Page 21 - Benjamin Netanyahu

Biden-Netanyahu relations strained; can the two leaders move forward

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have long managed a complicated relationship, but they're running out of space to maneuver as their views on the Gaza war diverge and their political futures hang in the balance. Their ties have hit a low point as Biden holds up the delivery of heavy bombs to Israel and warns that the provision of artillery and other weaponry also could be suspended if Netanyahu moves forward with a widescale operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Netanyahu, for his part, is brushing off Biden's warnings and vowing to press ahead, saying, If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. If we need to, we will fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than fingernails, he said. Biden has long prided himself on being able to manage Netanyahu more with carrots than sticks. But the escalation of friction over the past seven months suggests that his approach may be long past its best-by date. With both men balancing an ...

Hamas accepts cease-fire proposal for Gaza, but Israel still uncertain

Hamas announced Monday it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but there was no immediate word from Israel, leaving it uncertain whether a deal had been sealed to bring a halt to the seven-month-long war in Gaza. It was the first glimmer of hope that a deal might avert further bloodshed. Hours earlier, Israel ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah, signalling that an attack was imminent. The United States and other key allies of Israel oppose an offensive on Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gaza's population, are sheltering. An official familiar with Israeli thinking said Israeli officials were examining the proposal, but the plan approved by Hamas was not the framework Israel proposed. An American official also said the US was still waiting to learn more about the Hamas position and whether it reflected an agreement to what had already been signed off on by Israel and international ...

Israel carries out airstrikes on Gaza city of Rafah after evacuation order

Seven months into its war against Hamas, Israel has been threatening to launch incursions in Rafah, which it says harbours thousands of Hamas fighters and potentially dozens of hostages

Netanyahu's Cabinet votes to shut down Al Jazeera offices in Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his government has voted unanimously to shut down the local offices of Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera, escalating Israel's long-running feud with the channel at a time when cease-fire negotiations with Hamas - mediated by Qatar - are gaining steam. Netanyahu announced the decision on X, formerly Twitter, but details on the implications of the step on the channel, when it would go into effect or whether the measure was permanent or temporary were not immediately clear. My government decided unanimously: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will close in Israel, Netanyahu posted on X. Al Jazeera has vehemently denied that it incites against Israel. There was no immediate comment from the channel headquarters in the Qatari capital of Doha. But several Al Jazeera correspondents went on air to give their understanding on how the decision would affect the channel. An Al Jazeera correspondent on its Arabic service said the ord

Netanyahu uses Holocaust ceremony to brush off int'l pressure against Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected international pressure to halt the war in Gaza in a fiery speech marking the country's annual Holocaust memorial day, declaring: If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone. The message, delivered in a setting that typically avoids politics, was aimed at the growing chorus of world leaders who have criticised the heavy toll caused by Israel's military offensive against Hamas militants and have urged the sides to agree to a cease-fire. I say to the leaders of the world: No amount of pressure, no decision by any international forum will stop Israel from defending itself, he said. Never again is now. Yom Hashoah, the day Israel observes as a memorial for the 6 million Jews killed by Nazi Germany and its allies in the Holocaust, is one of the most solemn dates on the country's calendar, and speeches at the ceremony generally avoid politics. Netanyahu also compared the recent wave of protests on American campus

Netanyahu vows to invade Rafah as ceasefire talks with Hamas continue

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into a Gaza city sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Netanyahu said Israel would enter Rafah to destroy Hamas' battalions there with or without a deal. Israel and Hamas are negotiating a cease-fire agreement meant to free hostages and bring some relief to the nearly 7-month-long war. Netanyahu has vowed to achieve total victory in the war and has faced pressure from his nationalist governing partners to launch an offensive in Rafah, which Israel says is Hamas' last major stronghold.

Antony Blinken presses Hamas to accept new proposal for Gaza cease-fire

The United States stepped up pressure Monday for a cease-fire deal in Gaza as the secretary of state said a new proposal had been put to Hamas, whose officials were in Cairo talking to Egyptian mediators. Israeli airstrikes killed 26 people in Gaza's southernmost town of Rafah, according to hospital records. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, ahead of a visit to Israel this week, urged Hamas to accept the latest proposal, calling it extraordinarily generous on Israel's part. The terms were not made public. But according to an Egyptian official and Israeli media, Israel has softened its position, lowering the number of hostages it demands that Hamas free during the initial six-week phase of the cease-fire in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinians from Israeli prisons. One question is whether that will be enough to overcome Hamas concerns over the cease-fire's second phase. Hamas has demanded assurances that an eventual release of all hostages will bring a complete end

Gaza war: Can International Criminal Court arrest Israeli PM Netanyahu?

