politics
Netanyahu: Gaza Reconstruction Will Not Start Until Hamas Disarms
@AJEnglish reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tied any Gaza rebuilding to Hamas disarmament and rejected reports of U.S. pressure over Lebanon tunnels. Israel also named its first resident ambassador to Slovenia following Ljubljana's government change.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that reconstruction of Gaza will not begin until Hamas is fully disarmed, @AJEnglish reported. He added that Israel is working according to its own considerations on Lebanon despite an interim deal between Iran and the U.S. Netanyahu denied reports that President Trump had asked Israel not to act against terror tunnels in Lebanon.
He called those reports "legend, fake news" and said he received no instruction from Trump on the matter. Israel appointed Ruth Cohen-Dar as its first resident ambassador to Slovenia, @AJEnglish reported. Cohen-Dar had previously served as nonresident ambassador to Slovenia and Malta.
The appointment followed Israel's opening of an embassy in Slovenia last month. Slovenia's new conservative-led government under Prime Minister Janez Jansa lifted an arms embargo on Israel, scrapped entry bans on Netanyahu and two ministers, reversed a ban on imports from Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, and removed a Palestinian flag from a government building that had been displayed since Slovenia recognized Palestinian statehood in 2024.
IRGC vessels diverted six ships from the Omani route in the Strait of Hormuz, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward, @AJEnglish reported.
