Israel is making plans for a potential major ground offensive in Gaza that would involve sending tens of thousands of troops into combat to clear and occupy large swaths of the enclave, an Israeli official and a second source familiar with the matter said.

The potential large-scale offensive is one of several possible scenarios the Israeli government is contemplating as it escalates its attacks on Gaza and seeks to pressure Hamas to release more hostages without negotiating an end to the war.

Efforts by Egypt and Qatar to revive the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have intensified in recent days and one source said leaks about a major ground offensive are part of an Israeli effort to apply more pressure on Hamas at the negotiating table. Israeli officials have previously indicated that Israel would stop its attacks if Hamas agrees to free more hostages.

Still, the Israeli military, led by its new and more aggressive chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, has been crafting plans for a large-scale operation in Gaza for weeks now.

While the Israeli military has launched numerous ground offensives in Gaza over the course of the war, its forces often withdrew within days or weeks of routing Hamas fighters in the targeted area. Without an Israeli troop presence or an alternative governing or military force, Hamas would often re-emerge in those areas, prompting Israeli forces to return.

Under one potential scenario now being considered, Israeli forces would clear Hamas from large swaths of Gaza and then occupy that territory to prevent Hamas’s resurgence, the sources said. Such a decision could see the Israeli military occupying the territory and fighting insurgencies for years.

A large-scale offensive could involve five Israeli divisions — or some 50,000 troops — the sources said.

“But of course the problem is that once you escalate you can find yourself at the end of the road, in the depth of swamp. And this is the risk that no one knows if it will work or not.”

“Once you threaten something you should be prepared to do it,” he said.

The Israeli military has already begun laying the groundwork for larger-scale ground maneuvers, recapturing half of the Israeli-demarcated Netzarim corridor, which splits northern Gaza from the rest of the strip, and pushing troops into strategic locations in northern and southern Gaza.

Israel’s cabinet on Sunday set up an agency to facilitate any Palestinians in Gaza who wished to participate in a “voluntary transfer” to third countries – though none have agreed to take in emigrees.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made eliminating Hamas’s military and governance capabilities in Gaza a central war goal as he vows to achieve “absolute victory.”

But a larger-scale and longer-term Israeli military offensive in Gaza could also draw stiff resistance from the Israeli public, of which a majority has been clamoring for a deal to free the 59 hostages still held in Gaza over a return to war.

“What we will see is a permanent presence of the IDF fighting the counter-insurgency on the ground,” Hulata said. “And there will be no other option than for the IDF to assume responsibility for the humanitarian aid.”

Israel has since the beginning of March blocked all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, amplifying the humanitarian catastrophe in the strip.

Further occupation of Gaza “is, at least right now, not in the interest of Israel,” Ziv said. “For some of the extremists in the government like (Bezalel) Smotrich” – the far-right finance minister – “maybe it’s the purpose. But it’s definitely not the best of the Israeli policy at this time.”

Before Israel ended the ceasefire last week, a March 9 poll from the Israel Democracy Institute found that nearly three-quarters of Israelis supported reaching a deal to end the war with Hamas in exchange for the release of all the hostages.

And recently released hostages and the families of current hostages have warned that resuming the war in Gaza will only serve to endanger the lives of the 24 hostages estimated to still be alive.

Netanyahu’s political priorities may lie elsewhere, however. Key members of his right-wing governing coalition have been clamoring for a return to full-scale war over a negotiated settlement to free the hostages.

And Netanyahu’s aides believe US President Donald Trump will be more supportive of large-scale Israeli military action than former President Joe Biden, who suspended the transfer of certain weapons in order to forestall a major Israeli offensive into the heavily populated southern part of Gaza.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has hinted at the possibility of large-scale expansion of military ground operations, saying last week he had “instructed the IDF to seize additional territories, while evacuating the population.”

“The more Hamas continues its refusal, the more territory it will lose to Israel,” he said Friday in a statement.

More than a thousand people have been detained during protests following the jailing of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Monday.

