Joe Kent: Trump can't end war until Israel taken out of the loop

In a wide-ranging interview the ex-counterterrorism chief also balks at arguments that Americans need to 'sacrifice' in order to prevent a future nuclear attack

Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

May 20, 2026

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/joe-kent-trump-iran/

When the Iran war began, the Trump administration told the American people that if the U.S. did not attack and assassinate Iran's leadership, the Islamic Republic could soon be launching missiles at U.S. cities.

Now, as Americans absorb skyrocketing prices and note the grim inflation, fuel, and food supply forecasts, Trump and his surrogates in Congress and the media are ramping up the rhetoric. It goes something like this: Main Street America must accept the “trade off” and sacrifice affordability or face a “ lunatic dropping a nuclear weapon on us.”

Joe Kent, who led the National Counterterrorism Center before resigning in protest of Trump’s Iran war policy, continues to call out what he deems a desperate attempt to maintain support for a terrible mistake. He says Iran never posed an imminent threat to the U.S. before the war. Kent, who is the highest-ranking member of the Trump administration to resign over the war, is also a U.S. combat veteran (11 tours primarily in Iraq), former CIA paramilitary, and a MAGA conservative.

In a wide-ranging interview with Responsible Statecraft, Kent pointed out that, days before the U.S. cut off talks with Iran and started bombing its nuclear facilities last June, his boss, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, testified that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon. This jibes with assessments during the Biden administration and earlier intelligence community briefings dating back two decades, which all say there is no evidence Iran restarted its nuclear weapons program since 2003.

“There was no reason to trust their (Iranians') word, but every bit of evidence we had for verification showed that they weren't developing a nuclear weapon," Kent told RS. "Even at their height, if they wanted to break out and develop a nuclear weapon, that timetable was anywhere from several months to several years to develop the weapon itself, but then you still have a major issue with delivery.”

“The idea that they could put a nuclear weapon on a ballistic missile system and get it to America, it's just preposterous,” he added.

“And again, too, why would they do that? Because it would immediately mean that we would wipe them off face the earth,” he added. “So that argument in itself, I just think, is absolutely preposterous. It just shows to me how desperate the administration is to have any kind of narrative that they can sell to the American people.”

Kent pointed to new polling on Monday that shows the majority of Americans oppose the war. While that only includes 22% of Republicans, the longer the Hormuz Strait is closed and economic conditions fray here in the U.S, the softer Trump’s base of support becomes.

“I think, like, every penny it goes up at the pump, and every day it goes on longer, he's going to lose more and more of those Republican voters,” Kent said, adding that prominent MAGA voices who oppose the war are “kind of giving permission for other people to say, 'Oh yeah, okay, I'm not for this.'”

Of course, it will be one heck of a battle. Seven-term Rep. Thomas Massie, (R-Ky.) lost his primary Tuesday night after a grueling race in which his opponent Ed Gallrein was backed by Trump and pro-Israel billionaires eager to get the anti-Iran war, anti-Israel aid Massie off the playing field.

"He walks out of this with his honor intact," Kent posted last night. "He’s a patriot & kept his integrity. As long as the voters give their votes to whoever can run the most ads, we will have politicians who are purchased by foreign governments & corporate interests."

‘Every time it’s been the Israelis’

In his resignation letter, Kent said that early in this second Trump administration, “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign” that “sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran.” Kent was immediately accused of antisemitism. He maintains that the Israelis have divergent interests and that, when the administration was close to getting a deal with Iran in June 2025, they convinced Trump to abandon talks and pursue regime change.

This was borne out in an explosive New York Times "reconstruction" of Trump’s path to the most recent war on Feb. 28. In it, the paper notes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s four trips to the U.S. from July through December 2025 paid off. “The U.S. decision to strike Iran was a victory for Mr. Netanyahu, who had been pushing Mr. Trump for months on the need to hit what he argued was a weakened regime.”

