Gaza: Europe and the Arabs

The Israeli army continued its airstrikes within its deployment areas behind the yellow line in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. Israeli tanks and helicopters also shelled positions east of Khan Younis within the same deployment area. The operations included the demolition of several buildings.

In parallel with these developments on the ground, Israel's Channel 13 reported that the crisis between Defense Minister Yisrael Katz and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has escalated significantly, noting that the dispute is weakening the army, which is already facing a manpower crisis. In separate statements, Zamir said that the yellow line, which delineates the withdrawal points according to the agreement, has become a "new border."

On another front, the Israeli army announced that the navy has begun a week-long exercise in cooperation with the US Fifth Fleet. According to a report published Monday morning by the Brussels-based European news network Euronews, a senior Hamas official told the Associated Press that the movement is prepared to discuss "freezing or storing" its weapons as part of a ceasefire agreement with Israel, a rare indication of the possibility of addressing one of the most complex aspects of the US-brokered agreement.

Basem Naim, a member of the movement's political bureau, explained in statements from Doha that Hamas is "open to a comprehensive approach" to avoid any new escalation. These discussions come as the two sides prepare to enter the "second phase" of the agreement. Naim told the Associated Press, "We are open to a comprehensive approach to avoid any new confrontations... We can talk about freezing, storing, or setting aside weapons, with Palestinian guarantees that they will not be used during the truce period." He indicated that Hamas retains its right to "resistance" but is prepared to discuss the status of weapons within a framework leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state, proposing a long-term truce of 5 to 10 years to conduct these deliberations. On the humanitarian front, UNRWA announced the diagnosis of 508 cases of acute malnutrition among children in Gaza, while Cairo stressed that it "will not allow the Rafah crossing to be a conduit for the displacement of Palestinians." The Jerusalem Governorate stated that Israeli forces stormed the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem and conducted searches inside the compound. In Gaza, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that dozens of armed men belonging to tribal militias... Opponents of Hamas surrendered to the movement's security forces in the past 48 hours.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, Israeli forces carried out raids and arrests in the Tulkarm governorate as part of a focused security campaign that has been ongoing for several days in a number of governorates.