Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu repeats threat to seize parts of Gaza if Hamas does not release hostages
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated threats on Wednesday to seize territory in the Gaza Strip if Hamas failed to release the remaining hostages it still holds.
“The more Hamas continues in its refusal to release our hostages, the more powerful the repression we exert will be,” Netanyahu told a hearing in parliament, which was occasionally interrupted by shouting from opposition members. “This includes seizing territory and it includes other things,” he said, according to Reuters.
Key events
Closing summary
It is approaching 5pm in Gaza City and Tel Aviv, and 6pm in Damascus. This blog will be closing shortly but you can find all of the Guardian’s latest Middle East coverage here.
Here are the key developments from today’s Middle East live blog:
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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated threats on Wednesday to seize territory in the Gaza Strip if Hamas failed to release the remaining hostages it still holds. “The more Hamas continues in its refusal to release our hostages, the more powerful the repression we exert will be,” Netanyahu told a hearing in parliament. “This includes seizing territory and it includes other things,” he said.
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Hamas warned on Wednesday that hostages may be killed if Israel attempts to retrieve them by force and airstrikes continue in the Gaza Strip. The group said in a statement that it was “doing everything possible to keep the occupation’s captives alive, but the random Zionist (Israeli) bombardment is endangering their lives,” adding: “every time the occupation attempts to retrieve its captives by force, it ends up bringing them back in coffins”.
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US vice-president JD Vance on Wednesday dismissed a magazine story on the Trump administration inadvertently sending plans for an imminent attack on Yemen to a journalist as “oversold,” after the publication released the transcript. Yesterday, the US president, Donald Trump, defended his embattled national security adviser, Michael Waltz, and said the leak of highly classified military plans was “the only glitch in two months”.
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Hundreds of Palestinians have joined protests in northern Gaza, shouting anti-Hamas slogans and calling for an end to the war with Israel, in what has been described as the largest protest against the militant group inside the territory since the 7 October attacks. Videos and photos shared on social media late on Tuesday showed hundreds of people, mostly men, chanting “Hamas out” and “Hamas terrorists” in Beit Lahia, where the crowd had gathered a week after the Israeli army resumed its intense bombing of Gaza after nearly two months of a truce.
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Netanyahu on Wednesday accused the opposition of fuelling “anarchy” in Israel, after mass anti-government protests in recent days. Addressing the opposition during a speech in parliament, Netanyahu said: “Perhaps you could stop putting spanners in the works of the government in the middle of a war? Perhaps you could stop fuelling the sedition, hatred and anarchy in the streets?”
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Thousands of Israelis have taken part in several days of anti-government protests, accusing Netanyahu of undermining democracy and resuming strikes in Gaza without regard for hostages. The demonstrations which erupted last week have been organised by a broad coalition of anti-Netanyahu groups, who called to protest against the premier’s move to oust Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet internal security agency. After a rally in Tel Aviv, protesters are due to travel to Jerusalem for an anti-government demonstration outside parliament on Wednesday evening.
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An Oscar-winning Palestinian director who was attacked by Jewish settlers and detained by Israeli forces has been released from detention. Hamdan Ballal and two other Palestinians left a police station in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, where they were being held on Tuesday. Ballal had bruises on his face and blood on his clothes. The three had spent the night on the floor of a military base while suffering from serious injuries sustained in the attack, according to Ballal’s lawyer, Lea Tsemel.
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The Gaza health ministry said on Wednesday that at least 830 people had been killed in the Palestinian territory since Israel resumed large-scale strikes on 18 March. According to the ministry’s statement, the figure included 38 people killed in the past 24 hours. It also reported that the overall death toll had reached 50,183 since the war began on 7 October 2023.
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Houthi media in Yemen reported on Wednesday at least 17 strikes in Saada and Amran, blaming the United States for the attacks. The rebels’ Ansarollah website said US warplanes carried out “aggressive air raids … causing material damage to citizens’ property”, but gave no details of casualties. Washington on 15 March announced a military offensive against the Houthis, promising to use overwhelming force until the group stopped firing on vessels in the key shipping routes of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
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Israel’s military said two projectiles were fired from Gaza into Israeli territory on Wednesday, with one intercepted and the other falling in an area near the Gaza border.
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Syria described Israeli attacks as a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty after a deadly bombardment on Tuesday in the country’s south, where Israel’s military said it had responded to incoming fire. The violence near the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights followed Israeli airstrikes in central Syria.
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Japan’s defence minister Gen Nakatani says his country will provide medical treatment for two Palestinian women for injuries and illnesses from the conflict in Gaza. One of them has arrived in Tokyo, he added. “[The women] are supposed to return to their original places after treatment, and their visit is not meant for settling in Japan,” Nakatani said.
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France is “deeply concerned” by the arrests of journalists in Turkey including Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer Yasin Akgul in the crackdown on protests after the jailing of the Istanbul mayor, a French diplomatic source told AFP on Wednesday. The source, asking not to be named, added that Akgul “was covering the protests professionally”.