During that period, Kent contends that the DNI started getting sidelined, which was also borne out in reporting at the time.

“After the 12-day war, after Midnight Hammer, it seemed like the (Trump) circle shrunk down to just the president and a handful of advisers," he said. Once Operation Epic Fury began, he claimed, “(we) worked diligently for two weeks trying to present the President with kind of off-ramps, but our ideas really weren't even reaching the White House.”

Kent said the Israelis, to their credit, “have always, in my experience with them, since January of 2025 when we came in the administration, they've been very upfront about what they wanted. They never came to us and said, like, 'we just want to make sure Iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon.' No, they said, 'This is the time for us to change out the Iranian regime.'”

Kent caused a stir just last week when he charged that the U.S. was on the cusp of getting a better deal than President Barack Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action when Trump threw it all away to bomb Iran in June 2025.

“The Iranians feared and respected Trump in a way they never respected Obama — he took out the terror mastermind (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander) Qasem Soleimani, yet was prudent enough not to get sucked into the quicksand of another Middle Eastern quagmire that would only favor Iran and strengthen its hardliners,” he posted on X on May 13.

Eight months after Operation Midnight Hammer, despite Trump’s claims that Iranian nuclear sites had been “obliterated,” the Israelis helped to convince Trump the time was ripe to strike again as protests roiled the streets of Iran, according to press accounts. Trump, feeling emboldened by the Venezuela operation months before, made the final decision to move.

Kent said it was a mistake that he felt he could no longer condone by staying in the government.

“We killed the Supreme Leader, who had the prohibition on developing a nuclear weapon, who was able to withhold the proxies, killed him, killed (head of Iran’s National Security Council Ali) Larijani, killed a bunch of the other Iranian moderates, and now we're stuck with these hardliners,” Kent said. “That was the Israeli strategy. It was very effective, and now we're back in this situation. So, that's why I've always said, in order for us to get ourselves out of the situation and get a deal with Iran, the first step has to be restraining the Israelis.”

As Kent posted on X, “President Trump can still correct course,” but he has to “leverage the potential of sanctions relief to open the Strait of Hormuz and secure a new deal on the nuclear issue.”

His advice was not taken so well by the White House, which claimed that Kent’s resignation letter and current comments were “riddled with lies.”

"Most egregious are Kent’s false claims that the largest state sponsor of terrorism somehow did not pose a threat to the United States and that Israel forced the President into launching Operation Epic Fury,” the White House said in a statement to Fox News. “President Trump’s number one priority has always been ensuring the safety and security of the American people.”

But the lack of messaging management has allowed for different narratives to peek through, like when Secretary of State Marco Rubio said (then walked back) that the U.S. bombed on Feb. 28 because Israel was going to first, and a swift Iranian retaliation would be inevitable. More recently, Trump said the war in Iran was “at the behest of allies” in Gulf. Even Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth admitted Iran does not have the current capability to hit the U.S. with missiles.

Kent’s resignation and public criticisms of the administration’s policies have drawn swift rebuke from detractors, who called his letter — which put more onus on Israel than the president for American actions, and suggests that Israel had pulled the U.S. into the 2003 Iraq War — “virulent anti-Semitism” (Sen. Mitch McConnell), deploying "ugly stuff that plays on the worst antisemitic tropes" (J Street's Ilan Goldenberg). Longstanding accusations of Kent indulging in January 6 conspiracy theories and having extremist and Christian Nationalist “associations,” which came up during his confirmation hearings last year, soon resurfaced.

“Other people before me that said things like this had their entire lives ruined for it, because they were just immediately labeled as being horrible anti-semites,” he noted regarding his charges of Israeli influence on the government. Things have changed, he added. He stands behind what he says is his direct experience in the administration. “I think with a younger generation that's more active on social media and doing their own research… It's just not sticking as much as it did, you know, in the past.”

