Lahav Harkov

Cautious hope in Israel ahead of talks for Hamas to free all hostages Israeli PM Netanyahu: ‘We are on the verge of a very great achievement. ... It is not yet final; we are working on it diligently’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hostage families and others in Israel expressed cautious optimism over the weekend, after Hamas agreed to enter talks to free the 48 remaining hostages in exchange for a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

@lahavharkov.bsky.social reports:

Cautious hope in Israel ahead of talks for Hamas to free all hostages Israeli PM Netanyahu: ‘We are on the verge of a very great achievement. ... It is not yet final; we are working on it diligently’

I wrapped all of the weekend's news about a possible end to the Gaza war ahead of negotiations starting in Cairo tomorrow: jewishinsider.com/2025/10/neta...

TikTok sale could be ‘consequential’ for Israel, Jews, Netanyahu tells influencers ‘We have to fight the fight’ on social media, shore up support on American right, Netanyahu says

Several attendees at the meeting between Netanyahu and pro-Israel influencers in New York spoke to Jewish Insider on condition of anonymity, as they were told the meeting was off the record, though numerous participants posted about it on social media.

Full story from @lahavharkov:

After Netanyahu’s ‘yes’ to ending Gaza war, Hamas needs to answer – and the devil is in the details Whether Hamas would agree to release the hostages first, before Israel makes any concessions other than stopping the fighting, remains to be seen

Analysis: After Netanyahu’s ‘yes’ to ending Gaza war, Hamas needs to answer – and the devil is in the details

Whether Hamas would agree to release the hostages first, remains to be seen.

Read my analysis on the plan to end the Gaza war and what happens next: jewishinsider.com/2025/09/neta...

Concern mounts in Jerusalem as Qatar, Egypt set to take key roles in UNESCO ‘It’s bad for Israel and bad for America,’ an Israeli diplomat told JI this week

Israel is eyeing the upcoming United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization executive board meeting with concern, with Egypt and Qatar poised to take influential roles in the body.

@lahavharkov reports:

Under pressure at home and abroad, Netanyahu to meet Trump for Gaza talks If Hamas does not agree to the plan, it would still call for Israel to withdraw from parts of Gaza where Hamas is out of power and for an international stabilization force to take over

Under pressure at home and abroad, Netanyahu to meet Trump for Gaza talks

Read my analysis on today's upcoming Netanyahu-Trump meeting:

jewishinsider.com/2025/09/neta...

TikTok sale could be ‘consequential’ for Israel, Jews, Netanyahu tells influencers ‘We have to fight the fight’ on social media, shore up support on American right, Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed hope on Friday that the sale of TikTok to a joint venture partially owned by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison would be completed.

jewishinsider.com/2025/09/tikt...

Qatar at a crossroads: Will Doha continue harboring terrorists after the Israel strike? Even after the Israeli strike, Qatar is trying to keep up its Islamist and American ties

"For the Doha strike to truly represent a crossroads for Qatar, at which it will have to choose between continuing to harbor terrorists or deepening its economic ties with the West, real pressure must be applied."

Full analysis by @lahavharkov:

Concern mounts in Jerusalem as Qatar, Egypt set to take key roles in UNESCO ‘It’s bad for Israel and bad for America,’ an Israeli diplomat told JI this week

With Egypt and Qatar poised to take influential roles in UNESCO, Israel may again face disproportionate scrutiny and criticism — a pattern seen in other U.N. bodies.

This is “bad for Israel and bad for America,” an Israeli diplomat told JI.

jewishinsider.com/2025/09/unes...

‘I fear Israel will fall back in love with quiet’: Yaakov Katz warns against complacency after Gaza war The journalist talked to JI about his new book, While Israel Slept, describing the failures leading up to the Oct. 7 attacks and what Israel can do to ensure they don’t happen again

In an interview with @lahavharkov and Asher Fredman on the “Misgav Mideast Horizons” podcast, Yaakov Katz said that his “deepest fear is that this could happen again.”

