January 22, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political prospects in Israel continue to look dim, with a new poll suggesting that his party would come in a very distant second if elections were held today, and the coalition he leads now would not win enough seats to stay in power. 

Benny Gantz, a former defense minister who joined Netanyahu’s war cabinet from the opposition after the October 7 attacks, would be the biggest winner, the poll for CNN affiliate Channel 13 suggests. His National Unity party would win 37 seats, the poll projects. Netanyahu’s Likud party would win 16 with him at the helm, and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party would come in third with 14, projections suggest.

A slim majority (53%) said Netanyahu’s personal interests were the main consideration driving his conduct of the war. A third (33%) said the national interest was his main consideration, with the remaining respondents saying they did not know or not answering the question.

Israelis last went to the polls on November 1, 2022. The next elections are scheduled for October 27, 2026, but many Israelis expect a national election to be called this year.

The polling, conducted and released Sunday by leading Israeli pollster Camil Fuchs for Channel 13, is broadly in line with other polls conducted since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told families of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza that Israel has an “initiative” to secure the release of those abducted – but there is “no real proposal” from Hamas that would advance their freedom.

According to the Prime Minister’s office, Netanyahu told representatives of the families of the hostages:

On Sunday, Netanyahu said that in exchange for the release of the hostages Hamas had demanded an end of the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and “the release of all the murderers and rapists” – Netanyahu’s words for Palestinian prisoners Hamas wants to be freed. 

“If we agree to this - our soldiers fell in vain. If we agree to this - we will not be able to guarantee the security of our citizens,” the prime minister said. 

Hepatitis A infections have increased in Gaza due to overcrowding, lack of clean water and poor sanitation, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said citing the Gaza Ministry of Health, run by Hamas. 

UNRWA cited the health ministry saying suspected cases have increased 16 times in January more than the entire month of November last year. 

Thousands of displaced people are sharing toilets and shower areas, UNRWA said on Facebook. 

The WHO chief last week said that 24 Hepatitis A cases in Gaza were confirmed through test kits and warned of “inhumane living conditions” contributing to the spread of the disease. 

As of last week, no deaths were reported in Gaza from Hepatitis A, as per the WHO, but several thousand people with jaundice were recorded “presumably also due to Hepatitis A,” Ghebreyusus said. 

Some background: According to the CDC, symptoms of Hepatitis A can include yellow skin or eyes, not wanting to eat, an upset stomach, vomiting, stomach pain, fever, dark urine or light colored stools, diarrhea, joint pain and feeling tired. Adults are more likely than children to have symptoms if they are infected.

Families of hostages disrupted a meeting of the finance committee in the Israeli parliament on Monday, demanding more be done to secure their release.

Video of the scene showed security officers trying to remove the protesters.

There are no reports of arrests inside the parliament, called the Knesset.

Israeli police reported that dozens of protesters had blocked the entrance to the Knesset, “violating public order.” After they refused to leave, a police officer announced a dispersal order. Those disrupting public order were moved back to the protest area in order to allow the protest to continue lawfully, according to a police statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to a two-state solution has sparked criticism from officials in Brussels and Washington, as divisions deepen between Israel and its allies and within its own government.

Netanyahu has made clear his opposition to a Palestinian state, but last week set alarm bells ringing when he said Israel “must control security of all the land which is west of the Jordan River.”

Ahead of a meeting in Brussels on Monday, European Union foreign ministers criticized Netanyahu’s comments, with Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, calling them “unacceptable.”

Meanwhile, the death toll in Gaza has climbed to more than 25,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the enclave.

Here are the latest developments:

Dear Omri, my Omri,

Alma began crawling soon after you were taken from us. She now sits and stands as well and tries to eat on her own. She smiles and reaches for the space you once occupied as if trying to grasp a memory that slips through her tiny fingers.

I wonder, will you be free to see her walk for the first time? I have been writing daily to you, myself and the world. Writing about our pain, our agony, our despair. I hope that you’ll return to Roni, Alma and me.

We heard that one of the released hostages told you we survived October 7 against all odds; we were rescued from the house of horrors that saw the death of loved ones, our hours-long abuse and your violent abduction.

We hope that news is true. We hope that the knowledge we are here waiting for you helps you persevere through your captivity, just as the hope of your return is what helps me persevere.

Editor’s note: Lishay Lavi’s husband Omri Miran, father of their two daughters Roni and Alma, was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 and remains captive in Gaza. Her letter has been translated from Hebrew by her brother, Moshe Lavi. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. Read the full letter here.

Several European foreign ministers have joined the chorus of criticism directed at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's opposition to a two-state solution.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin said Netanyahu’s comments were “unacceptable” and “do not contribute in any way to the prospects of peace.”

Netanyahu said his desire for security control over all territory west of Jordan is contrary to the existence of a Palestinian state. But Martin said this outcome would harm regional security.

Latvia’s Foreign Minister of Foreign Affairs Krišjānis Kariņš called Netanyahu’s remarks “discouraging.”

The Israeli government’s opposition to a two-state solution is “unacceptable” and Israel cannot expect countries to drop the issue, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said Monday.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected calls from the international community for a two-state solution, but Borrell questioned what alternatives remain.

Borrell said that Hamas is part of the problem but that the way Israel has been trying to destroy the militant group was “certainly” wrong and was seeding hate “for generations.”

Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz and his Palestinian Authority counterpart are attending the meeting in Brussels.

Communication networks have been restored across Gaza following the longest near-total blackout in the coastal enclave since the start of the war.

The outage, which lasted over a week, was the ninth communications blackout in Gaza since Israel’s war against Hamas began on October 7, according to internet monitoring site Netblocks.