In a post on X, Yerlikaya said that “1,133 suspects were detained in illegal activities carried out between March 19 and March 23,” adding that “among those captured were individuals affiliated with 12 different terrorist organizations.”

Imamoglu, a political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained from his home on Wednesday. Authorities in Istanbul banned protests and closed some roads “in order to maintain public order” and “prevent any provocative actions that may occur.”

More than 120 police officers were also injured in the demonstrations, Yerlikaya said, adding that objects such as “acid, stones, sticks, fireworks, Molotov cocktails, axes and knives” were seized.

In what appeared to be a warning to the opposition, Yerlikaya said: “Let no one try to use our youth and our people as a shield for their own political ambitions.”

Demonstrations took place in recent days across various cities in Turkey, including in Istanbul and the capital Ankara, protesting Imamoglu’s jailing.

Imamoglu, Erdogan’s most serious rival, was detained just days before he was set to be named as a candidate for his Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the next presidential election, which is expected to take place in 2028. On Sunday, he was formally arrested pending trial on corruption charges.

Some 100 others connected to the mayor were also detained, including elected Istanbul district mayors Resul Emrah Sahan and Murat Calik.

Imamoglu has denied the charges against him and critics say the arrest represents a dangerous turning point for Turkey as Erdogan seeks to further extend his rule amid a growing crackdown on dissent.

In a message from Silivri Prison, where he is being held, Imamoglu said Monday that the presidential primary had seen record participation. He was widely expected to win the vote and become the CHP’s candidate for the 2028 presidential election

“Fifteen million of our citizens cast their votes. Tens of millions of people in this country, suffering under the oppression of the government, a shattered economy, lack of merit, and lawlessness, rushed to the ballot boxes,” Imamoglu said, adding that voters’ message to Erdogan was, “Enough is enough.”

Analysts say that Imamoglu was on a trajectory to one day lead the country. Some polls had said that if he ran for president against Erdogan, Imamoglu would secure more votes.

The Palestinian co-director of Oscar-winning film “No Other Land” Hamdan Ballal was beaten up by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and taken away by Israeli soldiers, his colleagues and eyewitnesses said.

Outside Ballal’s home was a group of Israeli settlers, some of whom were throwing stones. Israeli police and military were also outside the home and Israeli soldiers were firing at anyone who tried to get close, he said.

Yuval Abraham, another co-director of the film, who is Israeli, said Ballal had sustained injuries to his head and abdomen in the attack and had not been heard from since. Abraham did not witness the incident himself.

Five American activists from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence (CJNV) who were also at the scene said they too had been assaulted by Israeli settlers. They said more than a dozen settlers had attacked the village, wielding batons, knives and at least one assault rifle, following a dispute involving an Israeli settler who was shepherding near a Palestinian home.

Jenna, an activist who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, said she and her colleagues were attacked by around 20 masked settlers when they approached Susya that night. Her group did not witness Ballal’s arrest.

Josh Kimelman, who was in the same group, said Israeli soldiers witnessed the incident but did nothing to prevent it.

Earlier this month, Ballal, Adra and Abraham had all stood alongside each other to accept the Oscar for best documentary. The joint Israeli-Palestinian team’s film recounts the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in the occupied West Bank.

Ballal had documented his interactions with settlers, including threats of violence from a settler who claimed God had given him Ballal’s land.

Ballal said he called the police but to no avail.

“No Other Land” documents the continued demolition by Israeli authorities of Masafer Yatta, a collection of villages in the Hebron mountains of the West Bank where Adra lives with his family. The documentary highlights the Israeli government’s efforts to evict the villagers by force, with viewers seeing the local playground being torn down, the killing of Adra’s brother by Israeli soldiers, and other attacks by Jewish settlers while the community tries to survive.

The film also explores the human connection between Adra and Abraham.

A team of lawyers representing the families of 30 Venezuelans sent by the United States to a mega prison in El Salvador asked the Salvadoran Supreme Court of Justice on Monday to evaluate the legality of their detention.

