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Israel Wants to Establish Special Court for Hamas Fighters

Pictures of prisoners held by Hamas on the wall of a synagogue in Berlin on Friday (EPA)
Pictures of prisoners held by Hamas on the wall of a synagogue in Berlin on Friday (EPA)
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Israel Wants to Establish Special Court for Hamas Fighters

Pictures of prisoners held by Hamas on the wall of a synagogue in Berlin on Friday (EPA)
Pictures of prisoners held by Hamas on the wall of a synagogue in Berlin on Friday (EPA)

Israel is planning to form a special tribunal panel to oversee the cases of detained Hamas fighters who participated in the Oct. 7 attack.

The Israeli public broadcaster, Kan, said that the government's legal advisor, the attorney's office, the court administration, and the public defender's office are all in agreement that regular criminal law isn't the correct avenue to try those who took part in Hamas's Oct. 7 attack.

Israel arrested about 200 Hamas fighters after nearly 3,000 members stormed the Gaza Strip, leaving more than 1,400 Israelis dead and 2,500 wounded, in addition to about 250 hostages.

Israeli media said that in addition to the 200 detained fighters, others had been arrested from Gaza during the ground operation, without it being clear how many there were and whether they were fighters or civilians.

Discussions between legal bodies about how to prosecute Hamas fighters are ongoing.

However, officials are moving to develop special legislation that would allow the establishment of a special tribunal, whose sessions will be broadcast live, to present a historic legal case against Hamas.

The Israeli Ministry of Justice refused to confirm or deny the report.

On Oct. 24, Energy Minister Israel Katz proposed another method through which the fighters could be brought to trial and then executed.

Katz requested approval to establish a court that would operate under Israeli law to prosecute Nazis and their collaborators.

Israeli law does not allow the death penalty except against Nazis or their collaborators.

Katz said that expanding the law to include Hamas militants would allow them to be executed.

The Minister posted on the X platform that he contacted the Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, to establish a special military court that applies the law of crimes of Nazis and their aides to Hamas.

He added: "Death sentences will be imposed on those involved in the attack on the State of Israel on Oct. 7."

"The acts of these vile Hamas wretches, who cut off heads and limbs, tortured, burned, raped are no less severe than those of the Nazis," Katz wrote, adding that he didn't consider extending the law to include the Oct. 7 terrorists to be overreach.

It is not the first time that ministers and officials, including Katz himself, have called for the execution of Palestinian prisoners, but it is the first time that officials have proposed applying the Nazi Law.

Currently, there are about 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, including 2,000 who were arrested after the al-Aqsa Flood, while Hamas has about 250 Israeli prisoners.

Hamas proposed an "all for all" deal that included the release of all Israelis in exchange for freeing all Palestinian prisoners. It also said it would agree to partial agreements.

Hamas chief in Gaza Yahya Sinwar announced last Saturday that they are ready for an "immediate" exchange deal that includes the release of all Palestinian prisoners in "occupation prisons" in exchange for the release of all "Israeli prisoners held by the resistance."

Sinwar called on the bodies and organizations concerned with prisoners' affairs to consider that they were in permanent session and prepare lists of male and female prisoners held by the occupation ahead of the next stage.

In response, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari described Hamas' willingness to release the prisoners as "psychological terrorism" aiming to pressure Israel.

Israel is trying to liberate its prisoners through the ground operation without striking a deal with Hamas.

Tel Aviv aims to end Hamas, not negotiate with the movement. If Hamas succeeds in concluding a deal, its fighters will be among the released.

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Arab World

June 26 Revolution: Calls for Gaza Protests Against Hamas

Palestinians walk past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the war, at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, June 12, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians walk past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the war, at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, June 12, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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June 26 Revolution: Calls for Gaza Protests Against Hamas

Palestinians walk past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the war, at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, June 12, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians walk past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the war, at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, June 12, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Palestinian activists have called on social media for mass protests against Hamas and its continued rule over the Gaza Strip, setting June 26 as a day of demonstrations across the enclave, in a repeat of earlier movements that were suppressed in past years.

The activists have named the campaign the “June 26 Revolution,” calling on people to take to the streets to demand a dignified life under the slogan: “For a better life and a promising future ... the people’s right to decide their fate.”

Facebook debate

Journalist and activist Abdul Hamid Abdul Ati was the first to call for and adopt the movement. A Gaza resident, he left for Egypt with his family during the war after a previous bombardment killed and wounded many of his relatives.

In a series of posts and tweets to his thousands of followers, Abdul Ati said: “The movement is not against anyone. It is for the public interest and to save what can be saved from a reality that weighs heavily on the people of Gaza ... We are one people, bound by pain and a shared fate. Our aim is to extend a helping hand to our people and search for a way out of this harsh predicament. Difference of opinion does not justify threats, and unity remains the shortest path to protecting everyone.”

