Israel’s Shin Bet chief announces resignation, to step down June 15, Israeli media reports

LONDON: President Donald Trump can help bring peace to Gaza, a senior Hamas official said as he confirmed that the Palestinian group has told the US it is willing to hand over governance of the territory.

In an interview with Sky News on Thursday, Basem Naim said his organization has shared a ceasefire plan directly with officials in Washington and offered to hand over administration of Gaza “immediately if we reach an end of this war.”

The proposal called for “a prisoner exchange, total withdrawal of Israeli forces, allowing all the aid to get into Gaza, and rebuilding of the Gaza Strip without forceful immigration,” he added.

Naim said he believes Trump “has the capability and the will to reach this peaceful situation.”

He continued: “President Trump can do it if he exercises enough pressure on the Israelis to end this war immediately. We are ready to cooperate with him to achieve this goal of a more peaceful region.”

Hamas released American Israeli hostage Edan Alexander on Monday as Trump was beginning a tour of the Middle East, which included visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. The group said the same day that it was in direct negotiations with Washington.

“We urge the Trump administration to continue its efforts to end this brutal war waged by the war criminal (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu against children, women and defenseless civilians in the Gaza Strip,” the group said.

Alexander was serving as an Israeli soldier when he was captured during the Hamas-led October 2023 attacks, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage.

Israeli authorities responded with a brutal military offensive that has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and reduced Gaza to rubble. A blockade on humanitarian aid since early March has prompted warnings that the territory could soon be gripped by famine.

Naim’s comments suggest Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by the US, believes Trump can play a key role in helping to secure an end to Israel’s ongoing offensive, which claimed the lives of scores more people on Thursday.

He said Hamas has accepted an Egyptian peace proposal under which a politically independent body would be formed to run Gaza.

“Before that, as long as we are still occupied people, we have all the right to continue defending our people and resisting the occupation,” Naim said.

Earlier reports that the US and Hamas were engaged in direct talks reportedly angered Israeli authorities. And despite the comments from Hamas officials this week, US officials maintain that the group is still not doing enough to end the war.

“Hamas has not demonstrated they are serious about peace,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson told Sky News, adding that Trump has demanded that the group lays down its weapons.

“Hamas continues to wrongfully hold hostages, including American bodies, in the dungeons of Gaza who could easily be freed, and have shown no changes in behavior to indicate they will cease to attack civilians,” he added.

The ranks of Hamas has been heavily depleted during the war against Israel, with thousands of its members killed, including a number of senior leaders. However, it continues to maintain a strong presence in Gaza and remains key to any ceasefire agreement.

Israel has ramped up its military operations in recent weeks as it moves to gain control of large sections of Gaza and take over aid distribution throughout the territory.

LONDON: English sports broadcaster Gary Lineker, at the center of a backlash over a social media post, said that Israel is to blame for the origins of the Gaza conflict, because it turned the territory into an “outdoor prison.”

Speaking on Friday in an interview at the Football Business Awards days before he was accused of antisemitism over a post on X, Lineker said that his issues are with the Israeli government rather than Jewish people.

The BBC’s outgoing “Match of the Day” presenter criticized the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza as “completely out of proportion” to the Oct. 7 attacks.

Lineker’s post days later featured a pro-Palestinian message containing a rat emoji.

He later deleted the post and apologized but it sparked a furor among Jewish groups and BBC staff members, who have called for him to be sacked.

Lineker, 64, is preparing to host the final episodes of “Match of the Day” before returning to front the BBC’s FA Cup and FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage.

“Obviously, Oct. 7 was awful, but it’s very important to know your history and to study the massacres that happened prior to this, many of them against the Palestinian people,” he told The Telegraph in the Friday interview.

“Yes, Israelis have a right to defend themselves. But it appears that Palestinians don’t — and that is where it’s wrong. Palestinians are caged in this outdoor prison in Gaza, and now it’s an outdoor prison that they’re bombing.”

Lineker also questioned whether Israel could still legitimately argue that it was acting in self-defense. “I understand that they needed to avenge, but I don’t think they’ve helped their own hostage situation at all,” he said.

“People say it’s a complex issue, but I don’t think it is. It’s inevitable that the Israeli occupation was going to cause massive problems, and I just feel for the Palestinians.”

He said that “most” Jews now recognized that Israel’s actions have become too extreme. “The real heroes are the Jews who have spoken out against it,” he added.

Lineker, who was paid £1.4 million ($1.8 million) by the BBC last year, said that he was unfazed by the prospect of his comments provoking a negative reaction.

“I don’t really care about the backlash. I care about doing the right thing, or what I think is the right thing,” he said. “Some people can disagree, that’s fine. But I have to look at myself in the mirror. I think if you’re silent on these issues, you’re almost complicit.”

However, a number of BBC staffers said that Lineker should not be allowed to share his views publicly given his high-profile role at the BBC. They warned that it risked damaging trust in the corporation.

“The vast majority of BBC staff keep their views to themselves precisely because they work for the BBC,” said one.

“Why one individual is beyond that I simply don’t understand. The bosses need to take control. The value of all our collective work is at stake.”

Director-General of the BBC Tim Davie said that “the BBC’s reputation is held by everyone and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us.

“We absolutely need people to be the exemplars of BBC values and follow our social media policies, simple as that.”