One of the attorneys, Jaime Ortega, said they were hired by the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to file an appeal before the Constitutional Chamber of the Salvadoran Supreme Court, which would also apply to the rest of the 238 Venezuelans deported on the orders of US President Donald Trump.

“We are asking the court to review their legal status and issue a ruling. If their detention is illegal, it should immediately order their release,” Ortega told reporters.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said last week that the US sent 238 alleged members of the Tren de Aragua criminal organization, though he didn’t identify them or provide evidence for that claim. El Salvador agreed to take them in and lock them up at its Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), considered the largest prison in Latin America. US authorities have acknowledged that not all deportees had criminal records.

The Trump administration said 137 of those migrants were deported under the Alien Enemies Act. Use of the act, previously used only in wartime, under these circumstances is currently under judicial scrutiny in the US.

The lawyers in El Salvador said that if this is an immigration matter, they hope the Salvadoran Supreme Court will order that the Venezuelans be sent back to their countries.

The judges have no set deadline to resolve the appeal.

Juan Pappier, Americas Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch, cautioned that it was “unrealistic” to expect the court to go against the Bukele administration.

“I understand (the families’) desperation and I think they should use whatever avenue they can find available,” Pappier said.

Pappier argued that these types of deportations violate UN principles that forbid countries from transferring individuals to a place “where they can risk facing torture and other grave human rights violations.”

The National Commission on Human Rights and Freedom of Expression, a Salvadoran government agency, said families of Venezuelan deportees held in Cecot could petition the Salvadoran government for their release.

“We will process each case and carry out the corresponding verifications,” presidential commissioner Andrés Guzmán said.

A court ordered the dissolution of the Unification Church in Japan, upholding a government request for a revocation spurred by the investigation into the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The Tokyo District Court’s revocation of the church’s legal status means it will lose its tax-exempt privilege and must liquidate its assets. However, the church can still appeal the decision to higher courts.

The order follows a request by Japan’s Education Ministry in 2023 to dissolve the influential South Korea-based sect, citing manipulative fundraising and recruitment tactics that sowed fear among followers and harmed their families.

The Japanese branch of the church had criticized the request as a serious threat to religious freedom and the human rights of its followers.

The investigation into the 2022 assassination of Abe revealed decades of cozy ties between the South Korea-based church and Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party. The church obtained legal status as a religious organization in Japan in 1968 amid an anti-communist movement supported by Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.

The man accused of killing Abe resented the church and blamed it for his family’s financial troubles.

The church, which officially calls itself the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, is the first religious group to face a revocation order under Japan’s civil code. Two earlier case involved criminal charges – the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which carried out a sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, and Myokakuji group, whose executives were convicted of fraud.

Japan has in place hurdles for restraining religious activities due to lessons from the prewar and wartime oppression of freedom of religion and thought.

A prominent Indian comedian is standing by his right to make jokes after an angry mob attacked a comedy club where he had made an onstage jibe at a right-wing politician.

Kunal Kamra, known for his quips about popular culture and politics, is under investigation for alleged defamation by police in the western state of Maharashtra after he told a joke about the state’s Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The case is the latest to underscore the country’s declining freedoms and the sensitivities of India’s right-wing politicians, some of whom have called for the artist’s arrest.

A video of the skit, posted to Kamra’s YouTube channel Sunday, shows the comedian apparently taking a jibe at Shinde. In the video, Kamra does not explicitly name the politician but, in a song, refers to a “gaddar,” or “traitor” – taken to be a reference to Shinde’s leadership of a rebellion in 2022 that caused the state’s previous government to collapse.

The joke sparked a furious backlash within Shinde’s Hindu supremacist Shiv Sena political party. An angry mob later descended upon The Habitat comedy venue where Kamra had performed in Mumbai. A video of the incident shows dozens of men – some wearing scarves with the Shiv Sena logo – smashing chairs and ripping the venue’s interior apart.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Krishna Hegde said Kamra’s words “insulted” the people of Maharashtra. “Mumbai police should take Kunal Kamra into custody, arrest him, lock him up behind bars and open a case against him,” he said in a video statement.

