 Welcome, you're watching I-24 News coming to you live from Tel Aviv, the headlines this hour. The UN Security Council adopts a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas welcomes the move. Jordanian security forces use tear gas against protesters marching on the Israeli Embassy in Amman. And the oil-rich United Arab Emirates is expanding its nuclear energy program. First, the UN Security Council has adopted a resolution calling for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza. The United States withheld its veto. Russia and China both voted in favor. The United States just afterwards insisted that the move does not signal a change in policy. I think you probably saw today we abstained on a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza until the end of Ramadan and the release of all the hostages. Our vote does not and I repeat that does not represent a shift in our policy. We have been clear and we've been consistent in our support for a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal. Let us break that down with our senior U.S. correspondent, Mike Wagenheim, who joins us now live from New York. Mike, this is the first resolution calling on Israel to immediately halt hostilities in Gaza. Crucially, it does not make a ceasefire conditional on the release of the hostages. Is that right? Depends on how you're looking at it. Jerusalem looks at it the way you just described. The U.S. says no, that's not correct and therefore doesn't represent a change in policy. So let's talk a minute about how we got here. This resolution was drafted by the elected 10 members of the Security Council, the so-called E-10. And when the vote was supposed to be held on this resolution on Friday, it was pushed back to today to allow for more negotiations. Well, the main sticking point was how the wording was going to play out. Initially, in the resolution, the first paragraph stated that there would be a demand for an immediate ceasefire lasting through the end of Ramadan, which is another two weeks or so. And then the second paragraph demanded a release of all the remaining hostages being held in Gaza. That was a big sticking point for the U.S. They wanted those two things linked in some way. And so, in the end, those two items were listed in the same paragraph. Now, the question becomes, are they linked? Are they dependent on one another? Or are they detwined and separate, and one is not impacted by the other? The U.S. says, in effect, they are connected together, that one is contingent on the other and therefore doesn't represent a change in policy. Basically, the rest of the Security Council says no, even though they're in the same paragraph, it's an immediate ceasefire now. Hostages are handled separately, although with the same amount of urgency, but they can't be coupled together in the way they're put into effect. That's the clause that Jerusalem is so angry about right now. That's why Prime Minister Netanyahu has gone on essentially a diplomatic rampage and canceled the high-level delegation visit to Washington. But it's all a matter of interpretation. I take you back to last week, Robert Wood, the Deputy Ambassador from the United States to the United Nations, was talking about a separate resolution. He said these resolutions are crafted in a way where everybody can read into them what they need to read into them in order to gain enough support to pass. And that appears to be what the United States did today in allowing this language to pass. By the way, there was a last-minute hiccup. Originally in this resolution, there was a call for a permanent ceasefire. The U.S. got a change to a lasting ceasefire. Again, it's all in the wording and how things are interpreted, but the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem does not like this wording one bit. All right, Mike. Thank you very much. Mike Wagenheim there over in New York. Well, with me in the studio this hour. Shiri Feingrosman is a member of Forum Dvorah, Women in Foreign Policy and National Security. She's also the former head of regional affairs at the Israel National Security Council. Thank you very much for being with us, Shiri. So we just heard Mike there. It's all in the interpretation. And as he said, the Israeli government has interpreted this to be very damaging. It calls on Israel to immediately halt all hostilities in Gaza. The hostages are mentioned. What do you make of it first? Well, as you said, Hamas is supporting this resolution. So I guess that's you're really telling of how we should perceive this resolution. I think it's a mistake by the United States to go this route. I think it does hurt the negotiations because you understand you have to get into the Hamas's mind, the Sinuari's mind. He has time. And now we're just giving him, you know, more of a card in the negotiation, more leverage, telling him, hey, you should wait a little bit and we'll keep on the pressure until Israel is forced to commit a ceasefire. That was the argument of Linda Thomas Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN prior to the vote. She said that it could harm Israel's negotiating position. American hostages are still being held. I mean, why would Hamas continue to negotiate when it's just effectively been handed a ceasefire? Exactly. That's exactly what Hamas is counting on. I mean, I understand the administration's frustration with the Israeli government and how it's maneuvering diplomacy and, you know, public perception of the operation in Gaza. I understand the political pressure the Democratic administration is feeling, but I do think it's making a mistake here and has to go at it in a different way. All pressure, all maximum pressure should be on Hamas. You have to remember who started it. You have to remember how the Israelis are feeling after years of being bombarded by this terror organization. Just today, we had rockets fired at the southern town of Ashdod, which has more than 100,000 people, if I remember correctly, a major city in Israel being bombarded again today. So we don't feel the UN Security Council is protecting the Jewish state and the population and we don't see how we can achieve anything but impunity to Hamas leaders and terrorists. So we have to protect ourselves, unfortunately. Do you think Prime Minister Netanyahu was right then to cancel that delegation to Washington? Again, I'm frustrated by how this Israeli government is dealing with the whole entire situation from strategic to tactics. I believe it's not doing the right thing for Israel interest. I think it's highly motivated by political ambitions. Having said that, particularly I understand why they're upset about this particular move by the U.S. All right, Sherry, you find Grossman for now. Thank you very much. Well, what impact will that Security Council resolution have on the ongoing hostage negotiations? Israelis waiting for Hamas to respond to its latest offer. It said it would free up to 800 Palestinian prisoners, including convicted murderers in exchange for 40 hostages. 134 people are still being held in Gaza, including women and children. Joe Brown has the latest. Deal or no deal. That is the question that Hamas needs to respond to, and the answer that Israel is waiting for. After talks in Qatar made little breakthrough after weeks of negotiations between the two delegations, Israeli news outlet Walla has reported that Israel has agreed to a deal involving the release of 700 Palestinian prisoners, including around 100 who are serving life sentences for terror attacks against Israelis in exchange for 40 hostages held by Hamas. This is similar to a deal Israel rejected a few weeks ago and is almost double the amount Israel agreed to following talks in Paris. But the delegation has supposedly softened their stance following mediation by CIA chief Bill Burns. Israel has also reportedly allowed more leeway for displaced guards and civilians to return north at a planned rate of 2000 people per day. A response is expected from Hamas within the next two days. But regardless of their answer, this does not necessarily mean a ceasefire. With a senior Hamas official saying to Arab media, quote, our priorities are stopping the aggression, bringing in aid, the return of the displaced, and the clear reconstruction plan are not limited to the release of prisoners as promoted by the occupation. One of the main points of contention was regarding how many female IDF soldiers in captivity would be swapped per high value security prisoners, with Hamas reportedly asking for six times as many dangerous prisoners than Israel was willing to release. This comes on the day that the family of IDF border observer Liri Elbag released a picture of a room she was held captive in. The IDF said she was kept here, forced to do housework for a guards and family before being moved underground. But with 134 hostages still in the Gaza Strip, an undisclosed number of whom are dead, time is running out for a deal to try and save those who are still alive. Meanwhile, Hamas has claimed responsibility for the first rockets fired at the Israeli city of Ashdod in more than two months. It happened amid ongoing fighting at the Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, where Israel has killed or captured hundreds of suspected terrorists since Monday. Let's go to southern Israel. We're joined now by our correspondent, Robert Swift. First of all, Rob, with regards to the rocket fire, where did that rocket fire come from? So it came from an area in the center of Gaza. It's one of the few areas there which the IDF has not yet entered. Most attention is focused on Rafah, which is much larger into the south. But there are one or two pockets in the center of the Gaza Strip where the IDF hasn't placed its troops yet. And that's where those rockets were launched from. So that's the first time in about two and a half months that rockets have been fired towards Ashdod. Eight rockets were fired, six landing in open areas and two of them were intercepted. The Hamas had said that the rockets were launched due to Israeli attacks against civilians. And this is likely with regards to the ongoing combat which has taken place around the hospitals. Just before we get into that, it was worth mentioning that there was a second launch, a much smaller launch, about an hour ago, where we saw two rockets being fired over the sterot area. They appeared to detonate in the air, although it didn't seem to us that this was due to an interception. Now, going back to the combat around the hospitals, that does seem to be the focus of both Hamas and the IDF at present, both combat taking place in the north of the Gaza Strip around Al-Shifa and also the combat taking place in the south around Al-Amal hospital. In both of these locations, the IDF has said that they've located weapons and they've made arrests of a number of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad combatants, as well as displacing and evacuating civilians from those areas. And Rob, with regard to the fighting at the Shifa hospital, it's been raging for a week now. Any sign of that battle coming to an end? At the minute, it seems to be just as intense today as it was yesterday. We've been predicting that it would go on for a couple more days, for a few days now. So it definitely doesn't appear as if it's getting wrapped up anytime soon. The IDF does seem to be making some gains there and also due to the intensity of