Israel says Hamas spokesman killed in Gaza airstrike

We're closing the blog that ran this weekend. We'll have more news from the region on our website.

The Washington Post newspaper on Sunday reported that the White House is mulling plans to take control of the Gaza Strip and administer it under a trusteeship for at least 10 years.

The 38-page post-war plan seen by the Post envisions the "temporary relocation" of all of Gaza's two million residents through "voluntary" departure to a third country, or to restricted areas within Gaza for the duration of what is to be a decade-long rebuilding of the decimated Palestinian enclave into a tourist destination and manufacturing hub.

Reuters news agency previously reported on a proposal to build large scale "Humanitarian Transit Areas" both inside and outside Gaza. 

The plan seen by the Post was prepared by the controversial US-Israeli organization Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which was made responsible for distributing food and aid to Gazans after international organizations were kicked out by Israel.

Over 1,000 people have been killed while trying to collect food and supplies at GHF sites since the group began operating in Gaza in May, according to the UN. 

US President Trump has previously suggested that he could transform Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East," a plan applauded by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In typical Trump White House fashion, the body overseeing reconstruction in this latest proposal would be called the Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation, or GREAT Trust.

The trust would give Palestinian property owners in Gaza digital tokens worth $5,000 and four years' rent in exchange for the right to develop their property. The proposal suggests Gazans could use that money to start a new life elsewhere or wait and return to an apartment in one of a number of "AI-powered smart cities" in Gaza. 

Residents would also be promised a year's worth of free food.

Last week, it was reported that Trump chaired a meeting to discuss plans for a post-war Gaza, though no readouts were made public.

Yemen's Houthi rebels have raided offices of the United Nations' food and children's agencies in the country's capital Sanaa, aid agency sources reported. The militants are said to have detained at least one UN employee.

It comes after the Houthis confirmed that their prime minister and several ministers were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday.

The Israeli attack represents a major blow to the Iran-backed rebels, who say their continued attacks on Israel and ships in the Red Sea are in response to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

"WFP reiterates that the arbitrary detention of humanitarian staff is unacceptable," Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the World Food Program, told the Associated Press, adding that the organization's offices had been raided.

There was no immediate comment or confirmation of the raids from the Iranian-backed Houthis.

The Houthis have previously abducted UN workers, accusing them of being US spies. Some 33 aid workers were still in detention as of March, according to the UN.

UNICEF offices were reportedly also raided.

Ammar Ammar, a spokesperson for UNICEF, said there was "an ongoing situation," without providing further details.

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed Sunday that Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida was killed in an Israeli airstrike. 

"Congratulations to the IDF and Shin Bet for the flawless execution," Katz wrote on X, referring to the Israeli military and Israel's internal security and counterintelligence service.  

Abu Obeida is the long-time spokesman of Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades. He is known for appearing masked in public and video messages. 

Hamas has so far not officially confirmed his death.

Local hospitals in Gaza reported at least 43 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes since Saturday, most of them in Gaza City.

Israel's ongoing war in Gaza has killed more than 63,000 people, the vast majority of them civilians, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave, statistics that the United Nations considers reliable.

Hamas is designated as a terrorist group by several governments including Israel, the United States and Germany.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel had conducted a strike on Abu Obeida, the spokesman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

"We have struck the spokesman for this criminal and murderous organization, Abu Obeida," said Netanyahu according to a readout of a government meeting. "I hope he is no longer with us, but I notice that there is no one on the Hamas side to clarify this matter."

Netanyahu said the strike had been carried out as part of a joint operation involving the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the domestic intelligence service, Shin Bet, but added that "we still don't know the final result."

Hamas had confirmed earlier on Sunday the death of its presumed Gaza leader, Mohammed Sinwar, over three months after Israel said it had killed him in an airstrike. He is among a string of Hamas top leaders whom Israel has targeted and killed since the group led  the October 7, 2023, attacks that killed nearly 1,200 people in Israel.

Israel's ongoing war in Gaza has killed more than 63,000 people, the vast majority of them civilians, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave, statistics that the United Nations considers reliable.

Hamas is designated as a terrorist group by several governments including Israel, the United States and Germany.

