Israel
Israel Briefing Day 521: US tells Israel talks with Hamas won’t happen
Plus, Israel-US intelligence sharing reportedly at risk due to Trump’s Russia stance
March 11, 2025 09:15
By, In Israel
4 min read
Plus, Israel-US intelligence sharing reportedly at risk due to Trump’s Russia stance
March 11, 2025 09:15ByNathan Jeffay, In Israel
This story first appeared as today’s Israel briefing newsletter. You can sign up to receive it daily here.
IDF fighter jets have struck military sites in Syria, amid growing alarm that weapons could be turned towards Israel. The military sites belonged to the toppled Assad regime, and Israel is striking due to concerns that the new leadership in Syria could adopt a hawkish foreign policy and attack using the arms. Jerusalem is shaken by the new regime’s reported killing of hundreds of Syrians and fears what will unfold on its doorstep.
The IDF said it targeted “radars and detection assets used for constructing aerial intelligence assessments in southern Syria, as well as military sites containing weapons and equipment belonging to the Syrian regime.” Syrian security sources said the strikes hit two locations—Jbab and Izraa—while state media accused Israel of attacking sovereign territory.
The former Syrian ruler, Bashar Assad, was Iranian-backed and had disdain for Israel. However, occupied by his own civil war, he had little bandwidth or interest in conflict with Israel. Tensions with Syria have increased since the new leadership took over, with Jerusalem nervous that the jihadists-turned-pragmatists at its helm have in reality remained hardline and potentially combative. Yesterday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar dismissed the government as a front for extremists, telling BILD: “They were jihadists and remain jihadists, even if some of their leaders have donned suits.”
He condemned European leaders for legitimising the regime and pointed to reports of 700 or more civilians allegedly executed by government forces. Referring to Syria’s interim President Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa by the nom de guerre al-Julani, he said: “This weekend, the masks fell. al-Julani’s men massacred their own people—the citizens of so-called ‘New Syria.’” His comment comes on the heels of a statement by Defence Minister Israel Katz, who called Syria’s interim president “a jihadist terrorist of the al-Qaeda school who is committing horrifying acts against a civilian population.” Saar argued that Europe must not "ignore reality.” He said: "It must stop lending legitimacy to a regime whose first acts - not surprisingly given its well-known terrorist past - are these atrocities."
Israel has maintained a military presence in the UN buffer zone on the Golan Heights, signalling it will not allow the instability in Syria to spill over. Sa’ar urged the international community to “raise its voice against the barbaric murder of civilians” and stop legitimising the new regime, warning that its control over Syria poses a growing security threat.
Israel’s political leadership is obstructing progress in hostage deal negotiations, Israeli sources involved in the talks have reportedly said. Channel 12 quoted an Israeli source familiar with the talks saying: “The urgency to release all the hostages in a deal as soon as possible is clear within the new negotiating team. Time is working against us, and the political echelon is blocking efforts to advance the deal in full.” An Israeli delegation has arrived in Doha for continued talks, but officials say significant gaps remain. Hamas claimed yesterday to be showing “flexibility,” but Israeli sources questioned this.
Relatives of hostages have given paltry mishloach manot, the traditional food gifts for the upcoming festival of Purim, to Israeli politicians to underscore the misery of their loved ones. Normally, mishloach manot are generous gift packages, but the politicians received only a single pita and a quote from former hostage Eli Sharabi: “People should really think when they open a fridge at home, it’s everything.” Sharabi’s hunger was so extreme in captivity that he lost around 66 pounds. In a recent interview, he recalled how basic food like bread became a luxury, urging Israelis to appreciate everyday conveniences.
On the ground in Gaza, terrorists tried to plant explosives near troops in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighbourhood yesterday, and troops opened fire. In a separate incident, three suspected terrorists tried to place a bomb near IDF troops in central Gaza, close to Nuseirat, and the air force struck them with drones.
The US has reportedly told Israel that the talks between US officials and Hamas, the likes of which took place recently, won’t happen again. Israel was furious about the direct conversations between Washington and Hamas, which have traditionally happened only through negotiators. Axios is now reporting that Ron Dermer, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s closest adviser, has now told Israel’s security cabinet that the US has made it clear that future talks will be fully coordinated with Israel. Adam Boehler, the US hostage envoy who talked to Hamas, is to be sidelined, and US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff will now be the sole representative for Israel-Gaza talks. Witkoff is expected to work through Qatari mediators, with no further direct engagement with Hamas unless significant concessions are made.
Israel is trying to have UNRWA, the controversial UN agency for Palestinian refugees, replaced by other players in Gaza. “We, the State of Israel, are working to find a substitute to the work of UNRWA inside Gaza,” announced Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Daniel Meron.
An Israeli baby was wounded yesterday when a Palestinian hurled a stone at a vehicle near the West Bank village of Udala. The stone shattered the windshield, and glass shards injured the two-month-old baby, who is now only lightly hurt. “Upon receiving the report, IDF soldiers were dispatched to the scene and began searching for the terrorist,” the military said. A manhunt is underway to find the attacker. Yossi Dagan, mayor of the settlements near the site of the attack, called for tougher military responses to stone-throwing incidents.
The Knesset discussed the fear some IDF reservists experience about flying abroad in a hearing yesterday. Soldiers and politicians spoke of their alarm at the phenomenon of soldiers facing attempts to arrest them abroad based on their IDF service. An IDF reservist spoke before politicians, saying: “We were called to defend the country for hundreds of reserve duty days. We have done it the best way we can, and we will continue to do it with pride and joy. However, it cannot be that when we return home and want to unwind, we find ourselves on another front—the diplomatic front—which is also a type of terror, and we have no response there. We need a response from the state that will fight for us through diplomatic means.”
The US has warned Iraq that it must secure the release of kidnapped Russian-Israeli academic Elizabeth Tsurkov or face political and economic consequences, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. Israel blamed Iranian-backed terrorists from the Kataeb Hezbollah group for her disappearance in March 2023, though no group has claimed responsibility.