Page 28 - Gaza Conflict

US Secretary Blinken warns Israel, Hamas of last chance to end Gaza war

The talks in Qatar last week paused without a breakthrough, but the negotiations are to resume this week based on a US "bridging proposal".

Mideast mediators preparing for ceasefire deal in advance: US official

In a sign that mediators believe a Gaza cease-fire deal is imminent, a US official said Friday that Mideast negotiators are working out logistics for the potential release of hostages and distribution of aid as part of any agreement to end the Israel-Hamas war. The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity in keeping with rules set by the White House, said the proposal currently on the table basically bridges every gap between Israel and Hamas and mediators were making preparations before a final deal is approved. It was unclear what measures were being taken, but the official said a new implementation cell was being established in Cairo in advance. The cell would focus on logistics, including freeing hostages, providing humanitarian aid for Gaza and ensuring that the terms of the pact are met, the official said. The comments came hours after mediators expressed hope that a deal was within reach. They said two days of talks had wrapped up in Qatar and that they plan

Two-day talks wrapped up, say mediators to Gaza war ceasefire talks

Mediators to the Gaza War cease-fire talks said Friday the two-day talks wrapped up and they aim to reconvene in Cairo next week to seal a deal to stop the fighting. In a statement on Friday, the United States, Egypt and Qatar said talks were constructive and conducted in a positive atmosphere. They presented both parties with a proposal and hope to continue working on the details of the implementation in the coming days. The new round of talks began Thursday and were aimed at halting the 10-month war and securing the release of scores of hostages, with a potential deal seen as the best hope of heading off an even larger regional conflict. Hamas, which didn't participate directly in the talks, accuses Israel of adding new demands to a previous proposal that had US and international support and to which Hamas had agreed in principle. Both sides have agreed in principle to the plan President Joe Biden announced on May 31. But Hamas has proposed amendments and Israel has suggested ...

Egypt, Qatar, US announce new round of talks to decide on Gaza ceasefire

The United States, with the support of Qatar and Egypt, presented on Friday a proposal that narrows the gaps between them and aligns with the principles set out by President Biden

Biden optimistic about ceasefire, hostage deal between Israel and Hamas

US President Joe Biden was optimistic Friday about the prospects for a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, saying we are closer than we've ever been to an agreement. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after two days of talks wrapped up in Doha with an agreement to continue negotiations next week, Biden said I don't want to jinx anything but that a ceasefire was Much, much closer than it was three days ago. It would not be the first time in the 10-month-old war that Biden has expressed optimism that an agreement could be reached, only for talks between the parties to break down. We may have something, Biden said Friday. But we're not there yet.

PM Modi stresses on need to deescalate situation in call with Netanyahu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stressed the need for deescalation of the situation in West Asia during a telephonic conversation with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and reiterated their call for immediate release of all hostages and continued humanitarian assistance. In a post on X, Modi said Netanyahu extended his warm wishes on India's 78th Independence Day. "We discussed the current situation in West Asia. Emphasized on the need to de-escalate the situation. Reiterated our call for immediate release of all hostages, ceasefire and need for continued humanitarian assistance," he said. Following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, tensions have gripped West Asia amid calls for a ceasefire.

Families of hostages in Gaza hope cease-fire talks will end their nightmare

Some families of hostages held in Gaza believe the latest round of cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas could be the last best chance to set their loved ones free after more than 300 days of captivity. The families have advocated tirelessly to secure the release of their relatives, who were snatched on Oct. 7 during Hamas' cross-border attack that started the war. Their hope that the latest talks could result in a breakthrough is tinged by 10 months of disappointment - and the growing fear of a wider Mideast war as Israel faces rising tensions with Iran and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group based in Lebanon. Roughly 110 hostages remain in Gaza after about 100 were freed during a brief cease-fire in late November. More than 40,000 Palestinians have died in the war, according to Gaza health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants. Throughout the war, the families of hostages have pushed on with anguish and despair, rallying Israelis to their cau

