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Gaza Conflict
More than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war so far, Gaza health officials said Saturday, as both sides completed the latest exchange of bodies under the terms of the tenuous ceasefire. The latest jump in deaths occurred as more bodies are recovered in the devastated Gaza Strip since the ceasefire began on October 10, and as other bodies are identified. The toll also includes Palestinians killed by strikes that Israel says target remaining militants. Israel on Saturday returned the remains of another 15 Palestinians to Gaza, according to hospital officials there, a day after militants returned the remains of a hostage to Israel. He was identified as Lior Rudaeff, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that Rudaeff was born in Argentina. The exchanges are the central part of the ceasefire's initial phase, which requires that Hamas return all hostage remains as quickly as possible. Families and .
Israel said the Red Cross has received the remains of three hostages in Gaza and they will be handed over to Israel's military. A Hamas statement earlier said the remains were found Sunday in a tunnel in southern Gaza. Since the ceasefire in Gaza took effect on October 10, Palestinian militants had released the remains of 17 hostages, with 11 remaining in Gaza. Militants have released one or two bodies every few days. Israel has urged faster progress, and in certain cases it has said the remains aren't of any hostage. Hamas has said the work is complicated by widespread devastation. Israel's military said official identification of these remains would be provided to families first. Israel in turn has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians for the return of the remains of an Israeli hostage. Health officials in Gaza have struggled to identify bodies without access to DNA kits. Only 75 of the 225 Palestinian bodies returned since the ceasefire began have been identified, ...
Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to health authorities in Gaza on Friday, completing an exchange after militants turned over remains of two hostages, in a sign that the tense Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement is edging forward. The incremental progress came despite Israeli strikes on Gaza this week that killed more than 100 people following the killing of an Israeli soldier. The bodies were transferred with the Red Cross serving as intermediary. The return of the Palestinian remains was confirmed by a doctor at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, where medical workers were striving to identify them. Gaza and Israel grapple with latest exchange of bodies ----------------------------------------------------------- Photos showed the remains, in white body bags, arranged in rows inside the grounds of Nasser Hospital. Health officials have struggled to identify bodies without access to DNA kits. The handover brings the number of Palestinian bodies returned
Since Israel's war with Hamas began more than two years ago, Israel has erected nearly 1,000 barriers in cities and towns in the occupied West Bank, further stifling movement for Palestinians and hindering daily lives, a local government body says. While Israel's military has long imposed movement and access constraints after capturing the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, the number of new barriers is unprecedented, residents say. According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, an official Palestinian governmental body, 916 gates, barriers and walls have been installed since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. Israeli military raids throughout the West Bank have also increased, with Palestinians killed or detained. Israel says it is trying to root out militancy. Among the new barriers are metal gates stationed at many village and town entrances and between cities, blocking access in and out. Sometimes the Israeli military is stationed at them. Palestinia
Israel's military late Monday said that Hamas has handed over the remains of another hostage to the Red Cross in Gaza. Since the ceasefire began on October 10, the remains of 15 hostages have been returned to Israel. After the latest body is returned to Israel, another 12 bodies still need to be recovered in Gaza and handed over. Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told journalists in Hungary that Israel will not allow Turkish troops to take part in an international force the United States has proposed to oversee the ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The 20-point deal brokered by US President Donald Trump earlier this month calls for a force to monitor the ceasefire but does not mention which countries would provide troops. It says the US would work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilization Force to deploy in Gaza. The force would train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces" and will consul
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that Israel, the U.S. and the other mediators of the Gaza ceasefire deal are sharing information to disrupt any threats and that allowed them to identify a possible impending attack last weekend. The State Department said a week ago that it had credible reports Hamas could violate the ceasefire with an attack on Palestinian civilians in Gaza. We put out a message through State Department, sent it to our mediators as well, about an impending attack, and it didn't happen, he told reporters en route from Israel to Qatar, where he met up with President Donald Trump for a multistop tour in Asia. So that's the goal here, is ultimately to identify a threat before it happens." Rubio said multiple countries are interested in joining an international stabilization force that aims to deploy to Gaza but that they need more details about the mission and rules of engagement. The U.S. could call for a U.N. resolution supporting the force so more nation
When President Donald Trump took the stage in Egypt to hail the US-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, a row of world leaders stood behind him like extras in a political drama. It was a telling image. European governments have struggled to play a significant role in diplomacy over the Gaza war, while the America First leader has played a central one, pushing longtime allies in Europe toward the sidelines. Closer to home, they have labored with mixed results to shape Trump's response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's obstinate pursuit of the Ukraine war, a conflict with profound consequences for the continent's future. Is Europe able to influence Trump? I think the short answer... is no, said Lindsay Newman, a geopolitical risk expert and columnist for GZERO Media. The policy and positioning of the US government on Ukraine, on Israel, on its relationship with Europe is defined by the president and those around him. Largely the president. Newman said Trump's ...
