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Gaza Border Clash
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly on Friday that Israel must finish the job against Hamas in Gaza, giving a defiant UN speech despite growing international isolation over his refusal to end the devastating war in Gaza. He spoke after dozens of delegates from multiple nations walked out of the UN General Assembly hall en masse Friday as he prepared to speak. As the Israeli leader spoke, unintelligible shouts echoed around the hall. The US delegation, which has backed Netanyahu in his campaign against Hamas, stayed put. Applause rang out in other quarters as he began his speech. As he has often in the past, Netanyahu held up a visual aid a map of the region titled THE CURSE. He marked it up with a large marker. Later, he pinned a QR code onto his suit jacket and held up a board with a multiple-choice question that he read to the audience. He also frequently praised President Donald Trump, his chief ally in his political and military approach in t
Protesters in Israel on Tuesday torched tires, blocked highways and clamoured for a ceasefire that would free hostages still in Gaza, as Israeli leaders pressed ahead with plans for an offensive which they argue is needed to crush Hamas. The disruption came as Palestinians in Gaza braced for the expanded offensive against a backdrop of displacement, destruction and parts of the territory plunging into famine. It also came a day after deadly strikes against Gaza's main hospital killed 20 people including medics and journalists, among them Mariam Dagga, a journalist who worked for The Associated Press. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to hold a security cabinet meeting later Tuesday, but it's unclear if he will discuss ceasefire efforts. He has said that Israel will launch an expanded offensive in Gaza City while simultaneously pursuing a ceasefire, though Israel has yet to send a negotiating team to discuss a proposal on the table. Netanyahu has said the offensive is th
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said the Israeli state is committing "genocide" and slammed the Indian government for standing "silent" as Israel "unleashes devastation" on the people of Palestine. The Congress general secretary said the "Israeli state murdered over 60,000 people, 18,430 of whom were children". "It has starved hundreds to death including many children and is threatening to starve millions," she said in a post on X. Enabling these crimes by silence and inaction is a crime in itself, Priyanka Gandhi asserted. "It is shameful that the Indian Government stands silent as Israel unleashes this devastation on the people of Palestine," she said. In another post on X, Priyanka Gandhi said the "cold blooded murder" of five Al Jazeera journalists is another heinous crime committed on Palestinian soil, and asserted that the immeasurable courage of those who dare to stand for the truth will never be broken by the violence and hatred of the Israeli state. Al .
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says his country will not authorise any exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza until further notice. Friday's move from Germany, which has been a stalwart supporter of Israel for decades, comes after the Israeli Cabinet announced plans to take over Gaza City. In a statement, Merz emphasised that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas' terror and said that the release of Israeli hostages and purposeful negotiations toward a cease-fire in the 22-month conflict are our top priority. He said Hamas must not have a role in the future of Gaza. The even harsher military action by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, approved by the Israeli Cabinet last night, makes it increasingly difficult for the German government to see how these goals will be achieved, he added. Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorise any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice. The
Since Israel's offensive led to a security breakdown in Gaza that has made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving Palestinians, much of the limited aid entering is being hoarded by gangs and merchants and sold at exorbitant prices. A kilogram of flour has run as high as $60 in recent days, a kilogram of lentils up to $35. That is beyond the means of most residents in the territory, which experts say is at risk of famine and where people are largely reliant on savings 21 months into the Israel-Hamas war. Israel's decision this weekend to facilitate more aid deliveries under international pressure has lowered prices somewhat but has yet to be fully felt on the ground. Bags of flour in markets often bear U.N. logos, while other packaging has markings indicating it came from the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation all originally handed out for free. It's impossible to know how much is being diverted, but neither group is able to track who receives its aid. I
More than 100 charity and human rights groups said Wednesday that Israel's blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip toward starvation, as Israeli strikes killed another 29 people overnight, according to local health officials. Meanwhile, the Trump administration's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, was set to meet with a senior Israeli official about ceasefire talks, a sign that lower-level negotiations that have dragged on for weeks could be approaching a breakthrough. Experts say Gaza is at risk of famine because of Israel's blockade and the offensive launched in response to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. The head of the World Health Organization said Gaza is witnessing a deadly surge in malnutrition and related diseases, and that a large proportion of its roughly 2 million people are starving. Israel says it allows enough aid into the territory and faults delivery efforts by U.N. agencies, which say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions a
