Erdogan said, "Israel is implementing a strategy of total annihilation of a city and its people. I say very clearly and frankly that Israel is a terrorist state."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also vowed to take steps to ensure that Israel's political and military leaders face trial in international courts for their actions in Gaza.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when pressed on accountability for the October 7 attack on Israel, he such "difficult" questions until the conclusion of the ongoing war.
On October 7, over 2000 Hamas terrorists breached Israeli borders and carried out a horrific terror attack killing over 1400 people
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back Saturday against growing international calls for a cease-fire, saying Israel's battle to crush Gaza's ruling Hamas militants will continue with "full force". A cease-fire would be possible only if all 239 hostages held by militants in Gaza are released, Netanyahu said in a televised address. The Israeli leader also insisted that after the war, now entering its sixth week, Gaza would be demilitarized and Israel would retain security control there. The position appears to run counter to post-war scenarios floated by Israel's closest ally, the United States, which has said it opposes an Israeli reoccupation of the territory. Asked what he meant by security control, Netanyahu said Israeli forces must be able to enter Gaza when necessary to hunt down militants. Pressure was growing on Israel after frantic doctors at Gaza's largest hospital said the last generator had run out of fuel, causing the death of a premature baby, another child in an
He further said that Israel is doing everything possible to avoid harming Gazan civilians, whereas, Hamas is doing everything to prevent them from leaving for safe zones
Indefinite control of Gaza will not bring peace
The Prime Minister added that his government will spend on businesses "four times what we spent during COVID. Four times. We are going to spend very large amounts. There will be no lack of funds"
Thousands of Palestinians are fleeing south on foot with only what they can carry after running out of food and water in the north, a UN agency said Wednesday, as Israel said its troops were battling Hamas militants deep inside Gaza City. Over 70 per cent of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have already fled their homes, but the growing numbers making their way south point to an increasingly desperate situation in and around Gaza's largest city, which has come under heavy Israeli bombardment. The war triggered by Hamas' October 7 assault inside Israel has entered a second month, with an increasingly dire humanitarian situation inside the besieged Palestinian enclave and no end in sight. Israel has said its war to end Hamas' rule and crush its military capabilities will be long and difficult, and that it will maintain some form of control over the coastal enclave indefinitely. About 15,000 people fled northern Gaza on Tuesday, triple the number that left Monday, according to the UN .
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will have overall security responsibility in Gaza for an indefinite period after its war with Hamas, the clearest indication yet that Israel plans to maintain control over the coastal enclave that is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians. In an interview with ABC News that aired late Monday, Netanyahu expressed openness to little pauses in the fighting to facilitate the release of some of the more than 240 captives seized by Hamas in its October 7 attack into Israel, which triggered the war exactly one month ago. But he ruled out any general cease-fire without the release of all the hostages, and the White House said there was no agreement with United States President Joe Biden's call for a broader humanitarian pause after a phone call between the leaders on Monday. Israeli troops have been battling Palestinian militants inside Gaza for over a week, and have succeeded in cutting the territory in half and encircling Gaza City. Th
After more than a week of public pressure from the US for humanitarian pauses in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has allowed that his government might be open to only little pauses in its assault on Hamas. The Israeli leader sought to play down differences with his country's most vocal backer on the world stage at a time of rising scrutiny of the sharply rising civilian toll of fighting. Netanyahu spoke after President Joe Biden made a direct appeal to him nearly a month into the war seeking to rally support behind securing even limited relief for civilians in the spiralling conflict. The back-and-forth spotlighted the challenges facing Biden and his administration as they seek to manage what is emerging as one of the defining foreign policy crises of his presidency. The US thus far remains focused on keeping the fighting from exploding into a wider regional war and pushing for limited steps to alleviate civilian suffering. But it has remained steadfastly behind Is
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday pushed back against growing US pressure for a humanitarian pause in the nearly month-old war to protect civilians and allow more aid into Gaza, insisting there would be no temporary cease-fire until the roughly 240 hostages held by Hamas are released. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his third trip to Israel since the war began, reiterating American support for Israel's campaign to crush Hamas after its brutal Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel. He also echoed President Joe Biden's calls for a brief halt in the fighting to address a worsening humanitarian crisis. Alarm has grown over spiralling Palestinian deaths and deepening misery for civilians from weeks of Israeli bombardment and a widening ground assault that risks even greater casualties. Overwhelmed hospitals say they are nearing collapse, with medicine and fuel running low under the Israeli siege. About 1.5 million people in Gaza, or 70% of the population, have fled
The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Friday that his powerful militia is engaged in unprecedented cross-border fighting with Israel and threatened escalation. In a widely anticipated speech, Hassan Nasrallah stopped short of announcing that Hezbollah is fully engaging in the Israel-Hamas war. Nasrallah said in a televised speech that the fighting on the Lebanon-Israel border would not be limited to the scale seen until now. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out a temporary cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, saying he will press ahead with a devastating military offensive until hostages held by the Hamas militant group are released. Netanyahu spoke on Friday shortly after meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who pressed Israel for a temporary pause in its offensive in order to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza. Blinken also urged Israel to do more to protect civilians from its attacks. In a statement to reporters on Friday, Netanyahu said Israel is
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out a temporary cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, saying he will press ahead with a devastating military offensive until hostages held by the Hamas militant group are released. Netanyahu spoke Friday shortly after meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who pressed Israel for a temporary pause in its offensive in order to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza. Blinken also urged Israel to do more to protect civilians from its attacks. In a statement to reporters on Friday, Netanyahu said Israel is continuing with all of its power and refuses a temporary cease-fire that doesn't include a return of our hostages. Hamas kidnapped some 240 people in its bloody October 7 cross-border attack that triggered the Israel-Hamas war. The attack killed some 1,400 people, while over 9,000 people have been killed since Israel began striking Gaza the same day, according to Palestinian health officials.
