WEB Strikes Target Terror Infrastructure Across Strip as IDF Tanks Said Sighted Near Humanitarian Zone

Former Shin Bet Chief Diskin Calls Netanyahu Worst PM in Israeli History

PM Said to Have Ignored Warnings by Ministers, Aides Against Openly Criticizing US

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the now-infamous speech that seems to have certainly worsened Israel’s relations with the US during a meeting on Tuesday with visiting Democratic Congressmen Howard Berman and Gary Ackerman, according to an unsourced report in Wednesday’s Haaretz.

US officials are said to estimate that the number of living hostages could be as low as 50, according to a report in the New York Times on Wednesday, while Der Spiegel reported that the German magazine received an audio recording of a negotiator saying that the three European hostages were seen in October north of Timbuktu, Mali.

Meanwhile, according to a report in Ynet on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ignored warnings by several ministers and aides against openly criticizing the US in a public speech he gave Tuesday in which he said that Israel has “no greater friend” than the US, but added that “the friendship between the United States and Israel is not a one-way street.”

In an interview with Army Radio on Wednesday, former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin called Netanyahu “the worst prime minister in the country’s history.” Diskin said that during Netanyahu’s tenure, Israel’s relations with all its neighbors — except for Jordan, which maintains quiet relations — have deteriorated.

Also on Wednesday, the IDF launched a series of airstrikes on terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, and some of its tanks were said to have been sighted near the al-Shifa Hospital, which is being used by the Palestinian Authority as a humanitarian center.

Retired Mossad agent Rafi Eitan, 92, died Tuesday after the boat he was capsizing in capsized in the Sea of Galilee. An autopsy determined that he had drowned. Eitan was one of the most famous figures in Israeli intelligence history, and despite having officially retired he continued to work, up until the time of his death, on matters of state security.

The Prime Minister’s Office said on Wednesday that it was impossible to elaborate on Netanyahu’s comments beyond what he had already said Tuesday.

Conclusion:

As the situation in Israel continues to develop, it is clear that there are many different perspectives on the current events. It is important to remember that there is no one definitive answer, and that each person's experience and perspective will shape their understanding of the situation.