Activists known for opposing Hamas, including some who joined or called for similar movements years ago, backed Abdul Ati’s call and urged Gazans to take part. The appeal triggered a storm of reactions, some critical and others supportive.

Most of those calling for participation are now outside the strip, having left during the war or, in some cases, years earlier, after being detained by the Hamas government over similar events. Fewer voices inside Gaza have backed the movement, most of them less influential than other figures who remain in the enclave and have stayed silent.

Accusations and intimidation

As public debate widened, Hamas-affiliated media kept trying to discredit the movement and those behind it. Hamas controls part of the Gaza Strip after Israel seized more than 60% of the territory.

Activists aligned with the group mounted similar campaigns, accusing the organizers of serving foreign agendas and exploiting Israel’s escalation to launch the movement. They said those outside the strip had no right to speak for people living in displacement tents, shelters and other sites while they themselves lived abroad.

Abdul Ati said the accusations by Hamas and its supporters against him and other organizers abroad were an attempt to dodge the core issue.

“A Palestinian remains Palestinian wherever he is, whether in Gaza, the West Bank or the diaspora, and he has the right to speak about his people’s suffering and express his opinion freely,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He said, “The movement has no foreign agendas and does not seek to serve one side at the expense of another. It is born of a reality people live every day and of clear popular demands everyone knows: dignity, justice, genuine representation and an end to collapse. It is not a conspiracy, but a natural right of any people.”

He said Gaza’s accumulated crises had pushed him and many journalists, activists and others to raise their voices. He strongly denied that they were trying to exploit the current situation in the strip as Israeli escalation continues.

“What is needed is not to exploit anyone, but to listen to people and respect their right to express their opinions and legitimate demands,” he said.

Abdul Ati added: “The goal of the movement at this stage is to carry the voice of the people and their real suffering to the world, and to demand their right to a dignified life, security and stability. We believe confronting Israeli aggression is a national priority, but that does not cancel citizens’ right to express their pain and legitimate demands after long years of war, poverty, displacement and suffering ... The revolution is not against the people or their steadfastness. It is a movement for the Palestinian person and his right to a better future, for strong national institutions, sound political life, and a popular will that is heard and respected.”

Abdul Ati and other activists played down threats they said had targeted their families, saying they would press ahead with the movement.

Right to protest

Activists rejected claims that the movement betrayed the sacrifices of Palestinians killed during the war. They said residents had the right to protest and demand a dignified life, adding that those expected to take to the streets were the same people who had lost children and homes, were living in tents, and were queuing for water and charity kitchens.

Dr. Jamil Abdul-Nabi, a leader in Islamic Jihad in northern Gaza, said in a Facebook post that residents had the right to express their anger after disasters that words could not describe. He has repeatedly said his positions represent him personally.

“The least we can do is give them the right to scream from the intensity of the pain,” he said, describing accusations of “treason” against such a movement as part of dictatorship and a justification for repression.

Hamas anger

The movement’s reverberations appear to have moved beyond exchanges of accusations between activists on both sides, and even beyond interventions by activists affiliated with other factions such as Fatah. They have reached the official level inside Hamas, where the group has shown anger.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a press statement: “There are those who are rushing the fall of our great movement, relying on the promises of a stupid enemy. All of them will wait a long time, then be surprised by a movement that is more deeply rooted in its people and more present. These are authentic people who always stand with their blessed sons who are sincere in their love for their homeland. They will remain so, and these great people will remain loyal to them.”

A day later, Qassem said Hamas places the higher interest of the Palestinian people at the heart of its political and diplomatic activity, in a way that would allow the war to stop, open a new horizon for reconstruction, and enable the national committee for Gaza to be managed professionally to launch a real relief operation easing the scale of the catastrophe in the enclave.

That appeared to be an indirect reference to the movement’s demands for a better life, especially an end to the suffering of people living in displacement tents.

Analysts and media figures aligned with Hamas and factions close to it, including Hassan Lafi, said the movement could harm efforts to pull Gaza out of its crises and could create “major internal strife in Gaza under the title of undermining what remains of civil and social peace.”

Asharq Al-Awsat has learned that the security services of the Hamas government have been ordered to remain on alert on the day set for the protests and to intervene only when necessary, in a way that protects personnel from Israeli attacks.

Israeli forces have frequently targeted police officers and government security personnel recently as they tried to control security and resolve disputes between families, killing and wounding many of them.

