Netanyahu rejects US-backed 15-point Gaza peace plan | First Thing
Israeli PM is insisting on a full Hamas disarmament before the deal can be implemented. Plus, what it feels like to get locked into an opera performance that lasts nearly 24 hours Good morning. Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a US-backed 15-point peace plan for Gaza in a rare public break with Donald Trump. In a statement, Israel’s prime minister said he was confronting a “wave of rumours about…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed a US-backed 15-point peace plan for Gaza, diverging from President Donald Trump's stance. In a statement, Mr. Netanyahu asserted that he was addressing "a wave of rumors about Israeli weakness and Israeli withdrawals on all fronts," while criticizing US pressure to end conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran without Israel's consent.
Meanwhile, Iran has put forth stringent demands for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with the United Arab Emirates reporting that one of its vessels was struck by an Iranian missile over the weekend. Tehran has claimed the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the US "corrects its behavior."
Saudi Arabia's Houthi rebels, aligned with Iran, have claimed responsibility for an attack on a refinery in the country on Sunday morning. This conflict has stranded up to 20,000 seafarers, primarily from India and the Philippines, in limbo, with no clear end in sight. Seventeen seafarers have lost their lives since hostilities commenced, most due to Iranian strikes.
Justin Vail, leading the DC office of the non-partisan advocacy group Protect Democracy, explained that tabletop exercises are routine planning tools for experts and stakeholders to prepare for potential scenarios. While these exercises do not predict exact outcomes, they aim to identify gaps, test assumptions, and enhance coordination, ultimately developing recommendations to boost preparedness.
President Trump has been attempting to undermine confidence in US elections through various means. In his July primetime address, he made rhetorical attacks on the integrity of voting machines and election offices, potentially escalating into more direct interference. During his speech, Trump threatened to revoke the broadcast licenses of networks that refused to air the address live, and in his address, he urged Congress to pass the Save America Act.
This bill would ban mail-in ballots nationwide and impose new identification requirements on voters during registration and polling.
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