 Hello and thanks for joining us. You're watching I-24 News coming to you live from Tel Aviv, the headlines this hour. Three sons and several grandchildren of the Hamas political leader Ismail Haniye killed in an Israeli bombing in Gaza City. Haniye filmed receiving the news in Doha. Israel's foreign and defence ministers both threatened to strike Iran directly if Tehran attacks Israel from its territory. And as hostage talks continue in Cairo, US President Joe Biden tells Prime Minister Netanyahu to just agree to a ceasefire in Gaza. First, the Hamas political leader Ismail Haniye has thanked God that his sons and grandchildren were martyred in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Three of his sons and several of his grandchildren were killed in the strike in the north of the Gaza Strip. For more on that, we're joined in the studio by I-24 News chief editor Ali Waqed. Ali, thank you for being with us. What more do we know at this stage about how the three sons and the grandchildren were killed? It's an airstrike of the IDF to a taxi where the three sons of Haniye with their three sons, the three sons and the three grandsons of Haniye were in a taxi. You know today this is the first day of the Eid of the holiday that comes after the Ramadan. And we're going to visit their families in the Al-Shateh refugee camp in north of the Gaza Strip. We know that the house of the family was bombarded by the IDF at the beginning of the war. So the sons of Haniye were refugees outside the Al-Shateh refugee camp. And because of the Eid, because of the holiday, they went to visit their family in the refugee camp. They went together and the strike hit the three of them. We should know that the house of Haniye and dozens of family members of Haniye, including his granddaughter, were killed since the beginning of this war. When we know that the IDF at the very beginning of the war was saying that we tried to see why the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip is not part of any uprising against Hamas, I will suggest something. The Israeli media accepted and adopted what the IDF was saying, saying, for example, that the families of Hamas leadership were living abroad a very luxury life. It is true that Ismail Haniye has six sons. Two of them live abroad as many Palestinian family. One is his own secretary. And the second is part of the Palestinian football association working with the Palestinian Authority, by the way. The three who were killed were not involved in any activity of Hamas. They were not Hamas operatives. They were not Hamas operatives. But Haniye has one son who is an operative, Wisa, who is a very important operative in the military wing of Hamas. He lives outside the camp, outside the Al-Shateh camp in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza Strip. And his house also was bombarded. And he is a fugitive. He is a wanted guy. So he, of course, is running all the time away from the IDF. But I think that what the IDF, what Israel tried to have from this attack is to put more pressure on Hamas when we are at the eve, maybe, of reaching a deal on the hostages, which I don't think will have any impact over the deal, since I didn't believe from the very beginning that there were real chances for the deal to succeed. Right. And Haniye himself has said that. He said this won't have any impact on the ongoing negotiations in Cairo. But I want to ask you about the timing of this from an Israeli perspective. Because there's a lot of confusion in Israel right now about what is happening in Gaza following the withdrawal of so many troops, whether the war is winding down. Do you think this is designed as some kind of morale boost for the Israeli public? One. And second, when we talk with the people in Gaza, there are not really a real war in Gaza. Most of the forces, the IDF forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip. There are a couple of thousands, maybe more than a couple of thousands, but not more than thousands of soldiers from the very north of the Gaza Strip to the very south and did the number of soldiers in the Gaza Strip reflect the fact that there is no real intention of the IDF on one hand to control the Gaza Strip. And we heard what Benny Gantt said, the minister in the World Council, who said, we will come back to Qanunis if needed, and we prepare the Rafah. I think that the situation served Hamas because there is no war and they can't tell the people there is no war. And also, serve Benjamin Netanyahu, when we see that he can launch the days of this situation. And at the end of the day, we see that Hamas operatives are back in business in many areas in the Gaza Strip. Ali, thank you very much. Ali Waqed there. Well, let's get a bit more on that strike now. Our correspondent Zach Andrews joins us live from southern Israel. Zach, tell us a bit more about that IDF strike then that killed several members of Hamas family, including, of course, his grandchildren. Yeah, Laura, if it's all right, I'll actually start with some other strike activity that we see behind me. This is in the central part of the Gaza Strip, and this is close to where we know that the IDF's presence is greatest. This is near the Nazarene corridor, not exactly there, but this is the corridor that the IDF has established that splits the Gaza Strip in two and regulates the flow of anything, people, trucks going from north to south, disconnecting the two largest cities inside the Gaza Strip, Gaza City and Conyunus. So this afternoon, this is the 10th strike, and I've just heard another explosion, so I imagine we'll see the plume of smoke from another blast here. This is what appears to be the 10th strike in this area in the last two hours as we've been counting here. So it's been very remarkable to watch this activity take place. And then right about two hours ago, we saw one lone explosion on the western half of Gaza City presuming this is the strike that killed the three sons of Ismail Hameini and his three grandchildren. Now, this first emerged with Palestinian media reports, and we're still working to get together some of the specifics. It appears that this took place inside, on their vehicle rather, inside one of the refugee camps. And it is remarkable to note once again that not only his sons were in the vehicle, but his grandchildren as well. And if we've learned anything from the news and the releases, the specifics that the IDF has shared regarding the strike on those seven aid workers, it's that they did have the intelligence and they did have the information before the strike to make such decisions regarding eliminating or targeting specific vehicles. So I'm sure that as we will continue to watch the U.S. and the European media that those are the questions they'll be asking regarding this strike as well, especially considering young children in the vehicle. We're still working to put together the exact specifics of his son's involvement. But given that he's the political bureau chairman of Hamas, you can ascertain that his sons are also involved with Hamas or have some dealings. But that's something again that we're working to understand more and trying to get more information together. All right, Zach. Thank you very much. Zach, Andrew is there. Well, meanwhile, there are reports that Israel has agreed to allow tens of thousands of Palestinians to return to the north of the Gaza Strip as part of a hostage release and ceasefire deal. Hamas rejected an earlier offer which would see 40 hostages freed in exchange for a staged troop withdrawal as talks continue in Cairo. The U.S. President Joe Biden has slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the war. Our Ariel Aceram has this report. A new proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal for Gaza is under discussion, but mediators are not optimistic. We have an offer that's on the table now to Hamas that is very serious and should be accepted. Hamas could move forward with this immediately and get a ceasefire that would benefit people throughout Gaza as well as, of course, get the hostages home. Secretary of State Blinken said the ball is now in Hamas' court, but the terror group has a different take, saying the proposal they received does not meet their demands. We have not yet received any American proposal through the mediators, but we did receive a proposal submitted by the occupation government. Hamas is studying this proposal and we will deliver our response to the mediators after our leadership discusses its details. The Lebanese Al-Akhbar Daily newspaper reported on Wednesday that the Hamas delegation has left Cairo and is not expected to return. Following over a day of internal discussions, Hamas decided to present an updated version of its counter-proposal that it presented in mid-March with four main demands. The first, an explicit announcement on a final ceasefire in Gaza. Second, beginning a comprehensive withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip, initiating the safe and unconditional return of all displaced Gazans to their home, and a hostage prisoner exchange deal that will take place in stages. Meanwhile, the IDF announced that 468 aid trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday, the highest number since the start of the war in October. But tensions between leaders in Washington and Jerusalem are growing. Amid rising criticism from the White House, particularly regarding strikes on aid workers in Gaza. I think what he's doing is a mistake. I don't agree with his approach. I think it's outrageous that those four to three vehicles were hit by drones and taken out on a highway where it wasn't like it was along the shore. It wasn't like it was a convoy moving there, etc. So what I'm calling for is the Israelis to call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, a total access to all food and medicine going into the country. All eyes are on Hamas for their response to the proposed deal. And until then, they will squeeze out of it all the psychological warfare they can. Well, with me in the studio, this is our Colonel Dr. Jacques Naria, is the former deputy head of assessment for Israeli military intelligence and a former foreign policy advisor to the late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. Thank you for being with us, Jacques. So talks are officially ongoing, aren't they, in Cairo. Privately, though, Israeli officials are saying they don't think Hamas wants a deal. They have rejected every previous offer, of course. Well, you know, if you look into consideration all those conditions that were set here on the screen by your correspondent, I mean, there's no way Israel can accept these conditions because it would mean that, I mean, the whole campaign was a failure. And all what was accomplished in the last six months was for nothing. This is the main reason where we just strike and, in fact, we are hitting a wall and impossible to overcome. Because on the other side, also, Hamas cannot accept Israeli conditions. I mean, the compromise that has been reached about the so-called halt in the war for a period of four to six weeks. And Israel is asking, OK, in return, let us have at least the names of 40 living hostages. And the answer of Hamas is that we don't have 40 living hostages, according to the category that you want, where women, old people, sick and kids. So we have to bring more from the soldiers. And if we are to add soldiers in order to get 40, 40 persons, then it means that the price that Israel has to pay would be higher. It's no more 900 Palestinian prisoners out of which 150 are very heavy criminals. And heavy terrorists. This will be doubled or tripled, whatever. I mean, certainly not the