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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday received a phone call from his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, who shared an update on the Gaza Peace Plan and reaffirmed their shared resolve to fight terror. "The two leaders warmly exchanged New Year greetings and wished the people of both countries peace and prosperity," a statement from the prime minister's office said. It said Netanyahu briefed the prime minister on the implementation of the Gaza Peace Plan. "The Prime Minister reaffirmed India's consistent support for efforts towards a just and durable peace in the region," the statement said. Modi and Netanyahu identified shared priorities to further strengthen the India-Israel Strategic Partnership in the year ahead, guided by shared democratic values, deep mutual trust and a forward-looking vision. "They reiterated their zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reaffirmed their commitment to fight this menace," the statement said.
Israel's air force struck areas in southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday and early Tuesday, including in the country's third-largest city. A strike around 1 a.m. Tuesday leveled a three-story commercial building in the southern coastal city of Sidon, a few days before Lebanon's army commander is scheduled to brief the government on its mission of disarming militant group Hezbollah in areas along the border with Israel. An Associated Press photographer at the scene said the area was in a commercial district containing workshops and mechanic shops and the building was uninhabited. At least one person was transported by ambulance and rescue teams were searching the site for others, but there were no immediate reports of deaths. On Monday, the Israeli army hit several sites in southern and eastern Lebanon saying they held infrastructure for the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas. Those strikes took place nearly two hours after Israel's military Arabic language spokesman Avichay Adra
An Israeli strike in Gaza on Monday hit a tent housing displaced people, killing a 5-year-old girl and her uncle and wounding two other children, hospital officials said. The strike took place in the Muwasi area northwest of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, officials at Nasser Hospital said. The Associated Press couldn't independently very those details. Family members wept over the bodies as they were brought to the hospital. The dead are among the more than 400 people killed in Gaza since an October ceasefire began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Israeli military said on social media it struck a Hamas militant who planned an imminent attack on Israeli troops in the southern Gaza Strip. It said the strike complied with the ceasefire agreement, and was done in a targeted way to mitigate civilian harm. It was not immediately clear if the statement referred to the fatal tent strike. The military also said that, because of continued ceasefire violations, it had begu
Israel's air force struck areas in southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday, saying they are home to infrastructure for the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas. The strikes came a few days before Lebanon's army commander is scheduled to brief the government on its mission of disarming Hezbollah in areas along the border with Israel. The strikes took place nearly two hours after Israel's military Arabic language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted warnings on X that the military would strike targets for Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas groups in two villages in the eastern Bekaa Valley and two others in southern Lebanon. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said a home struck in the village of Manara in the Bekaa Valley belonged to Sharhabil al-Sayed, a Hamas military commander who was killed in an Israeli drone strike in May 2024. The Lebanese army last year began the disarmament process of Palestinian groups while the government has said that by the end of 2025 all the areas clos
Israel's decision to revoke the licenses of more than three dozen humanitarian organisations this week has aid groups scrambling to grapple with what this means for their operations in Gaza and their ability to help tens of thousands of struggling Palestinians. The 37 groups represent some of the most prominent of the more than 100 independent nongovernmental organisations working in Gaza, alongside United Nations agencies. Those banned include Doctors Without Borders, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam and Medical Aid for Palestinians. The groups do everything from providing tents and water to supporting clinics and medical facilities. The overall impact, however, remains unclear. The most immediate impact of the license revocation is that Israel will no longer allow the groups to bring supplies into the Gaza Strip or send international staffers into the territory. Israel says all suspended groups have to halt their operations by March 1. Some groups have already been barred fro
Winter rain lashed the Gaza Strip over the weekend, flooding camps with ankle-deep puddles as Palestinians displaced by two years of war attempted to stay dry in tents frayed by months of use. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled for an expected meeting on Monday with US President Donald Trump in Florida about the second phase of the ceasefire. The first phase that took effect on October 10 was meant to bring a surge in humanitarian aid for Gaza, including shelter. Netanyahu made no public statement as he departed. Nowhere to escape In the southern city of Khan Younis, blankets were soaked and clay ovens meant for cooking were swamped. Children wearing flip-flops waded through puddles. Some people used shovels or tin cans to remove water from tents. Others clawed at the ground to pry collapsed shelters from the mud. "Puddles formed, and there was a bad smell," said Majdoleen Tarabein, displaced from Rafah in southern Gaza. "The tent flew away. We do not know what to
A Palestinian attacker rammed his car into a man and then stabbed a young woman in northern Israel on Friday afternoon, killing both, police said. The Israeli military swiftly launched an operation in the assailant's hometown in the occupied West Bank. The attack started in the northern city of Beit Shean when the Palestinian man rammed his vehicle into people, killing one man and injuring a teenage boy. He then drove off onto a highway, where he fatally stabbed the woman, and injured another person near the entrance to the city of Afula. Authorities say the attacker was shot and injured in Afula. He was then taken to hospital; his condition was not immediately known. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified the victims as Aviv Maor, a teenager, and Shimshon Mordechai, 68. Paramedics pronounced both dead at the scene. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that he was shocked by the "horrific killing spree". He said that Israel was "committed to reinforcing and strengtheni
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he has approved a USD35 billion natural gas export deal to Egypt, the biggest gas deal in Israeli history. The agreement could also help repair relations between the two countries strained during the two-year war in the Gaza Strip. The gas will be delivered to Egypt over the next 15 years by US energy giant Chevron, a key owner of the gas field off Israel's coast in the Mediterranean Sea. Half of the proceeds are expected to go to Israel's state coffers. In a recorded video statement, Netanyahu said the deal "greatly strengthens Israel's position as a regional energy power, and it contributes to stability in our region. Egypt, which borders both Israel and Gaza, has served as a key mediator between Israel and the Palestinian militant Hamas group leading up to the US-brokered ceasefire that was agreed on in October. Cairo has also has been a vocal critic of Israel's offensive, which has killed tens of thousands of ...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday spoke to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and the two leaders agreed to meet very soon, officials here said. Sharing about the talks between Netanyahu and Modi over the telephone, the Israeli PMO in a social media post said, At the end of the warm and friendly conversation, the two leaders agreed to meet very soon. The much-anticipated trip of the Israeli prime minister would come on the heels of several high-level ministerial visits from both sides. Minister of Tourism Haim Katz, Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Avi Dichter, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had visited India earlier this year as the strategic partners build up momentum to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The two countries signed a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) during Smotrich's visit and then a Terms of Reference (TOR) leading to FTA during the visit of Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyu
With the remains of one hostage still in Gaza, the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas is nearly complete, after a two-month process plagued by delays and finger-pointing. Now, the key players including Israel, the Palestinian militant Hamas group, the United States and a diverse list of international parties are to move to a far more complicated second phase that could reshape the Middle East. US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan which was approved by the U.N. Security Council lays out an ambitious vision for ending Hamas' rule of Gaza. If successful, it would see the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision, normalized relations between Israel and the Arab world and a possible pathway to Palestinian independence. But if the deal stalls, Gaza could be trapped in an unstable limbo for years to come, with Hamas remaining in control of parts of the territory, Israel's army enforcing an open-ended occupation an