Page 13 - Benjamin Netanyahu

Fragile ceasefire shattered: Why did Israel resume its war in Gaza?

Israel has resumed its military operations in Gaza after ceasefire talks stalled, with Israel and the US pushing to revise the original deal with Hamas

Israel launches ground op to retake part of key corridor in northern Gaza

Israel said Wednesday it launched a limited ground operation in northern Gaza to retake part of a corridor that bisects the territory, and the country's defence minister warned that the army plans to step up the attacks that shattered a two-month ceasefire "with an intensity that you have not seen. The military said it had retaken part of the Netzarim corridor, which bisects northern Gaza from the south and from where it had withdrawn as part of the ceasefire with Hamas that began in January. Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Palestinians in Gaza that the army would again order evacuations from combat zones soon, and that its attacks against Hamas would become more fierce if dozens of hostages held for more than 17 months weren't freed. As Israel continued its airstrikes on Gaza Wednesday, the United Nations said an international United Nations staffer was killed and five others were wounded in a strike Wednesday on a UN guesthouse in Gaza. Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the UN

Netanyahu blames Hamas after Israeli strikes kill over 400 in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Gazans to stay out of harm's way and move to safer areas, blaming every civilian casualty on Hamas

Strikes in Gaza that killed hundreds are 'only beginning', says Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Tuesday's airstrikes in Gaza are only the beginning and that all ceasefire negotiations will take place under fire. In a recorded statement broadcast on national television, Netanyahu said Israel would press ahead until it realises all of its war goals -- destroying Hamas and freeing all hostages held by the militant group. The previous releases proved that military pressure is a necessary condition for freeing hostages, he said.

Israel intensifies airstrikes on Gaza: What's behind the new offensive?

Israel has resumed large-scale airstrikes on Gaza, causing widespread devastation. With political and military motivations at play, what's driving this renewed offensive

UN accuses Israel of sexual violence, Netanyahu alleges anti-Israel bias

United Nations-backed human rights experts on Thursday accused Israel of "the systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other gender-based violence" in its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The allegations came in one of the most extensive reports of its kind on the issue since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel ignited the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at the Human Rights Council, a UN-backed body that commissioned the team of independent experts, as an "anti-Israel circus" that "has long been exposed as an antisemitic, rotten, terrorist-supporting, and irrelevant body". His statement did not address the findings themselves. The findings by the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which seeks to document in minute detail the allegations and evidence of crimes to bolster accountability for perpetrators, could be used by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court or in other jurisdictions to try to bring justice

Israel cuts electricity supply to Gaza to push Hamas on ceasefire, hostages

The move follows Israel's decision last week to block all aid to the war-torn enclave, a step similar of its earlier measures at the onset of the conflict, when it declared a 'siege' on Gaza

Netanyahu thanks Trump for support, release of delayed munitions to Israel

Netanyahu praised Trump as the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House

One killed, four injured in Israel stabbing attack; suspect shot dead

The attack in Israel happened amid heightened regional tensions over the ceasefire situation in Gaza

Trump administration approves nearly $3 billion arms sale to Israel

The Trump administration has approved a major nearly USD 3 billion arms sale to Israel, bypassing a normal congressional review to provide the country with more of the 2,000-pound bombs that it has used in the war against Hamas in Gaza. In a series of notifications sent to Congress late Friday, the State Department said it had signed off on the sale of more than 35,500 MK 84 and BLU-117 bombs and 4,000 Predator warheads worth USD 2.04 billion. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defence articles and defense services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements, the department said. Deliveries are set to begin next year, it said. Using the same justification, the department also said Rubio had approved another munitions sale to Israel worth USD 675.7 million to be delivered .

Trump shares Gaza plans through AI video: Gold statues, cocktails, luxury

Trump's AI Gaza video stirs controversy with Netanyahu, men in bikinis & luxury, reimagining the war-torn region as a futuristic paradise with golden skyscrapers

Israel won't allow Syrian forces to enter 'south of Damascus': Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not allow Syria's new army or the insurgent group that led the ouster of former President Bashar Assad to enter the area south of Damascus. His government made clear Israeli forces would stay in parts of southern Syria for an indefinite period. Netanyahu's comments Sunday at a military graduation led to new concerns over the Israeli presence, and sway, in a swath of southern Syria as Damascus' new leaders attempt to consolidate control after years of civil war. Take note: We will not allow HTS forces or the new Syrian army to enter the area south of Damascus, Netanyahu said, referring to Syria's new authorities as well as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main former rebel group. We demand the complete demilitarisation of southern Syria in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Suwayda from the forces of the new regime. Likewise, we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria. There was no immediate respons