number that we are talking about. In that case, we are at the standstill here. We are hitting a stagnation position. And the fact is that Hamas is looking around and hearing and reading what the President Biden is saying. President Biden is saying to Israel, accept the ceasefire at any price. This is what the U.S. president is saying. And if so, so why should Hamas hurry? Right. Jack, for now, thank you very much, Jack Nairi. Well, as Jack pointed out, President Biden has called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to just call for a ceasefire in Gaza. What is the impact on those negotiations? For more on that, we're joined by Clifford D. May. He's the founder and president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Thank you very much for being with us. And what impact, then, will those comments from President Biden have on the hostage negotiations, hostages which, of course, include five Americans? Yes, I can only imagine that President Biden's comments will harden the resolve of Hamas not to make a good deal. I think if we hold out, the deal only gets better and better. So I think it's in a way diplomatic, strategic malpractice on the part of the administration to be doing, taking the line that it's taking right now. And it sounds increasingly as though the Biden administration's priority is not defeating Hamas, but the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Do you think that is the case? And at what point did that change happen? Well, it's hard to assess motives exactly. I certainly there's great concern about the humanitarian situation. I think there's great pressure from within the administration and from certain groups, particularly within the Democratic caucus, as regards the humanitarian situation. But I also believe, and I've looked carefully at the figures and the facts, the Israelis have done more to provide assistance to provide humanitarian goods to help the civilian population than any other army in the history of the world at a time of war. There are those who say this. There's a political component of this at a time that we're in a presidential election campaign. There are, I think you probably know the background to that, but it's disappointing because if you recall, and I certainly do, I have a piece on this in the Washington Times in Israel, Ohio today. Back just after 10, 7, President Biden was very clear that he was going to be rock solid and unwavering in his support for Israel as it faces a terrible terrorist organization dedicated to genocide of Israel and of Jews, an organization that is allied with Hezbollah and with the Islamic Republic of Iran, which guides and funds a range of organizations that have formed a ring of fire outside of Israel. That was his pledge after 10, 7. As for it being rock solid, the rock is crumbled. As for it being an unwavering pledge, well, it's now wavered and we don't know how much further it is he is going to, he is going to waver over the days ahead. And I think there's a lot of people who worry about that. Hamas should not be treated as if it's a legitimate entity. It should be treated for what it is, a terrorist organization, an enemy of Israel, an enemy of the United States, an enemy of the West, allied with other enemies of America, Israel and the West. Well, do you think that political calculations are affecting US strategy in the region as a whole? I mean, arguably you've got two political leaders with very different objectives. Prime Minister Netanyahu has been accused of trying to prolong the war for his own political ends. President Biden, it's the opposite, isn't it? He would like this to be wrapped up before the Democratic Party convention in June. Do you think that that's what's happening here? Well, first, very hard to take the politics out of politics. Second, very hard for politicians not to have political motives. In this particular case, look, it does appear that President Biden is very concerned with voters in Michigan, a large number of Arab voters, a large number of pro-Hamas voters. We've had demonstrations not just in Michigan, but other places, saying death to Israel, and by the way, saying death to America as well. I don't think those are all very fine people, but the President's worried about what's called swing states. Not a lot. There are a lot of states we know they're going to go Democratic, they're going to go Republican. It's not a big mystery. But the swing states are very important. So is this a possible factor in his calculation? Is it an important factor in his calculation? I certainly can't rule that out. Of course, Israel is fighting a wider war with Iran, a war that's becoming increasingly direct today. Both the Israeli foreign and defense ministers threaten to attack Iran directly if Tehran launched an attack from its own soil. Here's the Defense Minister, Joav Galen speaking earlier today. In this war, we are attacked from more than one front, from different directions. Any enemy that tries to attack us will encounter a strong defense. We will know how to react very quickly with a decisive offensive action on the ground, no matter where it is, in the entire Middle East. We have the ability to do it. Response of the State of Israel is very effective, very powerful, and one of the things we excel at over the years is that the enemy never knows what surprises we are preparing for them. And the IDF is on high alert in the north of Israel amid anticipation of a response by Iran to the killing of seven IRGC members, including a senior Iranian general in Damascus just over a week ago. Israel is concerned that Iran may attack Israel via its proxy Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon. Our Balir Sledin joins us now from the north of Israel. Balir, kind of a tense situation, a waiting game whether or not it will be Hezbollah that delivers the revenge that Iran is seeking to exact from Israel. Yes, and if we want to talk about this point specifically, we can recall what Nasrallah has said, the chief of Hezbollah last week, when he said that be sure that Iran will respond. And when he said that Iran will respond, maybe we can make out of that that the response is going to be Iranian. So the question is, is it going to be from Iranian soul to Israeli soul, which is something that we've heard both the foreign minister today, the foreign minister of Israel, Israel Katz, and also the defense minister, Afghan, saying that if that happens, then Israel will attack Iran's territory. So this is very important, of course, but currently the situation here, a very quiet day. We had only one alarm as a result of one rocket that was launched from southern Lebanon. It was intercepted by the Iran Dome, as we have seen. Balir, thank you very much indeed. Balir Sledin in the north of Israel. And Jacques Néria is still with me in the studio. Jacques, there was some speculation, wasn't there, when IDF troops pulled out of Khan Yunus that they were going to be redeployed to deal with the threat from the north. Do you think that's what's happening here or something else? Well, the withdrawal from Gaza is a strategic decision. I mean, the army, the troops are not the yoyo game. I mean, it's not something that you move one day here and one day you bring them back. It means that for the time being, there's no more war going on in Gaza. It's a campaign. It's a campaign. Operations are conducted according to intelligence. We see that the strikes of the air force here and there, according to specific intelligence. This is one thing. Then the troops that were withdrawn were sent first of all just to relax. They've been busy since the 7th of October in fighting, and now they needed time to rest, to reorganize, and of course, to begin new maneuvers and training for just in case we need them in the northern part of the country. So, you don't think it's linked to the threat from Iran? No, I don't think it is linked. I mean, because we have enough troops there standing since the 8th of October on the defense and on the offensive front, waiting for developments there, waiting for decisions to be made by our leaders. If yes or no, are we going to engage in a confrontation with Hezbollah? Right now, the decision is to wait and see, and the most important component is what will happen now. We are at the junction of roads, a very decisive one concerning Iran. If Iran is going to hit Israel severely from Iranian soil, then this is a new ballgame. This is a game changer, and certainly the decisions will have to be made in Israel concerning how to confront Iran, how to confront any militias, Iranian militias, whether with airstrikes, with cruise missiles, or with whatever the means we have in order to assert in our position and prove to the Iranians that we are not going to play the same game that they played with the Americas, remember, when Kasim Soleimani was killed on the 2nd of January 2020. It took the Iranians a week to react, and in their reaction, they fired 100 missiles, 100 missiles, on the anal asset, the air base, American air base, and the aftermath, Trump has decided not to respond. And the whole incident ended by that. So, I mean, I don't think that this is going to be the case with Israel. If Israel is going to be hit by a swarm of drones and of cruise missiles sent by Iran either from Iranian soil or from Iraq, then I think that the answer of Israel would be equally a swarm of missiles directed at Iranian targets, at militia, pro-Iranian militias. I think that this is, as I said, this is a new ballgame in the area that would transform the confrontation with Hezbollah into a regional war, a development that the United States doesn't want at all. Okay. Well, given your expertise on Lebanon, I just want to ask you about another story. A man called Mohamed Sarour, a banker, a Lebanese banker, according to a Saudi network, he was responsible for transferring funds from the IRGC to Hamas. His body has just turned up in Beirut. This Saudi outlet is blaming the Mossad. I mean, it's hard to keep track of all the kind of under-the-radar assassinations that are going on right now. What are your thoughts on that? Mohamed Ibrahim Sarour, which is, I mean, the Muslim, Lebanese Muslim, involved deeply with Iran and Hezbollah, was the man that took care of the transfers of money that came from the from the IRG to Hezbollah and from Hezbollah to Hamas. And he just, over years, he just transferred millions and millions of dollars. And he was on the list of sanctions drawn by the U.S. Now, he was kidnapped last week. I mean, he was kidnapped last week. He disappeared on last Thursday. And it happened that he disappeared on the same day, on the same day, that a Christian Pascal Suleiman was kidnapped and killed by Syrians. So whether this is... The Lebanese government claims it was Syrians. It was Syrian. And the Christian camp says, no, this is Hezbollah. So this could be a quick situation that the act of the abduction and the killing of Suleiman was done by Christians. This is an option that you cannot ignore. And the others, on the other hand, I mean, it could be that Israel has decided to, I mean, right now we don't have any proof, but just a speculation that anyone who had anything to do with Hamas would have to pay the price. And since he was the one responsible of transferring the monies, so he has a responsibility to be born and when he paid the price. All right. Jacques, for now, thank you very much. Jacques Neriada. Well, we're going to take a very short break. When we come back, we'll talk more about Iran. Stay tuned. Israel is in a state of war. Families completely gunned down in their beds. We have no idea as our soldiers are fighting on the front line. But the general