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US Sen. Brian Schatz on Tuesday urged Israel to immediately allow rescue equipment, building materials and winter supplies into Gaza after deadly flooding affected thousands of Palestinians, Anadolu reports.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Schatz said heavy rainfall over the weekend flooded more than 70,000 tents in Gaza, leaving four people dead, including three children and a woman.
“Nearly everyone in the area needs help. This is a humanitarian emergency unfolding in real time, and the Israeli government’s ongoing blockade of fuel and the destruction of equipment has made getting help to people much more difficult. This is not a partisan accusation,” Schatz said.
He also cited criticism from US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, which described the Israeli government’s response as “insufficient.”
According to Schatz, the board also said delays had worsened the consequences of a foreseeable humanitarian crisis.
“Winter is just beginning in Gaza, and things will get worse without urgent action. The Israeli government must immediately allow rescue equipment, building materials, and winter supplies into Gaza,” the senator said.
Schatz stressed that disagreements over the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict should not prevent efforts to address the immediate suffering of civilians.
He highlighted the plight of children exposed to freezing temperatures and families whose shelters had been damaged by heavy rainfall.
“We don’t need to agree about everything else before we help these people. We should help them because they are people,” he said.
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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Iran’s top security official denied on Tuesday that Tehran was holding negotiations with Washington or planning a meeting in Qatar, rejecting US claims of ongoing diplomatic contacts, Anadolu reports.
Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei described US claims about continuing negotiations or a planned meeting in Qatar as “complete lies,” according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Speaking in a television interview, Rezaei accused Washington of spreading the claims to ease economic pressure and drive down oil prices.
“I emphasize that we are not currently conducting any negotiations with the Americans, and there are no negotiations between us and Washington at present,” he said.
Rezaei said Iran had presented seven conditions that Tehran considers the legitimate rights of its people.
He said that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until all seven conditions were fully implemented.
“We have communicated our conditions to the American side, but their initial response was insufficient and deceptive, and we are still awaiting an explicit and clear response,” he said.
Rezaei also denied reports of a planned meeting with US Vice President JD Vance, describing them as baseless.
Earlier Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also rejected reports of a planned meeting between Rezaei and Vance, saying Tehran’s two-day proposal remained on the table.
The remarks came a day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a diplomatic agreement with Iran might not be possible, describing Tehran’s demands as “outrageous and ridiculous.”
Netanyahu, Trump reportedly clash over Iran in tense call: Report
Speaking to reporters before departing for a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Paris, Rubio said several countries were continuing to engage Iran with proposals, but Washington was not close to a breakthrough.
He said President Donald Trump preferred diplomatic solutions while acknowledging that an agreement might not be achievable.
Rubio on Tuesday said Washington saw no need to resume major combat operations against Iran, arguing that economic pressure was achieving its objectives.
Speaking after the G7 meeting in Paris, he said the US would continue its economic campaign against Tehran.
He also warned that American forces remained ready to respond if Iran crossed Washington’s “red lines.”
Separately, Qatar said Tuesday that it had received positive responses from Washington and Tehran regarding its ongoing mediation efforts, while acknowledging uncertainty over the prospects of an agreement.
The US and Israel launched a military offensive against Iran on Feb. 28.
A ceasefire followed in April, and Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum in June aimed at reaching a peace agreement. Negotiations have yet to produce a final settlement.
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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump reportedly clashed during a call over the weekend amid disagreements about the possibility of resuming military operations against Iran, media reports said Tuesday, Anadolu reports.
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, citing sources familiar with the conversation, said the call focused primarily on Iran and differences between Washington and Tel Aviv about a possible renewal of the war.
Sources described the conversation as particularly difficult and confrontational, with one calling it “a screaming conversation from hell.”
Netanyahu’s office, however, rejected the account, denying the conversation was contentious.
“Fake news, complete nonsense,” it said in response.
A senior Israeli official also confirmed that the call had taken place but insisted that it had not been difficult.
The report came one day after the Financial Times reported that Netanyahu had been calling Trump “every day” to urge him to resume military action against Iran, citing a person briefed on the discussions.
The British newspaper said Arab and Muslim leaders were alarmed by Netanyahu’s persistent lobbying, with regional leaders urging Trump to prioritize diplomacy rather than renewed military action.
READ: Netanyahu in ‘state of panic’ over prospect of losing power, former Israeli adviser says
On Monday, Trump said Gulf allies, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait, opposed a new military campaign against Tehran.
He cited “positive momentum” toward ending the conflict and said renewed US strikes on Iran appeared “quite unlikely.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Washington saw no immediate need to resume major combat operations against Iran, arguing that economic pressure was achieving its objectives.
Rubio said the US would continue its economic campaign against Tehran while warning that American forces remained ready to respond if Iran crossed Washington’s “red lines.”
Separately, Qatar said Tuesday that it had received positive responses from Washington and Tehran on mediation efforts, although uncertainty remained about the prospects of an agreement.
The US and Israel launched a military offensive against Iran on Feb. 28. Despite subsequent diplomatic efforts and a memorandum signed by Washington and Tehran, negotiations have yet to produce a settlement.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot on Tuesday denounced caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the newly sworn-in Knesset as “shameful” and “delusional,” warning that keeping him in office endangered Israel’s security, Anadolu reports.
The Yashar party leader, who has been tasked with forming the next government, accused Netanyahu of using the swearing-in ceremony of the 26th Knesset to sow division and hatred.
“I became even more convinced that he is unfit to remain in office for even one minute more,” Eisenkot said in a statement. He urged the swift formation of a national emergency government, saying Netanyahu’s continued rule divides Israel and puts its security at risk.
Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats party, accused Netanyahu of lying and inciting against Arab citizens to cling to power after his bloc lost its parliamentary majority.
“Soon, Netanyahu will trade the prime minister’s seat for a seat on the opposition benches,” Golan said in a statement, adding that Israel would have a government of “reform and rescue.”
Speaking after lawmakers took their oaths, Netanyahu renewed his call for a national unity government, claiming Iran was seeking to revive its nuclear program. He also claimed that the Joint List and the United Arab List wanted to destroy Israel, as Eisenkot weighs whether a government could rely on their support.
Parties opposed to Netanyahu won a combined 67 seats in the 120-member Knesset in the Oct. 27 election, including 19 held by the two Arab lists. Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats.
President Isaac Herzog tasked Eisenkot with forming a government on Sunday. He has 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension. Coalition talks remain complicated by disagreements about military service exemptions sought by ultra-Orthodox parties and opposition from some of Eisenkot’s allies to a government that relies on Arab parties.
Netanyahu faces a corruption trial in Israel and an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued in November 2024 for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
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