Head-of-state diplomacy guides China-Russia relations to ‘new heights’: Global Times editorial

By Global Times

Published: May 21, 2026 

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202605/1361534.shtml

On May 20, Beijing witnessed another important moment in the development of China-Russia relations. Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, with the two sides agreeing to further extend the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.

President Xi outlined efforts to promote higher-quality development of China-Russia relations in four dimensions, during a joint press meeting with President Putin after the talks: First, Xi called for efforts to consolidate higher-quality political mutual trust and strengthen strategic support for each other; second, Xi stressed the need for China and Russia to empower higher-quality mutually beneficial cooperation and jointly promote their respective development and revitalization; third, Xi stressed the need to promote higher-quality people-to-people exchanges and strengthen the foundation for lasting friendship between the two peoples across generations; and fourth, Xi called on China and Russia to pursue higher-quality international coordination and work together to reform and improve global governance. These four dimensions clearly chart a path for the higher-quality development of China-Russia relations from a new starting point.

This visit yielded fruitful outcomes and carried far-reaching significance. The two heads of state signed a joint statement on further enhancing the comprehensive strategic coordination and deepening good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation between the two countries, and witnessed the conclusion of a number of important bilateral cooperation documents. The two countries also issued a joint statement on promoting a multipolar world and a new type of international relations. In addition, the two heads of state also attended the opening ceremony of the China-Russia Years of Education. In a single day, such an intensive schedule of activities, with so many major outcomes being introduced one after another, is fully evident that, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era is characterized by full substance, a high level of mutual trust, a solid foundation, and broad prospects.

Standing at the historical juncture marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination, the 25th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, and the launch year of the China-Russia Years of Education, the two heads of state once again held face-to-face communication. This not only injects new political momentum into bilateral relations, but also sends a clear signal of stability, cooperation, and mutual benefit to the world. This shows that the two countries regard the development of bilateral relations as a long-term strategic choice, rather than a matter of expediency. As President Xi emphasized, "As permanent members of the UN Security Council and important major countries in the world, China and Russia should take a strategic and long-term perspective, drive the development and revitalization of our respective countries through comprehensive strategic coordination of even higher quality, and work to make the global governance system more just and reasonable."

What does a strategically far-sighted China-Russia relationship mean for the world? First, it means a stronger safeguard for global peace and stability. By upholding the international system centered on the United Nations and adhering to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, China and Russia serve as key forces in opposing hegemony, promoting multipolarity, and stabilizing the global situation. Moreover, the forces defending international fairness and justice have become stronger. China and Russia maintain close ties under multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), BRICS, and the G20, jointly safeguarding the legitimate development rights and interests of Global South countries. Both sides remain firmly committed to defending the post-World War II international order and the authority of international law, opposing all forms of unilateral bullying and actions that seek to reverse the course of history, especially provocations that deny the outcomes of World War II and attempt to whitewash and revive fascism and militarism. Together, they are working to build a more just global governance system. History shows that when China and Russia stand firmly together, there is greater hope for international fairness and justice, greater certainty amid once-in-a-century global changes, and greater strength for human progress and development.

At present, the international landscape is marked by turbulence and uncertainty, with various forms of "unpredictability" posing major challenges to peace and development. Against this backdrop, China and Russia's willingness and ability to "take a strategic and long-term perspective" is itself an important contribution to the international community. This strategic resolve demonstrates that the two countries consistently uphold the principles of "non-alliance, non-confrontation, and not targeting any third party." They adhere to equality, mutual respect, good faith, and win-win cooperation. The China-Russia relationship, which transcends traditional military and political alliances, is a model for interactions between major powers and neighboring countries alike. It possesses strong internal momentum and enduring strategic resilience, and has become a key stabilizing factor amid global uncertainty.

Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Russia relations have reached a new starting point. China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is not about creating confrontation, but about opposing hegemony; not about exclusivity, but about upholding multilateralism; not about zero-sum rivalry, but about promoting common security and shared development. The China-Russia relationship that has entered a new stage of "greater achievements and faster development" aligns with the global trend toward peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit. It benefits both countries and the world.

