Page 3 - Gaza Conflict

Israel has set up nearly 1,000 new barriers across West Bank since 2023

Since Israel's war with Hamas began more than two years ago, Israel has erected nearly 1,000 barriers in cities and towns in the occupied West Bank, further stifling movement for Palestinians and hindering daily lives, a local government body says. While Israel's military has long imposed movement and access constraints after capturing the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, the number of new barriers is unprecedented, residents say. According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, an official Palestinian governmental body, 916 gates, barriers and walls have been installed since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. Israeli military raids throughout the West Bank have also increased, with Palestinians killed or detained. Israel says it is trying to root out militancy. Among the new barriers are metal gates stationed at many village and town entrances and between cities, blocking access in and out. Sometimes the Israeli military is stationed at them. Palestinia

Hamas handed over another hostage's body to Red Cross in Gaza, says IDF

Israel's military late Monday said that Hamas has handed over the remains of another hostage to the Red Cross in Gaza. Since the ceasefire began on October 10, the remains of 15 hostages have been returned to Israel. After the latest body is returned to Israel, another 12 bodies still need to be recovered in Gaza and handed over. Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told journalists in Hungary that Israel will not allow Turkish troops to take part in an international force the United States has proposed to oversee the ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The 20-point deal brokered by US President Donald Trump earlier this month calls for a force to monitor the ceasefire but does not mention which countries would provide troops. It says the US would work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilization Force to deploy in Gaza. The force would train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces" and will consul

Gaza ceasefire mediators shared intel to foil recent threat, says Rubio

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that Israel, the U.S. and the other mediators of the Gaza ceasefire deal are sharing information to disrupt any threats and that allowed them to identify a possible impending attack last weekend. The State Department said a week ago that it had credible reports Hamas could violate the ceasefire with an attack on Palestinian civilians in Gaza. We put out a message through State Department, sent it to our mediators as well, about an impending attack, and it didn't happen, he told reporters en route from Israel to Qatar, where he met up with President Donald Trump for a multistop tour in Asia. So that's the goal here, is ultimately to identify a threat before it happens." Rubio said multiple countries are interested in joining an international stabilization force that aims to deploy to Gaza but that they need more details about the mission and rules of engagement. The U.S. could call for a U.N. resolution supporting the force so more nation

Europe struggles to avoid being sidelined by Trump's world-shaping plans

When President Donald Trump took the stage in Egypt to hail the US-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, a row of world leaders stood behind him like extras in a political drama. It was a telling image. European governments have struggled to play a significant role in diplomacy over the Gaza war, while the America First leader has played a central one, pushing longtime allies in Europe toward the sidelines. Closer to home, they have labored with mixed results to shape Trump's response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's obstinate pursuit of the Ukraine war, a conflict with profound consequences for the continent's future. Is Europe able to influence Trump? I think the short answer... is no, said Lindsay Newman, a geopolitical risk expert and columnist for GZERO Media. The policy and positioning of the US government on Ukraine, on Israel, on its relationship with Europe is defined by the president and those around him. Largely the president. Newman said Trump's ...

India welcomes Gaza Peace Agreement; praises US, Egypt, and Qatar's roles

India has condemned terrorism; stressed there must be an end to destruction, despair and suffering of civilians and sought the immediate release of all hostages

Israeli PM meets US Secretary of State Rubio to discuss Gaza peace plan

Meanwhile, as per The Times of Israel, a US official said that US President Donald Trump will "f**k" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if the Israeli leader jeopardizes the Gaza ceasefire deal

Rubio to visit Israel after Vance, ensure fragile Gaza ceasefire holds

As US Vice President JD Vance's visit to Israel comes to a close, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would be travelling to the country to keep the momentum on the US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Earlier this week, Vance announced the opening of a civilian military coordination centre in southern Israel where some 200 US troops are working alongside the Israeli military and delegations from other countries planning the stabilisation and reconstruction of Gaza. Rubio told journalists at Joint Base Andrews late Wednesday that he plans to visit the centre and appoint a Foreign Service official to work alongside the top US military commander in the Middle East, Vice Adm Brad Cooper. The US is seeking support from other allies, especially Gulf nations, to create an international stabilisation force to be deployed to Gaza and train a Palestinian force. We'd like to see Palestinian police forces in Gaza that are not Hamas and that are going to do a good jo

Israel to resume ceasefire, aid after it launched deadly strikes in Gaza

Gaza's fragile ceasefire faced its first major test Sunday as Israeli forces launched a wave of deadly strikes, saying Hamas militants had killed two soldiers, and an Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory was halted. The military later said it resumed enforcing the ceasefire, and the official confirmed that aid deliveries would resume Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to discuss the issue with the media. A little over a week has passed since the start of the U.S.-proposed ceasefire aimed at ending two years of war. U.S. President Donald Trump said the ceasefire remained in place and we want to make sure it's going to be very peaceful. He told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that Hamas has been quite rambunctious and they've been doing some shooting. He suggested that the violence might be the fault of rebels within the organization rather than its leadership. It's going to be handled toughly but