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Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, told the UN security council it “must not come to pass” that Syria backslides into conflict, fragmentation, and having its sovereignty routinely violated by external powers. Pedersen said the other road, restoring sovereignty and regional security, “requires the right Syrian decisions,” but the country’s interim authorities cannot do it alone and need increased and continuing international support.
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Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet in Jerusalem on Sunday, two Greek sources told Reuters on Wednesday. The agenda of the talks was expected to be extensive, one of the sources said. The two leaders last met in Israel in 2023.
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Syria’s authorities delayed a visit planned for Wednesday by the Lebanese defence minister that aimed to discuss tensions along the border, officials from the two countries told AFP. “We were informed on Tuesday by the Syrian party of the postponement of the visit” of Lebanese minister Michel Menassa, a Lebanese official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The delay was “in no way related to tensions or conflicts”, the official added, without specifying the date to which it had been postponed.
UN special envoy Geir Pedersen said Syria can return to violence and monopolies of power – or launch an inclusive transition, overcome conflict and realise the aspirations of its people, reports the Associated Press (AP).
He told the UN security council it “must not come to pass” that Syria backslides into conflict, fragmentation, and having its sovereignty routinely violated by external powers. Pedersen said the other road, restoring sovereignty and regional security, “requires the right Syrian decisions,” but the country’s interim authorities cannot do it alone and need increased and continuing international support.
The UN special envoy, who will be returning to Damascus shortly, highlighted several priority areas for action and attention. He asked whether the soon-to-be announced transitional government and transitional legislative council reflect Syria’s diversity, and include both men and women.
Pedersen said developments on a new constitution, accountability for crimes committed over decades, security, foreign fighters and the economy must also be addressed, reports the AP.
Japan’s defence minister Gen Nakatani says his country will provide medical treatment for two Palestinian women for injuries and illnesses from the conflict in Gaza. One of them has arrived in Tokyo, he added, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Nakatani said on Wednesday that one patient is being treated at the Self-defence Forces Central hospital. Another patient is to arrive within days, he said. Both women were previously being treated in Egypt. Nakatani did not give further details about the patients, their conditions or their expected length of stay in Japan, reports the AP.
The treatments, Nakatani said, are part of Japan’s efforts to address the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza and followed a request from the World Health Organization.
“[The women] are supposed to return to their original places after treatment, and their visit is not meant for settling in Japan,” Nakatani said.
US vice-president JD Vance on Wednesday dismissed a magazine story on the Trump administration inadvertently sending plans for an imminent attack on Yemen to a journalist as “oversold,” after the publication released the transcript, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“It’s very clear [Jeffrey] Goldberg oversold what he had,” Vance posted on X, referring to the Atlantic editor-in-chief who was mistakenly included in the group chat of top Trump officials discussing military plans.
“No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS,” posted national security adviser Mike Waltz, who has admitted being responsible for Goldberg being added to the group on commercial chat app Signal.
Netanyahu accuses opposition of fuelling ‘anarchy’ with protests
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday accused the opposition of fuelling “anarchy” in Israel, after mass anti-government protests in recent days, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Addressing the opposition during a speech in parliament, Netanyahu said:
You recycle the same worn-out and ridiculous slogans about ’the end of democracy’. Well, once and for all: Democracy is not in danger, it is the power of the bureaucrats that is in danger”.
Perhaps you could stop putting spanners in the works of the government in the middle of a war? Perhaps you could stop fuelling the sedition, hatred and anarchy in the streets?”
Thousands of Israelis have taken part in several days of anti-government protests, accusing Netanyahu of undermining democracy and resuming strikes in Gaza without regard for hostages.
The demonstrations which erupted last week have been organised by a broad coalition of anti-Netanyahu groups, who called to protest against the premier’s move to oust Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet internal security agency.
Israel’s opposition filed an appeal against the move to dismiss Bar, calling it “a decision based on flagrant conflict of interest”. Netanyahu has pressed ahead with proceedings to sack Bar, a move which the supreme court blocked on Friday.
The government has also begun proceedings to dismiss attorney general Gali Baharav-Miara, who has challenged the legality of some of Netanyahu’s policies.
After a rally in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv, protesters are due to travel to Jerusalem for an anti-government demonstration outside parliament on Wednesday evening, reports AFP.
Here are some more images coming in via the newswires:
The Atlantic magazine on Wednesday published what it said was the full text of a chat group mistakenly shared with a journalist by top Trump administration officials laying out plans of an imminent attack on Yemen.
Details, including the times of strikes and types of planes being used, were all laid out in screenshots of the chat, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The magazine said it was publishing after the Trump administration repeatedly denied that any classified information had been included in the unsecure chat.
As reported earlier, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to seize parts of Gaza if Hamas does not release hostages.
Hamas said, in a statement, that hostages would return “in coffins” if Israel continues bombing the territory.
Netanyahu told parliament on Wednesday that “the more Hamas persists in its refusal to release our hostages, the stronger the pressure we will exert”.