Hamas' response, they seem to be throwing a lot of their own resources into countering the IDF, which seems to show that they feel the need to fight there, rather than simply withdrawing and picking a battle on a different day as they have in other locations. Now, in a report with a Lebanese paper, a Hamas official said that the number of individuals in leadership positions, both from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic jihad, who had been killed and possibly more importantly captured at al-Shifa hospital, was something that should not be underestimated. This Hamas source appeared to be saying that the raid on the hospital by the IDF was a serious blow to Hamas and that it would necessarily need to update its security footing due to information that Israel would likely gain during interrogations from some of those individuals captured in that raid. Rob, thank you very much. Robert Swift there down in the south of Israel. Shiri Fine-Gross minister with me in the studio. So Shiri diplomatically following that vote at the UN Security Council, I think it's fair to say that Israel is struggling. But when we look at the battle inside Gaza, how is the idea of faring against Hamas? I think the Shifa operation was very substantial. Hundreds of or a few dozens were murdered of terrorist activists by Islamic jihad mostly and others were captured. We still don't know, we're pretty much in the dark about the seniority and the quality of the high ranking they are. There are a bit of information that is coming out from Hamas saying they understand it's substantial. So I think in that sense it's a very good, you know, sexual operation from the IDF standpoint. We're kind of in the standstill, we're really waiting to get into more territory, but I think they're trying to do it in a smart way, more sophisticated like we saw in Shifa. So I think this kind of strategy of waiting it out, getting in good intelligence and then striking to get a better operation achievement, I think it's a good move. But it takes time, it takes patience, it's a month away from ending. And do you think the IDF will still go into Rafa, given all the diplomatic pressure on Israel not? I mean, I don't see it has any other choice. But it will have diplomatic damage, but I don't think it has a choice if it really is aimed at destroying Hamas. All right, Sherry, thank you for now. Sherry Feingressman there. Well, Egypt had called for an immediate ceasefire and the freeing of the hostages prior to today's vote. To talk more about Egypt's role in the crisis, we're joined by Heber N. Kordzi, Washington bureau chief at the Al-Ashaq Al-Assad newspaper. Thank you very much indeed for being with us. Great to see you. Thank you for joining us. The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas Greenfield, had warned prior to the vote that it could harm the ongoing hostage and ceasefire negotiations, which Egypt of course is a part of. And what are your thoughts on that? Actually, it's a big victory for the Palestinian side, because this is the first UN resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire and unconditional release of the hostage. It should have been accepted for the whole UN security members. But the issue now is that the US was afraid of vetoing this resolution, because it will contradict with what the Biden administration is asking for. There are a lot of worries, especially Egypt, worries that the offensive military operation that Netanyahu insists to have is going to be a disaster and a catastrophe regarding 1.3 million Palestinians in Rafah. So there were more, there were worries about what would happen if that offensive operation will happen and what would be the meaning of that to the security concerns, the Egyptian security concerns regarding Sinai. And there are some kind of rape flags about the peace occurred that was signed in 1979. So there are a lot of worries taking into consideration this kind of tension between Israel and Biden administration as well. Let's turn to Raf in a moment, but just another word on the UN Security Council vote, if you would. You say it's a victory for the Palestinians. Isn't it actually a victory for Hamas? And why would Hamas continue to negotiate in Doha if the world has essentially just handed them a ceasefire? It's some kind of a symbolic victory, because it's under Chapter 6, not Chapter 7. So there is no possibility that it will force Israel to ceasefire, but it's a symbolic victory. It's not for Hamas. It's just for the world or the nations or the world community that seeks a ceasefire for the sake of the women and children and civilians in Rafah that are in need for humanitarian aid. A temporary humanitarian ceasefire. Exactly. It's temporary, but at the end of the day, at least there is some step forward to achieve this goal. On the other side, it's not for the good of Hamas. Hamas is facing a real hard time regarding keeping the hostage alive, keeping them fed, keeping them safe. And on the other hand, there are a lot of pressure from the Egyptian and Qatari side on Hamas to conclude a deal that will end all this kind of back-and-forth negotiation from Paris to Doha to Cairo and to have at least for a hostage release for a ceasefire and a humanitarian aid available for the Palestinian during maybe 40 days or more. And that would be the base for the Biden administration to ask for extending this period and having a more permanent ceasefire and start a negotiation for a bigger deal and a two-state solution that the administration is calling for. Well, Israel has made it clear that despite all the international pressure upon it, it will pursue Hamas in Rafah. Rafah, of course, just across the border from Egypt. Could that jeopardize the decades-old peace between Israel and Egypt? Actually, Foreign Minister Samah Shokri denied that it will be some kind of this drastic step from the Egyptian side. But they are asking the Israeli side to respect that accord as well. But still, they put the peace accord on a really risky period with the Egyptian worried about the circumstances and the consequences of the offensive military that Israel is insisting to do. On the other hand, there are some kind of Egyptian leverage that they are using during this negotiation with Hamas to push them to conduct this deal and finalize it. On the other hand, there are Egyptian pressure and negotiation and calls with France, with Britain, with the U.S. also as well. So they cannot jeopardize this peace accord that has been there for decades. So there is some kind of mutual pressure from both sides. And sorry, just in terms of pressure on Hamas, Israel says that Hamas is smuggling weapons into Gaza via Egypt. Will Egypt cooperate with Israel in closing down those smuggling tunnels? According to Shladdilphia, a accord that was signed in 2005 between Egypt and Israel, Egypt have done a lot of efforts to stop the arms smuggling and trafficking. And according to a senior official that Egypt shut down and tried to stop this kind of smuggling through these tunnels between the Palestinian side and the Egyptian side. So I doubt very much that there is any kind of smuggling right now since October 7 and even before that, because it's a risk for the Egyptian security that this smuggling of arms, if it's this kind of rumors are true, that it will jeopardize the Egyptian security as well in Sinai. So it's for Egypt's interest to try its best to stop this kind of smuggling through the tunnels and put a lot of pressure on Hamas to end this kind of military interaction with Israel and try to get a deal that will save Hamas or save the Palestinian in Rafah and try to get humanitarian aid to the people and on the same time secure the borders and secure an negotiation process for what's the administration, the U.S. administration is calling for a Palestinian state, is calling for a state, a two-state solution. So it's a win-win situation for all parts. Even if Hamas is trying to procrastinate the process, I believe the Egyptian pressure and the Qatari pressure on Hamas will come and also the U.S. pressure will be some kind, there will see some kind of a deal in the coming days. Thank you very much indeed, we appreciate it. While the plight of the 134 hostages still being held in Gaza dominated this year's Purim holiday and today their families march through the capital Jerusalem demanding their immediate release. Usually the Jewish holiday of Purim is one of the most joyous events of the year. One of the highlights are the Purim parades that are being held throughout main Israeli cities. This year the parade in Jerusalem looks a little different. Led by the families of the hostages still held in Gaza, the Jerusalem parade opened with a demand to bring them all back. The United States is doing a lot to be an ally to Israel and to bring back the hostages still they are not here. It means that they didn't do everything and I expect any leader in the world to continue pushing and bringing back our beloved daughter. She needs to be here, she was supposed to be here. I'm wearing a shirt she was supposed to wear and I'm waiting for her. Even though the mayor of Jerusalem made changes to the parade in order to heed the calls for a muted celebration, protesters gathered along the parade to display their dismay with the celebration. I feel very sad not only for the hostages themselves and their families but also for the people of Israel who celebrate without a real cause for celebration. I know it's a traditional habit to be happy on Purim but this year I think it's tactless. 134 hostages remain in Gaza. While hostage talks are still ongoing, there still hasn't been a breakthrough in negotiations. Time for a short break when we come back. Jordanian security forces used tear gas to stop hundreds of protesters from reaching the Israeli embassy in Amman last night. Just how volatile is the security situation in Israel's name but we'll have one next. Israel is in a state of war. Families completely done down in their beds. We have no idea where is she as our soldiers are fighting on the front line but the general perception is something that certainly needs to to be fought as well. This week on News 24 Israel under attack. News 24 in Spanish brings the analysis and the information of the events of the war, Spades of the Iron. Exclusive interviews and reports from the war zone, the reaction of Spanish-speaking countries. News 24, the only medium in Spanish that keeps you informed and connected with the community in Israel. News 24, only on I-24 News. Welcome back. Jordanian security forces used tear gas to disperse a rally in the capital Amman last night. Hundreds of people tried to march on the Israeli embassy. Some were heard chanting for revenge and for Hamas to attack Tel Aviv. The war in Gaza has put Amman under pressure as it seeks to placate its majority Palestinian population while at the same time preserving official relations with Israel. Our Alex Schloss has this report. Riot police taking on thousands of Jordanian protesters marching on the Israeli embassy in Amman to protest Israel's latest operation in Chifa hospital in Gaza. Demonstrators chanted slogans like no Zionist embassy on Jordanian lands as the police tried to prevent them from reaching the heavily fortified compound. Witnesses say many of the protesters were beaten, tear gassed or arrested as they tried to break through the police lines. The least that can