Page 14 - Gaza Conflict

Pressure mounts on extending Gaza ceasefire as details on hostages emerge

New details and growing shock over emaciated hostages renewed pressure Sunday on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend a fragile Gaza ceasefire beyond the first phase ending in three weeks. Talks on the second phase, meant to see more hostages released and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, were due to start Feb. 3. But Israel and Hamas appear to have made little progress, even as Israeli forces withdrew Sunday from a Gaza corridor in the latest commitment to the truce. Netanyahu sent a delegation to Qatar, a key mediator, but it included low-level officials, sparking speculation that it won't lead to a breakthrough. Netanyahu, who returned after a U.S. visit to meet with President Donald Trump, is expected to convene security Cabinet ministers on Tuesday. Trump himself suggested he was losing patience with the deal after seeing the emaciated hostages released this week. I watched the hostages come back today and they looked like Holocaust survivors. They were i

Germany's Scholz calls Trump's Gaza proposal 'scandal' in poll debate

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described President Donald Trump's suggestion that the US could take ownership of the Gaza Strip, relocate its population and redevelop it as a scandal in a pre-election debate Sunday. His main challenger also voiced unease but suggested there's a lot of rhetoric coming from Washington. The center-left Scholz and center-right challenger Friedrich Merz, the front-runner in the Feb. 23 election, discussed top domestic issues such as Germany's struggling economy and migration, and also addressed foreign policy three weeks into Trump's new term. Asked what he made of Trump's proposal to redevelop Gaza into the Riviera of the Middle East," Scholz replied: A scandal. Besides that, a really terrible expression," given the extent of the destruction that is now visible there. The relocation of populations is unacceptable and against international law, he added in the debate on ARD and ZDF public television. He pointed to the position of Egypt and Jordan. I shar

Hamas frees three more Israeli hostages in exchange for 183 Palestinians

Hamas-led militants released three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages on Saturday, and Israel freed 183 Palestinian prisoners as part of a fragile agreement that has paused the war in the Gaza Strip. The hostages' emaciated condition and scenes of Hamas forcing them to speak in a staged release ceremony sparked outrage in Israel and could increase the pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the ceasefire beyond its current six-week phase. Netanyahu has previously signalled he would resume the war, even if that meant leaving dozens of remaining hostages in Hamas captivity. Before a crowd of hundreds, armed Hamas fighters led Eli Sharabi, 52, Ohad Ben Ami, 56, and Or Levy, 34, onto a stage to make public statements before handing them over to the Red Cross. The three civilian men were among about 250 people abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, that sparked the war. They appeared in much poorer physical condition than the previous 18 ..

Hamas names 3 hostages to be freed, accuses Israel of breaching ceasefire

The Hamas prisoners' media office said Israel was expected to free 183 Palestinians in exchange, including 18 who have been serving life sentences

Future looks dire for UN Palestinian refugee agency amid ban: UNRWA chief

The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Thursday that while an Israeli ban has not yet forced the agency to cease operations, it faces an existential threat in the long run. I have been very clear that despite all the obstacles and the pressure the agency is under, our objective is to stay and deliver until we are prevented to do so, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, also known as UNRWA, said in an interview with The Associated Press during a visit to Beirut. Israel last week formally banned UNRWA from operating on its territory. As a result, Lazzarini said, international staff have had to leave East Jerusalem because their visas expired, but in Gaza and the West Bank there has been no immediate impact on operations. Even in East Jerusalem, he said, health care and other services provided by UNRWA "are continuing, though not necessarily at the same scope it used to be. UNRWA is also likely to face increased pressure from

Trump signs order imposing sanctions on ICC over investigations of Israel

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court over investigations of Israel, a close U.S. ally. Neither the U.S. nor Israel is a member of or recognizes the court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes over his military response in Gaza after the Hamas attack against Israel in October 2023. Tens of thousands of Palestinians, including children, have been killed during the Israeli military's response. The order Trump signed accuses the ICC of engaging in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel" and of abusing its power by issuing baseless arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant. The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, the order states, adding that the court had set a dangerous precedent with its actions against both countries. Trump's action came as .

