Page 33 - Gaza Conflict

Israeli Min Benny Gantz quits Netanyahu's cabinet over handling of Gaza war

Gantz's decision comes at a time when the war between Israel and Hamas is in its eighth month, and the situation in West Asia remains fragile

Colombia will suspend coal exports to Israel over Gaza war, says Prez Petro

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Saturday that his country will suspend coal exports to Israel over the war in Gaza, as relations sour between two countries that were once close military and commercial allies. Petro wrote on the social media platform X that coal exports will only resume when the genocide in Gaza stops. Petro also posted a draft decree, which says that coal exports will only resume if Israel complies with a recent order by the International Court of Justice that says Israel should withdraw its troops from the Gaza strip. According to Colombia's National Statistics Department, coal exports to Israel were worth more than $320 million in the first eight months of last year. That's a small fraction of the nation's overall coal exports which were worth more than $9 billion in 2023. Israel imports more than 50% of its coal from Colombia, according to the American Journal for Transportation, and uses much of it to feed its power plants. Petro, who was elected

Aid is delivered to Gaza from newly repaired US-built pier, says official

Badly needed aid has been delivered into Gaza from a newly repaired American-built pier, a U.S. official said Saturday, following problems that had plagued the effort to bring supplies to Palestinians by sea. The pier constructed by the American military was only operational for about a week before it was blown apart in high winds and heavy seas on May 25. The damaged section was reconnected to the beach in Gaza on Friday after undergoing repairs at an Israeli port. Crews delivered about 1.1 million pounds (492 metric tons) of humanitarian aid to Gaza via the pier on Saturday, the U.S. official said. They spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement of the delivery. It came the same day that Israel mounted a heavy air and ground assault that rescued four hostages, who had been taken by Hamas during the October 7 assault that launched the war in Gaza. At least 210 Palestinians, including children, were killed, a Gaza health official said. It brings back online o

Biden, Macron agree on global affairs, express different views on Gaza war

US President Biden, who is currently on an official state visit to Paris, held meetings with his France counterpart

US making biggest push to halt Israel, Hamas fighting. Is it succeeding?

In Middle East capitals, at the United Nations, from the White House and beyond, the Biden administration is making its most concentrated diplomatic push of the eight-month-old war in Gaza to persuade Israeli and Hamas leaders to take a proposed deal that would bring a cease-fire and release of more hostages. But one week into the U.S. pressure campaign, the world still is waiting for signs that the cease-fire appeal begun May 31 by President Joe Biden was working, by moving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders toward a negotiating breakthrough. For Israel and Hamas, the U.S. diplomatic press has become a public test of whether either side is ready to stop fighting at least on any terms that fall short of their professed goals, whether it's the complete crushing of the militant group or the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. For Biden, who describes the proposal as Israeli, it's the latest high-profile test of U.S. leadership in trying to convin

Blinken to push Gaza cease-fire proposal in eighth West Asia trip

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will push for a breakthrough on President Joe Biden's cease-fire proposal when he returns to the Middle East next week on his eighth diplomatic mission to the region since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began in October, the State Department said Friday. Blinken, who is currently in France accompanying Biden on a state visit timed to the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion during World War II, will fly from Paris to Cairo on Monday to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and other officials before travelling to Israel, Jordan and Qatar, the department said. Blinken will then go to Italy to join Biden at the summit for the Group of Seven advanced economies. In all of his meetings, Blinken will emphasise the importance of Hamas accepting the proposal on the table, which is nearly identical to one Hamas endorsed last month and discuss how the cease-fire proposal would benefit both Israelis and Palestinians, State Department spokesman Matthew ..

Russia, China raise concerns with US over UN resolution on Gaza ceasefire

Biden laid out a three-phase ceasefire plan for the Gaza Strip a week ago that he described as an Israeli initiative

Israel's army targets 'Hamas compound' in school; media says 39 killed

Israel's military said Thursday it targeted what it called a Hamas compound inside of a school in the Gaza Strip, an attack Hamas-affiliated media there reported killed at least 39 people. Information about the strike in the Nuseirat area remained contradictory Thursday morning, and The Associated Press could not immediately independently confirm details about the strike. Hamas' al-Aqsa television broadcaster offered the death toll, without offering a source for the figures. The Israeli military said its fighter jets struck the school run by the United Nations agency providing aid to the Palestinians, known by the acronym UNRWA. The Israeli military claimed, without immediately offering evidence, that Hamas and the Islamic Jihad used the school as cover for their operations. Before the strike, a number of steps were taken to reduce the risk of harming uninvolved civilians during the strike, including conducting aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence information, the Isra

From Gaza to Ghaziabad - how 'All Eyes on Rafah' campaign draws scammers

Since the Israeli attack on Rafah happened, email security providers in India have observed a surge in phishing attempts, while consumer protection agencies have noted a rise in complaints about fake

Russian warships headed to Caribbean for drills as Ukraine tensions rise

The U.S. has been tracking Russian warships and aircraft that are expected to arrive in the Caribbean for a military exercise in the coming weeks, in a Russian show of force as tensions rise over Western military support for Ukraine, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The ships also are expected possibly to make port calls in Venezuela and Cuba, as Russia establishes a Western Hemisphere military presence that the senior Biden administration officials said was notable but not concerning. The exercise, which will be monitored by the U.S. military, will involve a handful of Russian ships and support vessels, the two officials said. It's not the first time Russia has sent its ships to the Caribbean. This exercise, however, is taking place as Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that Moscow could take asymmetrical steps elsewhere in the world in response to President Joe Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons to strike inside Russia to protect Kharkiv, ...