be said is that we have to stand in solidarity with our brothers in Gaza, with Gaza's resistance and Gaza's struggle and its heroes. That's the least we can do for the world to hear our voice and this is only a part of what any free being should do to be in solidarity with Gaza. Jordanians have gathered daily at the Israeli embassy protesting against the war in Gaza. Protesters have long called on Jordan to scrap its peace treaty with Israel signed in 1994. And although relations are frosty, they're holding firm as Jordan fears a spillover of the Israel-Hamas conflict into its territory. They cannot be allowed to continue killing innocent people and plunging the entire region into the danger of a spillover war. Instead of sending weapons to Israel, delegations should be sent to force them to stop the war. Instead, aid must be sent. The current Israeli government must face sanctions for its violations of international law. Authorities have allowed protests but say that they will not tolerate any attempt to storm the embassy, instigate civic unrest, or try to reach the border with the West Bank or Israel. A Jordanian youth group has called on a siege of the Israeli embassy again tonight after the Ramadan fast has broken. Hundreds have been arrested at pro-Palestinian rallies in Amman since Hamas's October 7th onslaught on southern Israel. And while most of the rallies have remained peaceful, they have on occasion turned violent, prompting the evacuation of Israel's ambassador and other embassy staffers. Well, for more on that, we're joined now by Daoud Kotab, a journalist and Middle East commentator based in Amman. Thank you for being with us, Daoud. Good to see you again. And Jordan's leaders have been pretty outspoken, well, very outspoken in their condemnation of Israel since October 7th. Yeah, we did see a pretty brutal crackdown on Palestinian demonstrators last night. How long can Jordan keep a lid on the public anger, do you think? Well, if you remember before the beginning of the Holy Month of Ramadan, it's Majesty the King and others. And in fact, even President Biden and others have told the Israelis that they should try their best to reach a ceasefire or a deal before the beginning of the month, because this is a very special month. It's a month where people go on fasting, people pray, people are in a kind of a spiritual mode. And imagine people who have to break their fast while they know their brothers and sisters and Gaza are starving to death. And so, as a result, the use of the starvation punishment by Israel has really touched the nerve with many people because it really made their... Well, Israel says that a lot of aid is going into Gaza and it's doing its best to get as much aid as possible into Gaza. The problem is it's not being distributed and it's being stolen by Hamas. It's an issue, but international agencies have all said that. Anyway, that's fine. You say allow all the trucks to get in, that's fine. That's exactly what is needed. And that's what the UN Security Council resolution called on Israel to do. So the point is that people are in a dire situation. People are facing lack of housing, lack of food, and unsafe situation. The war is still going on. And so that has revved up the nerves and anger of the population. And that's normal. How long will it last? How long can Jordan stay trying to keep it peaceful? That's a good question. Nobody knows today. Because Jordan has a majority Palestinian population, doesn't it? And the street in Jordan is apparently boiling over. Yeah, but it's not because it's a Palestinian population. Both Jordanians and Palestinians, my staff, many where I work, are all of Jordanian background and they're just as angry and frustrated with the situation and solidarity with Gaza as Jordanians of Palestinian origin. So that's not the issue. The issue is that this is a humanitarian crisis, an assault that has to stop because it's touching a nurse, it's touching human beings, the children, women, older people, men and women. How popular is Hamas in Jordan? I mean, as you say, Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims. Hamas attacked Israel on a Jewish holiday on Simchat Torah. I mean, how much support is there for Hamas inside Jordan? Well, it's hard to say. I mean, obviously, as a resistance movement, it's popular. But you know what I've noticed in Jordan and around the world is that people are supporting Palestinians, not necessarily supporting Hamas. So while, yes, Hamas is seen in a very positive way as a resistance movement fighting against an unlawful military occupation and assault that even South Africans call in genocidal, the Palestinian population, I mean, the population in solidarity is supporting Palestinians. And that's why you see today a number of European countries are prepared to recognize the state of Palestine. You rarely see any Hamas flags as you showed on your screen. It's Palestinian flags that are being waived. And that, I think, answers your question is that the support is for Palestinians. And yes, people are very proud of what they feel Hamas is doing and resisting the Israeli continued assault on them. They're proud of what happened on October 7th. Yes, people feel that what happened on October 7th is followed 75 years of being living under refugees, 56 years of occupation, 10 years of siege. They feel that resistance is... That justifies what happened on October 7th. All right, thank you, Daphne. Thank you very much, Daphne Tav. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right, we'll show you. Fine Grosven, the former head of regional affairs at the Israel National Security Council, is still with me in the studio. Your reaction? Well, I want to say a couple of things. First of all, the peace treaty and the stability of Jordan and the peace treaty with Egypt as well, as we discussed before, are very, very key elements in Israel's national security. Israel is cooperating with Jordanian army and security agency to keep the stability of Jordan and the king of Jordan in the throne. I think it continues to be very important, and that's just showing us why it's part of the reason. Having said that, it's such a hypocrisy. There are millions starving in Sudan. There were millions starving in Yemen for many, many years. There's an ongoing war in Yemen since 2015. I don't see Jordanians taking to the streets or anyone actually in the whole world taking to the streets of what is happening in Sudan and in Yemen. I don't want to do it. And the argument would be... What about ism? I don't want to do it. What about ism? But still, it's still very... Saudi Arabia using Western... Exactly. It's very, very frustrating the situation and the fact that they can admit that Hamas started this whole thing. There was a ceasefire. There was this crime of aggression, is a serious crime. And they're the one distorting peace. And yes, he's right. There were pleas from Arab leaders that there would be a ceasefire in Ramadan. But unfortunately, Hamas is sticking his ground. Quite. And also, we've seen polls, haven't we, that show a large majority of Palestinians don't actually believe that Hamas committed atrocities on October 7. The question is if they just simply don't know, because that's not what they're seeing on their TV screens as we're seeing here in Israel. Or if they... They just don't... They just don't want to recognize... They see that as an legitimate resistance. I don't know. I can't speak for them. I think one... I think they're lying. That's one of the propaganda machines that Al Jazeera Qatar... Well, we just had the Al Jazeera editor, didn't we, admit that one of his stories... And I think the world isn't stressing enough how to counter this fake news and propaganda and social engineering that is going on almost in every subject all over the world. We're doing a bad job at it. And I think it just shows a bad course of where our future is headed. Right. And other than that, just former US President Donald Trump has come out and said, Israel has to do better with PR. Right now they're in ruin. Yeah. Okay. I completely agree. It's something that has been over and over and overly discussed in Israel and government, even when I was in government. And it's not... It needs a lot of resources. It needs technology. It needs actually resources of a superpower because we're seeing what Russia is doing, what China is doing in that field. And Hamas is being aided by great powers in this respect. And we have evidence of this. It's not being discussed. It's a threat about all humanity. Again, the World Economic Forum, the VOS, they asked, they surveyed all the leaders that came in and they... And what's the number one threat? Disinformation and fake news. So I think we all need to acknowledge this. And Israel has always been a lab for this kind of stuff. And if anybody in the audience is watching, you should watch out. Because this is what terrorist organizations do. They slaughter, they rape, and then they deny it. They delete all the evidence. And because we protect our victims, we don't show it all over the news. All right. Sherry, thank you. Sherry Frank Grossman there. All right. Well, let's change pace somewhat. The United Arab Emirates is expanding its nuclear program. The fourth unit of a South Korean built power plant has been successfully connected to the national power grid. To talk more about that and about oil in the region more generally, we're joined by Simon Henderson, Director of Gulf and Energy Policy at the Washington Institute. Thank you very much for being with us, Simon. And great to see you again. And the UAE is one of the world's biggest oil producers, isn't it? Why does it even need nuclear power? Good question. The economic logic is supposedly so that they can export their oil and some gas. And meanwhile, use nuclear at home so that their export revenues are maximized. And there's a twist on that in that they think nuclear power is constant price nuclear power rather than oil, which, as we well know, fluctuates up and down in price. Yeah, but they're very well acquainted with the ups and downs of the oil prices over the years, aren't they? Saudi Arabia, big rival with the UAE when it comes to oil production, also wants a civilian nuclear program. It made it a condition of any potential normalization with Israel. Saudi Arabia also looking to become a nuclear power. Yes, I mean, this is where you have to have a skeptical eye. The UAE, when it bought its nuclear power reactors, effectively has an escape clause in it in that it promised not to enrich or reprocess nuclear fuel. But they can get out of this if other people in the region enrich or reprocess. Saudi Arabia presumably wants at least publicly roughly the same. But there's skepticism here because Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia will be close behind. So this hardly seems like a declaration of only peaceful nuclear use. And there's an additional twist here as well in that Mohammed bin Salman's brother Khaled, the Defense Minister, was in Pakistan over the weekend for where he was guest of honor at a military parade, which also included Pakistan's nuclear capable missiles. And so I've been talking about oil prices more broadly. We've got these ongoing attacks by Yemen's Houthis on shipping in the Red Sea. What impact has that had on oil prices? A little, but not much. The oil market is very sensitive to uncertainty and the danger to oil