Israel to turn Gaza strip over to US after fighting ends, says Trump

Trump said that Gaza Strip would be turned over to US by Israel at conclusion of fighting. The Palestinians ... would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, he said

US allies, adversaries reject Trump's proposal to 'take over' Gaza Strip

President Donald Trump's proposal that the United States take over the Gaza Strip and permanently resettle its Palestinian residents was swiftly rejected and denounced on Wednesday by American allies and adversaries alike. Trump's suggestion came at a White House news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who smiled several times as the president detailed a plan to build new settlements for Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip, and for the US to take ownership in redeveloping the war-torn territory into the Riviera of the Middle East. The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too, Trump said. We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs. His remarks drew swift opposition and were certain to roil the ceasefire talks between Ham

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 sees 'long-term' US ownership of Gaza, doesn't dismiss using military

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he isn't ruling out deploying U.S. troops to support reconstruction of Gaza and he envisions long-term U.S. ownership of a redevelopment of the territory. We'll do what is necessary, Trump said about the possibility of deploying troops to fill any security vacuum. If it's necessary, we'll do that. The comments came after Trump said he wants the U.S. to take ownership of the Gaza Strip and redevelop it after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere. We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, Trump said a start of a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump added the U.S. would level destroyed buildings and create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area. The comments came after Trump earlier suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-t

Israel to send team to Qatar to discuss 2nd phase of ceasefire with Hamas

The ongoing 1st phase of ceasefire is supposed to see a total of 33 Israeli hostages freed over 6 weeks. The fate of remaining 65 hostages will be determined by negotiations to begin on 16th day

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 .

Aid surging into Gaza after ceasefire, but is it reaching everyone?

Two weeks after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel took effect, aid is flooding into the Gaza Strip, bringing relief to a territory suffering from hunger, mass displacement and devastation following 15 months of war. But Palestinians and aid workers say it's still an uphill battle to ensure the assistance reaches everyone. And looming large is the possibility that fighting will resume if the ceasefire breaks down after the six-week first phase. As part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel said it would allow 600 aid trucks into Gaza each day, a major increase. Israel estimates that at least 4,200 trucks have entered each week since the ceasefire took hold. Humanitarian groups say aid distribution is complicated by destroyed or damaged roads, Israeli inspections and the threat of unexploded bombs. On Saturday, Samir Abu Holi, 68, watched over a food-distribution point in Jabaliya, an area in northern Gaza razed to the ground during multiple Israeli offensives, the most recent of .

Israel's Netanyahu heads to US to discuss 'victory over Hamas' with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he will discuss "victory over Hamas, countering Iran and expanding diplomatic relations with Arab countries in his meeting with US President Donald Trump. Tuesday's meeting at the White House will be Trump's first with a foreign leader since returning to office. It comes as US and Arab mediators begin the daunting work of brokering the next phase of an agreement to wind down the war in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of militant-held hostages. Hamas, which has quickly reasserted its control over Gaza since the ceasefire took hold last month, has said it will not release the hostages slated to go free in the second phase without an end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces. Netanyahu, who is under mounting pressure from far-right governing partners to resume the war after the first phase ends in early March, has said Israel is still committed to victory over Hamas and the return of all the hostages captured in the

Arab nations reject Trump's proposal to shift Palestinians to Egypt, Jordan

The Israeli government hasn't officially addressed Trump's recent comments. Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump at the White House on Tuesday

Sick, wounded children from Gaza cross into Egypt as border reopens

A group of 50 sick and wounded Palestinian children began crossing to Egypt for treatment through Gaza's Rafah crossing on Saturday, in the first opening of the border since Israel captured it nearly nine months ago. The reopening of the Rafah crossing represents a significant breakthrough that bolsters the ceasefire deal Israel and Hamas agreed to earlier this month. Israel agreed to reopen the crossing after Hamas released the last living female hostages in Gaza. Egyptian television showed an Palestinian Red Cross ambulance pulling up to the crossing gate, and several children were brought out on stretchers and transferred to ambulances on the Egyptian side.

Hamas hands over three Israeli hostages to Red Cross in southern Gaza

Hamas handed two hostages over to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday as part of its ceasefire deal with Israel. The militants released Yarden Bibas, 35, and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54, in a highly stage-managed and orderly handover to the Red Cross. Both had been abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war. Another hostage, American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 65, was also set to be released Saturday and was expected to be handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City to the north. The truce, which began Jan. 19, is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the Hamas militant group. The fragile deal has held for nearly two weeks, halting the fighting and allowing for increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory. A total of 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners during the truce's initial six weeks. Israel says it

Hamas confirms death of Mohammed Deif, months after Israeli airstrike

Deif was targeted in a strike at Hamas' Khan Younis Brigade commander Rafa'a Salameh's compound in Khan Younis area on July 13

Palestinian militants begin handover of 3 Israeli hostages in latest deal

Three hostages were expected to be taken to three different hospitals in Israel, though that could change depending on their immediate inspection from doctors upon arrival