“Eventually, quiet will set in... And I fear that Israel will fall back in love with the quiet."

Qatar at a crossroads: Will Doha continue harboring terrorists after the Israel strike? Even after the Israeli strike, Qatar is trying to keep up its Islamist and American ties

My analysis in @jewishinsider.com today:

An important question to consider is whether Israel's strike in Doha marks a turning point for Qatar — and whether the Gulf nation may now be considering a shift in its own role and behavior.

jewishinsider.com/2025/09/qata...

Misgav Mideast Horizons Podcast News Commentary Podcast · Updated Weekly · “Misgav Mideast Horzions”, a podcast by the Misgav Institute for National Security, is designed for anyone who wants to understand the quickly-changing reali...

And you can hear his answers on the Misgav Mideast Horizons podcast.

Listen and subscribe!

Apple podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...

Spotify open.spotify.com/show/2Lp9uGv...

What to expect from snapback sanctions on Iran If sanctions return, the Iran nuclear deal ‘is dead, we’re sitting shiva, it is over. That is an unpredictable reality for the regime, for its economy and its financial stability,’ Rich Goldberg said

Snapback sanctions on Iran are likely to come into effect later this month - what does that mean? How are they expected to impact the regime in Tehran? I asked all the big questions, Rich Goldberg answered.

jewishinsider.com/2025/09/iran...

Israel starts major ground operation in Gaza City The IDF operation aims to seize Gaza City, one of two remaining areas of the Gaza Strip still under Hamas control and home to the vast majority of the enclave's population

The IDF launched a major ground operation in Gaza City on Tuesday morning, Netanyahu and the military announced.

More from @lahavharkov:

Netanyahu does damage control after saying Israel to be like ‘super-Sparta,’ ‘autarky’ Trump, Netanyahu to meet in White House in two weeks after Israeli prime minister’s U.N. speech

Netanyahu does damage control after saying Israel to be like ‘super-Sparta,’ ‘autarky,' saying his comments were specific to defense industry

Trump, Netanyahu to meet in White House in two weeks after Israeli prime minister’s U.N. speech

jewishinsider.com/2025/09/benj...

Israel starts major ground operation in Gaza City The IDF operation aims to seize Gaza City, one of two remaining areas of the Gaza Strip still under Hamas control and home to the vast majority of the enclave's population

The Israel Defense Forces launched a major ground operation in Gaza City on Tuesday morning. The IDF operation aims to seize Gaza City, one of two remaining areas of the Gaza Strip still under Hamas control and home to the vast majority of the enclave's population.

jewishinsider.com/2025/09/gaza...

Rubio looking to move past criticism of Israel after Qatar strike At a press conference with Israeli PM Netanyahu, Rubio said an agreement with Hamas to end war ‘probably won’t happen’ because ‘savage terrorists don’t often agree to disarm’

Rubio said the U.S. is focused on moving forward from Israel’s strike on Qatar last week, refraining from doubling down on criticism during a joint press conference with Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

“We are just focused on what happens next,” Rubio said.

@lahavharkov reports:

Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen talks covert missions, Oct. 7 failures in new book Cohen told JI that he’s considering getting into politics but it’s ‘definitely not the time’ with Netanyahu still dominating the scene

“I am not entering any politics right now,” former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen told Jewish Insider. “I stay uninvolved in this kind of politics because nothing is happening. The entire Israeli political system is a little bit stuck.

Full interview from @lahavharkov:

‘I fear Israel will fall back in love with quiet’: Yaakov Katz warns against complacency after Gaza war The journalist talked to JI about his new book, While Israel Slept, describing the failures leading up to the Oct. 7 attacks and what Israel can do to ensure they don’t happen again

Yaakov Katz, whose new book is about what led to the failures of Oct. 7, said his “deepest fear is that this could happen again.”

jewishinsider.com/2025/09/yaak...

Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen talks covert missions, Oct. 7 failures in new book Cohen told JI that he’s considering getting into politics but it’s ‘definitely not the time’ with Netanyahu still dominating the scene

Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen talks covert missions, Oct. 7 failures in new book

Read about former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen's his political plans, his relationship with Netanyahu, the missions that laid the groundwork for the Hezbollah pager attack & more:

jewishinsider.com/2025/09/yoss...