perception is something that certainly needs to be fought as well. 24 News Channel broadcasting from Israel, with dozens of correspondents throughout the world, brings the truth from Israel to hundreds of millions of people in scores of countries. Completely gunned down in their beds. Bringing Israel's story to the world. I-24 News Channels, now on Hot. Welcome back. As we were talking about before the break, Iran and Israel continue to threaten each other. Iran has also threatened Western countries for their support for Jerusalem. The United States may want to transfer 500,000 rounds of ammunition that it seized from Iran and handed it over to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russia. The ammunition was on its way from Iran to the Houthis in Yemen. We'll talk more about Iran. We're joined now by Dr. Meir Javid al-Fahiz, an Iran lecturer at Reichman University. Thank you very much indeed for being with us, Meir. Well, let's start with the threats, a lot of it via Twitter today, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and the Israeli Defense and Foreign Ministers all threatening each other. Do you think we are finally moving closer to a direct conflict between Israel and Iran? Sorry if I'm laughing, Laura. It's no laughing matter. Just that Twitter is supposed to be banned in Iran. Yet the Supreme Leader of Iran is using it to threaten the state of Israel to pass all other kinds of nasty messages. Laura, proxy war is still war. And Israeli territory has been attacked via proxy by Iran at least until the early 90s. So we've had our territory attacked for a long time. Now, Ayatollah Khamenei is saying that the attack against the consulate, first of all, we're not even sure that building was a consulate or a military building. We're not even sure about that yet. The Americans are still investigating it. But he said it's the consulate. So it's an attack against, a consulate is an attack against Iran. First of all, if you look at history, no government, I think no sovereign government in recent history of humanity has a bigger record, has a larger record than the Islamic Republic of Iran when it comes to attacking consulates and embassies. Numerous occasions, no country comes close to it. If there was a World Cup, Iran would be the, Iran would have won more than anybody else in attacking consulates and embassies. So Ayatollah Khamenei in any case is saying that this was an attack against Iranian territory. So he will have to attack. He's threatening. And Israel is responding. This war has been going on now for more than at least 30 years. So it's now, as they say, you draw your sword, you roll the dice. Ayatollah Khamenei drew the sword against Israel and it's now reaching unpredictable places. As you point out, Iran has attacked embassies in the part most famous of which of course was the US Embassy in 1979, which kicked off the Islamic Revolution. But you know, General Hadi, he was a big cheese, wasn't he, in Iran, in the IRGC. Is Tehran in a bit of a bind here? Because it has to respond. It has to be seen to respond to Israel, who it blames for the killing. But there are downsides to all of the options available. If it attacks an Israeli embassy abroad, that could cause problems with the third country to attack via its proxies, could bring about another harsh response from Israel. I mean, what are the options for Tehran at this point? Why do you need me to answer your questions? You already know a lot. You already know it. You said it. A bit of a bind is an understatement, Laura. On the one hand, if they respond, the economy will not be able to take even a low-intensity war directly over Israel because the Iranian currency is at its lowest in recent history ever against a dollar. The inflation is at least 60 percent officially for food, unofficially higher. Inflation for rent is 84 percent. Laura, imagine rents increasing 84 percent in one year. We complain about Tel Aviv with the rents being high. On the one hand, it's very difficult for him to get involved in a low-intensity warfare by attacking Israel. But on the other hand, if it doesn't, then people at home are going to say, well, you're not as tough as you claim to be. You say death to Israel. You keep threatening Israel. But when, according to foreign reports, Israel attacks you, you do nothing. And this is something that's actually reported in Iran. But why don't we attack in a more stronger manner against the Israelis? And some people are noticing that this is not forthcoming. So yes, a bit of a bind is an understatement. The Islamic Republic is in a huge bind because if it attacks why it's proxies, then people who say in Iran, well, you see again, they didn't want to confront the Israelis. And in the old days, Laura, I'll finish with this. In the old days, when Syria, half of Assad used to occupy Lebanon and abuse the Lebanese, they used to say Assad, which actually means a line in Arabic, is a line in Lebanon and a mouse in the Golan, when it came, of course, to the Israelis. Ayatollah Khamenei doesn't want the same to be said about him. And just briefly, how does US policy feed into all of this? The Biden administration's policy is based on no escalation, avoid escalation at all costs. How is that being met in Tehran? We see the whole octopus doctrine that we have in Israel. We see that Iran is the head of the doctrine, and the tentacles of the doctrine, octopus being, it has Bollahamas. The Iranians also have their own octopus doctrine, but the head of the octopus is actually the United States. And Israel is one of the tentacles. So before, they were hitting the Americans in the Middle East. But now, after the Biden was funded by attacking 85 targets belonging to the Iranian militia, now they're having a hard time hitting there, the head of the octopus, which they are fighting. So the Americans play a role here. And again, a bit of a bind. I'll refer to your statement. That's another good way to describe it, because if he attacks the Americans, then the Americans could respond again by bombing them in a severe manner. But if he doesn't, then the Americans could continue supporting Israel. So again, Ayatollah Khamenei is in that bit of a bind. Dr. Mayer, great to talk to you as always. Thank you very much. And Jaqna Riaz with me in the studio. So I've heard it said that Iran has already won this round, because Israelis are living on high alert. Already, many can't go back to their homes in the north. We've now got this threat from Iran hanging over the country. Do you think this is going in Iran's favor, to a certain extent? I would like to be more cautious here and and not, I mean, to minimize the threat from Iran. This is a real threat. And the fact is that what we are witnessing since the 7th of October, in fact, is a united front, an idea, a vision that was built by Qasem Soleimani. And in fact, it materialized. We are fighting on seven fronts. I mean, this is no joke. I mean, we're fighting in Lebanon, in Syria, in Iraq, in Iran, in the West Bank, in Gaza, and with the Houthis. This is, I mean, unprecedented in Israel's history. And since the 8th of October, 7th of October, we've been under fire. We've been. The exception is it hasn't fled up inside Israel. We haven't. We have been. We have been receiving cruise missiles, drones, ballistic missiles, booby-trapped bombs, all sorts of projectiles. I mean, the Burkan missiles and all sorts of missiles that are thrown by Hezbollah. So there's nothing new. The only thing new that can come is the quantity, the swarm that would come from the East toward Israel and hit strategic targets. This is what the Iranians, and be it through their proxies or directly, they would like to hit strategic targets so that Israel would feel the crux of it. And Hezbollah has said it very clearly. Nasrullah has said it very clearly. Iran is going to hit Israel, not Hezbollah is going to hit Israel. And Hezbollah and Iran is going to target the area between Kaderah and Gaderah. This is the center of Israel in order to all the citizens of Israel to be aware of something has happened by Iran. Well, let's move away from Israel for a moment because France, Spain and the United Kingdom are all ramping up security at football stadiums amid the threat of attack by the Islamic State Group. ISIS has urged its supporters to attack stadiums, hosting Champions League matches in London, Paris and Madrid. For more, we're joined by counter-terrorism expert Khaled Hassan. Thank you for being with us, Khaled. And ISIS already attacked the Parc du Parle Stadium back in Paris back in 2015, didn't it? Part of those atrocious ISIS attacks. Then what is it threatening to do this time? Thanks for having me, Laura. So the threat is basically that they will target the stadium, the threat is that they will target this main huge event. And that's not unprecedented in a way, that's not something that we did not expect. I think now the reality in Europe is that whenever we have any event that is likely to be well attended, whenever we have any key event, even Christmas, actually, and Christmas markets are usually under threat. And I mean, Germany has actually had increased security around Christmas markets for a few years now. So that's nothing new. I think what I find really quite staggering is that we in the West right now, we have the technology. So we offer them social media that they can use to recruit and promote terrorism. We offer them our own streets to call for jihad. We offer them the freedoms to call for jihad. And we're not really doing much to actually tackle the main route of the issue, which is extremism, which is essentially Islamist extremism. And I think this is going to be, like I said, this has been actually the reality in Europe for quite a few years now. It's likely to continue. We know that extremists like to outdo each other. They like to get the big headlines, whether it's al Qaeda or ISIS or Hamas. Do you think ISIS has been inspired by what happened on October 7th? And are Western leaders failing to connect the dots? Oh, absolutely. Yes. I don't think they're failing to connect the dots. I think there's a lack of political will. This is the challenge. So when you talk to anyone who specializes counterterrorism police, they are aware of that threat. They've been aware of this threat for since when October 7th happened, we knew that we're going to experience an increase, an unprecedented increase in anti-Semitism. We knew that we're going to experience huge increase in calls for jihad. But we have seen a call for jihad in London, and the police did nothing. This is what we did not anticipate. So I don't think it's, you know, everyone knows what we're facing. Everyone knows what we're up against. But no one really wants to offer any answers. And of course, ISIS has also attacked Moscow and Iran in recent months. What are the signs of how strong and organized the group has become? Well, the group is usually, it uses lone attackers most of the time. It uses, you know, smaller groups. I mean, the attack in Moscow was actually quite substantial because it wasn't, you know, just a stabbing attack as we're usually used to in Europe. But I think this is the challenge we face. In some places, you're going to find, like Russia, this was quite unprecedented, like I said, in many ways, quite different to their attacks globally. You're going to find that they are still active in Egypt, actually. They still try to do some low-profile attacks, lone wolf attacks. But this is what we're likely going to face in Europe. I don't think they're going to be able to actually achieve a high-profile attack using explosives or as such. But the risk of a lone wolf attack stabbing