China and Russia are good neighbors and friends who stand together through adversity; and valuable partners that help each other succeed. Standing at a new historical starting point, China-Russia relations will continue to maintain strategic resolve amid changing global circumstances, unleash potential through mutually beneficial cooperation, and demonstrate responsibility amid international transformation. As the two countries move together toward a future of higher-quality development, they will inject strong momentum into each other's growth and national rejuvenation. China-Russia close strategic coordination on the international stage will also continue to serve as an important stabilizing force in a turbulent world, making irreplaceable contributions as major countries to safeguarding international fairness and justice and to building a more just and reasonable global governance system.

US Official: US-Israeli Bombing Campaign Has Left a More Hardened and Resilient Iran

by Dave DeCamp | May 19, 2026

https://news.antiwar.com/2026/05/19/us-official-us-israeli-bombing-campaign-has-left-a-more-hardened-and-resilient-iran/

The New York Times reported on Monday that the five-week US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran “has left a more hardened, resilient adversary” as the Iranian military is preparing to face renewed airstrikes.

The report, which cited an unnamed US military official, said that Iran has used the ceasefire to “dig out scores of bombed ballistic missile sites, move mobile missile launchers, and, despite significant losses, adjust its tactics for any resumption of strikes.”

The Times previously reported that the US intelligence assessments have found that Iran still has about 70% of its pre-war missile inventory and fields 70% of its missile launchers, a starkly different picture than what the Trump administration has claimed publicly.

The US military official speaking to the Times this week said that the US-Israeli bombing campaign instilled a belief in Iran that the country can resist more attacks by keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed, striking energy infrastructure across Gulf Arab states, and shooting down US aircraft.

The report came after President Trump said that he would “hold off” on plans to attack the Islamic Republic due to requests from Gulf Arab states to give diplomacy more of a chance. But the president threatened that US-Israeli attacks could resume at any moment, stating that he instructed the US military to “go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”

The Times report said that some US officials were concerned that Trump’s announcement that he was holding off on attacking Iran could be a “form of misdirection and that he could still move ahead with strikes,” since he launched the war in February while another round of negotiations with Iran was scheduled. The June 2025 war also began right after Trump declared on Truth Social that he was committed to a diplomatic solution with Iran, a post that came as Israeli warplanes were getting in the air to bomb Iran.

Trump appears poised to restart the Iran war

Tehran believes fresh attacks will come over next two days. Feeling emboldened, leaders there are ready with new targets for retaliation.

Trita Parsi

May 18, 2026

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-trump-restart-war/?mc_cid=48ba3b9970&mc_eid=944feb3e1c

The Middle East is once again teetering on the brink as Trump appears poised to reignite war with Iran. Press reports indicate he will convene military advisers on Tuesday, though my understanding is that both the meeting and the decision are likely to come sooner. Over the past several hours, Trump has flooded Truth Social with a barrage of incendiary threats. While some of this may be theatrical brinkmanship designed to force Tehran into submission, sources in the Iranian capital tell me they expect the United States to resume hostilities within the next 48 hours.

We should first recognize that restarting the war amounts to an admission that Trump’s previous escalatory gambit — the blockade of the blockade — has failed. That, in turn, was itself an admission that the war had failed. Which was an admission that the threats of war in January had failed. As I have argued before on my Substack, this relentless search for an escalatory silver bullet capable of bringing Iran to its knees is not unique to Trump; it has become a defining pathology of American Iran policy for decades.

Although negotiators have made meaningful progress on several fronts, talks have thus far failed to produce an agreement, largely because of irreconcilable differences over Tehran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile. And as Washington has come to realize that the blockade is backfiring, a new and dangerous dynamic has emerged: both sides now believe another round of fighting will strengthen their hand in the negotiations that follow.