An Israeli-backed American organisation that runs an aid programme in the Gaza Strip said Wednesday 20 Palestinians were killed near a distribution site. This comes as Israeli strikes killed 22 others, including 11 children, according to hospital officials. The Gaza Humanitarian Fund said 19 people were trampled in a stampede and one person was fatally stabbed in the violence near a distribution hub in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The group, which rarely acknowledges trouble at its distribution sites, accused Hamas of fomenting panic and spreading misinformation that led to the violence, though it provided no evidence to support the claim.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip including four children, while 24 others were fatally shot on their way to aid distribution sites, Palestinian hospital officials and witnesses said on Saturday. The children and two women were among at least 13 people who were killed in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes pounded the area starting late Friday, officials in Al-Aqsa Martyr's Hospital said. Fifteen others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital. The military did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for comment on the civilian deaths. At least 24 people were killed on their way to a food distribution site near Rafah run by an Israeli-backed American organisation, said hospital officials and witnesses, including those wounded. The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots toward people it said were behaving suspiciously to prevent them from approaching. It
The UN human rights office said on Friday it has recorded 613 killings in Gaza near humanitarian convoys and at aid distribution points run by an Israeli-backed American organization since it first began operations in late May. Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the rights office was not able to attribute responsibility for the killings. But she said it is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. She said it was not immediately clear how many of those killings had taken place at GHF sites, and how many occurred near convoys. Speaking to reporters at a regular briefing, Shamdasani said the figures covered the period from May 27 through June 27, and there have been further incidents since then. She said she was basing the information on an internal situation report at the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Shamdasani said the figures, compiled through i
Israeli airstrikes and shootings killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza late Wednesday and Thursday, including 45 who were attempting to get much-needed humanitarian aid, hospitals and the Health Ministry said Thursday. Families wept over the bodies from a strike that hit a tent camp during the night as displaced people slept in southern Gaza. At least 13 members of a single family were killed, including at least six children under 12. My children, my children my beloved, wailed Intisar Abu Assi, sobbing over the bodies of her son and daughters and their young children. Another woman kissed the forehead of a dead little girl wrapped in a blanket on the floor of the morgue at Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis. In central Gaza, a boy stroked the face of his dead sister, 6-year-old Heba Abu Etiwi, in a morgue at Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital. The girl and another of her brothers were among eight people killed when a strike Wednesday evening hit near a stand selling falafel. A separate .
At least 51 Palestinians were killed and more than 200 wounded in the Gaza Strip while waiting for UN and commercial trucks to enter the territory with desperately needed food, according to Gaza's Health Ministry and a local hospital. Palestinian witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd in the southern city of Khan Younis. The Israeli military said soldiers had spotted a gathering near an aid truck that was stuck in Khan Younis, near where Israeli forces were operating. It acknowledged several casualties as Israelis opened fire on the approaching crowd and said authorities would investigate what happened. The shooting did not appear to be related to a new Israeli- and US-supported aid delivery network that rolled out last month and has been marred by controversy and violence. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs, or OCHA, said the people killed were waiting for food .
Egypt blocked activists planning to take part in a march to Gaza, halting their attempt to reach the border and challenge Israel's blockade on humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory before it could begin. Egyptian authorities and activists both said Thursday that people planning to march across the Sinai Peninsula were deported. To draw attention to the humanitarian crisis afflicting people in Gaza, marchers have for months planned to trek about 50 km from the city of Arish to Egypt's border with the enclave on Sunday to create international moral and media pressure to open the crossing at Rafah and lift a blockade that has prevented aid from entering. Saif Abu Keshek, one of the activists organising the march, said that about 200 activists mostly Algerians and Moroccans were detained or deported. But those arriving to the Cairo International Airport on Thursday afternoon were allowed into Egypt, the Spain-based activist added. Organisers have not received approval from ..
Israeli fire killed at least 12 people and wounded others as they headed toward two aid distribution points in the Gaza Strip run by an Israeli and US-backed group, Palestinian health officials and witnesses said Sunday. Israel's military said it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces. The past two weeks have seen frequent shootings near the new hubs where thousands of Palestinians desperate after 20 months of war are being directed to collect food. Witnesses say nearby Israeli troops have opened fire, and more than 80 people have been killed, according to Gaza hospital officials. In all, at least 108 bodies were brought to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the territory's Health Ministry said. Israel's military said it struck dozens of militant targets throughout Gaza over the past day. Eleven of the latest bodies were brought to Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces fired on some at a roundabout ..