supplies or the threat of danger to oil supplies. Clearly, that's what's happening at the bottom of the Red Sea from the Houthis. But in overall global terms, that isn't the main contributory factor at the moment to slight elevation in oil prices. Simon, thank you very much. Simon Henderson there. Shuri Faingressman is with me in the studio. And Shuri, just to go back to diplomacy, Israel has suffered something of a blow at the UN Security Council from its biggest ally, its most important ally. What about future allies? What about Saudi Arabia? Do you think that's still on the cards? Well, I mean, they're being very consistent and very clear that the path to normalization talks is a clear commitment to a two-state solution by the Israeli government, with timelines being said and basically accepting the terms of the Saudi initiative for 2002 or Arab initiative. So I don't think that, as we've seen, the government of Israel has shone away. And I think the Israeli public has shone away from the possibility of a Palestinian state. Just this morning, there was an announcement that Iran has tried to smuggle advanced weaponry into the West Bank, actually, anti-tank missiles, anti-tank ammunition. And just imagine if they had a Palestinian state where even if their military rise without Israeli presence, we've seen what we can have. But only two pockets remain. I think, well, three pockets remain in Gaza and yet they fire rockets at Ashdod. So I think the Israeli public right now is very frustrated and is very disingenuous by the notion of Palestinian state. And I don't see that happening. So I think normalization with Saudi is a long wake up. Right, because the Saudis have said, if there's going to be normalization, they want irreversible steps towards the Palestinian state. Meanwhile, we have got more and more countries around the world saying they will unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. Is this something Israel is going to have to grapple with? Definitely something that has to grapple with. And this is exactly why I criticize Israeli government for not discussing the day after, which is actually today or yesterday already. Then it's to be a clear diplomatic strategy, political strategy. And it's something that we're missing. It's something that we're keeping being told that first we have to win militarily before we discuss any diplomatic or political initiative. I think it's unfortunate. I think it's not playing our cards right. But this is the Israeli government's position right now. And just to go back to the relationship with Washington, it seems to be very much focused on the personality of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, doesn't it? It seems to be very much based on politics and domestic politics in both sides. Exactly. It's been said all along and I think it's still relevant. Biden is worried from the elections that is coming. It's worried from its relations with Arab countries and its international perception. And Netanyahu is speaking to his base. It's very, very clear. And unfortunately, I think both sides need to think about the national interest and global interest of national security and peace and prosperity other than domestic politics. But Henry Kissinger said Israel doesn't have, you know, it only has a domestic policy. I think it goes for all nations. Absolutely. Cherie, thank you very much. Cherie Feig-Grestman. Thank you. Well, as Russia reels from that major terrorist attack in Moscow at the weekend, there is increasing focus on the group that claimed responsibility for the bloodshed, ISIS-K. It's grown increasingly powerful in Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal in 2020. For more on that, we can go to Kabul and journalist Shikib Nazari. So, Shikib, thanks for being with us. What do we know about ISIS-K and its operations in Afghanistan? And what is their relationship to the Taliban? Shikib, can you hear me? Shikib, in Kabul. I'm not sure if Shikib can hear us. Unfortunately, he is over in Kabul. So, we'll try and get him back for you right now. We can't reach him, unfortunately, now. Anti-Semitism in the wake of the October 7 attacks continues to cast a dark cloud over Jewish university students, some of America's top schools. Several delegations have come as show of solidarity for the more in this report. Okay, we're having a little bit of a problem. It would seem with our technical equipment. Cherie Feig-Grestman, thankfully, is still with me in the studio. We weren't going to go to report. This is all part and parcel, isn't it, of relations with Israel's biggest and most important ally, the United States. It was pretty shocking for a lot of Israelis to see university students, young people marching, you know, just a day or two. And for Israeli students actually studying abroad, there wasn't many of them. And I have to say, I speak with college students from the U.S. and Israelis. And the situation is pretty dire. A lot of people, a lot of Jews in America feel unsafe. It seems like anti-Semitism has really raised its head like it's never done, did in the past in the U.S. And I think it, you know, if the diplomatic and the political situation, I think was a bit different. We would see a large amount of Jewish youth coming to Israel, making Aliyah, immigrating here, I think. But I think giving, you know, at least a security situation, I think a lot of people shine away from that. But, you know, maybe in a couple of months or a year time when things relax, I think it will connect the jury of the U.S. to Israel again. Well, yeah. And there is a bit of a division as well between liberal Jews in the United States and conservative and Israeli Jews in particular. All right. Yeah. Of course, the political discourse in America is, of course, is always imminent. I think, you know, I think Trump just came out a few days ago about still a large portion of Jews still vote democratically. You vote Democrat. You hate your religion. Yeah, I think that. I didn't see the quote. But yeah. But I get the essence of it. Yeah. So I think, you know, a large portion, I think there are a lot of people and Jews also are affected by what they see on the news, which is misleading and not reporting accurately. And I think when they're seeing their relatives, actually, and what they're facing in Israel, I think it comes as a kind of crisis of what's going on here, what do I see on the news, and what do I hear from my relatives? And I think that's a real issue to struggle with from my identity point of view. Am I being told the truth? Am I getting the whole picture? What does it say about everything I'm reading on the news? And I think it's questions where it's worth asking. And I'm sure, you know, a lot of people in the US are doing so. I think we still have a lot of friends. There's been a lot of support, a lot of investment. And I think there will be more and more delegations coming from all over the world, the world jury to Israel to show its support once they feel it's safe. And it is getting safer every day that Hamas is getting. Well, quite. I mean, that is a concern among some security analysts who say that if Hamas is not defeated completely, if it is not removed, uprooted from Gaza, that will cause Israel more problems diplomatically in the long run. Do you want to subscribe to that view as well? Look, I think the operation is very substantial from a military perspective and it's really showing the IDF strength. It's purely showing Israel's diplomatic maneuvering and capabilities. And I think that's hurting Israel's power, diplomatic power, which is essential and important as military power in my view. And I think in Netanyahu's view, at least as what he told us, in 2017, you could find it online, but it's in Hebrew. There's military power, there's diplomatic power, there's economic power and there's spiritual power, which is, you know, as the Jewish people. And those are like the unity. That's Israel's strength, exactly the unity. So all these power were affected. And we're seeing, you know, not a good situation in all of those elements. But I think if you look into the future strategically, they will bounce back, they will be there, will get through these times. There will be other days. And I'm sure they will come soon. And defeating Hamas, you have to define it. Are we going to take out any possible terrorists in Gaza? That's not a target and a goal we can achieve because there are two million people in Gaza. You give one knife or a gun and it becomes a terrorist. That's not real. We're talking about the substantial capabilities of Hamas. And we have to think about, you know, defeating an idea, the political side of Hamas, the idea of selling a free Gaza, free Palestine from Jews. We have to fight back with a different idea. And that idea is, you know, regional peace and coexistence. And that's the hardest part. Absolutely. That's the hard work, isn't it? Shiri, thank you very much indeed. We're going to bring the show to an end. Thanks for watching. Stay tuned for these Libyans on next. With different fillings, the Blynne is a traditional Russian pancake, which is also popular in Eastern European countries. It can be filled with a great variety of ingredients and serve both as a savory dish or a sweet one. In pre-Christian times, Blynne were prepared for the Slavic holiday of Maslinza, which is celebrated at the end of the winter. Because of their round shape, Blynne are considered to be a symbol of the sun. I was born in Siberia, Russia, and immigrated to Israel 30 years ago. As a student, cooking was a major hobby of mine, until I made it my profession. For the past six years, I run my own boutique catering for special events in Israel and abroad. I also host intimate gourmet meals in my house. My Russian roots are very well present in my food, as they are in my accent. I believe a modern kitchen should draw inspiration from old classic dishes and turn them into original, amazing food. One of the biggest advantages of the culinary world is that it teaches you something new every day. I like to incorporate molecular gastronomy in my cooking, using different kinds of materials, just like ice cream made with liquid nitrogen. I call it food designing, and I really enjoy the show that comes along with it. People don't just come to eat, they want to enjoy the process, the beauty of food. If they don't go wow at the end of a meal, it's pointless. A replay to points. It was a cat crossing the court. This is Breaking News Edition. I'm Bernice Levine, Unexpected Developments at the United Nations in New York, the UN Security Council, approving a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire between Gaza and Israel after the United States abstained. The U.S. has previously vetoed similar resolutions. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, saying that while the latest resolution included edits requested by the U.S., Washington could not vote yes because it did not agree with everything. The resolution was put forward by the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council demanding an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages and the urgent need to expand the flow of aid into Gaza. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres saying in recent hours a failure to implement the resolution would be unforgivable. U.S. ambassador to the UN saying she had to suffice with abstaining from today's resolution chiefly because it did not include a condemnation of Hamas. Let's listen in her own words. Speak out and demand unequivocally that Hamas accepts the deal on the table. Now, I hope I'm wrong. I really do, but I don't expect that from Russia and China, especially because they still can't bring themselves to condemn Hamas' terrorist attacks on October 7th. Just last week, Russia and China vetoed a resolution that condemned this horrific attack, a resolution the vast majority of this council supported. They have shown time and time again that they are not actually interested in advancing a durable peace through diplomatic efforts. Colleagues, we appreciated the willingness of members of this council to take some of our edits and improve on this resolution. Still, certain key edits were ignored, including our request to add a condemnation of Hamas. And we did not agree with everything in the resolution. For that reason, we were unfortunately not able to vote yes. However, as I've said before, we fully support some of the critical objectives in this non-binding resolution. And we believe it was important for the council to speak out and make clear that our ceasefire must, any ceasefire, must come with the release of all hostages. So for more, we now go live to our senior U.S. correspondent, Mike Wagonheim. He joins us from New York and stunning developments at the UN Security Council. Mike, we just heard there, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, saying the meaning of this resolution is that a ceasefire in Gaza must be part of an agreement to release the hostages. Talk us through how it all unfolded. Wow, tough to imagine where to even start. But the bottom line is this is a 10th resolution that the UN Security Council has tried to pass related to the Israel-Hamas War and the first to pass that doesn't have to do specifically with humanitarian aid, this one, the first to pass that focuses on hostilities. It was drafted, as you mentioned by the elected 10 members of the Security Council, was supposed to be put up for a vote on Friday morning and then on Saturday. However, the U.S. wanted to further negotiate over the text and specifically to try to draw a link between the immediate ceasefire for the remainder of the month of Ramadan and the release of the hostages. Initially, those two priorities were listed in different paragraphs of the resolution. Well, throughout the weekend, there was negotiation, further talks, and eventually those two things were placed in the same paragraph, which the U.S. says, well, listen, they're on the same line essentially, so they should be given the same priority, the same urgency. That's why you hear U.S. officials from Linda Thomas-Greenfield to National Security Council Advisor Spokesman John Kirby say, listen, there's no change in policy here. That's what they're referring to. However, basically the rest of the world is saying, eh, not so fast, ceasefire, ceasefire, ceasefire, those two things, even though they're listed together now in the same paragraph, they're not given the same urgency, they're not given the same priority, one cannot be dependent upon the other. Now, one would intuitively think that maybe the Israeli government would say, hey, listen, we're willing to hold up our end of the bargain here. We'll trade at ceasefire for the next two weeks for the release of all the hostages, which is what the resolution calls for. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, taking a much different tack going right at the Biden administration for failing to use the veto and cancelling that high-level delegation to Washington this week to discuss the impending military operation in Rafe, bringing tensions now to a full boil here between Washington and Jerusalem. Now, you heard Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, say at the end of that soundbite, this is a non-binding resolution. Now, there was much wonkish discussion here at the UN as to what exactly she was referring to, but the bottom line is, and even the U.S. will probably admit this in the end, all Security Council resolutions are binding in some form or fashion, this one being no different. The question is, if Israel doesn't cease its fire over the next two weeks, with or without the hostages release, what will the Security Council and most importantly, what will the U.S. do to try to implement it, to try to force Israel's hand? If the U.S. does nothing or next to nothing, then really in the end, it's all just a big hullabaloo over language, but certainly more damage done here to the U.S.-Israel relationship. We watched to see how it all unfolds. Talking about hullabaloo, Mike, you mentioned Benjamin Netanyahu cancelling that trip by Advisors Ron Dermer and Sachi Hanegbi. They were said to go to D.C. this week. How is that going down? Is that the right call at this juncture? That's not for me to say. I'm just an I-24 news correspondent. I don't have two decades of Prime Minister leadership under my belt here. So in the end, it's tough to judge here whether that's the right move or not. I will say it's quite surprising here, again, that the government and the Prime Minister and the foreign ministry aren't putting this back in Hamas's court and laying out the argument that, hey, the Security Council resolution says ceasefire and the release of the hostages immediately and put those two things together and say, hey, listen, we'll go out there on a limb. We're willing to hold ceasefire for two weeks if all of the hostages are released. Go ahead, Hamas. It's your move, and we know Hamas isn't going to release all the hostages just to get two weeks of a ceasefire. The price for them is much, much higher than that. So that would be one tack to take. It seems to be a good faith tack that Israel can rely on, that it can come back to the U.S. and say, hey, we're doing exactly what the resolution is calling for. We're doing exactly what you say your policy still is. Continue to have our back at the Security Council, but a different tack here. And this is the situation at the moment. Stunning developments indeed. We will unpack more of the details during the show for now. Thank you so much. Senior U.S. correspondent Mike Wagenheim, live from New York. Thank you, Mike. Meanwhile, negotiating teams are still meeting in Qatar, trying to reach a hostage-truth deal with reports that Israel is prepared to free around 700 Palestinian security prisoners from Israeli jails in order to secure the release of 40 of the hostages held in Gaza. At the same time, new evidence has emerged suggesting one of the female hostages was, in fact, held in a home in Gaza, the home of Palestinian civilians. This was in the early days of the war. Arjo Brown has more in this report. Deal or no deal. That is the question that Hamas needs to respond to, and the answer that Israel is waiting for. After talks in Qatar made little breakthrough after weeks of negotiations between the two delegations, Israeli news outlet, has reported that Israel has agreed to a deal involving the release of 700 Palestinian prisoners, including around 100 who are serving life sentences for terror attacks against Israelis in exchange for 40 hostages held by Hamas. This is similar to a deal Israel rejected a few weeks ago, and has almost doubled the amount Israel agreed to following talks in Paris, but the delegation has supposedly softened their stance, following mediation by CIA chief Bill Burns. Israel has also reportedly allowed more leeway for displaced guards and civilians to return north at a planned rate of 2,000 people per day. A response is expected from Hamas within the next two days, but regardless of their answer, this does not necessarily mean a ceasefire. With a senior Hamas official saying to Arab media, quote, our priorities are stopping the aggression, bringing in aid, the return of the displaced, and the clear reconstruction plan are not limited to the release of prisoners as promoted by the occupation. One of the main points of contention was regarding how many female IDF soldiers in captivity would be swapped per high value security prisoners, with Hamas reportedly asking for six times as many dangerous prisoners than Israel was willing to release. This comes on the day that the family of IDF board robber Liri Elbag released a picture of a room she was held captive in. The IDF said she was kept here, forced to do housework for a guards and family before being moved underground. But with 134 hostages still in the Gaza Strip, an undisclosed number of whom are dead, time is running out for a deal to try and save those who are still alive. And now for more, we go live to Tel Aviv. Our correspondent Balia Sladin joins us from Hostage Square, so the families of the hostages will know about the developments at the UN in New York and also talks on going in Qatar. But what exactly is happening there? An announcement expected in the coming hour. What can you tell us? Yes, exactly. We're a bit far from the Hostage Square. Actually, we just changed our location and we are in Disinkov Square, which is right in the center of Tel Aviv. We can just take a look where the announcement will be held in a few minutes by the mother of Larry Elbag, the same captive Israeli soldier that is still held in captivity in Gaza right now. And the one that today is morning, the Daily Mail, the British newspaper, talked about in an interview with her mother. Her mother is going to be here in a few moments speaking about the latest, of course, reminding every Israeli that their daughters and sons are still held in captivity in Gaza at the background of the Jewish holiday of Purim. Of course, they're going to say that we're still stuck in the previous Jewish holiday, the Simchatura, of course, the 7th of October. So just don't forget us. We're still demanding for the release of the relatives of our beloved ones. And we're here to remind you of that, to continue your life, of course, but also to be in support of us in these times until the release of all the hostages. And now in terms of the latest about the UN Security Council resolution, what we see here in Israel is many reactions by Israeli officials. The latest we've heard from the Minister of Defense, Yav Galan, that is in Washington right now. He is calling this decision by the UN Security Council outrageous. And this also comes along with the reaction from the ambassador to the UN, which also calls it outrageous and demanding that there will be no distinguish between Israeli victims at the 7th of October and Russian victims from the terrorist attack in Moscow a couple of days ago. But what we hear also a disagreement, a huge disagreement between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the other minister in the war cabinet, Benny Gantz. Benny Gantz after Netanyahu decided not to send the Israeli delegation, high-ranking Israeli officials, including Ron Dermer, the Minister of Strategic Affairs and the head of the also, Tzach Yanik, excuse me, also was supposed to be sent alongside Dermer and both are not going to be going to Washington to hold talks with their counterparts there because Netanyahu wants to send the message to the Americans after they did not veto this UN Security Council. But the Americans are saying, and of course you heard that from my colleague Mike Wagenheim about their reaction, about their astonishment of this step. And Benny Gantz is adding to that because he's