As I argued in numerous interviews in January, Trump dramatically underestimated Iran’s strength, while hard-liners in Tehran believed war would strengthen Iran’s leverage by exposing the illusion of Iranian weakness. In their view, the outcome of the conflict vindicated that assessment, leaving them increasingly confident — even emboldened — about what a second round of war could yield. I am told the new Supreme Leader belongs to this camp.

Moreover, just as Tehran believes Trump intends to prosecute the next war with far greater ferocity, Iranian planners are preparing a far more expansive and punishing retaliatory campaign, complete with new strategic objectives and targets.

First, Iranian officials increasingly describe the next war as an opportunity to inflict maximum strategic damage on the United Arab Emirates, citing Abu Dhabi’s active role in the previous conflict, its deepening and increasingly overt partnership with Israel, and its role in urging Trump to resume hostilities.

Tehran is likely to target American data centers in the UAE, a move that serves multiple purposes. Iranian officials argue that these American technology firms have already become participants in the conflict through their support for the Pentagon. At the same time, Tehran sees an opportunity to cripple the UAE’s ambitions to become a global artificial intelligence hub — and, in doing so, potentially undermine Washington’s AI competition with China.

This points to a second defining feature of Iran’s strategy in a future war. Tehran believes Trump and his family hold financial stakes in many of these same technology ventures. Targeting Trump’s personal business interests is a lever Iran conspicuously avoided pulling during the first conflict but now appears increasingly willing to use. The logic is straightforward: Trump may tolerate damage to American strategic interests, but he is acutely sensitive to threats against his own financial empire. Raise the personal cost to Trump himself, the reasoning goes, and he may prove more willing to adopt a realistic negotiating position.

Third, Tehran is likely to show far less restraint if evidence emerges that other Gulf Cooperation Council states permit the United States or Israel to use their territory or airspace in a renewed conflict. The result would be broader and far more perilous horizontal escalation, with potentially catastrophic consequences for the global economy should critical energy infrastructure come under attack.

Fourth, the Red Sea is now in play. That would dramatically widen the geographic scope of the conflict while placing even greater upward pressure on already volatile oil prices.

Finally, Tehran is increasingly examining the possibility of severing the major submarine fiber-optic cable networks running beneath the Persian Gulf — arteries through which most GCC internet traffic flows, including billions of dollars in financial transactions. Iranian officials increasingly view this as a potential second Strait of Hormuz: a powerful new point of leverage capable of disrupting the global economy at enormous scale.

Renewed war is not inevitable. But when both sides convince themselves that another round of fighting will strengthen their negotiating position, the gravitational pull toward conflict becomes dangerously strong — however irrational the logic may ultimately be.

‘Some hide their crosses’: Jerusalem nun attack highlights Israel’s growing anti-Christian problem

When a foreign nun was the victim of violent physical assault in Jerusalem last month, local activists and clergy say they were shocked but not surprised. In the past few years, anti-Christian incidents have surged in Israel – illustrating how a small minority of insular and mainly ultra-religious nationalist or ultra-Orthodox Jews are becoming increasingly emboldened to act out their anger and hate.

By:

Louise NORDSTROM

Issued on: 15/05/2026

https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20260515-some-hide-their-crosses-jerusalem-nun-attack-highlights-israel-growing-anti-christian-problem

On Wednesday evening, Yisca Harani spent several hours at a local police station.

“I got a report about a ‘spitter’,” the Jewish activist said over a patchy phone line from Jerusalem, explaining that a Christian monk had been the latest target of such humiliation.

Harani, who heads the Religious Freedom Data Center (RFDC) – an Israeli NGO that documents anti-Christian incidents and help victims report them to authorities – said there are so many cases now that she and her roughly 100 volunteers are kept busy “24/7”.

“The most common is spitting,” she said. “But it can also be graffiti on [Christian] signs with crosses on them, vandalism or different forms of harassment.”