The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday that the military had launched an attack on Hezbollah's "underground infrastructure" in southern Lebanon. 

"A short while ago, the IDF struck military infrastructure, including underground infrastructure, at a Hezbollah site in which military activity was identified, in the area of the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon," the military said.   

The strike on the site is the latest Israeli attack in the months after a ceasefire with Hezbollah was agreed on November 27. It came after Israeli forces invaded Lebanon on October 1r.  

Under that deal, Israel was obligated to fully pull its troops from Lebanese territory. However, IDF forces have remained in parts of the country, with Israel claiming that this is for strategic reasons. 

Hezbollah, is also required to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon. The Lebanese military and UN peacekeepers are expected to instead ensure security in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah's withdrawal. The group has vowed to resist disarmament efforts.  

US President Donald Trump's administration, which came to power in January, is pressuring the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah. 

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, along with other people, will set sail to Gaza on an aid flotilla on Sunday.

The Global Sumud Flotilla will depart from Spain. The word "sumud" in Arabic means "steadfastness." 

In addition to Thunberg, Portuguese left-wing politician Mariana Mortagua and former Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau will be on the flotilla. 

Thunberg said "dozens more" vessels would join the flotilla on September 4, setting sail from Tunisia and other ports. The flotilla is set to involve hundreds of people from 44 countries. 

Thunberg said the flotilla aimed to break the "illegal Israeli siege" of Gaza amid a dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave, where a famine was recently declared according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.       

"This will be the largest solidarity mission in history, with more people and more boats than all previous attempts combined," Brazilian activist Thiago Avila told reporters in Barcelona last week.

Avila stirred controversy when he attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in February. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Shiite political party and military group in Lebanon, and classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, Germany, Argentina and several other governments. 

Both Thunberg and Avila were previously on board a Gaza-bound ship, the Madleen, which was intercepted by Israel on the Mediterranean in June.

They, along with other activists, were detained and then deported from Israel after the ship's interception.  

Israel has enforced a naval blockade around Gaza since 2007, when the militant Hamas group took control of the enclave.

Israel argues that the blockade is necessary to keep weapons from getting to Hamas, but rights groups have criticized the blockade as a form of collective punishment inflicted on Palestinian civilians in Gaza.  

The remains of a second hostage recovered from Gaza this week have been identified as those of student Idan Shtivi.

A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said: "A special operation ... in the Gaza Strip resulted in the return of the body of the late Idan Shtivi."

On Friday, the Israeli military had said it recovered the body of Ilan Weiss and a second hostage, without initially identifying him.

"After completing the identification process at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, permission was granted this evening to announce his return to Israel," the prime minister's office added.

Shtivi was killed on October 7, 2023, at the Nova music festival at the age of 28. 

He had been attending as a photographer and tried to flee with two friends, when the festival was attacked by Hamas-led militants.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group said the return of Idan Shtivi's body represented "the closing of a circle and fulfils the State of Israel's fundamental obligation to its citizens."

Thousands of people gathered to protest Israel's blockade of Gaza at the Venice Film Festival. The rally was organized by left-wing political groups in northeast Italy.

Authorities estimated that about 3,000 people joined the demonstration, which began in the early evening a short distance from the festival. Protesters marched slowly to the entrance of the festival in the beachfront Lido district, waving Palestinian flags.

Activists said the film industry should use its public platform at Venice to focus attention on Gaza. 

"The entertainment industry has the advantage of being followed a lot, and so they should take a position on Gaza," Marco Ciotola, a Venice resident, told AFP at the rally.

The film "The Voice of Hind Rajab," which tells the story of the death of a five-year-old Palestinian girl in the Gaza Strip, is screening at the festival.

Some film stars showed their support for the Palestinian cause. Ahead of the event, an open letter was circulated, denouncing the Israeli government and calling on the festival to speak out against the war more forcefully. 

The letter has garnered more than 2,000 signatures from film professionals, including director Guillermo del Toro, whose film "Frankenstein" is one of the highlights of this year's event.

An Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the rebel-controlled government in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, the Iran-backed Houthis have confirmed.

"We announce the martyrdom of the fighter Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi ... along with several of his ministerial colleagues, as they were targeted by the treacherous Israeli criminal enemy," a Houthi statement said.