Over 1 mn in Gaza could face highest level of starvation by mid-July: UN

United Nations agencies warned Wednesday that over 1 million Palestinians in Gaza could experience the highest level of starvation by the middle of next month if hostilities continue. The World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organisation said in a joint report that hunger is worsening because of heavy restrictions on humanitarian access and the collapse of the local food system in the nearly eight-month Israel-Hamas war. It says the situation remains dire in northern Gaza, which has been surrounded and largely isolated by Israeli troops for months. Israel recently opened land crossings in the north but they are only able to facilitate truck loads in the dozens each day for hundreds of thousands of people. Israel's incursion into Rafah has meanwhile severely disrupted aid operations in the south. Egypt has refused to open its Rafah crossing with Gaza since Israeli forces seized the Gaza side of it nearly a month ago, instead diverting aid to Israel's Kerem Shalom crossin

Ex-Meta engineer sues company, says was fired over handling of Gaza content

Palestinian-American engineer who had been on Meta's machine learning team since 2021, sued the social media giant in a California state court for discrimination and wrongful termination

Palestinian officials seek to join S Africa's UN court case against Israel

Palestinian officials have applied at the top UN court for permission to join South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. The request published Monday alleges that Israel's ongoing military operation is part of a systematic effort to wipe Palestinian society and its culture and social institutions from the map. The request to the International Court of Justice was made on behalf of the State of Palestine and signed by Palestinian Authority foreign ministry official Ammar Hijazi. South Africa filed its case with the world court late last year accusing Israel of breaching the genocide convention in its military assault that has laid waste to large swaths of Gaza. Israel denies it is committing genocide in its military operation to crush Hamas triggered by the deadly October 7 attacks. Israel is expanding its offensive in the southern city of Rafah, once the main hub of humanitarian aid operations. The Israeli invasion has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and oth

Biden bats for hostage-for-truce deal; asks Israelis, Hamas to step up

President Joe Biden is looking past resistance from key Israeli officials as he presses Israel and Hamas to agree to a three-phase agreement that could immediately bring home dozens of Israeli hostages, free Palestinian prisoners and perhaps even lead to an endgame in the nearly eight-month-old Gaza war. Biden's big swing -- during a tough re-election battle -- could also demonstrate to a significant slice of his political base demoralised by his handling of the conflict that he's doing his part to end the war that has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians and left hundreds of thousands struggling to meet basic needs. White House officials on Monday said Biden's decision to make public what it describes as an Israeli proposal -- just one day after it was delivered to Hamas -- was driven by a desire to put Hamas on the spot. The move diverged from the US administration's position throughout the conflict to allow the Israelis to speak for themselves about hostage negotiations. "The ...

Prez Biden urges Qatar to pressure Hamas to accept cease-fire proposal

US President Joe Biden held a conversation with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss how the ceasefire and hostage deal offers a concrete roadmap for ending the crisis in Gaza

G7 leaders call on Hamas to accept Israeli proposal to end war in Gaza

They further reaffirmed their support for peace leading to a two-state solution

4 hostages found dead in Gaza, including 3 older men seen in video: Israel

The Israeli military on Monday confirmed the deaths of four more hostages held by Hamas -- including three older men seen in a Hamas video begging for their release. The three men, Amiram Cooper, Yoram Metzger and Haim Peri, were all age 80 or older. Looking weak and wary, they appeared in a video in December released by Hamas under the title, Don't let us grow old here. The fourth hostage was identified as Nadav Popplewell. Israel's military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the four men died together in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis when Israel was operating there. The cause of death was not immediately known. We are checking all of the options, Hagari said. There are a lot of questions. Israel carried out a major offensive in Khan Younis, a Hamas stronghold, early this year. Hamas claimed in May that Popplewell had died after being wounded in an Israeli airstrike, but provided no evidence. Cooper, Metzger and Peri were featured in a Hamas propaganda video in wh

Israel seeks governing alternative to Hamas in Gaza, despite past failures

Israel is looking into an alternative local governing body for Gaza, the defence minister said on Sunday, proposing a future beyond Hamas but giving no idea who those challengers might be. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant's comments came at a time of new uncertainty in the eight-month war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under growing pressure from many Israelis to accept a new ceasefire deal proposed by US President Joe Biden while far-right allies threaten to collapse his government if he does. Gallant, part of Israel's three-member War Cabinet who recently urged the government to have a detailed postwar plan for Gaza, said in a briefing that "we seek a governing alternative to Hamas. The framework for this includes isolating areas, removing Hamas operatives in these areas and bringing in other forces that will enable the formation of a governing alternative". That will achieve Israel's goals of removing Hamas' military and governing authority in Gaza and returning home

Israel reopens Gaza food sales as Rafah offensive chokes aid: Report

The offensive against Rafah, a key gateway into Gaza from Egypt, has effectively halted the flow of UN aid to the devastated Palestinian territory

Rafah strike: How India has responded to Israeli attack on refugee camps

MEA said that India is one of the first countries to recognise the state of Palestine in late 1980s