saying that we should actually go, especially right now, when the support for Israel is waning in the world. And even he is demanding that Netanyahu goes by himself, Netanyahu a response to that, saying that Hamas elaborated this decision in the UN Security Council. And now we have Benny Gantz demanding us to go there. He is of course criticizing this statement by Benny Gantz, an obvious disagreement in the war cabinet about this latest development. Live from Tel Aviv, thank you so much. Correspondent Balia Sladin, thank you. And from Tel Aviv, we now go to the Israel Gaza border. Let's check in with our correspondent Robert Swift. So, Rob, rockets fired at Ashdord for the first time in over two months, Hamas claiming responsibility earlier on in the day. And now in the last hour and a half or so, two interceptions overstore rot. What is going on? What is the latest? What can you share? Right, so the more recent of those two, we actually saw that ourselves. Two rockets were fired overstore rot. Both of them appearing to be intercepted by the Iron Dome, despite no rocket siren going off. The second incident a little earlier, that was eight rockets were launched towards Ashdord, six landing in open areas, and two of them again being intercepted by the Iron Dome. Now there's some debate as to the origin point of these launches. Now the first of the two launches towards Ashdord, it was reported that it come from Deir al-Balakh, which is an area in sort of towards the south end of central Gaza, an area which the IDF have not sent troops into since the beginning of this war. And with the second launch, we were trying to identify ourselves from the trajectory of the rockets, whether they looked like they had originated in north Gaza or from further south, if indeed this is a series of rockets being launched from the north of the Gaza Strip, that would come, it would not be a positive sign for the IDF, excuse me, there's the bombardment off to our left. It would not be a positive sign for the IDF, which there has been in the last few days an increasing amount of military activity taking place in the north of the Gaza Strip, as Hamas both appears to try and intensify its insurgents efforts, but also responds to the strike that the IDF has conducted against it in al-Shifa hospital. It does appear that the raid that the IDF conducted caught Hamas and Palestinian Islamic jihad. It caught them off guard and several important commanders have either been killed or captured, with the latter being of even more concern to the insurgents due to the fact that captured commanders can reveal information which may prove useful for the IDF, both in its continuing efforts to destroy Hamas, but also possibly with regards to hostages. Thank you so much correspondent Robert Swift live from the Israel-Gaza border, more to come from Robb of course in the coming hours. And now we welcome to studio for more insight. Avi Paznare, former Israeli ambassador to France and Italy, and the former world chairman of Karen Hayes-Saudt United Israel Appeal, and Yaakov Lepin, military and strategic affairs analyst at the Miriam Institute, Jewish News Syndicate and Alma Center. Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us on a particularly busy day. I'm going to start with the UN Security Council. Avi, your reaction to what unfolded the impact and what it means right now for this war? I think it is a very serious development. The fact that the United States for the first time has not vetoed a United Nation decision calling for a ceasefire not conditional on the release of the hostages. I think it is a serious development. And if you go back one or two days ago to the warning of Kamala Hayes, Vice President of the United States, that there might be consequences because of the disagreement between the U.S. and Israel, here you see the result of that disagreement. We cannot underestimate this development. It is the first time that America did not veto such a resolution. It is a clear signal that they are not satisfied with the policy of the Israeli government. And I must say the Israeli reaction was very swift. And I think that what Prime Minister Netanyahu chose to do here is to go to a confrontation with Biden on this issue by not sending the delegation of Rondam, the Minister of Strategic Affairs, and Sakhi Anekbi, National Security Council, which was due to depart tomorrow for Washington, at the request of President Biden. So Netanyahu chose to up the ante in this what I call rising tension and which may become a full-fledged diplomatic crisis between us and the United States. Well, talking of exactly that already, a U.S. official is quoted as saying they are perplexed by Benjamin Netanyahu's overreaction to all of this, your sense, Yaakov, of the impact of this messaging out of the U.N., and frankly out of the U.S. as well right now, as Abhi says, relations are strained enough as it is. Right. Well, I think, you know, it's clear to all of us that the U.N. is a completely unreliable forum, which is filled with interests and Israel is outnumbered there, and essentially at the mercy of the U.S.'s defense here in the Security Council. Without getting into the diplomatic conversation that's underway, I would say that from a defense perspective, the cloud hovering over this fight appears to be Rafah and the fundamental disagreement between Washington and Jerusalem over what should happen there. And in addition to that, I personally am quite worried about the potential fallout when it comes to the continuation of arms supplies. I think that one of the reasons why Defense Minister Gallant is currently there in Washington is to ensure that there is no kind of U.S. arms embargo on Israel, not even a partial one. I think we have to make sure that tank shells, more artillery shells, and air to ground bombs, all these things have to continue flowing in to make sure that not only Israel can continue to prosecute the war in the South, but also that it's ready for any eventuality in the North. And it's going to take time, I think, for Israel to start diversifying its arms supplies, which it has to do. I think this is one of the main lessons going forward here is not to put so many eggs in one basket when it comes to ammunition supplies. This was a huge mistake and now we're seeing the consequence of that. And we'll have to see, you know, how this is managed. But certainly I think the defense establishments of both countries will want to continue their very close dialogue. And they've been able to do that in the past, even when the governments were essentially diplomatically at each other's throats. Joav Galan says Israel has no moral obligation to stop the war until all hostages are home. And then he says, we will act against Hamas everywhere, even in areas where we have not been yet. So, Yaakov, the question to you from a military perspective is what exactly does that message mean right now, given these developments unfolding as we speak? I think, you know, that the message is that Rafah is going to be the next stage of this war sooner, later, before the next deal with Hamas or after it, or perhaps there'll be no deal. But Rafah, as far as the Israeli defense establishment is concerned, as far as the Israeli war cabinet is concerned, is completely necessary to achieve the basic war goal of disbanding Hamas' terrorist army and to make sure that Hamas doesn't have control over an area that he can smuggle weapons from, from Sinai in Egypt. And essentially, if it's left to remain in Rafah, it's going to start taking over the rest of Gaza. That's clear to people in the Israeli military and the intelligence community. So, it's a question of when this will happen and not if. But that, you know, position is being fundamentally rejected by Washington. And I don't see any way right now to square this circle. There's just no way right now that the Americans and the Israelis are going to agree on what needs to happen in Rafah. And this is, I think, a major, a fuel that's, you know, causing this confrontation. So, Abi, what are the options then for Israel right now? You know, I believe that a good relationship between Israel and the United States is essential. It has been for years. I believe it is still is, in spite of the differences now. And there are differences. I believe that we should renew the quiet dialogue we had with the United States. Stop the, from one side calling, you want, I'm going to stop you right now because John Kirby is speaking. We'd like to hear his response on exactly this. Got meters and meters of tunnels under the ground. You've got a much more urban environment, very densely populated, small geographic space. So, you've got to be careful in terms of apples and oranges here. But we still believe that we have learned some key lessons about how to dismantle a terrorist network, how to decapitate its leadership, how to starve it of resources, how to put pressure on its fighters on the battlefield. And we were looking forward to, and I think still are, looking forward to having the opportunity to share some of those lessons and perspectives with the Israelis. Now, what exactly that would look like? I'd really rather not go into it from the podium. But that's a kind of idea that we can expect U.S. officials to discuss with their Israeli counterparts. I mean, even today, with Minnesotra. Probably speaking, yes. And we'll see what the conversations with the defense minister look like here. Again, he's talking to Jake right now, so we'll have a readout of that. Of course, and he's, again, more discussions over the next day and a half, we'll obviously expect that a key part of these discussions is going to be how we're going to continue to support Israel. So let's not forget that. I mean, this was a pre-scheduled, long-scheduled trip by the defense minister, largely to talk about how the United States is going to continue to support Israel and the tools that they need. But I certainly would envision in the context of what happened this morning with the Israelis canceling that delegation, that we'll take advantage of the opportunity to also talk about Rafa. John Kirby there, taking questions on the exact discussion we're having here in Studio. So I'm going to come back to you, Abhi Paznari, your thoughts. Yeah. John Kirby speaks about Israel, the need for the United States to continue its support to Israel. But at the end of his remarks, he tied it to what happened this morning, meaning the Israeli decision not to send this delegation. We should not underestimate that. You know, you can say, okay, the delegation did not go to date, we'll go next week. Yes, it is possible. But this is viewed, and you can see it by the remark of Kirby, as a serious gesture on the part of Netanyahu towards Biden. Because here we have to leave apart now the relationship between Israel and the United States. I believe, continue what you said, that the supply of arms to Israel from the United States will continue. Because it is an interest of the United States. But there is a worsening personal relationship between Biden and Netanyahu, and we will have to address that. We're going to unpack more of that after a very short break. Abhi Yaakov, stay with us much more to discuss clearly, but we are taking a very short break. When we get back, our rolling coverage continues on this breaking news edition. Stay tuned back in just a few moments. Bringing Israel's story to the world, I24 