As US Vice President JD Vance's visit to Israel comes to a close, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would be travelling to the country to keep the momentum on the US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Earlier this week, Vance announced the opening of a civilian military coordination centre in southern Israel where some 200 US troops are working alongside the Israeli military and delegations from other countries planning the stabilisation and reconstruction of Gaza. Rubio told journalists at Joint Base Andrews late Wednesday that he plans to visit the centre and appoint a Foreign Service official to work alongside the top US military commander in the Middle East, Vice Adm Brad Cooper. The US is seeking support from other allies, especially Gulf nations, to create an international stabilisation force to be deployed to Gaza and train a Palestinian force. We'd like to see Palestinian police forces in Gaza that are not Hamas and that are going to do a good jo
Gaza's fragile ceasefire faced its first major test Sunday as Israeli forces launched a wave of deadly strikes, saying Hamas militants had killed two soldiers, and an Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory was halted. The military later said it resumed enforcing the ceasefire, and the official confirmed that aid deliveries would resume Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to discuss the issue with the media. A little over a week has passed since the start of the U.S.-proposed ceasefire aimed at ending two years of war. U.S. President Donald Trump said the ceasefire remained in place and we want to make sure it's going to be very peaceful. He told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that Hamas has been quite rambunctious and they've been doing some shooting. He suggested that the violence might be the fault of rebels within the organization rather than its leadership. It's going to be handled toughly but
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and other envoys projected optimism Tuesday about Gaza 's fragile ceasefire agreement, calling progress better than anticipated as they visited a new center in Israel for civilian and military cooperation. Vance noted flareups of violence in recent days but said the ceasefire that began on Oct. 10 is going better than I expected after two years of war between Israel and Hamas. The Trump administration's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, added that we are exceeding where we thought we would be at this time. They are in Israel as questions remain over the long-term plan for peace, including whether Hamas will disarm, when and how an international security force will deploy to Gaza and who will govern the territory after the war. Vance tried to downplay any idea that his visit his first as vice president was urgently arranged to keep the ceasefire in place. He said he feels confident that we're going to be in a place where this peace lasts, but warned tha
Israel said on Tuesday it had identified the body of a hostage that was released by Hamas overnight, while the militant group's chief negotiator said Hamas is determined to implement the ceasefire agreement with Israel. US Vice President JD Vance is expected in the region on Tuesday to shore up the fragile ceasefire, which has teetered over the past few days. Israel confirmed that Hamas released the body of Tal Haimi, who was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, and abducted from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on the Gaza border. Haimi, 42, a fourth-generation resident of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, was part of the emergency response team. He had four children, including one born after the attack. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel is still waiting for Hamas to turn over the remains of 15 deceased hostages. Thirteen bodies have been released since the ceasefire began. After trading strikes earlier this week, Hamas negotiators reiterated that the group is committed to ensuring the war ends once and for ...
Israel's military said it struck multiple targets on Sunday in Gaza, using aircraft and artillery, after it said Hamas militants shot at Israeli soldiers who were inside the area still under Israeli control, the first major test of the ceasefire reached over a week ago. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with Israel's security heads and directed the military to take strong action against any ceasefire violations, but did not threaten to return to war. Hamas said that it was not connected to any clashes in Rafah in Southern Gaza. The strikes came as Israel identified the remains of two hostages released by Hamas overnight, and the Palestinian group said talks to launch the second phase of ceasefire negotiations have begun. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the bodies belonged to Ronen Engel, a father of three from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Sonthaya Oakkharasri, a Thai agricultural worker killed at Kibbutz Be'eri. Both were believed to have been killed duri