New Gaza ceasefire talks start in Qatar, hope to head off a wider war

A new round of peace talks aimed at ending the Gaza war started on Thursday, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said. The United States, Qatar and Egypt met with an Israeli delegation in Qatar as the Palestinian death toll from the 10-month-old war climbed past 40,000, according to Gaza health authorities. International mediators were set to hold a new round of talks Thursday aimed at halting the Israel-Hamas war and securing the release of scores of hostages, with a potential deal seen as the best hope of heading off an even larger regional conflict. The United States, Qatar and Egypt were to meet with an Israeli delegation in Qatar as the Palestinian death toll from the 10-month-old war climbed past 40,000, according to local health authorities. Hamas, which is not expected to participate directly, accuses Israel of adding new demands to a previous proposal that had US and international support and to which Hamas had agreed in principle. A cease-fire in Gaza wo

More than 40,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza, says city's health ministry

The Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war. Thursday's announcement comes during new efforts to broker a cease-fire to the conflict, now in its 11th month. The count does not distinguish between civilians and militants. It reflects the magnitude of Israel's offensive in Gaza, one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history. The war began October 7 after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and dragging roughly 250 hostages to Gaza. International mediators were set to hold a new round of talks Thursday aimed at halting the Israel-Hamas war and securing the release of scores of hostages, with a potential deal seen as the best hope of heading off an even larger regional conflict. The United States, Qatar and Egypt were to meet with an Israeli delegation in Qatar as the Palestinian death toll from the 10-month-old war nears 40,000, according to local health authorities. Hama

Mediators hold ceasefire talks as Palestinian death toll nears 40K

International mediators were set to hold a new round of talks Thursday aimed at halting the Israel-Hamas war and securing the release of scores of hostages, with a potential deal seen as the best hope of heading off an even larger regional conflict. The United States, Qatar and Egypt were to meet with an Israeli delegation in Qatar as the Palestinian death toll from the 10-month-old war nears 40,000. Hamas has not said whether it will participate, accusing Israel of adding new demands to an evolving proposal that had US and international support. A cease-fire in Gaza would likely calm tensions across the region and may persuade Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah to refrain from retaliatory strikes on Israel after the killing of a top Hezbollah commander in an Israeli airstrike and of Hamas' top political leader in an explosion in Iran's capital. The mediators have spent months trying to hammer out a three-phase plan in which Hamas would release scores of hostages captured in the October 7

Turkiye's Prez meets Palestinian leader Abbas ahead of speech to parliament

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas for talks that focused on the conflict in Gaza, Erdogan's office said, ahead of a planned address to parliament Thursday. Erdogan's office said late Wednesday that the two discussed the massacres committed by Israel in Palestinian territories and the steps that need to be taken for a permanent cease-fire and peace at the presidential palace in Ankara. The statement, released on the social media platform X, said Erdogan pledged continued support to Palestine's just cause and to work to increase the pressure on Israel by the international community especially the Islamic world to deliver humanitarian aid and bring peace. Abbas arrived Wednesday for a visit that comes as the threat of Iranian retaliation against Israel over the assassination of Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh fueled concerns of the war spreading across the Middle East. Erdogan, a prominent supporter of Hamas and the wider Palestinian cause, .

Losing faith in US as mediator in ceasefire talks, says top Hamas official

A top Hamas official said the Palestinian militant group is losing faith in the United States' ability to mediate a cease-fire in Gaza ahead of a new round of talks scheduled for this week amid mounting pressure to bring an end to the 10-month-old war with Israel. Osama Hamdan told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that Hamas will only participate if the talks focus on implementing a proposal detailed by US President Joe Biden in May and endorsed internationally. The US referred to it as an Israeli proposal and Hamas agreed to it in principle, but Israel said that Biden's speech was not entirely consistent with the proposal itself. Both sides later proposed changes, leading each to accuse the other of obstructing a deal. Hamas is especially resistant to Israel's demand that it maintain a lasting military presence in two strategic areas of Gaza after any cease-fire, conditions that were only made public in recent weeks. We have informed the mediators that...any meeting ..

