News Digest — 8/8/25
Cabinet Approves Gaza Strip Takeover After Over 10-Hour Debate
The Security Cabinet meeting which saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers deliberating on the takeover of the Gaza Strip, concluded in the early hours of Friday morning (8th) after more than 10-hours of discussion.
The meeting ended with the approval of Netanyahu’s plan to conquer Gaza.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said, “The Security Cabinet has officially approved the Prime Minister’s proposal to decisively defeat Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will prepare to take control of Gaza City while simultaneously providing humanitarian aid to civilian populations in areas outside combat zones.”
The statement further said that an overwhelming majority of the Cabinet ministers expressed the belief that the alternative plan presented would fail to achieve the defeat of Hamas or secure the return of the hostages.
Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir expressed concerns about the intended plan, but the cabinet ministers pushed back, citing that Operation Gideon’s Chariots had not achieved its objectives. In response, Zamir said, “We created the conditions for the return of the hostages.”
The Prime Minister did say that, “The operation is not irreversible. We are prepared to consider a pause if Hamas agrees to Israel’s conditions.” In contrast, Minister Itamar Ben Gvir asserted, “We must go all the way.”
Netanyahu: ’We Intend To Take Control Of All Of Gaza To Remove Hamas’
In an interview with Fox News Thursday (7th). Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked if Israel would take control of all of Gaza. He answered that “we intend to, in order to ensure our security, remove Hamas, enable the population to be free of Hamas, and to pass it to civilian governance that is not Hamas, or anyone who seeks the destruction of Israel. We want to liberate ourselves and the people of Gaza from the awful terror of Hamas.”
He noted that interviewer Bill Hemmer visited the Gaza Strip Thursday (7th) and met Gazans who oppose Hamas. Finally, they see that they have a future. They can rid themselves of this awful tyranny that not only holds our hostages, but holds two million Palestinians in Gaza hostage. That’s got to end.”
When asked if Israel wants to reverse the Disengagement from Gaza that was carried out 20 years ago this month, Netanyahu responded: “We don’t want to keep it. We want a secure perimeter, but we don’t want to govern it. We don’t want to be there as a governing body. We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us, and giving Gazans a good life. That’s not possible with Hamas.”
“The only way you’re going to have a different future is to get rid of this neo-Nazi army. Hamas are monsters,” Netanyahu declared
Earlier this week, sources close to Netanyahu reported that the Prime Minister has made the decision to conquer the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Swords of Iron. The security cabinet was expected to meet and vote on the decision Thursday (7th).
Netanyahu’s decision follows the collapse of talks on a ceasefire deal that would have seen the release of ten of the living hostages due to Hamas’ intransigence and the publication of propaganda videos by Hamas and Islamic Jihad showing two hostages enduring severe starvation and torture.
Israel currently controls about 75% of Gaza. However, it has avoided sending the IDF into certain areas out of concern that the hostages could be harmed. Recent events including the announcements that the governments of France, Canada, and the UK will recognize a Palestinian state next month regardless of whether Hamas remains in power and continues to hold hostages or not, have convinced the Israeli government that Hamas has no incentive to agree to release the hostages and that only military pressure can bring them home.
Gaza Sources Confirm Hamas Stealing Large Amounts Of Aid
Hamas is using secretive methods to pay salaries to its tens of thousands of members, the BBC reported Wednesday (6th), in a report that also supported Israel’s contention that the terror group has systematically commandeered humanitarian aid entering the Strip and is handing it out to loyalists while other Gazans go hungry.
The British broadcaster said it spoke to three Hamas employees who each reported they received some $300 within the last week. At the same time the report noted that those on the payroll are getting a fraction of their pre-war salaries – at most 20% of the previous sum every 10 weeks.
According to the report, throughout the war, Hamas has continued paying wages to some 30,000 people described as “civil servants.”
A senior Hamas official was quoted as saying the terror group stockpiled some $700 million in cash in underground tunnels before launching its October 7, 2023 onslaught in southern Israel.
Noting that Israel has targeted Hamas’ salary distributions in order to disrupt payments, the report said operatives receive encrypted messages on their phones, inviting them for “tea” at a certain time and place. At the meeting, a contact walks by and discreetly hands them an envelope with cash before walking away.
The BBC also reported that Hamas has been taxing traders and selling cigarette packs for up to 100 times their pre-war price to generate revenue.
It cited unnamed Gazan sources as confirming Israel’s longtime claim that significant portions of the humanitarian aid entering Gaza were diverted by the terror group and sold on the black market for inflated prices or handed to loyalists.
Both the terror group and the UN have in the past denied that systematic looting was taking place.
However, the UN recently admitted that 88 percent of the aid trucks it has collected over the past few months to deliver supplies to Gaza did not reach their destination due to looting.
According to the BBC report, “Significant quantities” of aid were grabbed by Hamas during the two-month period between January and March, during which Israel boosted aid deliveries as part of a deal that saw hostages returned.
In April, the Wall Street Journal also reported on the importance of humanitarian aid supplies to Hamas in its efforts to raise cash to pay fighters.
The BBC report said the diversion of supplies has fueled anger at Hamas among residents.
Hamas employees were also said to be angry at the leadership over the inadequacy of wages amid rampant wartime inflation. In addition, one person told the BBC that most of the cash he did receive was useless, as the bills were old and worn out.