"Others among their companions were injured with moderate to serious wounds and are receiving medical care since Thursday afternoon," it added.

Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Ahmed Miftah was appointed interim prime minister following Rahawi's death, the Houthis announced separately.

The Israeli military also said that it "precisely struck a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the area of Sanaa in Yemen."

Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in a Thursday strike along with a number of ministers during a routine meeting, the statement by the rebel group said.

Al-Rahawi had held the post of prime minister to the Houthi-led government since August 2024.

It comes as Israeli strikes hit targeted areas across Sanaa earlier this week, killing at least 10 people and wounding 102 others, according to the Houthi-run health ministry and government officials.

The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles against Israel since Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza began. The group has claimed that its attacks against Israel are in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Iran arrested eight people suspected of belonging to what it called a "terrorist" cell linked to Israel's Mossad spy agency, Iranian state media reported.

The eight are accused of having provided the coordinates of sensitive sites and details about senior Iranian figures to Israel's intelligence agency.

The alleged espionage took place during Israel's air war on Iran in June, when Israeli forces attacked nuclear facilities and killed top military commanders, prompting a missile response from Iran.

A statement from Iran's Revolutionary Guards alleged that the suspects had received specialized training from Mossad via online platforms.

It said they were apprehended in northeastern Iran before carrying out their plans, and that materials for making launchers, bombs, explosives and booby traps had been seized.

During the 12-day war, as many as 21,000 people were detained, Iranian state media reported, as security forces conducted a crackdown on regime opponents.

Iran has executed at least eight people in recent months, including nuclear scientist Rouzbeh Vadi, who was hanged on August 9 for passing information to Israel about another scientist.

Human rights groups say Iran uses espionage charges and fast-tracked executions as tools for broader political repression.

The International Red Cross said there was no way that Israel's plans for a mass evacuation of Gaza City could be carried out safely.

The comments come after Israel warned Friday that it was about to launch a military takeover of the Palestinian territory's largest city, having said earlier in the week that an evacuation was inevitable.

International Red Cross president Mirjana Spoljaric said, "It is impossible that a mass evacuation of Gaza City could ever be done in a way that is safe and dignified under the current conditions."

"Such an evacuation would trigger a massive population movement that no area in the Gaza Strip can absorb, given the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure and the extreme shortages of food, water, shelter and medical care," she warned.

The United Nations estimates that nearly a million people live in Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City and its surroundings in the north of the territory.

Spoljaric warned that many residents would be "unable to comply with evacuation orders because they are starving, sick, injured or suffering from physical disabilities."

Denmark's foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who is hosting talks in Copenhagen, called on his EU counterparts to back limited sanctions on Israel, saying it was time to "change words into action." 

Rasmussen said he was frustrated by a lack of EU action to pressure Israel over its handling of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

"We consider Israel a friend, and the Israeli people a friend. But we have an issue with the current government," the minister said, adding that Denmark was ready to curb trade with Israel, impose a ban on products from West Bank settlements and put sanctions on Israeli ministers.

Rasmussen said the world was "witnessing the most catastrophic humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza and again urged Israel to change course.

Germany will not back EU sanctions on Israel for the time being, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said going into talks with his counterparts from the bloc in Denmark.

Wadephul said the German government was not convinced by a proposal to cut EU research funding for Israeli companies.

The measure was proposed after an internal EU review concluded that Israel's actions in Gaza violate an EU-Israel agreement that obliges both sides to respect human rights.

Wadephul emphasized that Germany is instead restricting weapons deliveries to Israel, which he said was a more effective approach.

"I believe this [arms exports curbs] is a very targeted measure that is very important and very necessary," he said.

The European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said she was "not very optimistic" that the bloc would agree on limited sanctions on Israel for its handling of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

"I'm not very optimistic, and today we are definitely not going to adopt decisions," Kallas told journalists at the start of talks in Copenhagen to decide whether to cut EU research funding to Israeli firms.

She said the lack of agreement "sends a signal that we are divided."

EU states remain split on stepping up pressure on Israel, which has been accused of allowing a famine to take hold in the Palestinian territory following nearly two years of conflict.

Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and Sweden support EU sanctions on Israel, while Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic oppose them.