remains substantial. And that's the main threat. You cannot, you can never prevent these attacks. Yeah, it's just a feature of life in the West these days, isn't it? Khaled, thank you very much. Khaled Hassan, there. Thank you for having me, Laura. Well, moving to Morocco now, where an activist who criticizes his country's decision to normalize ties with Israel has been sentenced to five years in prison. Abdulrahman Zankad posted a comment on Facebook. He was arrested last month. Tens of thousands of people have been taking to the streets of Moroccan cities in recent months to denounce Israel over the war in Gaza. Well, we can go now to Morocco. We're joined by Dr. Mohamed Statou, political analyst and senior professor at the University of Rabat. Good to see you, as always, Dr. Statou. So, judging by the protests on the streets of Moroccan cities, there's clearly a disconnect, isn't there, between the leadership and the average Moroccan. How long do you think Morocco can maintain its ties with Israel? Well, I think the relationship with Israel is very important. It's very, it's an alliance, as always said. It's very important for the government and for the state as well. And for the people, Morocco has let all the people express their feelings about the war that is going on in Gaza and to sympathize with the Palestinians. Obviously, there is a current in this population in favor of the Palestinians. But Morocco has also very important relationship with Israel. It's an alliance. It's very important in the economy, in the military, and also in politics. So, it will defend that kind of relationship, whatever the means needed or it will use. Is the government in Morocco sensitive to the very strong feeling there is in Morocco and the very strong sense of solidarity with the Palestinians? Has the government had to take some action, put the brakes on cooperation with Israel in any fields, particularly defense, for example? No, it's not broken. It's just things are kind of put in the freezer for a while until the war is over and until there are negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. But Israel remains very important for Morocco in many ways. For the last two years, there has been an increase in the exchanges, in the political visitors. And things will get better after the war is over and after there is some sort of peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Is there a risk if the war drags on that extremist elements inside Morocco might take advantage of the public feeling and kind of try and spur people on to become extremists themselves and attack the leadership? No, I don't think so. I don't think there is that kind of risk. I think the population, as I said, is standing by the Palestinians in this difficult moment, which is very normal. But it doesn't mean that the Moroccans are against the Israelis for the moment. But it means that the Moroccans want the Israelis and the Palestinians to come to the negotiating table and to decide on the future, especially for the two-state solution and the war and the horrors of the war on both sides. Dr Mohamed Shattou, thank you very much. It's my pleasure. Rojak Nariaz with me in the studio. And there's no doubt. Can I say a word about Morocco? Yes, please. Morocco suffers from Islamic terrorism. It's been years. It's been years. Every year, in the last two years, more than 2,000 cells have been discovered in Morocco. And in the northern part of Morocco and the southern part of Morocco, and part of it is pushed by Algeria and Iran, who is conducting subversive activities from the Algerian border inside Morocco. So they are very well aware of this danger. And this is one of the reasons why Morocco is still very stand-fasting. I mean, in its position concerning Israel, it understands that somebody is trying to undermine the royalty in Morocco. And this is one of the reasons why they are right now keeping the relations with Israel. And certainly on the military field, there are lots of projects that are being worked out between the two countries, and very important for the safety and national security of Morocco. So do you think Morocco, like other countries in the region, Saudi Arabia, perhaps, they're just kind of trying to manage their populations, wait this out, and develop long-term relations? I remember when King Hassan, the actual father of the present king of Morocco, had trouble with some protests. He just sent the tax in the street, and they just drove and killed more than 600,000 protesters on the chains of the tax. So they have no difficulty at all in using arms and fire against all those who just threatened the royalty. And this was part of Iran's plan as well, wasn't it? Derail the Abraham? You know, Morocco has had a very difficult time with Algeria. I mean, they had, I mean, it's tradition. I mean, those two countries, they hate one another. It's been since forever. Anyway, in the last four years, the Iranian ambassador in Algeria has been very active with the Polisario, which is an organization anti-Morocco. And they've been feeding them, financing them, equipping them in weapons. And the Moroccans have just decided to cut their relations with Algeria because of that. Can I reject an area? Thank you very much indeed. Well, more and more international airlines are beginning to fly into Israel again despite the war. There have been months of delays and disruptions. Our anchor and correspondent, Natasha Kotchuk, has the scoop on who's finally back up in the air. Airlines actually fly to Israel today. Well, since the start of the war on October 7th, air travel to Israel has been a total mess with tons of international airlines temporarily halting their flights to Israel out of fear of the violence. Six months on, a lot of that is about to change. Starting on June 7th, Delta Airlines is going to be resuming its flights from New York to Tel Aviv. And the European airline Bueling is also going to be doing the same. And they are not alone. Starting as of April 5th, this month, Air Canada, Bulgaria Air, Iberia, KLM, Korean Air and United Airlines are also going to be resuming operations in Israel. So which airlines are already traveling to and from Israel today? Well, there are 30 airlines that are now available for flights. You can take a look at this list right here. As you can see, Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa and Swiss are already on it. Now, this is good news for those who want to travel, but tourism is still struggling big time in Israel. As the war continues, there is no end in sight for Israel's tourism slump. Between January to March, just over 200,000 tourists entered Israel. That's about an 80% decrease from the almost one million tourists that came during the same time last year in 2023. But there is hope for the industry. Nations around the world that have experienced major crises have managed to recover in the past. Tourism following Japan's nuclear Fukushima disaster in 2011 recovered four years later. Highlands tourism bounced back after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, and Egypt has suffered tons of crises due to the Arab spring uprisings, terrorist attacks and also internal political tensions. And today tourism is higher than ever. So despite the downturn, Israelis are optimistic. Simply having more airline options available seems to be a good first step forward. A New York concert venue is the latest place to take a stance in the Israel Hamas War. Canceling a scheduled Israeli performance all because of the band's Jewish name is on Nicole Zedek now reports. It's just the latest anti-Semitic incident to hit the music scene. The Jews have been cancelled, literally. The band HaGehudim, which translates as the Jews in Hebrew, was told there's a problem with the political nature of their name, causing a New York concert venue to cancel their scheduled performance. The Israeli band is the latest to take a hit in the culture war brewing abroad. American Jewish rapper Matis Yahu had three of his shows cancelled over threat of pro-Palestinian anti-Israel protests. And he's not even Israeli. When there's like this opposition or like being like pushed against the wall, like, you know, like some kind of thing comes out. So it's been very like made me in some ways made me feel like a stronger connection to Israel and a more powerful connection to my Jewish identity. Matis Yahu says he'll keep playing shows to overpower the hate. But for many Jewish artists, the hate is pouring in online. Israel's Eurovision contestant, Eden Golan, has reportedly received death threats on Instagram. Her only crime being born in Israel, a country at war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza. In response, the Eurovision Broadcasting Union posted this statement, saying the EBU recognizes the strong emotions stirred by this year's Eurovision Song Contest and the intense debate sparked by the inclusion of an Israeli entry, adding, we are firmly against any form of abuse or harassment at participants online or offline. There's a full fact section on the official Eurovision website dedicated to answering people's questions on why Israel is allowed to participate. Similar displays of anti-Semitism, threatened to cancel Israeli singer, Eden Benzikin, show in Paris this week. She sat down for an interview with I-24 News to discuss the difficulties of performing right now. I am an Israeli Jew, yes. It's very, very difficult. We don't feel safe. But it's not just in Paris. It's really everywhere. We can't feel safe. But we are here. We will win. The nation of Israel lives. All of these stars targeted for their Jewish identity say they won't back down and will continue to play whatever venues do welcome them in. The Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan is coming to a close tonight, which means it's time for celebrations to mark Eid al-Fitr. It has, of course, this year been overshadowed by the war in Gaza. Our senior correspondent Bianca Zanini has more. From Albania to Sudan to Egypt. Muslims all over the world are marking the end of the month-long holiday of Ramadan. But this year the festivities, usually family visits, exchanging of gifts and mouth-watering feasts, are weighed down by the war between Israel and Hamas. Arabs praying for their neighbors in Gaza. May God support our brothers in Palestine and protect them, and God willing, grant them an Eid holiday that will bring them joy, peace and blessings. In Israel, local Arab councils have called to halt the festive celebrations as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians. With all the events in Gaza, Palestine and the Muslim world, we do not have Eid. Thank God people's presence in prayer makes our heart happy. Meanwhile in Gaza, Israel says more humanitarian aid is moving in quickly after international pressure to increase access. Israel says 468 aid trucks moved into Gaza on Tuesday, the highest since the war began. In Wafa, the last stronghold of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, displaced Palestinians living in tents say they have little to celebrate. This Eid has come without any new clothes for the young ones. No money, no joy. Those who have lost people, lost homes. What Eid is this? This is the Eid of destruction, not the Eid of joy. Well, that's it for me. Stay tuned to 124 News. Kalev, Ben Zavid is up next. Stay tuned. 