Rubio starts Israel visit with prayer at Western Wall Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu called Rubio an ‘extraordinary friend of the State of Israel’

jewishinsider.com/2025/09/marc...

Israel strikes Hamas leaders in Qatar The IDF said it targeted Hamas’ senior leadership amid explosions in Doha

BREAKING: Israel killed senior Hamas officials Khalil al-Hayya, Khaled Mashaal, Zaher Jabarin and Nizar Awadallah in a strike on Doha the IDF named “Judgment Day.”

jewishinsider.com/2025/09/isra...

Israel strikes Hamas leaders in Qatar The IDF said it targeted Hamas’ senior leadership amid explosions in Doha

BREAKING: Israel killed senior Hamas officials Khalil al-Hayya, Khaled Mashaal, Zaher Jabarin and Nizar Awadallah in a strike on Doha the IDF named “Judgment Day.”

jewishinsider.com/2025/09/isra...

Amb. Leiter: Nature of U.S.-Israel aid may change in coming years  ‘It’s a very partisan atmosphere in Washington right now. Strong support for Israel in the [Trump] administration almost drives the Democratic opposition into opposing very close support for Israel,’ the ambassador said

“Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens’ orbit is not America First, it’s Israel and Jews last.”

Read more from Yechiel Leiter's interview with @lahavharkov:

U.K. Cabinet shake-up not likely to change British position on Israel, experts say On Sunday, British Jews marched to protest against rising antisemitism in the country

Keir Starmer’s Cabinet reshuffle comes at a tense time for British Jewry and the U.K.-Israel relationship, but experts in London told Jewish Insider that new appointees in the Foreign Office and Home Office are likely to maintain the status quo.

@lahavharkov reports:

Hamas official says disarmament non-negotiable, rejects Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan Senior Hamas figure, Bassem Naim, said on Monday that the group will not accept disarmament, one of Israel's requirements for ending the war

A senior Hamas official totally rejected Trump's ceasefire offer as a "humiliating surrender document" and said that Hamas has a "right" to retain weapons and resist (read: kill Israelis) - but almost no one is reporting on it in English.

Read about it here:

jewishinsider.com/2025/09/hama...

U.K. Cabinet shake-up not likely to change British position on Israel, experts say On Sunday, British Jews marched to protest against rising antisemitism in the country

U.K. PM Starmer’s recent Cabinet reshuffle comes at a tense time for British Jewry and the U.K.-Israel relationship, but experts in London said the status quo is likely to continue, despite scrutiny of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s past anti-Israel activism.

jewishinsider.com/2025/09/uk-c...

Genocide scholars' resolution accusing Israel ‘deeply problematic,’ member says Sara Brown, who was a two-term member of the International Association of Genocide Scholars advisory board, calls ‘the whole premise and tenor of the resolution’ flawed

A longtime former board member of the International Association of Genocide Scholars criticized the group’s passage of a resolution accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza in an interview, calling the move deeply flawed and the result of a politicized process.

@lahavharkov reports:

China uses WWII memory to project power in military parade and international diplomacy The parade was an example of how Beijing has used WWII not only to encourage nationalism, but to project power internationally, from Jerusalem to Taipei and beyond

A source involved in China-Israel relations who spoke on condition of anonymity told Jewish Insider they heard a Chinese diplomat say that “they use the Palestinians to make trouble for the U.S. the way the U.S. uses Taiwan to make trouble for them.”

@lahavharkov reports:

YouTube video by מכון משגב לביטחון לאומי ולאסטרטגיה ציונית Ep. 9: Ambassador Leiter - Democrats, Republicans, and the Future of U.S.-Israel Relations

And you can watch or listen to the full interview on the Misgav Mideast Horizons podcast

YouTube - www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPGp...

Spotify - open.spotify.com/episode/0Ax9...

Apple - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...