US V-P Vance visits Israel, says Gaza ceasefire going better than expected

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and other envoys projected optimism Tuesday about Gaza 's fragile ceasefire agreement, calling progress better than anticipated as they visited a new center in Israel for civilian and military cooperation. Vance noted flareups of violence in recent days but said the ceasefire that began on Oct. 10 is going better than I expected after two years of war between Israel and Hamas. The Trump administration's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, added that we are exceeding where we thought we would be at this time. They are in Israel as questions remain over the long-term plan for peace, including whether Hamas will disarm, when and how an international security force will deploy to Gaza and who will govern the territory after the war. Vance tried to downplay any idea that his visit his first as vice president was urgently arranged to keep the ceasefire in place. He said he feels confident that we're going to be in a place where this peace lasts, but warned tha

Israel identifies body of hostage released by Hamas amid ceasefire efforts

Israel said on Tuesday it had identified the body of a hostage that was released by Hamas overnight, while the militant group's chief negotiator said Hamas is determined to implement the ceasefire agreement with Israel. US Vice President JD Vance is expected in the region on Tuesday to shore up the fragile ceasefire, which has teetered over the past few days. Israel confirmed that Hamas released the body of Tal Haimi, who was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, and abducted from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on the Gaza border. Haimi, 42, a fourth-generation resident of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, was part of the emergency response team. He had four children, including one born after the attack. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel is still waiting for Hamas to turn over the remains of 15 deceased hostages. Thirteen bodies have been released since the ceasefire began. After trading strikes earlier this week, Hamas negotiators reiterated that the group is committed to ensuring the war ends once and for ...

Gaza peace deal brokered by Trump faces collapse as violence resumes

A good way to find the answer would be to look at what's probably also the best model for creating a peacekeeping force for Gaza: the Kosovo Force, better known as KFOR

Israel renews ceasefire enforcement after strikes on Hamas sites in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed condolences to the families of two IDF soldiers, Major Yaniv Kula and Staff Sergeant Itay Ya'avetz, who were killed in the Rafah incident

Israel strikes Gaza, accuses Hamas of attacks in gravest test of truce

Israel's military said it struck multiple targets on Sunday in Gaza, using aircraft and artillery, after it said Hamas militants shot at Israeli soldiers who were inside the area still under Israeli control, the first major test of the ceasefire reached over a week ago. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with Israel's security heads and directed the military to take strong action against any ceasefire violations, but did not threaten to return to war. Hamas said that it was not connected to any clashes in Rafah in Southern Gaza. The strikes came as Israel identified the remains of two hostages released by Hamas overnight, and the Palestinian group said talks to launch the second phase of ceasefire negotiations have begun. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the bodies belonged to Ronen Engel, a father of three from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Sonthaya Oakkharasri, a Thai agricultural worker killed at Kibbutz Be'eri. Both were believed to have been killed duri

A herculean task: The Gaza peace plan will fail without US troops

Do the US, and its allies from the Arab world and Europe, have the required determination to buy that admission ticket and help implement the tenuous ceasefire?

We'll have to go in if Hamas doesn't stop killings in Gaza, says Trump

Trump's remarks suggest the possibility of direct US military involvement in Gaza, marking a shift from earlier statements that the US would support renewed Israeli action if the ceasefire was broken

Israel receives remains of 4 more deceased hostages as Gaza aid cuts loom

Hamas hastened on Tuesday to ease the pressure on a fragile ceasefire in its war with Israel by returning the bodies of more dead hostages. The move came after an Israeli military agency said it would slash aid deliveries to Gaza by half over concerns that the militant group was handing remains over slower than agreed. The Israeli Prime Minister's office confirmed late on Tuesday that authorities received four deceased hostages that the Red Cross handed over to Israeli military authorities inside Gaza. The bodies will be taken to the National Centre for Forensic Medicine where they will be identified and the families notified. This latest transfer of remains comes a day after Israel received the bodies of four other dead hostages. Despite the development, it was unclear if the Israeli military agency known as COGAT will follow through with its decision to allow into Gaza only half of the 600 aid trucks called for under the deal. The United Nations' humanitarian office in ...

Biden welcomes hostage release, ceasefire deal, commends Trump

Biden also emphasised the efforts of his administration during his presidency to address the humanitarian crisis and bring an end to the conflict

Trump hails Gaza war's end, Netanyahu cautious on future peace prospects

President Donald Trump is declaring Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip over and has already barrelled ahead toward far larger goals arguing that the fragile ceasefire his administration helped broker is a chance to bring a lasting peace to the greater Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is equally exuberant about the present, but far more measured in his assessments going forward. He's characterised the deal, which is still in its early stages, as a proposal to free hostages and end the war while also saying that his country used two years of often brutal war in Gaza to showcase its military might. The pair seemingly offering strikingly different perspectives about the prospects for future peace is noteworthy given just how much each lavished the other with praise during speeches before the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on Monday. But it also reflects just how different the political and diplomatic stakes may be for each leader going forward. That's ...

Hamas hands over all 20 hostages to Red Cross under Gaza ceasefire pact

Hamas has announced that 20 living hostages in total will be exchanged for more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel

PM Modi welcomes release of all hostages, backs Trump's Gaza peace plan

Israel-Gaza war: Hamas freed 20 remaining hostages as part of the first phase of Trump's initiative