Israel At War Thursday Sept 4

Israel at eat day 699

- IDF spokesman in a statement: We hold 40% of the territory of Gaza City. Our forces are maneuvering in Gaza City - in the Zeitoun neighborhood and on the outskirts of the northern Sheik Radwan neighborhood.

- Witkoff met with the Qataris and discussed with them a deal for the release of hostages and the end of the war. A source familiar with the talks said, "There is no progress in the negotiations, mainly due to the Israeli position."

- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked about Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and said: We told countries planning to recognize a Palestinian state that there will be a response from Israel.

- Sen Tom Cotton ·The Palestinian Youth Movement has directly threatened U.S. National Security. I’ve asked the @FBI to investigate their actions and take the necessary steps to protect Americans from this dangerous organization.

- Prime Minister Netanyahu: On anti-Semitism against Jews in the world: "The Jews in the world have a refuge - we have a state. The faster we end the war, the propaganda war will also die down. And I say to the Jews: Stand proud, stand up for your rights, don't hide - come out and fight the slander with force. Those who hide - they will be pursued."

- The IDF announced Wednesday night that the missile intercepted in the morning by Israel’s defense systems was equipped with a cluster warhead.

- Massive IDF strikes on Gaza City today  Hamas-run health authorities say Israel killed at least 53 people today,in Gaza City, where Israeli forces are now a few miles from the city center.

- Israel DM Israel katz:  “The Houthis are firing missiles at Israel again and they will be hit with the ten Makkos A plague of darkness , a plague of the firstborn - we will complete all ten plagues.”

- Mediator says final US proposal calls for release of all hostages and end to Gaza war

Bishara Bahbah, who has served as a broker between Hamas and Washington, says Trump is seeking to heavily pressure Netanyahu to accept the terms

- A 60-year-old man arrested on suspicion of setting fire to several trash bins during a hostage protest in Yerushalayim and  will remain in detention for another five days Officers brought Amos Doron, a resident of Ramat Gan and lieutenant colonel in the reserves, to the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, where he was ordered to remain in police custody until September 8.

- Israel tells Hamas to surrender or see Gaza City leveled, as group says it’s open to deal

- WSJ: “A genocidal army doesn’t take two years to win a war in a territory the size of Las Vegas.  A genocidal army doesn’t send SMS warnings before firing or facilitate the passage of those trying to escape the strikes. A genocidal army wouldn’t evacuate, every month, hundreds of Palestinian children suffering from rare diseases or cancer, sending them to hospitals in Abu Dhabi as part of a medical airlift set up right after Oct. 7.  To speak of genocide in Gaza is an offense to common sense, a maneuver to demonize Israel, and an insult to the victims of genocides past and present.”

- President Herzog of Israel, in his meeting with the Pope, said, "Tomorrow marks the 700th day since our brothers and sisters were kidnapped - 48 of them are still in Gaza. We must do everything to bring them back as soon as possible."

- Boats from Tunisia are joining today in the Mediterranean Sea for the flotilla to Gaza

- Sources involved in the negotiations for the release of the hostages say that Hams’s announcement last night was nothing new, and that the organization's goal was and remains "to continue controlling Gaza in the Hezbollah model." This refers to the way Hezbollah was the decisive force in Lebanon (before being defeated by Israel), while a democratically elected government served in Beirut. "There is nothing new in this proposal. Hams’s announcement was merely a response to Trump's statements," said a knowledgeable Israeli source.