Arab World

2 Drones from Lebanon Strike Israel as Smotrich, Ben Gvir Hold Onto ‘Dahiyeh Doctrine’

Lebanese security officers gather at the site where an Israeli airstrike hit a building in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Lebanese security officers gather at the site where an Israeli airstrike hit a building in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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2 Drones from Lebanon Strike Israel as Smotrich, Ben Gvir Hold Onto ‘Dahiyeh Doctrine’

Lebanese security officers gather at the site where an Israeli airstrike hit a building in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Lebanese security officers gather at the site where an Israeli airstrike hit a building in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

The Israeli military said two drones, suspected to have been launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon, struck northern Israel on Sunday but caused no casualties.

"Two impacts of suspicious aerial targets in Israeli territory were identified near the Israel-Lebanon border. No injuries were reported," AFP quoted the military as saying.

In the wake of the strikes, two far-right Israeli ministers called for retaliatory strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh.

"The shooting at northern communities is a test of the Dahiyeh Doctrine that the prime minister declared. I call on him to implement it decisively and firmly, and to bring down buildings in Dahiyeh," Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on X.

"For every drone -- a missile; for every violation -- fire; for every UAV -- Dahiyeh must tremble," wrote National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on X.

Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have previously warned that Israel would strike Dahiyeh should Hezbollah target northern Israeli communities, a position they say has the backing of Washington.

Arab World

UN: Houthis Engagement in Regional War Alongside Iran Threatens to Deepen Yemen’s Humanitarian Crisis

Lack of funding threatens more lives in Yemen (UN)
Lack of funding threatens more lives in Yemen (UN)
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UN: Houthis Engagement in Regional War Alongside Iran Threatens to Deepen Yemen’s Humanitarian Crisis

Lack of funding threatens more lives in Yemen (UN)
Lack of funding threatens more lives in Yemen (UN)

A UN report warned that the Houthis' continued engagement in the regional war alongside Iran coupled with a sharp reduction in humanitarian funding, threaten to deepen Yemen’s humanitarian crisis when already 450 health facilities, including 76 hospitals, have closed in the last year.

“The Houthis’ engagement in the regional war may trigger displacement, civilian casualties, and damage to vital infrastructure, including ports and storage facilities, deepening humanitarian needs nationwide,” according to a Public Health Situation Analysis (PHSA) issued by the World Health Organization this week.

WHO called on the international community to take urgent action to close the worsening funding gap, warning that continued cuts in humanitarian assistance would lead to more loss of livelihoods, and increase exposure to hunger, disease, displacement and protection risk.

The UN agency noted that escalating conflict in the Middle East has spillover risks for Yemen.

In March 2026, it said Houthis began to engage in the regional war by launching military attacks against Israel.

“Renewed hostilities are already drawing forces into regional fighting,” it said, warning that strikes on Houthi-held areas may trigger displacement, civilian casualties, and damage to vital infrastructure, including ports and storage facilities, deepening humanitarian needs.

Decline in Funding

Surging needs, significant funding cuts, and shrinking access are forcing partners to scale back life-saving support, according to WHO.

The agency said in its report that Yemen enters 2026 at a critical tipping point, with 22.3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection.

Nearly 5 million people are experiencing IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse) conditions between March and May 2026, with 1.4 million people experiencing IPC Phase 4 (Emergency).

Also, Yemen faces widespread outbreaks of vaccine -preventable diseases, including circulating vaccine -derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), acute watery diarrhea (AWD)/cholera, measles, diphtheria, dengue fever and malaria, exacerbated by low vaccination rates, misinformation.

The UN agency warned that without urgent action, lives will be lost, communities will destabilize, and essential systems will edge closer to collapse.

Hospitals Closing

WHO revealed that against a backdrop of increasing needs, the humanitarian response in 2025 operated under severe and unprecedented funding shortages, with the Yemen 2025 HNRP funded at only 29%, forcing clusters to scale down or suspend critical life saving services across sectors.

As of May 2026, it said reduced funding has resulted in a reduction of nutrition services by up to 63%. Over 450 health facilities, including 76 hospitals, have closed in the last year.

In a related development, WHO said Yemen has been engulfed in violent conflict.

It said that by 2019, the country had reversed human development by 21 years, and if the conflict continues until 2030, the developmental setback could extend to nearly four decades, more than one-and-a-half generation.

Forgotten Crisis

UNFPA Representative Francesco Galtieri said this week that Yemen has become a forgotten crisis, despite witnessing one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world.

He said around 650,000 pregnant women need support in a country with the highest maternal mortality rate in the Arab region.

Galtieri noted that three women die every day due to pregnancy complications or during childbirth. Around two-thirds of these deaths could be prevented if they had access to a midwife or doctor.

He also said funding cuts are putting the programs under severe strain. Galtieri told UN News that around 40% of UNFPA’s humanitarian funding was cut last year, forcing the agency to suspend or halt support for roughly one third of its services.