The International Criminal Court could also be considering arrest warrants for Hamas leaders

Biden and Netanyahu speak on Rafah invasion and cease fire talks

The White House on Sunday said US President Joe Biden had again spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as pressure builds on Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a cease-fire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza. The White House said that Biden reiterated his clear position as Israel plans to invade Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah despite global concern for more than 1 million Palestinians sheltering there. The US opposes the invasion on humanitarian grounds, straining relations between the allies. Israel is among the countries U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit as he returns to the Middle East on Monday. Biden also stressed that progress in delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza be sustained and enhanced, according to the statement. The call lasted just under an hour, and they agreed the onus remains on Hamas to accept the latest offer in negotiations, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition

Poised to evacuate Palestinians from Rafah, says Israeli military

An Israeli government source said Netanyahu's war cabinet planned to meet in the coming two weeks to authorise civilian evacuations, expected to take around a month

Why the US may impose its first ever sanctions on an Israeli military unit

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the possibility of sanctions on a Israel Defense Forces battalion 'the peak of absurdity and a moral low'

Zelenskyy, Netanyahu thank US lawmakers for passage of aid package

Around $9.5 billion of the package is in the form of a forgivable loan

Israel launches missile strike on Iran, explosion heard in Isfahan

Israel's alleged missile strike comes after Iran's assault last Saturday, which involved over 300 drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles

Gaza war: Israel to make its own decision to defend itself, says Netanyahu

Earlier, Netanyahu's office said that during his meetings with Baerbock and Cameron, Israeli PM "reiterated that Israel would maintain its right to self-defense"

UK PM Sunak tells Netanyahu to exercise restraint in wake of Iran's attack

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called on his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to exercise restraint and let calm heads prevail in the wake of Iran's missile attacks as his Foreign Secretary David Cameron landed in Tel Aviv for talks on Wednesday. In a phone call, Sunak reiterated the UK's steadfast support for regional stability and told the Israeli leader that Iran had miscalculated its move, being isolated on the global stage as a result. Netanyahu is said to have thanked Britain for its rapid and robust support in the face of Iran's unprecedented direct attack on Israel on Saturday. The Prime Minister [Sunak] said Iran had badly miscalculated and was increasingly isolated on the global stage, with the G7 coordinating a diplomatic response, Downing Street said in a readout of the call on Tuesday evening. He stressed that significant escalation was in no one's interest and would only deepen insecurity in the Middle East. This was a moment for calm heads to prevail, t

Israel's military vows response to Iran attack as calls for restraint mount

The prospect of Israeli retaliation has alarmed many Iranians already enduring economic pain and tighter social and political controls since protests in 2022-23

US to stay out, Israel warns of retaliation after Iran attack: Key points

The US, which helped the Israeli air defence to shoot down Iranian missiles, lauded the 'remarkable Israeli defence' and reiterated America's 'ironclad' security commitments to Israel

Iran attack on Israel risks provoking an uncontrollable escalation, says G7

Unequivocally condemning in the strongest terms Iran's direct and unprecedented attack against Israel, the G-7 leaders on Sunday said the development risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation even as permanent members of the UN Security Council announced to convene an emergency meeting on the issues in New York. With its actions, Iran has further stepped toward the destabilisation of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation. This must be avoided. We will continue to work to stabilise the situation and avoid further escalation, G-7 leaders said in a joint statement after a conference call among them initiated by President Joe Biden. The US assisted Israel in shooting down dozens of drones and missiles fired by Iran in its first direct military assault on the former. Israeli authorities said 99 per cent of the inbound weapons were shot down without causing any significant damage. In this spirit, we demand that Iran and its proxies cease their .

Don't expect US to take part in any retaliatory action against Iran: Biden

Iran launched the attack over a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed top Revolutionary Guards commanders

Destroyed over 80 Iranian ballistic missiles headed towards Israel: US

: The US destroyed more than 80 UAVs and at least six ballistic missiles launched by Iran at Israel, the Pentagon said Sunday. This includes a ballistic missile on its launcher vehicle and seven UAVs destroyed on the ground in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen prior to their launch, the US Central Command said. Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel, which Tehran said was in response to the April 1 strike on its consulate in Syria. Almost all Iranian drones and missiles were shot down by Israeli, US and allied forces before they reached their targets. On Saturday and Sunday morning, US CENTCOM forces, supported by US European Command destroyers, successfully engaged and destroyed more than 80 one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAV) and at least six ballistic missiles intended to strike Israel from Iran and Yemen, the media note said. Iran's continued unprecedented, malign, and reckless behaviour endangers regional stability and the safety of U.S. and coali