[News] Middle East crisis live: Hamas says ceasefire talks continue despite delegation leaving Cairo and official saying Israel ‘thwarted’ deal

[GL HERO SHIMA]

Yehuda Cohen was one of the relatives of the Gaza hostages who spoke at the Israeli embassy in London earlier today in a press conference where relatives called for Hamas to release the captives.

His 19-year-old son, Nimrod Cohen, was stationed along the border when he was kidnapped during the 7 October attacks by Hamas, and Cohen told reporters at the event:

If 134 hostages will be marched from Gaza back to Israel, suffering from both sides will stop. What we want, after 153 days, 22 weeks, 5 months, to bring all our loved ones back home, we know he’s alive there.

He wasn’t there to harm anyone, he was there to defend, he was an innocent boy. Hamas took innocent children, innocent women and kidnapped them just for the spite of it, and we want them all back home.

IDF chief of staff publishes letter to commanders on process of reviewing conduct during war

Describing a review of Israeli military performance as a “lever that allows for improvement after failure”, the IDF chief of the general staff has issued a letter to commanders about a review process to assess performance during a war which it says began with “a difficult start”.

The letter, published openly by the IDF, starts:

The “Swords of Iron” War began with a surprise that resulted in a difficult outcome and a significant loss of civilian and soldier lives. Since then, the IDF has been defending and striking successfully and effectively - we had a difficult start, we recovered and we are making significant progress.

Reviews hold an honorable place in our military values. They are the lever that allows for improvement after failure, a way to be better after success, the tool with which a unit can build itself a climbing route that will elevate it indefinitely.

Just as charging in the face of enemy fire requires strength and courage, holding ourselves accountable and facing reviews also requires bravery and leadership.

The letter appeals to IDF troops for “honesty” in the review, stating that “when dealing with complex situations, it is critical to explore and make decisions that allow for evaluation and learning.”

The letter concedes that the review will not be able to “thoroughly examine every step, every bullet fired”. It also laments that “some of our people are no longer here with us, and we will not be able to hear their point of view.”

It concludes “Just as I trust the IDF’s ability to fight well, I believe each of us has the ability to ask questions in an unassuming, but constructive manner. This is how we’ll learn, and this is how we will better defend Israeli civilians in the future.”

An Israeli official has told the CNN news network that it believes Hamas is playing a “game”, and that the group does know where hostages are being held in the Gaza Strip, despite insisting on a ceasefire before it can compile and give the information.

“I think they do know, it’s a game,” the official said, claiming that both Israel and Hamas have “intelligence” on where the remaining abductees are being held.

Reportedly the failure of Hamas to give Israel a precise list of which hostages are being held has been a stumbling block in efforts to get them released.

Hamas official Basem Naim has previously said “There is no way to know the fate” of captives until a ceasefire is implemented.

Russia says it prevented attack on Moscow synagogue

Russia’s Federal Security Service said it prevented an attack on a synagogue in Moscow that was plotted by an Islamic State cell, Reuters reported citing Russian state news agencies.

The FSB said the attackers opened fire during the attempted arrest and were “neutralised by return fire”.

Lior Haiat, spokesperson for Israel’s foreign affairs ministry, has accused South Africa of acting “as the legal arm of Hamas in an attempt to undermine Israel’s inherent right to defend itself and its citizens, and to release all of the hostages”.

In a statement posted on social media, he said “the repeated requests for provisional measures made by South Africa in order to assist Hamas are yet another cynical exploitation of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which has already twice rejected the baseless attempts to deny Israel its right and obligation of self-defence”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/mar/07/middle-east-crisis-live-us-gaza-israel-ceasefire-deal-can-be-reached-talks