<article data-history-node-id="429891" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/marwan-barghouti-will-not-be-part-prisoner-exchange-says-israel" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/marwan-barghouti-will-not-be-part-prisoner-exchange-says-israel" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Marwan Barghouti will not be part of prisoner exchange, says Israel</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>An Israeli government spokesperson said that&nbsp;Marwan Barghouti will not be part of the prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.</p> <p>Ceasefire will take effect within 24 hour of the cabiner meeting this afternoon, and afterwards&nbsp;the 72-hour period for the captives to be released will begin.</p> <p>She added that the final draft of phase one was signed in Egypt this morning, noting that the “plan” was finalised during discussions there.</p> <p>After the prisoners are released, the military will control and hold about 53 percent of Gaza, she added.</p> </div> </div> </article>

<article data-history-node-id="429930" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/us-taxpayers-spent-over-33bn-israels-wars-over-two-years" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/us-taxpayers-spent-over-33bn-israels-wars-over-two-years" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">US taxpayers spent over $33bn on Israel's wars over two years</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/us" target="_blank">US</a>&nbsp;has spent nearly $34bn supporting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel" target="_blank">Israel</a>&nbsp;since 7 October 2023, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/AidToIsrael" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;published by Brown University on Tuesday, revealing the staggering cost of Israel’s wars in the region to US taxpayers.</p> <p>The price tag means that the US has spent around $3,400 on defence and military activities for every citizen of Israel since the country launched its devastating assault on Gaza following the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel.</p> <p>The hefty price tag to US taxpayers caught the attention of several commentators on social media. One&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/Villgecrazylady/status/1975996350253691303" target="_blank">wrote</a>, “A family of 4 in Israel is receiving $577/month in subsidies, courtesy of the American taxpayer, for 2 years now.”</p> <p>"Israelis still have free healthcare and free college and subsidized childcare. They haven’t reduced any of their social welfare programs. Meanwhile Americans are literally paying for groceries with their credit cards,” the post on X added.</p> <p>The report took into account US military spending on Israel and related US military campaigns in the region as part of Brown University’s ongoing Costs of War project.</p> <h3>Read more: <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-taxpayers-spent-33bn-israel-wars-over-two-years">US taxpayers spent over $33bn on Israel's wars over two years</a></h3> <figure role="group" class="media-block"> <div class="group-inner"> <div alt="A billboard displays an image of US President Donald Trump with a message thanking him for reaching a ceasefire deal in Gaza, on the side of a building in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square on 9 October 2025 (Jack Guez/AFP)" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="009711ab-9d20-4903-8c8b-c56dfb5da230" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/images-story/Trump-poster-Israel-AFP.jpg" width="1200" height="675" alt="A billboard displays an image of US President Donald Trump with a message thanking him for reaching a ceasefire deal in Gaza, on the side of a building in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square on 9 October 2025 (Jack Guez/AFP)" typeof="foaf:Image" fetchpriority="high"> </div> <figcaption>A billboard displays an image of US President Donald Trump with a message thanking him for reaching a ceasefire deal in Gaza, on the side of a building in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square on 9 October 2025 (Jack Guez/AFP)</figcaption> </div> </figure> <p><span style="background: url(&quot;https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png&quot;) rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); top: -15px; left: 0px;"><img height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> </div> </div> </article>

Europe’s stance toward the ongoing genocide in Gaza has exposed a deep moral and political crisis. Despite the mounting death toll, the widespread destruction, and the overwhelming evidence of systema