Lebanon: Shiite Ministers Walk Out As Cabinet Votes To Disarm Hezbollah
Lebanon’s Cabinet has endorsed the general objectives of a US proposal aimed at solidifying a ceasefire agreement, which includes the removal of armed presence throughout the country, notably Hezbollah’s weapons.
Information Minister Paul Morcos announced the decision following a cabinet session, stating, “We have agreed to end the armed presence across all territory, including Hezbollah.”
The Lebanese government also approved deploying the Lebanese Army to border regions and initiating indirect negotiations with Israel to delineate land borders.
Morcos clarified that the Cabinet has not yet discussed the timeline details outlined in the US document. He noted that the government awaits a plan from the army detailing the mechanism for weapons handover before engaging in further deliberations.
According to a copy of the Cabinet agenda seen by Reuters, the US proposal calls for Hezbollah to be disarmed by the end of the year, alongside a cessation of Israeli military operations and a withdrawal of Israeli forces from five southern positions. The plan, presented by US Ambassador Tom Barrack, represents the most detailed effort yet to dismantle Hezbollah’s arsenal following last year’s war with Israel.
During the meeting, five ministers from the Shiite block, which is made up of Hezbollah and Amal, stormed out in protest. Despite the walkout, the Cabinet assigned the Lebanese Army to draft a nationwide disarmament plan, concentrating all weapons under state authority. Morcos emphasized that the ministers’ departure does not constitute a resignation, though efforts to persuade them to remain were unsuccessful.
On Tuesday (5th), Prime Minister Nawaf Salem formally tasked the army with preparing an implementation plan to centralize all weapons in the hands of state security forces before the end of the year. The plan is to be submitted to the Cabinet by August 31 for review and approval.
US Ambassador Barrack congratulated the vote, writing on X: “Promises made; promises kept.”
Quoting President Trump, he wrote: “My administration stands ready to help Lebanon create a future of economic development and peace with its neighbors… In Lebanon, there’s a new chance for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah terrorists… A new president and prime minister brought the first real chance in decades for a more productive partnership with the United States.”
Sources close to Hezbollah told Sky News Arabia that the ministers’ withdrawal was a protest against the discussion of the “Barak paper,” warning that “all options are on the table” if the proposal is adopted.
Hezbollah has insisted that the current ceasefire agreement is the only relevant framework and has called on Israel to fully adhere to its terms. The group criticized the cabinet’s move as a “grave error” and declared it would treat the decision as if it did not exist.
US Prosecutors Consider Death Penalty For Killer Of Israeli Embassy Staffers
Washington District Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Thursday (7th) that US federal prosecutors are examining a possible death penalty sentence for Elias Rodriguez, the alleged killer of two Israeli Embassy staffers.
On Wednesday (6th), US prosecutors brought federal hate crime charges against Rodriguez for the shooting outside a Jewish museum in Washington, DC, in May that killed Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26.
The nine-count indictment said that Rodriguez targeted the victims for being Israeli, and made him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
The district attorney also quoted an alleged social media post by Rodriguez, reading: “Please, please, please, God, please, vaporize every Israeli.”
PIrro said a process is underway to determine whether Rodriguez will be sentenced to death.
“This is a weighty decision. It takes time. There will be a rigorous process,” Pirro said, adding that the final decision will be up to the attorney general.
“We are starting the process. We’ve made no decision yet,” she added.
Reid Davis, FBI special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office Criminal Division, said investigators have determined that Rodriguez likely acted alone and was motivated by “anti-Zionist and pro-palestine ideology.”
Pirro tied the shooting to FBI data released this week that reported a record number of anti-Semitic incidents in the US in 2024.
Pirro added that she has been in touch with the parents of Lischinsky and Milgrim, a couple who were planning to be engaged shortly before the shooting.
”These are the people who are broken because of one man’s actions,” she said. “These are the people who should have been in-laws, but because of one man’s actions, they will never be able to celebrate a marriage, or the grandchildren that would have resulted.”
Images Of Gaza Show The Reality Of Urban Warfare, Not Genocide – Col. (ret.) Richard Kemp
I’ve seen the level of devastation in Gaza myself from the ground. In places there is nothing other than piles of rubble where buildings once stood, as far as the eye can see. But this ruination should be no surprise to those who understand the way Hamas turned the whole of Gaza into a military redoubt disguised as a civilian population center.
If there is greater devastation in Gaza than on some other battlegrounds, it can be understood by Hamas’ contemptible way of fighting. Tunnels have featured in armed combat for hundreds of years. But nothing before has come close to Hamas’ utilization of the 400 miles of tunnels it dug over 16 years as its primary military infrastructure, shielded beneath populated areas. The interconnected network includes tunnels down to a depth of more than 200 feet. They are used for battle maneuver, weapons storage, command posts and living quarters.
In some areas, every house or every other house contains weapons and explosives. I have seen boxes of grenades beneath children’s beds, rocket launchers in kitchen cupboards, and rifles stashed underneath piles of clothing. Some 40% of buildings in Gaza were also booby-trapped to kill soldiers.
In the 1980s, in Belfast during the Troubles, we discovered a house that was similarly booby-trapped by the IRA, with multiple concealed devices intended to kill soldiers and police. In that case, we also decided, rather than risk the lives of our bomb disposal experts, we would use explosives to do the job.
Hamas transformed Gaza into an engine of war, harnessing the entire population, every building, every inch of land, along with much of the vast quantity of international aid poured in to help their people.
The writer, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, was chairman of the UK’s national crisis management committee, COBRA. (Telegraph-UK)