The perpetrators, she said, belong to a very tiny part of Israel’s population of 10 million – “most Jews would never do this” – and mainly identify as ultra-Orthodox, Shas-style Sephardis or nationalist religious Jews.

“They all wear kippah [traditional Jewish skullcaps]. I’ve not seen one secular Jew misbehave toward Christians.”

In 2024, her organisation recorded 107 incidents. Last year, the number jumped to 181.

“There isn’t a month that goes by without at least ten incidents reported,” she said, but noted that in reality, the numbers are likely much higher. This is in part because victims either do not know how to report, or do not want to “make a fuss” over less serious offences like spitting.

Why the spitting?

The question of spitting takes us centuries back through the history of Jewish-Christian relations, throughout which Jews, as a minority, suffered immensely at the hands of a Christian majority – from anti-Semitism and persecution to attempts at extermination.

In the 11^th century, Jews (then being persecuted during the Crusades) were accused of spitting at the cross in an act of religious contempt, Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein explained in a Times of Israel blog post. Some Jewish communities then adopted this gesture to show resistance and defiance. Over time, “the spitting Jew” became a negative stereotype for Jews.

When the state of Israel was created in 1948, Jews became a majority group for the first time, with Christians in the minority, and the spitting became even more symbolic.

Goshen-Gottstein wrote that the problem is that some insular Jewish communities have not followed modern developments in the Christian world, and do not know that many churches have since revised their theologies, legitimised Judaism, issued apologies and are even fighting anti-Semitism.

“The spitters and attackers are, of course, clueless,” Goshen-Gottstein said.

Far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir added fuel to the fire in 2023, when he, as Israel’s sitting national security minister, told Army Radio that spitting at Christians was not a crime, and that not everything “justifies an arrest”.

‘Think twice about going out’

The brutal physical assault of a French Dominican nun in East Jerusalem on April 28, however, sent new shock waves throughout the Christian community. In CCTV footage capturing the attack, an Orthodox man is seen running up behind a Christian nun, shoving her to the ground, and returning to kick her once before bystanders intervene.

“This is the most extreme case we’ve seen. During the three years since I founded RFDC, there may have been three or four physical interactions,” Harani said, but stressed that none of them had been this violent.

Since then, her NGO has been called upon to “escort” Christians through Jerusalem. While accompanying the faithful, the RFDC volunteers keep their phone cameras open at all times, ready to film any potential assaults they may be targeted by.

On Wednesday, the Knesset held a special committee session on the attack against the nun and the way Christians are being treated. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firmly condemned the incident, but critics say the meeting was mainly called because the footage went viral, embarrassing the Israeli government on the international stage.

Several of the Christian representatives present at the hearing recounted routine harassment on the streets of Jerusalem’s Old City, the Haaretz newspaper reported, and cited incidents in which Israeli security forces had prevented devotees access to prayer sites or in which Christians had been the victims of stone-throwing or kicking.

"I call on the Israeli government to call these acts by their name: hate crimes," Father Aghan Gogchian, the chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate, said.

Neighbours staging protests

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, some 185,000 Christians were registered in Israel at the end of 2025, accounting for about 1.9 percent of the population. Most of these are Arab Christians – a minority that is often overlooked, rarely talked about and whose Arabic heritage makes them especially vulnerable in a Jewish state like Israel.

Hana Bendcowsky, program director of the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations at the interreligious Rossing Center, said there had been incidents where local demonstrations had been staged in front of Arab Christian homes because their Jewish neighbours did not want them living there.

“Maybe because they are Christian, maybe because they are Arabs. It is not clear.”

Another group that is regularly targeted are those who wear visible Christian symbols or religious clothing, such as pilgrims, nuns and monks.

 “Every priest you talk to will tell you that spitting is almost a daily experience,” Bendcowsky said.

Some, especially after the attack on the nun, have therefore become more careful in showing their religious affiliations.