“This includes the seizure of territories, along with other measures I will not elaborate here,” he added, days after his defence minister Israel Katz had warned: “The more Hamas refuses to free the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed by Israel”.
“Every time the occupation attempts to retrieve its captives by force, it ends up bringing them back in coffins,” Hamas said in a statement on Wednesday.
The militant group said it was “doing everything possible to keep the (Israeli) occupation’s captives alive, but the random Zionist bombardment is endangering their lives”.
Gal Gilboa-Dalal, an Israeli survivor of the 2023 attack whose brother was taken hostage, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) he can “constantly imagine our reunion. This moment felt closer than ever, and unfortunately, it’s drifting away from me again,” he said of his brother Guy Gilboa-Dalal, taken from a music festival near the Gaza border and last seen in a video shared by Hamas last month.
“We are fighting here against a terrorist organisation that only understands force,” said Gal. “On the other hand, I am terrified that these bombings and this operation … will endanger the hostages there. There’s no way to know what the terrorists might do to them or if a missile might accidentally hit them,” he added.
France is “deeply concerned” by the arrests of journalists in Turkey including Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer Yasin Akgul in the crackdown on protests after the jailing of the Istanbul mayor, a French diplomatic source told AFP on Wednesday.
“We are deeply concerned by reports of repression against protesters and journalists in Turkey,” said the source, asking not to be named, adding that Akgul “was covering the protests professionally”.
Palestinians involved in yesterday and today’s anti-Hamas protests in Gaza have spoken about their motivations with local journalists.
“We are sick of the bombing, killing and displacement,” Ammar Hassan, a young man from Beit Lahiya who took part in the protest, told the Associated Press.
Hassan said it started as an anti-war protest with just a few dozen people but then swelled to more than 2,000, with people chanting against Hamas.
“It’s the only party we can affect,” he said over the phone to the AP. “Protests won’t stop the (Israeli) occupation, but it can affect Hamas,” he said.
“The protest was not about politics. It was about people’s lives,” said Mohammed Abu Saker, a father-of-three from the nearby town of Beit Hanoun, who joined the demonstration. “We want to stop the killing and displacement, no matter the price. We can’t stop Israel from killing us, but we can press Hamas to give concessions,” he said.
A similar protest erupted in the heavily destroyed area of Jabaliya, according to witnesses.
One of the protesters in Jabaliya, who requested anonymity, said they joined the demonstration because “everyone failed us.” They said they chanted against Israel, Hamas, the western-backed Palestinian Authority and even Arab mediators.
Syria’s authorities delayed a visit planned for Wednesday by the Lebanese defence minister that aimed to discuss tensions along the border, officials from the two countries told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“We were informed on Tuesday by the Syrian party of the postponement of the visit” of Lebanese minister Michel Menassa, a Lebanese official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The delay was “in no way related to tensions or conflicts”, the official added, without specifying the date to which it had been postponed.
A Syrian government source meanwhile told AFP that the delay was due to “preparations for the formation of a new government”.
Menassa had been set to meet his Syrian counterpart, Murhaf Abu Qasra, in the first visit by a Lebanese minister since the cabinet was formed in February.
Border tensions flared earlier in March after Syria’s new authorities accused Lebanese armed group Hezbollah of kidnapping three soldiers into Lebanon and killing them. The Iran-backed group, which fought alongside the forces of toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, denied involvement. But the ensuing cross-border clashes left seven Lebanese dead.
Israel’s military said two projectiles were fired from Gaza into Israeli territory on Wednesday, with one intercepted and the other falling in an area near the Gaza border, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“Following the sirens that sounded at 12.03 (10.03 GMT) in the communities near the Gaza Strip, two projectiles were identified crossing into Israeli territory from central Gaza Strip,” the military said in a statement.
It added:
One projectile was successfully intercepted by the IAF (air force) and a fallen projectile was identified in the area of Zimrat”.
As we reported earlier, hundreds of Palestinians joined protests in northern Gaza, shouting anti-Hamas slogans and calling for an end to the war with Israel, in what has been described as the largest protest against the militant group inside the territory since the 7 October attacks.
Here is a video report on the story:
Agence France-Presse (AFP) has a little bit more detail on Netanyahu’s comments today (see 10.43am GMT). The news agency reports the Israeli prime minister as saying:
The more Hamas persists in its refusal to release our hostages, the stronger the pressure we will exert.
I say this to my colleagues in the Knesset, and I say it to Hamas as well: This includes the seizure of territories, along with other measures I will not elaborate here.”
Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu repeats threat to seize parts of Gaza if Hamas does not release hostages
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated threats on Wednesday to seize territory in the Gaza Strip if Hamas failed to release the remaining hostages it still holds.
“The more Hamas continues in its refusal to release our hostages, the more powerful the repression we exert will be,” Netanyahu told a hearing in parliament, which was occasionally interrupted by shouting from opposition members. “This includes seizing territory and it includes other things,” he said, according to Reuters.