Page 9 - Benjamin Netanyahu

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

'Will relocate them to beautiful areas of Middle East': Trump on Gaza plan

Donald Trump had proposed US control over Gaza, pledging reconstruction and economic revival; Netanyahu calls it a 'historic shift' that could reshape the region's future

Hamas should free all hostages by Saturday or 'let hell break out': Trump

Trump expressed frustration with the condition of the last group of hostages freed by Hamas and by the announcement by the militant group that it would halt further releases

Netanyahu backs Trump's plan to relocate Gazans, calls it a 'fresh idea'

Netanyahu has said that Palestinians relocated from Gaza must "renounce terrorism" before being permitted to return, framing it as a condition for long-term stability in the region

Saudi Arabia rejects Netanyahu's proposal for Palestinian state on its land

Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there, said Netanyahu

Trump suggests US control of Gaza, calls it a 'most spectacular' project

Trump proposes US control of Gaza as the 'most spectacular' project, while Israel drafts plans for Palestinian departures amid divided global reactions

Trump hails Netanyahu's golden pager gift: 'That was a great operation'

Israeli PM Netanyahu gifted President Trump a golden pager, referencing a deadly Israeli operation in Lebanon; Trump praised the move, calling it 'a great operation', during their White House meeting

Won't establish ties with Israel without Palestinian state: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia refutes Donald Trump's claim that it hasn't insisted on a Palestinian state, reaffirming no Israel ties without it; Trump also proposed a US takeover and redevelopment of Gaza

US will 'take over' the Gaza strip, own it and develop it, says Trump

Trump said we're going to own and develop the Gaza strip, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it'll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of

Trump holds talks with Netanyahu, warns 'no guarantees' for peace in Gaza

President Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are set to meet Tuesday as the Israeli prime minister faces competing pressure from his right-wing coalition to end a temporary truce against Hamas militants in Gaza and from war-weary Israelis who want the remaining hostages home and the 15-month conflict to end. Trump is guarded about the long-term prospects for the truce, even as he takes credit for pressuring Hamas and Israel into the hostage and ceasefire agreement that went into effect the day before he returned to office last month. I have no guarantees that the peace is going to hold," Trump told reporters Monday. The leaders' talks are expected to touch on a long-sought Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization deal and concerns about Iran's nuclear program, but hammering out the second phase of the hostage deal will be at the top of the agenda. Netanyahu's arrival in Washington for the first foreign leader visit of Trump's second term comes as the prime minister's popular support is .

Netanyahu appoints Eyal Zamir as new chief of Israel Defense Forces

With this announcement, Zamir has become the 24th Chief of Staff of IDF, replacing Lt Gen Herzi Halevi following his resignation last month

Trump invites Israel's Netanyahu to meet with him at White House next week

President Donald Trump has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House next week as the first foreign leader to visit in Trump's second term, Netanhayu and the White House said Tuesday. The announcement came as the United States pressures Israel and Hamas to continue a ceasefire that has paused a devastating 15-month war in Gaza. Talks about the ceasefire's more difficult second phase, which aims to end the war, begin next Monday. The White House letter shared by Netanyahu's office, dated Tuesday, said I look forward to discussing how we can bring peace to Israel and its neighbours, and efforts to counter our shared adversaries. The meeting on February 4 is a chance for Netanyahu, under pressure at home, to remind the world of the support he has received from Trump over the years, and to defend Israel's conduct of the war. Last year, the two men met face-to-face for the first time in nearly four years at Trump's Florida Mar-a-Lago estate. Israel is the larg

Netanyahu hopes to meet Trump in US as soon as next week, say officials

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hoping to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington as early as next week, according to two US officials familiar with preliminary planning for the trip. Should the trip come together in that timeframe, Netanyahu could be the first foreign leader to meet with Trump at the White House since his inauguration last week. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the planning remains tentative, said details could be arranged when Trump's special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, travels to Israel this week for talks with Netanyahu and other Israeli officials. The White House had no immediate comment on the plans, which were first reported by Axios. Netanyahu's spokesman, Omer Dostri, said Monday on the social platform X that the Israeli leader has not yet received an official invitation to the White House. An Israeli official, however, said Netanyahu is expected to go to the White House in February but did not have a dat