Another party lawmaker, Naresh Mhaske, warned that Kamra would be unable to walk in public.

“Let alone Maharashtra, you won’t be able to roam around in all of India,” he said in a video statement.

Kamra has said he will not apologize for his comments and, in a post on X, criticized the “inability to take a joke at the expense of a powerful public figure.”

“As far as I know, it is not against the law to poke fun at our leaders and the circus that is our political system,” he wrote. “I don’t fear this mob and I will not be hiding under my bed waiting for this to die down.”

Some opposition politicians in Maharashtra have rallied to Kamra’s defense in light of the political storm. Shinde’s former political ally Aditya Thackeray said: “Only an insecure coward would react to a song by someone.”

The Habitat said it was “shocked, worried and extremely broken by the vandalism,” and would be temporarily shutting down the comedy club.

“We have never been involved in the content performed by any artist but the recent events have made us rethink about how we get blamed and targeted,” it said on Instagram, adding that the venue would be closed “till we figure out the best way to provide a platform for free expression without putting ourselves and our property in jeopardy.”

Growing intolerance

This isn’t Kamra’s first run in with the law.

In December 2020, the Supreme Court held him in contempt of court for allegedly disparaging the judiciary and judges in his social media posts. In one Twitter post, he criticized the court’s handling of a case involving a right-wing commentator.

Freedom of speech is enshrined in India’s democratic constitution, but comedians in the world’s largest democracy have previously faced the wrath of angry politicians for their jokes.

In November 2021, right-wing politicians called for comedian Vir Das’ arrest after he gave a powerful monologue addressing the country’s rape crisis and then-year-long farmer’s protest.

At the time, Ashutosh Dubey, a legal adviser to India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, accused Das of “defaming” India and filed a complaint with the police over his “inflammatory” comments.

Das has not been formally charged with any crime and continues to perform. But others who have faced similar situations have had their livelihoods upended.

Kamra, meanwhile, said the new investigation into his comments “does not change the nature of his right” to make fun of politicians.

A Japanese man who spent more than 40 years on death row until he was acquitted last year has been awarded $1.4 million in compensation, a court said on Tuesday – roughly $85 for each day he was wrongfully convicted.

Former professional boxer Iwao Hakamada, 89, was sentenced to death in 1968 for a quadruple murder despite repeatedly alleging that the police had fabricated evidence against him.

Once the world’s longest-serving death row inmate, he was acquitted after a DNA test showed that the bloodstained clothing which was used to convict him was planted long after the murders, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

His legal representative Hideyo Ogawa described the compensation as the “highest amount” ever handed out for a wrongful conviction in Japan, but said it could never make up for what Hakamada had suffered.

“I think the state (government) has made a mistake that cannot be atoned for with 200 million yen,” the lawyer said, according to NHK.

Hakamata retired as a professional boxer in 1961 and got a job at a soybean processing plant in Shizuoka, central Japan.

Five years later he was arrested by police after his boss, his boss’ wife and their two children were found stabbed to death in their home.

Hakamata initially admitted to the charges against him, but later changed his plea, accusing police of forcing him to confess by beating and threatening him.

He was sentenced to death in a 2-1 decision by judges in 1968.

The one dissenting judge stepped down from the bar six months later, demoralized by his inability to stop the sentencing.

Hakamata, who has maintained his innocence ever since, would go on to spend more than half his life waiting to be hanged.

New evidence led to his release in 2014 pending a retrial, which acquitted him last year.

His case brought global scrutiny to Japan’s criminal justice system, where conviction rates stand at 99%, according to the Ministry of Justice website, and fueled calls to abolish the death penalty in the country.

Hakamata was “living in his own world,” she said.

“Sometimes he smiles happily, but that’s when he’s in his delusion… We have not even discussed the trial with Iwao because of his inability to recognize reality.”