“They hide their crosses in their pockets and so on, or avoid wearing their habits when they go to certain places.”

Father David Neuhaus SJ, who has lived in Jerusalem for almost five decades and for several years served as superior of the Jesuit community at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, said that after the assault on the nun “there are people who think twice before going out unless it is absolutely necessary”.

Although he refuses to give in to the fear himself, he said: “There is now an awareness that you need to look around you, think about where you are going, think about how you dress. There is a feeling that at any moment your life could suddenly take a turn for the worse.”

‘To be Israeli is to be Jewish’

All three interviewees FRANCE 24 spoke to said the intolerance against non-Jews in Israel – whether Christians, Muslims or others – has spiked in recent years, fuelled by new government policies, war, and of course, the October 7, 2023 terror attacks.

Father Neuhaus said it did not help that Israel has been an extremely militarised state from the start and has been “built on settler colonialism”.

“We’re a very violent society,” he said. “Take a bus, take a train, walk down the street – everyone is armed. That already is an incredible violence.”

Harani, of RFDC, said the 2018 “Nation-State Law” marked the real first turn for the worse in Israel’s religious intolerance.

“This law is the epitome of this whole psychosis: that to be Israeli is to be Jewish – religiously and nationalistically.”

The law defined Israel as national home of the Jewish people and encouraged the use of Jewish symbols in Israeli society. Critics say this quickly formed a climate of religious nationalism and contributed to religious minorities feeling increasingly marginalised.

Since then, Harani said Netanyahu’s government shows “absolute disregard for certain behaviours in the radical sector. Their behavior is tolerated and therefore gives them the green light. It’s passive encouragement.”

And, she said, “they [the perpetrators] are becoming more and more audacious”.

Father Neuhaus agreed. “When lower-level incidents like spitting are ignored, the message is that violence is OK.”

The trauma, anger and frustration linked to the October 7 attacks led some insular Jewish groups to start “dehumanising the other”, Bendcowsky said. She pointed particularly to the uptick in settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. She noted that many of them are either in denial of, or have no knowledge of, the death and pain Israel has brought to civilians in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

“So what we see with Christians is just one symptom of the general atmosphere,” she said.

However terrible the aggression on the nun might have been, Harani said it did serve at least one meaningful purpose: shining a light on the Israeli government’s treatment of Christians.  

“I’m in almost daily contact with the nun and visited her yesterday,” Harani said. “I told her: ‘In a way, you were chosen to be the stop sign for what is happening’.”

Full list of Israel's ceasefire violations in Gaza, seven months on

From deadly strikes and expanding no-go zones to aid restrictions and border closures, Israel has repeatedly breached the US-backed truce while deepening the enclave's humanitarian crisis

By Mera Aladam

Published date: 15 May 2026 

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/seven-months-gaza-ceasefire-israeli-violations-ongoing

More than seven months have passed since a US-mediated ceasefire was announced with the stated aim of ending Israel's two-year genocide in Gaza.

Yet Israel has continued to carry out near-daily strikes and violations of the agreement, albeit at a lower intensity than before the truce.

The humanitarian crisis caused by the war has also persisted, with Israel maintaining a tight siege on the Palestinian enclave.

The Israeli military has justified some of its violations by accusing Palestinian factions of breaching the ceasefire.

However, many of those killed, displaced or arbitrarily detained over the past seven months have been civilians, including children.

With the first phase of the agreement still not fully implemented by Israel, the US has so far failed to advance talks towards the next stage, which was meant to include the disarmament of Palestinian armed groups, the deployment of international stabilisation forces, reconstruction in the strip and a full Israeli withdrawal.

The lack of progress has raised fresh doubts over the future of the fragile ceasefire, as Israel continues to mass forces near Gaza and threatens a renewed assault on the strip.

Middle East Eye breaks down the main Israeli breaches of the ceasefire so far.