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 lines, but the general perception is something that certainly needs to be fought as well. This week on News 24, Israel under attack. News 24 in Spanish brings the analysis and the information about the events of the war, iron swords, exclusive interviews and reports from the war zone, the reaction of the Spanish-speaking countries. News 24, the only medium in Spanish that keeps you informed and connected with the Latin community in Israel. Welcome to this special broadcast on I-24 News. I'm Kalev Ben Zavid. It is day 187 of Israel's war against Hamas. And today the IDF delivered a personal blow against the terror group's political leader Ismail Hania, with an airstrike that killed three of his sons and more relatives in Gaza City. Meanwhile, the U.S.-Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo working towards a hostage release and a cease-fire deal are now waiting for a definitive answer from Hamas to the latest American compromise proposals submitted to the parties. The White House is putting the blame on the failure to reach an agreement on Hamas intransigence, saying it's sticking to maximalist demands it knows Israel will not accept. Middle East correspondent Ariel Osiron has more in this report. A new proposal for a cease-fire and hostage deal for Gaza is under discussion, but mediators are not optimistic. We have an offer that's on the table now to Hamas that is very serious and should be accepted. Hamas could move forward with this immediately and get a cease-fire that would benefit people throughout Gaza as well as, of course, get the hostages home. Secretary of State Blinken said the ball is now in Hamas' court, but the terror group has a different take, saying the proposal they received does not meet their demands. We have not yet received any American proposal through the mediators, but we did receive a proposal submitted by the occupation government. Hamas is studying this proposal and we will deliver our response to the mediators after our leadership discusses its details. The Lebanese Al-Akhbar Daily newspaper reported on Wednesday that the Hamas delegation has left Cairo and is not expected to return. Following over a day of internal discussions, Hamas decided to present an updated version of its counter-proposal that it presented in mid-March with four main demands. The first, an explicit announcement on a final cease-fire in Gaza. Second, beginning a comprehensive withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip, initiating the safe and unconditional return of all displaced Gazans to their home, and a hostage prisoner exchange deal that will take place in stages. Meanwhile, the IDF announced that 468 aid trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday, the highest number since the start of the war in October. But tensions between leaders in Washington and Jerusalem are growing, amid rising criticism from the White House, particularly regarding strikes on aid workers in Gaza. I think what he's doing is a mistake. I don't agree with his approach. I think it's outrageous that those four to three vehicles were hit by drones and taken out on a highway where it wasn't like it was along the shore. It wasn't like it was a convoy moving there, etc. So what I'm calling for is the Israelis to call for a cease-fire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, a total access to all food and medicine going into the country. All eyes are on Hamas for their response to the proposed deal. And until then, they will squeeze out of it all the psychological warfare they can. And joining us in the studio for more, we have Dr. David Cimoni, a former intelligence official, now with the group Commanders for Israel Security, and Ambassador Danny Eilon, the former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. David, let me just start with you. Where I24 News has heard from sources in Gaza that the political wing outside Gaza is open to a deal now. It's really the military wing inside Gaza that is being resistant and basically feels that time is on its side, I guess, or this is an opportune moment. The question is, is there a deal at all to be made at this time? We will know in a few days, I believe. I think I've been telling you in the past, you take hostages because you want to begin negotiations. You take hostages because you have some objectives that you believe that in other means you won't be able to achieve them. So when Hamas took hostages, they didn't take 250 Israelis in custody to teach them Arabic, or talk to them about the beauty of Islam. They took them to begin some kind of a process to achieve things. Eventually, we were talking about an exchange of Palestinian prisoners for the hostages. The philosophy that Israel developed, a theory that said we will do things together. We will strike Hamas, and that will assist us to release the hostages, and will act to release the hostages together simultaneously, for the time being, this adds more issues for Hamas to demand from Israel. Now they're talking about the condition in Gaza, about the return of Gazans. What I'm saying is the negotiation went sour because it wasn't only the question of prisoners against hostages. Hamas now got the status of representing the well-being of the Gazans. Yes, I think there's also another element here that Hamas, in a way, I believe, is bluffing in the amount of live hostages that they're holding. Well, I was going to ask you about that, because I'm going to be very careful here, because everything we're saying is just based on reports, not hard knowledge, but there were, as I said, reports, some degree uncredited about Hamas officials, some of them saying that we don't have even 40 of the so-called humanitarian hostages, that would be women, elderly people who are health problems, that they don't even have access to them. You don't believe that? Well, I don't like to believe the Hamas. I think they're big liars, but I don't think they know exactly what happened to all of what we count as 133 hostages. I don't think they have a full, a few weeks ago, the prime minister provoked a crisis in the negotiations, because he said, I'm going to hold the negotiations until they give us a full list of all hostages, which just got the negotiations stuck for a while. We didn't get the list, but I don't think the Hamas have a list of all the 100... Because some are missing, some are held by other groups or civilians in Gaza. Is that the estimation? Some disappeared, and some maybe were smuggled out of Gaza, maybe to Iran to be interrogated. We don't know. What I'm saying is that as long as they don't release names or people, they can be bluffing, and maybe they have much less value than what we assume. I don't underestimate any Israeli live that can be returned. If they return tomorrow or 10 of them, I'll be very happy, and 20 I'll be very, very happy. But again, I believe eventually we will have a deal. Eventually we'll have a return of how many hostages are alive and whatever the condition is, and because the situation now and the issues have broadened, it will have to... Look, the Hamas, we're talking from the beginning about the big picture, and Israel is talking about a partial deal, because Israel has no policy about the end of the war. The Israel has no policy about who's going to be ruling... So then I do want to then bring in, because I do want to ask, Ambassador Ayalom, because this deals now into the political and diplomatic sphere, whether you are optimistic then, because obviously there are considerations that are going to be very difficult for Israel to grapple with to coming towards some kind of deal. Well, Kalev, this steep, exorbitant demands of Hamas right now, I think, tells me that they are not ready for a deal, either because they don't have the hostages as they claim, or they are starting the blame game and putting these demands that they know Israel will never accept. Even the negotiators do not accept that. We just heard, you showed Kalev how Secretary Blinken said that there is a serious offer, and he expects Hamas to accept it. If Hamas does not accept it, that means that either they are not willing, or they are not able. And that also begs the question from Israel's point of view, and again, and indeed David is right, what would be, what's the end game here? You know, a military operation is just a means to get a political end, a political solution. There is no doubt in my mind that Israel should be in charge of the security situation in Gaza for the foreseeable future. But I don't think Israel should collect the garbage there and to be responsible for civil issues, and this is where the government should sit together and show its program, its vision for the day after in Gaza. All right, in the meantime in Gaza, we know Israeli, the IDF pulled most of its forces out, but did say it would continue to strike at targets in the Gaza Strip, and today did so very dramatically. For more on that, let's go to our Zach Anders, who is down by the Gaza border in southern Israel. And Zach, a strike, a personal strike right at the heart of the Hamas leadership today. Yeah, Kalev, what I've experienced this afternoon watching some of these strikes reminds me of the early days of the conflict when the ground forces were not heavily concentrated, weren't inside the Gaza Strip yet, so we just kept seeing airstrike after airstrike, and that's what we've been seeing and hearing right now. Again, continued strikes south, just south of Gaza City, a tremendous amount of activity that's been taking place here. That's why our cameras were trained in this area, because this is the general area, Natrium Corridor is to our south, where the remaining IDF brigade is and still located, so our cameras were focused there, were not focused on Gaza City. When one of the lone strikes on the western half of the city, a tremendous amount of smoke and dust kicked up, towered over the buildings, the tallest buildings of the city, later in about 30 minutes or so after that, we got the reports that the Palestinian media and Al Jazeera reporting that Ismail Hanea's sons were killed in the strike along with his grandchildren. This, again, a remarkable development, some of the questions we have tonight. With this military activity that you hear and see behind me, what exactly the current status of, again, tremendous blast taking place behind me, where exactly do things stand? You would presume that with a pullout of ground forces that that would indicate that things are going well, that Hamas is beleaguered, is still deep underground, but with the level of surface strikes that I've seen in the last few hours, that's the question I have tonight, is where are we? Where does this stand? Also, with the amount of activity that's taking place and the launches that have taken place from Hamas inside the Gaza Strip in the last week indicating that they continue to have launch capabilities, what will their reaction be? I just want to, the idea now, finally confirming that strike, saying that in fact a strike on killed three members, military operatives of Hamas, who were on their way to carry out terrorist activities, they are identified as Amir Hanea, special commander in the military arm of Hamas, Mohamed Hanea, a military operative in the terrorist organization, and Khazem Hanea, another military operative. So these, and confirming these are three sons of Ismail Hanea, and there is one other comment. And, Clev? Allegations regarding other family members of Hanea, including minors, are, is known, but that information is not verified by the IDF. I know, Zach, you're still with us? Yeah. Yeah, and, Clev, I'm also seeing some reporting too that Prime Minister Netanyahu was not made aware of these strikes that it was considered an IDF tactical decision to carry out the strike to begin with. But, I mean, the political ramifications of this, you could imagine, would be tremendous considering it's the political bureau chairman's sons that remain inside Gaza. Right. I