President Joe Biden said he thought there should be a humanitarian pause in the Israel-Hamas war, after his campaign speech Wednesday evening was interrupted by a protester calling for a cease-fire. I think we need a pause, Biden said. The call was a subtle departure for Biden and top White House aides, who throughout the Mideast crisis have been steadfast in stating they will not dictate how the Israelis carry out their military operations in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas. But the president has faced intensifying pressure from human rights groups, fellow world leaders and even liberal members of his own Democratic Party, who say that the Israeli bombardment of Gaza is collective punishment and that it is time for a cease-fire. In his comments, Biden was exerting pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give Palestinians at least a brief reprieve from the relentless military operation that's left thousands dead and mired the 141-square-mile strip in a ..
Israeli ground forces pushed deeper into Gaza on Monday, advancing in tanks and other armoured vehicles on the territory's main city and freeing a soldier held captive by Hamas militants. The Israeli prime minister rejected calls for a cease-fire, even as airstrikes landed near hospitals where thousands of Palestinians are sheltering beside the wounded. The military said a female soldier captured during Hamas' brutal October 7 incursion was rescued in Gaza the first since the weekslong war began. It provided few details, but said in a statement that Pvt. Ori Megidish is doing well and had met with her family. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed her home, saying the achievement by Israel's security forces illustrates our commitment to free all the hostages. He also rejected calls for a cease-fire to facilitate the release of captives or end the war, which he has said will be long and difficult. Calls for a cease-fire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, he told a pres
Hundreds of people stormed into the main airport in Russia's Dagestan region and onto the landing field on Sunday, chanting antisemitic slogans and seeking passengers arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv, Israel, Russian news agencies and social media reported. Russian news reports said the crowd surrounded the airliner, which belonged to Russian carrier Red Wings. Authorities closed the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the predominantly Muslim region, and police converged on the facility. Dagestan's Ministry of Health said more than 20 people were injured, with two in critical condition. It said the injured included police officers and civilians. Video on social media showed some in the crowd waving Palestinian flags and others trying to overturn a police car. Antisemitic slogans can be heard being shouted and some in the crowd examined the passports of arriving passengers, apparently in an attempt to identify those who were Israeli. In a statement Sunday night, Israeli Prime
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the nation Saturday night that the military has opened a second stage in the war against Hamas by sending ground forces into Gaza and expanding attacks from the ground, air and sea. He said it will only increase ahead of a broad ground invasion into the territory. It will be long and difficult, he said. We are ready. The bombardment, described by Gaza residents as the most intense of the war, knocked out most communications in Gaza. This largely cut off the besieged enclave's 2.3 million people from the world, while enabling the Israeli military to control the narrative in the new stage of fighting. The military released grainy images Saturday showing tank columns moving slowly in open areas of Gaza, many apparently near the border, and said warplanes bombed dozens of Hamas tunnels and underground bunkers. The underground sites are a key target in Israel's campaign to crush the territory's ruling group after its bloody incursion into ..
Israel is in the midst of a fight for its existence and preparations are underway for a ground incursion into Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said and added that "all Hamas members are dead men walking". In an address to the nation on Wednesday evening, he stressed that the two main goals of the war were "to eliminate Hamas by destroying its military and governance capabilities, and to do everything possible to get our captives home". Seeking national unity, the prime minister said that, "Israel is in the midst of a fight for our existence." "All Hamas members are dead men walking above and below ground, inside and outside Gaza," Netanyahu said. Together with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Minister Benny Gantz, the Security Cabinet, the Chief-of-Staff and heads of the security organisations, "we are working round the clock in order to achieve the aims of the war until victory, and doing so without political considerations," he said. The goals are "saving the nation, achiev
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make efforts to see that a humanitarian corridor is opened in Gaza so that people can get relief and a ceasefire announced. He spoke to reporters after addressing a public meeting on Monday night organised at the AIMIM headquarters here "in protest against the atrocities of Israel in Palestine". The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a barrage of rocket attacks in Southern Israel on October 7. The unprecedented assault triggered retaliatory strikes from the Israel Defense Forces. "India is sending aid. But, Israel is saying we will not allow it. We are talking about sending aid to Gaza through Rafah, Egypt. Our planes had gone. We demand Prime Minister Narendra Modi to first get a ceasefire made there. Get a ceasefire done in Gaza and a humanitarian corridor is opened there," he said, when asked about India sending relief materials. He observed that 50,000 women are pregnant in Gaza and that ...