CrossFireArabia
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he is “looking at” sanctioning Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, as well as the national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir.
The sanctions come in response to Smotrich’s remarks that “starving two million people in Gaza might be justified and moral,” while Ben Gvir described settlers who killed a 19-year-old in the West Bank as “heroes.”
CrossFireArabia
Israeli Army Radio has reported that personalities close to US President Donald Trump informed the Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister, Ron Dermer, that the US president had decided to cut off contact with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Army Radio explained that these acquaintances close to Trump informed Dermer that Netanyahu was manipulating the US president, stressing that what Trump hates most is being perceived as being manipulated.
The radio quoted an Israeli official as saying that Minister Dermer’s conversation with senior Republican officials, did not work because of his displayed arrogance.
This came hours after a report in the Israel Hayom newspaper asserting that the US president is “disappointed” with Netanyahu and intends to take “steps” in the Middle East “without waiting for him.”
Since the start of his new presidential term on January 20, 2025, Trump has offered diverse and unlimited support to the Netanyahu government, which has been waging a genocidal war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.
However, the Israel Hayom daily quoted an unnamed sources as saying that “there is a decline in the personal relations and mutual disappointment between Netanyahu and Trump.”
The newspaper added that two senior sources close to Trump said, in closed conversations in recent days, that he has decided not to wait for Israel any longer and is moving forward with steps in the Middle East without “waiting for Netanyahu.”
The sources did not elaborate on the nature of the steps Trump intends to take unilaterally, but there is a complaint in Tel Aviv that Trump sometimes acts without coordination with Israel.
The most recent example is the ceasefire agreement reached by the United States and the Yemeni Houthi group, which does not include Israel and which Israel was unaware of before its announcement according to Al Jazeera.
CrossFireArabia
Hamas congratulated Cardinal Robert Prevost on Thursday for being elected the new pope, urging him to follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who was a strong advocate for the Palestinian cause and condemned Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Prevost, who will be known as Pope Leo XIV, was elected as the new pope by the Cardinals in a two-day conclave and will be the first American pontiff in history.
Hamas said in a statement it “extends its sincere congratulations to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on the occasion of his election as Head of the Catholic Church.”
“We wish him success in fulfilling his spiritual and humanitarian mission at a time when the world faces profound crises and tragedies—chief among them, the ongoing brutal Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
“We highly value the principled and courageous humanitarian positions taken by the late Pope Francis, including his repeated expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people and his firm stance against the occupation and its repressive policies.”
“We look forward to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV continuing this ethical and moral path—standing with the oppressed, advocating for justice, and engaging actively within international forums to help end the crime of genocide and ethnic cleansing being perpetrated by the Israeli occupation against children, women, and unarmed civilians in Gaza.”
“We also call for action to halt the ongoing violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites throughout Palestine, and reaffirm the importance of upholding human dignity and religious sanctity everywhere.”
Pope Francis was a staunch advocate for Palestinians and kept in regular contact with Catholics in Gaza amid Israel’s assault. That included daily calls with the priest at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, the only Catholic church in the Palestinian enclave.
Upon his death, Francis also donated his so-called “popemobile” to Gaza to serve as a mobile children’s clinic.
Pope Leo XIV has not said much publicly about Gaza, making it unclear if he will emulate his predecessor according to the Quds News Network.