will say that Ismail Hanea said he's proud of his sons being his martyrs, and there was also a comment out of Gaza that it's not on effect negotiations. Zach, I understand you for that. David, I'll just ask you from basic what I heard. This was a tactical strike. So this wasn't a strike directed against the Hanea family. The implication is, I guess, that this was a strike against a group of terrorist operatives who were en route to carry out an activity. And it turns out that these are the sons of Ismail Hanea. That's what it looks like. It looks like, first of all, professionally, if there was intelligence about these people, there was a successful tactical operation, the connection between precise intelligence and precise ammunition. But again, I think we think, and the commanders, that the main goal now should be the release of the hostages. And anything you do should serve that purpose. And the question is if this will serve the purpose. It serves the other part of the theory that says we have to apply a lot of military pressure on the Hamas, the story as much of their operatives and their abilities and their storages. Well, the idea is saying they were en route to carry out a terrorist operation of some kind. So that... Yeah, again, I think any Hamas operative that is being hit and targeted serves the military purpose of this operation. I'm not sure. It serves the release of the hostages. All right. Just again, Ismail Hanea, his comment tells you, thank God for the honor of my children and grandchildren being martyrs, Ismail Hanea comments on that. All right. Moving on, let's look to the north where Israeli forces remain on height and alert as Iranian leaders continue to hurl threats of retribution. At the Zionist entity, this is a response to last week's air strike in Damascus that took out seven top officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. So far, the Tehran regime has followed through on its harsh rhetoric, but a mysterious killing in Beirut could be a sign that the shadow war between Israel and Iran is going on as before. Robert Swift has more. The gods curse on the usurping Zionist regime. Just over a week since an air strike in Damascus killed several Islamic Revolutionary Guards officers, Iranian threats against Israel continue. embassies in any country are considered part of the soil of the country that owns them. When the Israelis attack our consulate, it's as if they've attacked our land. The rhetoric coming out of Jerusalem is no less bellicose. Any enemy who attacks us will meet a strong defense. We will know how to act very quickly with a decisive offensive action on the ground, no matter where it is in the Middle East. Israel's foreign minister made the point even more clearly, tweeting in Hebrew and in Farsi that if Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will react and attack in Iran. But despite the heat of the clashing words, it's not certain that either side is looking for or can afford to risk further escalation. A return and a reinvigoration of the shadow war which characterized Iran-Israeli relations for some time may instead take place, with possible signs that such a scenario is already underway, with news from Lebanon of the fatal shooting of a local man, Mohammad Sarour. Sanctioned by the U.S. in 2019 for allegedly channeling funds from Iran to Hamas, Sarour's body was found with several gunshot wounds and an undisclosed sum of money that his killers left untouched. Well, for more, let's go to our correspondent, Belair Sladine. He's in northern Israel near the Lebanon border. And I guess a kind of relatively quiet day in the north there, but the question is, is it the quiet before the storm from Iran or one of its proxies? Yes, that's always the big question here in the north, because the Iranian regime has repeatedly vowed that they will retaliate for the Israel's or the alleged Israeli strike on Damascus that killed seven of their top commanders. But if we go back to the speech that Nasrallah gave the chief of Hezbollah last week, he said over and over again that this respond will be an Iranian response, so be sure that Iran will respond as Nasrallah is stating it, which means that we might be seeing or might be expecting a response from Iran itself. Now, the question is, will Iran attack from its soil into Israeli territory? That's the bigger question now after the statements from both the secretary, the foreign secretary, Katsan, also the defense secretary, Gallant today, saying that if that happens, then Israel will attack in Iran. And this will of course lead to a bigger escalation, even merely a war between these two enemies in the Middle East. So currently in the north, it is a really quiet day. We're talking about the first day of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday here in Lebanon, of course. And we have seen only two rockets were fired at Israel today. The last one was about half an hour ago to what they call the Kaffar Shuba Hells, the Equibite Kaffar Shuba Hells, which is an area in Upper Galeel. We haven't heard siren as a result of that, but the one before was heard in Kiryat Shmona in the afternoon. It was as a result of one rocket that was fired, but it was also successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome. All right. Tobalir Soudin there, near the northern Israel, near the Glevin, on board. Thank you for that. Just an update, just really in the last hour, gentlemen, the Houthis, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are claiming that they targeted four vessels in the Gulf of Aden today. Two of them they claim are Israeli vessels, but they apparently were flagged to Panama and Liberia. So again, Iranian proxies. We haven't seen Iran make a strike there. Warnings also from the U.S., Danny, and I know security especially is looking at embassies because of course that strike on it. And the question is whether Iran really would go so far as to risk a strike after those warnings made by Israel. All right. Well, we'll have to wait and see, but I would say that this is quite disappointing to see a very soft approach of United States vis-a-vis the Ayatollah's regime. And they are going after these mosquitos like the Houthis and some Iranian militias, whether it's in Iraq or Syria, instead of trying to dry the swamp, which is in Tehran. We saw three major events which I think sent the wrong signal to the region, and especially to the Ayatollahs. The first thing was, after the 2019 attack of Saudi Arabia oil installations, there was no response whatsoever, and that made the Iranians even more brazen after the killing of Soleimani. We saw an American and an Iranian attack without response by the United States. And even just two days ago, or about a week ago, when the attack in Damascus took out this general in Damascus, the Americans were quick to say it was not us. That does not show, or I would say radiate, strength and leadership as would be expected from a world leader like the United States. So with that, the heavy lifting will have to be taken by Israel. And I believe if Iran will try to attack Israel directly, they will get a strong response. I'm not sure Iran will do it because their mode of operation so far, the entire strategy, was to work through the proxies. Right. David, you can respond to that, but killing the death of a, the shooting of a Hezbollah, a money man in the heart of Beirut, we don't know who did it. Is that something the Israeli intelligence services are capable of doing? Definitely. Definitely. And the intelligence chiefs will always try to convince the government or the prime minister that we can do things small-scale, covert, clandestine operations that will save huge military operations. And yes, Israel has the ability to go anywhere in the world and hit any target it defines. It might take time. It might be maybe exposed, like sometimes happened. But Israel definitely has the ability to do these things. And your assessment on Iran, it's now been something like a week. There's a lot of speculation who even be El Kudz day last week or before the Eid comes in. But the shoe has not dropped, at least in the way that we've, that some people were, I would say, almost panicking about. Iranians, I think they're known for their patience. I believe they will retaliate. I believe they will hit us, but not necessarily tomorrow or next week. It might happen a month from now. And it might be a strike on an embassy or God forbid, or a Jewish community someplace. They will retaliate. Will they directly attack Israel? I don't know. I believe if you ask an Iranian top official, a general, their fantasy would be to hit Demona. That would be the great, I mean, I'm talking about something that's very significant, that's humiliating to Israel. Right. And there was reports of Iran would try to hit a military target rather than simply just randomly. Exactly. Because if they do attack civilian populations, they might have the United States interfere. Right. Okay. Well, we'll see, as I said, if that other shoe should drop. Now I want to move on. Something of a smaller story, but definitely worth noting. Among the issues that arose following October 7th were protests. The effort was by the Israeli public. Afterwards revealed that some of the terrorists that took part in that massacre, who were injured and then captured by Israel, were being treated in civilian hospitals, that in some cases were also holding, housing the victims of the attack. Now, in response to the public reaction, the health ministry directed that all injured terrorists be treated from then on in military or prison hospitals. But apparently not all. This week, a man named Herzl Hajj, whose daughter Shia was murdered in a Jerusalem terror attack seven years ago, was surprised and shocked to see one of the Nukhba terrorists recovering under army guard in a room at the capital's Hadassah Mount Scopus Medical Center. A clip of Hajjaj's reactions. Maybe we can get some audio on that. We're seeing it now. Went viral. Now, after that incident and protests this morning outside the hospital and in response to that clip, the terrorist was transferred this evening to the army's State Amin Field Hospital. David, I just want to ask you, though, about the treating of terrorists because I'm assuming, I mean, a lot of people don't even ask why. But presumably in some cases, this would be because intelligence information could be gleaned out of prisoners. I think, first of all, what we've seen here is a very emotional reaction. Yeah. But yes, every captive we have, every terrorist that we take into our captivity is usually a very useful source of intelligence. And I think a lot of the achievements that we've been seeing in the past weeks are due to the great amount of Hamas operatives who've been captured and interrogated, including the very successful raid on the Ashifa hospital, where I believe the IDF had a very good inventory of all the terrorists that re-entered the hospital. So yes, every terrorist is a potential intelligence source, very valuable, might be very, maybe very valuable. But another issue is our moral standards. We are not a terrorist organization. We are the state of Israel. Our medical staff have their ethics, and we treat wounded people as wounded people. All right. David Shimonay, Ambassador Danion, stay with us. We're going out for a brief break. We'll come back in just a few minutes. Millions of people in scores of countries. Bringing Israel's story to the world, I-24 News channels, now on Hot. Welcome back to this special broadcast on I-24 News, Day 187 of Israel's war against Hamas. Now, earlier in the broadcast, we heard about U.S. President Joe Biden urging Israel