News Channels, now on Hot. Welcome back, I'm Denise Levine. Turning our focus to the northern front, Nakhriz Bola has claimed responsibility for overnight rocket fire from Lebanon towards Israeli military positions along the border. The IDF saying some 15 rockets were fired near the northern community of Manara, all landing in open areas. The IDF releasing footage of its strike on a building in southern Lebanon where Chizbola operatives were gathering at the time. For more, we go live to our correspondent, Zach Anders. He joins us from northern Israel. Zach, Israeli warplanes striking two Chizbola sites in southern Lebanon. What is the latest across that northern front? What is happening on the ground? Well, we're seeing these strikes within just a few hundred meters of the border. This is how close that Chizbola continues to operate. The IDF has been telling us that for some of these military installations, observation posts, other IDF facilities right on the border, that it's not 100% staffing, that they have not put soldiers into areas where these places have been targeted before, and that at the same time that hasn't affected their operational capability. Of course, they say they still have the airplanes in the air and the equipment on the ground to detect and monitor Chizbola activity on the other side of the border, but that they're moving the human element out of harm's way. The sixth attack of the night has been claimed responsibility, Chizbola's claim responsibility for that attack. Again, no damage reports have come through of any serious damage to any civilian infrastructure. No casualties reported here in the last 24 hours as well. It is, again, just another day here on the north where we continue to see these attacks take place averaging about 50 a week here, and still nothing really changing in this remarkable status quo. Thank you so much. Covering the remarkable status quo, as he put it, correspond to Zach Anders live from Northern Israel. Thank you, Zach. Meanwhile, thousands of people have taken part in an unusual parade in Jerusalem, coinciding with the Jewish Festival of Purim, usually a time of celebration. But this year, the event was led by families of the hostages wanting answers with their loved ones held captive by terrorists in Gaza for 171 days now. Alen Plachmaier has more. Usually, the Jewish holiday of Purim is one of the most joyous events of the year. One of the highlights are the Purim parades that are being held throughout main Israeli cities. This year, the parade in Jerusalem looks a little different. Led by the families of the hostages still held in Gaza, the Jerusalem parade opened with a demand to bring them all back. United States is doing a lot to be an ally to Israel and to bring back the hostages still they are not here. It means that we need to do everything and I expect any leader in the world to continue pushing and bringing back our beloved daughter. She needs to be here. She was supposed to be here. I'm wearing a shirt she was supposed to wear and I'm waiting for her. Even though the mayor of Jerusalem made changes to the parade in order to heed the calls for a muted celebration, protesters gathered along the parade to display their dismay with the celebration. I feel very sad not only for the hostages themselves and their families but also for the people of Israel who celebrate without a real cause for celebration. I know it's a traditional habit to be happy on Purim but this year I think it's tactless. 134 hostages remain in Gaza. While hostage talks are still ongoing, there still hasn't been a breakthrough in negotiations. And agonizing wait indeed. And now still in studio I'm going to come back to Yaakov Lappin. We were talking before the break about the tensions between the U.S. and Israel about this pending Rafah operation and the fact that Israel is pulling back its team of advisors set to go to Washington tomorrow. Your thoughts on the impact and what it means Right. I just wanted to say first of all that I completely agree with Avi's perspective that these kinds of crises and all the entire fine print of the relationship, the strategic relationship should be behind closed doors, should be done at a discrete level and that's where these arguments should be had. And that for me raises the question of whether sending the delegation in the first place was the beginning of some kind of trap because it sends a kind of precedent that says that when Israel wants to conduct a serious military operation, it has to send a delegation and get permission from the United States in a very public manner. And the image of that, the symbolism of that goes against the idea of a discrete strategic alliance where arguments can be had behind closed doors safely. So it was kind of set up for failure in a way. The minute this became very public and symbolic but that's just something that I thought about as we were talking about this. And I add to Yakov's remark, you know, the relationship between Israel and the United States was so close that during most of the war, United States officials and generals were sitting in our war cabinet. I mean this was the kind of relationship which characterized Israel and the U.S. and that we are now at the point of asking such a question, should the delegation go? Is it good that there is a delegation? Should it not go? This symbolizes the difficult place where we are now in this relationship, you know, instead of embracing each other. We have the same interest. I thought the United States wanted to get rid of the Hamas. Today the Hamas applauded the fact that the United States abstained in the vote. You understand? There's something not going well here and this is why I all the time call for renewal of a quiet dialogue between us and the United States to straighten things out. Certainly leaves so many questions, not least of which questions about what this all means for the hostages and talking of which 134 hostages remain in captivity inside Gaza. The youngest, a baby and his four-year-old brother, the eldest are in their 80s including Oded Lifshitz, a founder of Kibbutz near Oz, a peace activist and human rights activist. He and his wife Jochevet were abducted on the 7th of October. Jochevet was, of course, released from captivity after 16 days at the hands of Hamas terrorists and now the family is still waiting for word on Oded. So for more we welcome Daniel Lifshitz, the grandson of Oded Lifshitz, abducted on the 7th of October and still being held in Gaza for 171 days. Daniel, thank you so much. I think the nation feels like we know your grandparents, their pictures from before the 7th of October widely circulated a happy, smiling couple known for their activism, helping people in Gaza. So to start, how is your grandmother doing since she was freed from captivity? One cannot imagine what she has been through and is still going through right now waiting and waiting for answers. So good evening and my grandmother physically she recovering but mentally every day past is not making it better. She never thought that she will be here and now it's about 155 days after she been released and still my grandfather is not here and all the other hostages. So it is a very, very difficult mental situation. She's going every Saturday to protest. She tried to do everything for the release of the hostages and my grandfather. She's alone. She's sleeping alone at bed. It's very difficult for her. She's missing him. She needs him. My shirt is showing how so many families been ripped apart. You know, our family as my grandmother is back and my grandfather is still there after 171 days. So many other families as the Katzir family, Kunyo family, which have Sharon Kunyo back and David and Ariel are still there. It's unimaginable that those families that cannot come back to their life without their beloved ones back. Unimaginable indeed and as you say each day in captivity is so crucial for babies, children for the elderly as well. What did you know in terms of the health conditions of your grandfather the last time that anybody had seen him in Gaza? What more can you share on that? Yeah, so I can share that firstly when my grandmother she came back we were not sure that he is even alive because when she saw him the last time he was just thrown by the fence by those terrorists just by the house injured and unconscious after he got a bullet in the hand and he was injured when he had held the handle of the safe door. And after the return of the hostages in the first deal one of them said that imagine she been there for 55 days and she said that she was there six months and he was one month with her which means that for every day in captivity people feel it's three days and they are hostages, health hostages because they are not captives as we have no idea about their condition they don't get any medicine help and they don't get any visits so she said that after a month which probably is about a week or two weeks he fainted and absolutely they took him for taking care so we have no idea what happened with him in the last 150 days approximately and he needs medical treatment he have blood pressure issues so we are very very worried for him and we are so worried for everyone because for now after 100 days more than 100 days since the last deal since the last release we have no real idea what's the situation and we know terrible things happening there for those women being raped those men being tortured there is no food maybe there is no treatment we have to make everything now there is a possibility for a deal that's the most important thing because only a deal can bring everyone's home no other thing deal is what is now necessary and to think that while the Red Cross and medications that were supposed to get hostages to the knowledge of everybody here those medications never got to anybody young or old at the same time calls out of the UK that the Red Cross should get access to some of the Hamas terrorists who conducted the rampage that happened on the 7th of October it's just beyond belief it really is difficult to even to digest what we're hearing from certain parts abroad which brings me to the next question the impact of the international pressure whether it's from the United States other allies as well all those who could have some kind of leverage over Qatar where those negotiations are being conducted apparently as we speak what kind of message would you want to give to the international players and to those involved in the negotiations right now in terms of your grandfather and all the hostages getting home safely as soon as possible my message is that if the international if the world wants to end as well the suffering of the Palestinians there is one way that now everybody should walk in the release of the hostages is the end of the war eventually release of the hostages bring to the ceasefire and bring to the next day after now there is one thing anyone who wants better place everybody wants now the end of the suffering for the Palestinians need to support one thing and it is the release of the hostages everyone has to make all the necessaries which includes all the party which is the Israeli government USA and Qatar to make them busy on one thing the release of the hostages the hostages deal that's the end of the suffering of everyone observation of the kids of the babies of all the parties that is my message release the hostages and the suffer Daniel