A new round of Gaza cease-fire talks is starting. Why is a deal so elusive?

International mediators are hoping to kickstart stalled cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas with a new round of talks meant to finally clinch a deal between the sides. But the chances of a breakthrough appear slim. The new talks are set to begin Thursday, but Israel and Hamas have been mulling an internationally-backed proposal for more than two months that would wind down the 10-month-long war and free the roughly 110 hostages still held in Gaza. The indirect talks have not advanced substantively during that time and sticking points remain. New terms put forward have complicated progress. And Hamas has yet to say outright whether it will participate in the new round. Meanwhile, the fighting in Gaza rages on, the hostages continue to languish in captivity, and fears of an all-out regional war involving Iran and one of its regional proxies, Hezbollah, have surged. The killing of Hamas' top leader in Tehran in an apparent Israeli attack further plunged the talks into ...

Israeli strikes on Gaza leave children orphaned, parents childless

Reem Abu Hayyah, just three months old, was the only member of her family to survive an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip late Monday. A few miles (kilometres) to the north, Mohamed Abuel-Qomasan lost his wife and their twin babies -- just four days old -- in another strike. More than 10 months into its war with Hamas, Israel's relentless bombardment of the isolated territory has wiped out extended families. It has left parents without children and children without parents or siblings. And some of the sole survivors are so young they will have no memory of those they lost. The Israeli strike late Monday destroyed a home near the southern city of Khan Younis, killing 10 people. The dead included Abu Hayyah's parents and five siblings, ranging in age from 5 to 12, as well as the parents of three other children. All four children were wounded in the strike. There is no one left except this baby, said her aunt, Soad Abu Hayyah. Since this morning, we have been trying to feed her ...

10 months & counting: How long will Israel-Hamas war last? Fitch has answer

Gaza war: The leaders of France, Germany, and Britain have jointly endorsed the latest efforts by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt to broker an agreement to end the 10-month Israel-Hamas war

US beefs up naval, air forces in West Asia ahead of Gaza truce talks

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group, equipped with F-35C fighters, to speed up its arrival in the region

Israeli airstrike on a Gaza school kills over 80 people, say officials

An Israeli airstrike hit a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City early Saturday, killing more than 60 people, Palestinian health authorities said, in one of the deadliest strikes in the 10-month-old war between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli military acknowledged the strike, claiming it hit a Hamas command centre within the school. Hamas denied using the school as a command centre. The strike on the Tabeen school in central Gaza City also wounded 47 people, the Health Ministry's Ambulance and Emergency service said. The facility, like almost all of Gaza's schools, has been used as a shelter for people who have been forced to flee their homes by the war. The strike hit without warning in the early morning before sunrise as people were praying at a mosque inside the school, according to Abu Anas, a witness who worked to rescue people. There were people praying, there were people washing and there were people upstairs sleeping, including children, women and old people," he said. The missi

Oil prices bounce back from multi-month lows on West Asia tensions

Both oil benchmarks broke a three-session declining streak on Tuesday, and tensions in the Middle East continued to stoke supply concerns in Wednesday's trading session

Putin, US on same page: Iran's Israel attack may not be as severe as feared

Blaming Israel for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran, Iran had vowed it would respond 'severely', raising fears of a broader regional conflict

UN fires 9 staffers after probe suspects their involvement in Oct 7 attack

The UN says it has fired nine staff members from its agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, after an internal investigation found they may have been involved in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack against Israel. The UN secretary-general's office announced the move in a brief statement to journalists Monday. It did not elaborate on the UNRWA staffers' likely role in the attack. It said the nine included seven staffers who were fired previously over the claims. The UN's internal watchdog has been investigating the agency since Israel in January accused 12 UNRWA staffers of being involved in the October 7 attack on Israel in which militants killed 1,200 people and abducted some 250 others. Israel's allegations initially led top donor countries to suspend their funding for UNRWA, the main agency providing aid to Palestinians in Gaza amid the 10-month old war there. That caused a cash crunch of about USD 450 million dollars. Since then, all donor countries except for the US have decid