Page 22 - Benjamin Netanyahu

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

US will not take part in Israeli counter strike on Iran: Biden to Netanyahu

Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday night in response to a suspected Israel attack on Iran's Syria consulate on April 1

US Prez Biden, PM Netanyahu speak after Iranian drone attack on Israel

Meanwhile, in a stern warning for Israel's closest ally, Iran asked the US to stay away from the ongoing conflict with Israel

As tensions mount, Iran may attack Israel in the next two days, reports WSJ

The heightened tensions follow Tehran's accusation against Israel regarding an airstrike on a diplomatic building in Damascus, Syria on April 2, which killed its top military officials

Biden terms Netanyahu's approach to war a mistake, rift likely to deepen

US President Joe Biden called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the war in Gaza a mistake and called for his government to flood Gaza with aid, ramping up pressure on Israel to reach a cease-fire and widening a rift between the two staunch allies that has worsened as the war has dragged on. Biden has been an outspoken supporter of Israel's war against Hamas since the militant group launched a deadly assault on October 7. But in recent weeks his patience with Netanyahu has appeared to be waning and his administration has taken a more stern line with Israel, rattling the countries' decades-old alliance and deepening Israel's international isolation over the war. Biden's most recent comments, made in an interview that aired late Tuesday after being recorded last week, highlight the differences between Israel and the US over humanitarian aid to people in Gaza, where a monthslong war has led to warnings of imminent famine. What he's doing is a mistake. I don't agree with hi

Netanyahu vows to carry out Rafah invasion which US calls a mistake

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has escalated his pledge to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which is filled with around 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. It will happen. There is a date, Netanyahu said in a video statement Monday, without elaborating. The United States, Israel's closest ally, has said a ground operation into Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians. Netanyahu spoke as Israeli negotiators are in Cairo discussing international efforts to broker a cease-fire deal with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israeli troops withdrew Sunday from Khan Younis, another city in southern Gaza, ending a key phase of the war. Defense officials say they're regrouping ahead of a push into Rafah. Palestinians who visited Khan Younis on Monday said the city is now unlivable, offering them little immediate chance to return. Many have been sheltering in Rafah. The ...