Liftschitz we hope for good news about your grandfather a peace activist it bears repeating a peace activist held in captivity and obviously we hope for good news for the safe return of all the hostages you are in our thoughts thank you very much for being with us on i24 news thank you thank you abhi pasnari your thoughts yeah first of all you know i'm very sensitive to this matter of hostages and my heart breaks every time i hear a story like that of daniel about his but what i wanted to say is that today after what happened at the un that's not good news for the hostages i'm sorry to say that because we were together a few days ago benita and i was quite optimistic that we can work out a deal even though i didn't like all parts of that deal okay but today after this vote which does not condition a ceasefire with the release of the hostages why should the Hamas release hostages if we cannot continue our military pressure on the Hamas if humanitarian aid is flowing into the Gaza Strip why should they release hostages so i think i'm sorry to say i mean this it's not i don't like to say it but what happened today also for not only for israel for the hostages this is bad news this vote at the un is bad news for the possibility of releasing hostages yako of your thoughts on exactly that i couldn't agree more i think Hamas is encouraged by this it's encouraged by what happened at the un it's encouraged by the rift between the united states in israel and again you know i think Hamas's entire strategy here is actually quite simple it's to survive the war and then to rebuild itself and to become once again the ruler of gaza and to become the ruler of the west bank as well by doing this and what they are banking on is enough international pressure being applied to israel for it to stop the war before Hamas is fully disbanded that's their entire strategy and the hostages are part of that that is the armor so to speak for the Hamas leadership they surround themselves with the hostages because they know that that's what's keeping them alive to this you know extent in the war and they're going to continue to try and do that for as long as possible meanwhile as we heard earlier on from robert swift talking about developments out of gaza rockets were fired at ashtol for the first time in over two months Hamas claiming responsibility and then those interceptions over store rot some might be surprised that there is even the capability right now others suggest there's plenty of weaponry there are plenty of rockets it's just a case of timing for Hamas is that right i wouldn't agree with either one of those positions the Hamas the vast majority of Hamas's rocket arsenal is gone either because they fired or it's because it's been destroyed the idea is out there destroying launchers every single day but there are some left and Hamas dispersed these rocket launchers you know they've had years and years to build them into the ground now in order to fire rockets all you need is one guy he doesn't even have to be a Hamas member he can be on the payroll to go and put a battery or a cell phone activator next to a prearranged rocket launcher and the and the rockets are gone are off so it's not surprising people should not be surprised that they still have this capability but you know it's been two months since such don't came under fire so you know people just don't notice when when there's not rocket fire they only notice when there is but the fact of the matter is that there's been a drastic cut in this kind of attack and it's going to remain something that's very very sporadic until it vanishes i want to pivot to another part of the region and that is the west bank because the shin bet says it foiled an iranian plan to smuggle advanced weapons to terrorists in the west bank your thoughts yeah of course you iran is behind everything you've said that many times yeah i i believe in that very deeply and i believe that the Hamas wouldn't have started this war had it not believed that he could get the support of iran so iran is behind everything they are everywhere they are helping the Hamas they are helping the Hezbollah they are helping the terrorist in juda and samaria to try to to get things hotter during the ramadan and it is by no chance that this was now during the ramadan and iran will continue its effort to get everything burning here 30 seconds left your concerns around those developments in the west bank iran wants to turn the west bank into the next lebanon into the next gaza they've openly declared that ayatollah khomeini has said that that's iran's strategy and israel it won't be enough to just intercept these kinds of arm shipments it's going to have to go on the attack against the irgc wherever it can attack it needs to go on the attack because if the irgc is not on the defensive it's going to continue to attack israel through every arena possible 10 seconds can israel cope with all of these issues at the same time all of these threats it has no choice the the defense establishment has to build itself to deal with multi arena threats there's simply no choice yakov lapin avipasner thank you thank you both so much as always for being here on all the latest developments always appreciate you being here in studio thank you now anti-semitism in the wake of the october 7th attacks continues to cast a cloud over jewish university students at top american campuses several delegations have come on solidarity trips to israel including a group of mental health professionals students and professors from harvard and stanford more in this report from our emily francis the momentum continues as another delegation from top american universities has come to israel to experience firsthand the scenes of the october 7th massacre and to show solidarity with the people of israel we were the novice site yesterday we were at farasa and i cannot help but think about my own kids dancing and and there and what what would happen so it's been very emotional i feel extremely sad about what's what's happened organized by harvard neuroscience professor gabriel krayman and harvard senior shy lee ron who is israeli this trip included mental health professionals from various universities wanted to help and organize and help create this opportunity for professors and faculty because i really believe that they have so much expertise and so much knowledge and at this time if there's anything that israel needs its support we have partnerships of universities around the world on this day the group met with members of televive university's international school to share information and to discuss collaborations it's cathartic to be here and to stand with the israeli people and to meet people in academia there's been a lot of antisemitism happening around the bay area and there's so many brilliant minds here and to have those careers be blocked we want to stand with them and let the world know that the jews and israel have a lot to give to this world jewish and israeli students as well as jews all over the world are scarred by the violent antisemitic protests and rhetoric on campuses immediately following the october 7 massacre and still continuing since october 7 there have been a number of incidents that have made us students israeli students and also i know jewish students feel very uncomfortable to be openly jewish and openly israeli from from situations where you're walking to a class and you have people yelling from the river to the sea or people yelling globalized intifada it makes you feel unwanted we had an encampment of pro-palestinian anti-israel group that was just horrible and this friend of mine just told me that for some parties students have to say free palestine to get in and the jewish groups and israelis set up a blue and white tent to counter that they were very polite and tried to counter the narrative as a mental health professional explain how it's affected jewish students and israeli students huge effect everyone is suffering i think there is something to say about the immigrants the israeli immigrants where some of them coming for one year some of them coming for a few years some of them just move there and you just feel completely ghosted by the community mary bar howpern is a clinical psychologist in boston who says there is anti-semitism in the mental health community with many therapists dropping their jewish patients mary has been providing free mental health support to harvard students since october 7 this is different i think what makes it different is there is a secondary trauma there is the actual october 7 and then there's everything that happened after october 7 we didn't get a chance to grief so we're talking about actually about traumatic invalidation right we're being denied of the pain people are telling you know this this didn't happen or this is your fault that it happened this is a whole new level of trauma this was the main reason why it came to see with my eye the ebil which israel and israelis have suffered and one thing is to hear and another thing is to see and i think that after you saw you have even more confidence in conveying what you saw and in reporting what you saw and in contrasting misinformation one person not invalidating the trauma of the jewish people is italian philosophy of law and human rights professor lucia corso i'm not jew but i'm very i feel very strongly both for the jewish culture the jewish people and especially for israel and the reason why i'm here is because with other few colleagues in italy last november we launched an anti boycott petition which replied to a petition which was launched by some colleagues of ours to boycott the israeli universities but these great minds are not losing hope these trips have created a ground swell of collaboration opportunities and purpose in fighting the next wave of anti semitism not just on university campuses that there are two wars one is a physical war that's happening here the other one is an information war and i think it's very important to to be able to have facts and have a conversation and a peaceful dialogue so that we can all understand each other i'm very happy i went to harvard i think i i am very upset at the university and i think that it hasn't done its job well enough to protect and make jewish and israeli students feel at home and i think on a personal level i still believe that in this institution and its ability to come out strong from this and actually gives jewish and israeli students a place in this in this college to feel like they're a part of it but also in educational curriculums for younger children by the way also in high schools and elementary schools and middle schools where they teach about occupied palestine or talking about israel institutions fire and israel economic genocide i you know i work mostly with teenagers they're afraid of going to school they're afraid of their students and it's in social media and they're being harassed or being bullied there is a call at least in messachusetts by the mta which is the messachusetts teacher association uh call for ceasefire and to add a curriculum about the occupied gaza a televib university emily frances i24 news resilience and strength will grow out of the trauma no doubt about it thank you so much as always for joining us it's where we wrap up this edition of our breaking news coverage i'm venice levine thank you for watching stay tuned this is i24 news breaking news edition