns raised in the State Department’s annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which highlight Israel’s actions in the region.
Despite Western warnings, Israel is preparing for a ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where Hamas militants continue to launch rocket attacks on Israeli civilians. The conflict has caused widespread devastation, with thousands of Palestinians killed or wounded and hundreds of thousands displaced. Local residents in the nearby Israeli community of Sderot remain under constant threat of rocket fire and have expressed their fear and frustration over the ongoing violence.
An Israeli soldier has spoken out against his country’s conduct in the Gaza war, describing scenes of fleeing Palestinians being gunned down despite waving white flags, and entire families being killed when buildings were flattened. The soldier, who is not identified for his own safety, said that what he witnessed turned him against Israel’s war.
US Special Envoy David Satterfield holds Hamas responsible for the suffering in Gaza, refuting comparisons to Israel’s humanitarian policy. He highlights Hamas’s use of civilians as human shields and its preference for violence over peaceful resolutions as the root cause of the crisis. Despite opportunities for a cease-fire, Hamas has allegedly chosen to continue its violent agenda, contributing to the victimization of Palestinians and jeopardizing their future.
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing, Abu Obeida, has called for an escalation across all fronts in a televised speech marking 200 days since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October. The war began with a Hamas assault on southern Israel on October 7, which killed nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seized 253 hostages. Israel launched an aerial assault and ground offensive in Gaza in response, vowing to eliminate Hamas and end its rule of Gaza. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry has placed the Palestinian death toll since October 7 at over 34,000 people, although this figure cannot be independently verified and does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed some 13,000 Hamas gunmen in battle, as well as some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7. In his speech, Abu Obeida praised Iran’s attack on Israel on April 13, saying the direct strikes with hundreds of explosive drones and missiles “set new rules, drew important equations, and confused the enemy and those behind it.” He also called for an escalation in the West Bank and Jordan, which he called “one of the most important Arab fronts.” Jordan, which lies between Iran and Israel, intercepted and shot down dozens of Iranian drones that entered its airspace and were heading to Israel, two regional security sources said earlier this month.