to just call for a, quote, six to eight-week ceasefire in Gaza. Now, after that Univision TV interview was aired, the White House issued a clarification saying Biden was referring to a truce as part of a hostage deal, although, to be honest, it did not sound like that. Now, ironically, this came on the same day that Vice President Kamala Harris hosted in the White House family members of the five hostages in Gaza that hold U.S. citizenship, saying that the administration is committed to securing their release. He is two of the hostage family members speaking right after coming out of the West Wing. We have just come out of a very productive meeting with Vice President Harris, who carved out time to meet with us hostage families. We're very grateful for that. We discussed a lot of different things, and one of the things we talked about is that there is a possibility of holding two truths. You can believe, as we do, that it is horrible, that innocent civilians in Gaza are suffering, and at the same time, you can also know that it is horrible and against international law for hostages to be held against their will. We are six months in on day 186. We all are here for not the first time to work together with the Biden administration to do everything that we can and encourage all parties to reach a deal that will result in our loved ones coming home. Not only that, by doing so, the horror, the horror that the civilians of Gaza have been experienced, have been experiencing for the last six months, can come to an end. Well, let's go to senior U.S. correspondent Mike Wagenheim in New York. Mike, I don't know if it was just coincidence that that meeting happened on the day of that Univision interview being aired, which was filmed last week, because President Biden, in that interview, it seemed to suggest Israel calling a six to eight week truce without directly connecting it to a hostage release or a deal, although the White House clarified it. Again, how do you read that into what we've seen more and more, the discord or disconnect between the Biden administration and the Netanyahu government? First off, I think one of the big lessons here is don't interview a sitting president about an extremely fluid situation and then air the interview six days later. It just causes confusion and causes irrelevance. I think that's the main takeaway from what Biden said in that interview six days ago and what actually aired yesterday. But there's no doubt whatsoever. Regardless of that, there is a disconnect right now. It played out just yesterday when the prime minister went on Israeli television in Hebrew and said that we have a date circled for the Rafah offensive to eliminate the last stronghold there in Rafah. And then Jo Avgala tells the defense secretary in the United States, Lloyd Austin, we don't have any date in every American official since nobody's told us anything. That just shows within that's a microcosm, essentially, of the disconnect right now between Washington and Jerusalem on any number of issues. Now, the American officials, according to a report, chalked that up to simply bluster and domestic political interests coming from Jerusalem. Good faith argument can be made from that. But the fact that they're even having those conversations and have to point out that there are domestic political considerations that are causing these tensions right now just kind of adds to the strife right now between Washington and Jerusalem and the worst timing for it as of now. I think the one good thing, Kala, that did come of the last 24, 36 hours. Tony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, went out of his way to blame Hamas for the lack of a ceasefire. Very few American officials have really been pinpointing on that. They're talking about humanitarian aid and the need to get that done and possible holding up of weapons. We've heard that now from several senators and Congress members. Tony Blinken is, I think, the first high-ranking American official in a while, at least within a few weeks, who have said that this war is still going on right now because of Hamas and not laying the blame at the feet of Israel. Right, Mike? I think since Blinken made those comments, there have been reports, for example, today indicating Hamas sticking to its maximalist position, showing no flexibility, something that perhaps Blinken was aware of, and just preparing for if there is no deal citing that it is the inflexibility of Hamas here. No doubt whatsoever. I think you could telegraph that. There were reports coming out that progress made. I think those reports were inaccurate or probably misguided, but I think those on the inside had been saying for 24, 36 hours, this is going nowhere, and it's just more of the same from Hamas. I think Blinken and most people at this point can read the writing on the wall. We've gone through this negotiation now. How many times, five, six times in the end, Hamas essentially gives nothing and announces that they're giving nothing. So I don't think there was much guesswork there on the part of Blinken. He and most people knew what's coming from Hamas at this point. Okay. Mike Wagenheim, thank you for that. And then Mr. Ambassador, maybe the disconnect, there's also maybe a disconnect in the Israeli government between Yov Galant and Benjamin Netanyahu, perhaps, only adding to that growing disconnect. Unfortunately, we're seeing with the between Jerusalem and Washington. Yeah. Well, a lot of statements are floating from two sides of the pond, as they say. Some of them are coordinated. Some of them are not. Some of them are by design. Some of them by default, whether to, I would say, definitely to try and create some kind of a fog of battle to try and confuse the opponents. And we have a very, very cruel, ruthless opponent in terms of Hamas. I think that about circling a day on the calendar for Rafa, probably the Galant version is more accurate, although the military representative in the Knesset today went out of his way not to embarrass the prime minister and said they do have some orders to go into Rafa. He didn't really mention a specific date. But I don't think that it would be wise right now to, unless it's for some kind of putting pressure on Hamas. But I'm not sure that Hamas is under any pressure, whether we go to Rafa or not. We saw about the Hanunists that they have, they do not care about their population, whether they die or not, or their own people. Or even their own children, absolutely. Yes, it's amazing. You see the culture of death, they are happy about death as we cherish life. But I would say here, with what you mentioned about the state, the latest statement of Blinken, I think this should be the, I would say the standard to judge by. And right now the blame is on Hamas and waiting for Hamas to answer. All right. Well, one of the differences between the U.S. and Israel has been the issue of humanitarian aid, U.S. demanding more be transferred into Gaza. And it's a significant development today in that regard. The first land convoy of aid, some 370 tons contained in 17 trucks, reached Gaza this weekend and was distributed in the northern half of the Gaza Strip that aid supplied by the United Arab Emirates. Now, the Gulf is expected to supplement the foreign assistance now set to arrive by sea via the Ashdod port. For more, let's go to our Dubai correspondent Bastian Burri and Bastian, the UAE, stepping up into the aid, which is something, of course, that it's been calling for as well, an increase there in the Gaza Strip. Absolutely. I think there are actually several fairly significant symbols today. First, there's the fact that United Arab Emirates continue to negotiate directly with Israel. As you know, this humanitarian aid cannot reach the Gaza Strip without the green lights of the Israeli authorities. And in a number of other conflicts around the globe, particularly those in which large numbers of civilians find themselves trapped, so to speak, or caught in the crossfire, foreign powers capable of delivering humanitarian aid often play the blackmail card by refusing to deliver food, medicine, medical equipment, et cetera, et cetera, until the parties involved stop fighting. This time is different. Then there's the fact that the Emirates continue to bypass UNRWA in Gaza. Those 370 tons of humanitarian aid and 17 trucks, which today reached the north of the Gaza Strip, passed through the Rafah crossing without UNRWA coordination, and they made the whole journey from Rafah to Shabalia some 50 kilometers through a war zone, where Israeli army operations did not seize along the way. And finally, the other important point is that the Emirates have consequently received the security guarantees that they were expecting from Israel to enable them to transport this convoy without a hitch. Abu Dhabi, being the main financial backer of these land and maritime operations to help displace Palestinians, it was only natural that the Emirates were expecting not only guarantees, but also support and results after what happened to that World Central Kitchen convoy. All right. And of course, there's a humanitarian gesture, but what are the motivations for the UAE, because it's a significant effort to become directly involved in the aid effort? On the one hand, it's pretty clear that the Emirati government remains faithful to the political line that guides its foreign policy with regard to the Middle East and the Near East in particular, which is to say that having signed the Abraham Accords in 2020 with Israel does not mean that the idea of a Palestinian state has gone out of the window. Abu Dhabi wants this state within the 1967 borders without Hamas at the helm. So, abandoning the Palestinians, including those in Gaza, would make no sense. But on the other hand, there's obviously an eminently political aspect to all this on both sides, actually, by allowing this Emirati humanitarian aid and ensuring that it is both protected and covered by the media. The Israelis are washing away some of their sins, if you pardon the expression, after what happened to that World Central Kitchen convoy. And in the process, the Emirates are also advancing their pawns or their interests to make sure that they have a significant role to play once this war is over, a role that will be political by having a say in who takes control of Gaza, and economic role as well by participating in the reconstruction of Gaza Strip. All right. Bastian Burri in Dubai. Thank you for that. And David, whatever the motivations, a positive sign because the UAE has seen as potentially a key player in a day after in Gaza. Yeah, they're very important. They also have their interests with Egypt. They're trying to strengthen their ties with Egypt and their financial investments in Egypt. They're involved now in very big construction projects in Egypt. So, yes, they want to be in the area. They want to be among the good guys of the area. And again, any humanitarian aid, I think now is blessed. Also, we're witnessing now a flow of aid coming in from all over the world and all means from the sea, from the air, land, directly from Egypt, from Israel. So, I believe the threat of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is kind of relieved by this amount of aid from all over the world and the Emirates are welcome to assist. Very briefly, David. Yeah, massive humanitarian aid from UAE also has political connotation because Israel and the U.S. would prefer the UAE to be in Gaza and not Qatar. Right, for sure. For sure. For sure. All right. Let's look at one of the consequences of the Israel Hamas conflict. The organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest released a statement today