Attacks

The Gaza government media office says it documented at least 2,400 Israeli violations in the first six months of the ceasefire between 10 October 2025 and 10 April 2026, with dozens more recorded since.

Those included 1,109 air strikes and other shelling attacks, alongside 921 shootings targeting civilians.

The attacks killed at least 857 Palestinians and wounded 2,486 as of 14 May, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

At least 229 of those killed were children, according to Unicef.

The media office also said Israeli forces had arbitrarily detained at least 50 people during the same period.

Reported violations ranged from attacks on civilian gatherings and displacement camps to strikes targeting police officers, journalists and aid workers.

Israeli naval forces have also repeatedly opened fire on fishermen and Palestinians near the coast, arresting several others.

In one incident last month, Israeli gunboats shot a woman dead off the northwestern coast of Gaza. 

Overall, Israeli forces have killed at least 72,700 people since the genocide began in October 2023. Thousands more are missing and presumed dead under the rubble.

Demolitions and expanding Yellow Zone

The October ceasefire agreement stipulated that the "battle lines" in place at the time of the deal would remain frozen until later phases were implemented.

That provision paved the way for the creation of the so-called "Yellow Line" - a unilateral Israeli demarcation designating vast areas of Gaza as no-go zones and barring Palestinians from accessing large parts of their land.

At the time the deal was signed, Israeli forces controlled around 53 percent of the enclave across northern, southern and eastern Gaza. 

Under the terms of the agreement, subsequent phases were meant to include a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip.

Since then, however, the Israeli military has expanded the Yellow Line, effectively bringing around 64 percent of Gaza under its control and forcing Palestinians into less than half of the territory's land area.

Israeli forces have also carried out near-daily home demolitions, in another breach of the ceasefire.

Although most demolitions have taken place beyond the Yellow Line, others have been recorded inside the Palestinian-controlled areas.

An analysis by The New York Times in January revealed that Israel has demolished over 2,500 buildings in the first three months of the agreement.

Ongoing siege  

Under the agreement, Israel was required to ease restrictions on aid deliveries and allow up to 600 trucks a day carrying food, fuel, medical supplies, shelter materials and commercial goods into Gaza.

However, UN data shows those commitments have not been met, with rights groups warning that continued restrictions have prolonged the humanitarian crisis and severely limited relief operations. 

According to the Gaza government media office, just over 4,500 aid trucks had entered the enclave by the end of April - only 25 percent of the 18,000 trucks stipulated under the agreement.

That amounts to a daily average of just over 200 trucks, far below the agreed threshold.

The limited aid allowed in has also excluded much-needed shelter materials such as tents and mobile homes, as well as essential medicines, medical equipment and fuel.

The ongoing restrictions have fuelled a renewed wave of food scarcity in recent months, with many residents fearing a return to famine conditions, which were officially declared in Gaza in August following Israel's siege.

Doctors and civil defence teams say shortages of fuel and medical supplies have left them unable to provide adequate healthcare or carry out rescue operations effectively.

Border closure and travel restrictions

Under the agreement, Israeli forces were meant to withdraw from the Rafah crossing with Egypt in southern Gaza and allow the free movement of people.

With thousands wounded and in urgent need of medical treatment abroad, reopening the crossing was expected to ease suffering for many Palestinians.

However, Israel kept the crossing closed for nearly four months after the agreement was signed. 

In February, it began allowing no more than 50 Palestinians a day to enter Gaza from Egypt, while limiting departures from the enclave to around 150 people daily.

Even then, Israel has not consistently adhered to those quotas, at times blocking approved travellers and shutting the crossing for prolonged periods, including during the launch of the war on Iran in late February.

The Gaza government media office said that between 2 February and 30 April, only 1,567 people crossed through Rafah out of the 6,000 stipulated under the agreement - a compliance rate of just 26 percent.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, the restrictions have contributed to the deaths of up to 10 Palestinians a day who are unable to access treatment abroad.