For today, links to reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, and Anadolu Agency, and to commentary from Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM
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Hamas clears the way for a possible cease-fire after dropping key demand, officials say, by Samy Magdy and Wafaa Shurafa | AP DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza — Hamas has given initial approval for a U.S.-backed proposal for a phased cease-fire deal in Gaza, dropping a key demand that Israel give an up-front commitment for a complete end to the war, a Hamas and an Egyptian official said today. The apparent compromise . . . READ MORE . . .
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Hamas accepts U.S. proposal on talks over Israeli hostages, Hamas source says, by Samia Nakhoul, Muhammad Al Gebaly and Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters DUBAI / CAIRO — Hamas has accepted a U.S. proposal to begin talks on releasing Israeli hostages, including soldiers and men, 16 days after the first phase of an agreement aimed at ending the Gaza war, a senior Hamas source told Reuters today. The militant Islamist group . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM JULY 5 Hamas says it rejects any statements about foreign forces entering Gaza. From Reuters. Hamas says that it rejects any statements and positions that support plans for foreign forces to enter the Gaza Strip under any name or justification. The terror group says . . . READ MORE . . .
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Gazans constantly being in ‘survival mode,’ despair must stop: Head of UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, by Merve Berker | Anadolu Agency ANKARA — The continuous cycle of displacement, constantly being in “survival mode” and despair must stoP, the head of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees said Friday about atrocities in the Gaza Strip committed by Israel. READ MORE . . .
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EU turning blind eye to members’ arms trade with Tel Aviv: expert. From Middle East Monitor. The EU lacks a provision prohibiting arms trade with Israel that is being tried at the International Court of Justice for genocide in the Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reports. It allows member states to continue exports to and imports from Israel. READ MORE . . .
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How 7 October forever destroyed the myth of Israeli military invincibility, by Sami Al-Arian | Middle East Eye On 22 September 2023, two weeks before the 7 October al-Aqsa Flood attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly about “a new Middle East”. He . . . READ MORE . . .