Israeli PM Netanyahu decries release of wrong body as ceasefire violation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed revenge Friday for what he described as a cruel and malicious violation of the ceasefire agreement after a body that Hamas released as part of the deal was found to not be that of an Israeli mother of two young boys, as the militants had promised. The incident raised questions about the future of the fragile ceasefire deal, which has paused over 15 months of war and is due to see its first phase end in early March. But in the short term, there were indications the deal's next step the release of six living hostages on Saturday would proceed as planned. In a statement Friday, Hamas said it would conduct a thorough review of the information regarding the body. It suggested a possible mix-up of remains might have occurred due to Israeli bombing of the area where the Israeli hostages were being held because other Palestinians were also present. Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, also announced Friday it would go ahead with the

Israel PM Netanyahu deploys army in West Bank after terror attack on buses

The bus blasts came just hours after Palestinian militant group Hamas returned four bodies purported to be hostages held in Gaza since its October 7, 2023 attack

Hamas to free 6 living hostages, hand over 4 bodies to speed Gaza releases

A top Hamas official says the militant group will free six living Israeli hostages on Saturday and return the bodies of four others on Thursday, a surprise acceleration in releases apparently in trade for Israel's allowing mobile homes and construction equipment into the devastated Gaza Strip. The six are the last living hostages set to be freed during the ceasefire's first phase in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. The announcement by Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, in prerecorded remarks released on Tuesday, said the dead would include the "Bibas family" -- two young boys and their mother who for many Israelis have come to symbolise the plight of those taken captive. Israel has not confirmed their deaths, and the prime minister's office urged the public not to distribute "photos, names and rumours" after the announcement by Hamas. "In the past few hours, we have been in turmoil," surviving members of the Bibas family said in a statement released on Tuesd

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu orders immediate enforcement of UNRWA law

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a relief and human development agency

Israeli PM may go with Trump's idea to transfer Palestinians from Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled that he was moving ahead with US President Donald Trump's proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza, calling it "the only viable plan to enable a different future" for the region. Netanyahu discussed the plan with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who kicked off a Middle East visit by endorsing Israel's war aims in Gaza, saying Hamas "must be eradicated". That created further doubt around the shaky ceasefire as talks on its second phase are yet to begin. Rubio, in his upcoming stops in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, is likely to face more pushback from Arab leaders over Trump's proposal, which includes redeveloping Gaza under US ownership. Netanyahu has said all emigration from Gaza should be "voluntary" but rights groups and other critics say that the plan amounts to coercion given the territory's vast destruction. Netanyahu said he and Trump have a "common strategy" for Gaza. Echoing Trump, he said "the gates of hel

Relatives of Israeli hostages terrified as fragile Gaza ceasefire may end

After 16 months of excruciating uncertainty, Idit Ohel finally received word this week that her 24-year-old son, a hostage in Gaza, is still alive. She said she fainted upon hearing the brutal details of his captivity from freed hostages who had been held with him by Hamas since October 7, 2023. Bound by chains in an underground tunnel, Alon Ohel has subsisted on a piece of bread or less each day. He hasn't seen sunlight in 493 days, she told reporters on Monday. As the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas seems increasingly at risk of falling apart Hamas says it will not free three hostages on Saturday as planned, and Israel says it's ready to resume the war if it doesn't families of the hostages are struggling to maintain hope. They are pleading with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to give up on the ceasefire framework, and to speed up the timeline of releases if possible. Their worries about the ceasefire collapsing have been exacerbated by President Donald Trump'

Netanyahu warns of ending Gaza ceasefire if hostages not returned on Feb 15

After nearly 16 months of war, Hamas has gradually been releasing hostages since the first phase of a ceasefire began on January 19, but on Monday said it would not free any more

India, Israel share warm ties beyond strategic partnership: Knesset speaker

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana has said India and Israel not only are strategic partners in many areas but their people also share a warm and honest relationship. Ohana, seen as a close confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also credited the prime ministers of both the countries for "having worked hard" to strengthen and deepen the relationship between "big and powerful" India and "small and creative" Israel. Recalling his visit to India in March 2023, the Speaker said it was not accidental that he chose India as his first overseas destination for a visit. "I chose India as the first destination for my overseas trip after entering office as the Speaker of the Knesset. The first trip is also a reflection of the importance of a place in our relationship. It was also the first visit of any Knesset speaker to India", Ohana said. "During the time of the visit and also after it, the strong sentiments towards India only deepened. India is not only a strategic partner of Isra