condemning death threats directed against Israel's contestant Edan Golan, who is set to perform next month in the competition under very heavy security in Sweden. But other Israeli performers and artists or those who are identifiably Jewish or being targeted or seen as pro-Israel are being targeted by protesters and finding their concerts and events canceled by cow promoters or venues. Nicole Sedeck has the latest on this very real and potentially dangerous manifestation of cancel culture. The Jews have been canceled, literally. The band HaGehudim, which translates as the Jews in Hebrew, was told there's a problem with the political nature of their name, causing a New York concert venue to cancel their scheduled performance. The Israeli band is the latest to take a hit in the culture war, brewing abroad. American Jewish rapper Matis Yahu had three of his shows canceled over threat of pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests. And he's not even Israeli. When there's this opposition or being pushed against the wall, some kind of thing comes out. So it's been very, in some ways, made me feel like a stronger connection to Israel and a more powerful connection to my Jewish identity. Matis Yahu says he'll keep playing shows to overpower the hate. But for many Jewish artists, the hate is pouring in online. Israel's Eurovision contestant, Edan Golan, has reportedly received death threats on Instagram. Her only crime being born in Israel, a country at war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza. In response, the Eurovision Broadcasting Union posted this statement, saying the EBU recognizes the strong emotions stirred by this year's Eurovision song contest and the intense debate sparked by the inclusion of an Israeli entry, adding, we are firmly against any form of abuse or harassment at participants, online or offline. There's a full fact section on the official Eurovision website dedicated to answering people's questions on why Israel is allowed to participate. Similar displays of anti-Semitism threatened to cancel Israeli singer Edan Benziken's show in Paris this week. She sat down for an interview with I-24 News to discuss the difficulties of performing right now. I am an Israeli Jew, yes. It's very, very difficult. We don't feel safe. But it's not just in Paris. It's really everywhere. We can't feel safe. But we are here. We will win. The nation of Israel lives. All of these stars targeted for their Jewish identity say they won't back down and will continue to play whatever venues do welcome them in. Well, for more, we're joined now by Noah Shufotinsky. He is an educational and outreach manager with the group Stand With Us. But he is also a musician, a rapper, goes by the name of West Side Gravy. He joins us this evening from Tel Aviv. And Noah, you were an artist before your time, in a sense, because you were speaking out in words and music against the BDS movement well before October 7th. But what we're really seeing since then is it really going up so much dramatically. So I want to just get your, first of all, just your response to these kind of events, this group that you deemed being canceled, Mattis Yahu, and it seems anything connected with not just Israel, but Jewish now is facing the risk of being literally canceled. Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I think it's tragic that something as powerful as music. It's always been a tool where people are able to come together and hear perspectives and stories that they never would have heard before is showing up once again as a battleground against Jews. Right, and let me ask you about, you're someone who I know had, as I said before, for a number of years spoken out in some of your music. You've discussed these issues. How concerned with you'd be about going abroad, going to the U.S. and performing and facing, let's say, threats outright threats now? So I've actually traveled to the United States and a few other countries since October 7th, sometimes also with the intention to go and perform music. And it's something that I've been very aware of. I've received threats every day already on social media. I wake up to a new death threat surrounding just my relationship to my country, to my homeland, and to my culture. And I think that these concerns of artists are all 100% founded in reality. They're based in the reality that us as the Jewish people and us as Jewish artists have to deal with a double standard when it comes to sharing our culture. And unfortunately, that's manifested into threats of violence. And I think it's important for us to know that no matter what, we have to still show up and we have to still use our voices because as artists, that's the gift that we've been given. That's the gifts we're able to share with the world. Right. Now, you have roots in the United States and the Jewish community there, also the African American community. What about your reaction to the artistic community, the solidarity that should be, that art, that culture should in a sense be shielded from this kind of political intimidation that we're seeing, for example, against someone like Ed and Golan in the Eurovision? I think it's extremely sad to see the lack of solidarity by people. I like to try and focus on the solidarity that does exist amongst Jews and non-Jews alike who are supporting our artists. And I think that once again, seeing the reaction that she got, even from the beginning, having to revise her song because her experience as a Jewish person and as an Israeli on October 7th was apparently political, goes to show what we have to face as a people. As a child, my parents raised me to understand that being black and being Jewish, I was going to have to sometimes work twice as hard as people next to me, simply because of my identity and how people perceive that and would discriminate against me. And at the end of the day, that wasn't an excuse not to work hard, not to represent who I am, but it's the reality. And I think that this is just another example of the reality that we face because of something that you can't say is a political issue. You can't say that it's just anti-Israel or against an Israeli policy. It's against the existence of the Jewish people and not a connection to the homeland that we come from, which is Zionism. All right, Noah Shufotinsky, we hope you continue your work with the group Stand with Us, which is about asserting Jewish identity and pride and also continue in your music as West Side Gravy addressing these issues in music, in venues that will have you because that is a problem, certainly for artists like that. Thank you for joining us, Noah. Thank you so much for having me. And back here in Israel, the IDF arrested nine Palestinians overnight with suspected terror connections and security operations across the West Bank. This is as the Muslim holiday of Ramadan comes to a close with the three-day Id al-Fitr festival now underway. Now, while there were terror incidents in the West Bank in Israel during Ramadan, and some unrest on the Temple Mount Alaska-Mos compound, concerns of a more serious escalation did not come to pass. But for Muslims here and elsewhere, the conflict in Gaza is still overshadowing the normally festive Id al-Fitr holiday. Asini correspondent Bianca Zanini has more. From Albania to Sudan to Egypt. Muslims all over the world are marking the end of the month-long holiday of Ramadan. But this year, the festivities, usually family visits, exchanging of gifts, and mouthwatering feasts, are weighed down by the war between Israel and Hamas. Arabs praying for their neighbors in Gaza. May God support our brothers in Palestine and protect them, and God willing, grant them an Id holiday that will bring them joy, peace and blessings. In Israel, local Arab councils have called to halt the festive celebrations as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians. With all the events in Gaza, Palestine and the Muslim world we do not have Id. Thank God people's presence in prayer makes our heart happy. Meanwhile in Gaza, Israel says more humanitarian aid is moving in quickly, after international pressure to increase access. Israel says 468 aid trucks moved into Gaza on Tuesday, the highest since the war began. In Wafa, the last stronghold of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, displaced Palestinians living in tents say they have little to celebrate. This aid has come without any new clothes for the young ones, no money and no joy. Those who have lost people, lost homes, what aid is this? This is the aid of destruction, not the aid of joy. Well, happy holidays though to our Muslim viewers who are celebrating Id El Fita. Now despite the Gaza war impacting Israel's economy in so many ways, one company has conspicuously done quite well during this period, El Al, which has recorded record profits over the past six months. That's because Israel's national airline had a near monopoly on travel to and from the country for several months after October 7th, and the price of those tickets has sometimes been pretty steep. Well, good news for local travelers, finally, and those who want to visit here, more and more international airlines are starting to fly to Israel. Again, Natasha Kerchak has more on who's finally back up in the air. Airlines actually fly to Israel today. Well, since the start of the war on October 7th, air travel to Israel has been a total mess with tons of international airlines temporarily halting their flights to Israel out of fear of the violence. Six months on, a lot of that is about to change. Starting on June 7th, Delta Airlines is going to be resuming its flights from New York to Tel Aviv, and the European airline Yuling is also going to be doing the same, and they are not alone. Starting as of April 5th, this month, Air Canada, Bulgaria Air, Iberia, KLM, Korean Air and United Airlines are also going to be resuming operations in Israel. So which airlines are already traveling to and from Israel today? Well, there are 30 airlines that are now available for flights. You can take a look at this list right here. As you can see, Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa and Swiss are already on it. Now, this is good news for those who want to travel, but tourism is still struggling big time in Israel. As the war continues, there is no end in sight for Israel's tourism slump. Between January to March, just over 200,000 tourists entered Israel. That's about an 80% decrease from the almost one million tourists that came during the same time last year in 2023. But there is hope for the industry. Nations around the world that have experienced major crises have managed to recover in the past. Tourism following Japan's nuclear Fukushima disaster in 2011 recovered four years later. Thailand's tourism bounced back after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, and Egypt has suffered tons of crises due to the Arab Spring uprisings, terrorist attacks and also internal political tensions. And today, tourism is higher than ever. So despite the downturn, Israelis are optimistic. Simply having more airline options available seems to be a good first step forward. Well, let's hope we see the tourists come back and also see some of those ticket prices go down as well. I want to thank Dr. David Shimone, coming in Ambassador Danny alone. Thank you for joining us. That ends our special broadcast here. But of course, you can still follow us or learn our website and all our social media pages. Stay tuned for our continuing coverage here. Day 187, the visuals were against Hamas, and I'll end as I usually do with a hope that we do see all the hostages back home safe and sound one way or another sometimes.