Page 42 - Gaza Conflict

Biden, Qatari leader urge ceasefire, humanitarian aid after Gaza tragedy

The devastating chaos unfolded as Israeli troops opened fire on hungry Palestinian civilians gathered around food aid trucks, as reported by CNN

At least a quarter of Gaza's population one step from famine, says UN

At least one quarter of Gaza's population 576,000 people are one step away from famine and virtually the entire population desperately needs food resulting in aid trucks being shot at, looted and overwhelmed by hungry people, top UN officials said on Tuesday. The officials from the UN humanitarian office and the UN's food and agriculture organisations painted a dire picture of all 2.3 million people in Gaza facing crisis levels of food insecurity or worse, and civil order breaking down especially in the north where food and other humanitarian supplies are scarce. And as grim as the picture is today, UN humanitarian coordinator Ramesh Ramasingham told the UN Security Council that there is every possibility for further deterioration. He said that in addition to a quarter of Gaza's population close to famine, 1 in 6 children under the age of two in northern Gaza are suffering from acute malnutrition and wasting, where the body becomes emaciated. Carl Skau, deputy executive director

Israel will halt Gaza war during Ramadan if hostage deal is fixed: Biden

United States President Joe Biden said Israel would be willing to halt its war on Hamas in Gaza during the upcoming Muslim fasting month of Ramadan if a deal is reached to release some of the hostages held by the militants. Negotiators from the US, Egypt and Qatar are working on a framework deal under which Hamas would free some of the dozens of hostages it holds, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and a six-week halt in fighting. During the temporary pause, negotiations would continue over the release of the remaining hostages. If a deal is reached in the coming days, this timeline would also include Ramadan, which starts around March 10. Biden's comments in an interview taped Monday for NBC's Late Night With Seth Meyers were the most detailed yet about a possible halt in fighting during the holy month a time of heightened religious observance and dawn-to-dusk fasting. Ramadan's coming up and there has been an agreement by the Israelis that they would not engag

EAM S Jaishankar voices 'great concern' over situation in war-ravaged Gaza

Underling that the conflict in Gaza is of great concern, India on Monday said the humanitarian crisis arising from conflicts required a sustainable solution that gives immediate relief to those most affected. Addressing the 55th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that terrorism and hostage-taking are not acceptable and hoped that the conflict does not spread within or beyond the region. India strongly condemned the terror attack by Hamas on October 7 last year. At the same time, we must be clear that terrorism and hostage-taking are unacceptable, he said in his address via video link from New Delhi. He said that international humanitarian law must always be respected. It is vital that the conflict does not spread within or beyond the region, he said, adding that the efforts must also focus on seeking a two-state solution where Palestinian people can live within Israelis. Speaking at an interactive session at the Munich Security ...

Yemen's Houthis ballistic missile misses fuel tanker Torm Thor, says US

The Iran-aligned group said on Sunday that they targeted the tanker, as the militants continue to attack shipping lanes in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza

Rishi Sunak warns of 'toxic' culture in UK politics amid threats to MPs

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has warned against a growing toxic culture in politics amid reports of members of Parliament facing security threats over their voting intentions in the House of Commons related to the Israel-Gaza conflict. The 43-year-old British Indian leader issued a statement on Saturday to condemn the hijacking of protests on the streets of the country by extremists to glorify terrorism. It came as a report in The Sunday Times' newspaper claims that three unnamed female MPs have been sanctioned additional security after concerns about their safety. "The explosion in prejudice and antisemitism since the Hamas attacks on the 7 October [2023] are as unacceptable as they are un-British. Simply put antisemitism is racism," said Sunak in his statement. "Legitimate protests hijacked by extremists to promote and glorify terrorism, elected representatives verbally threatened and physically, violently targeted and antisemitic tropes beamed onto our own Parliament ...

Israel kills 100 Palestinians in 24 hrs amid hold on cease-fire talks

More than 100 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip over a 24-hour period, the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory said Friday. Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh held talks with Egyptian officials about a possible cease-fire in Gaza and an exchange of hostages held by the militants for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, according to a Hamas statement Friday morning. During Hamas' Oct 7 attack on southern Israel, militants killed about 1,200 people and took some 250 hostages. Roughly half of the hostages were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November. About 100 hostages remain in captivity, in addition to the bodies of 30 others who were killed on Oct 7 or died in captivity. Israel's subsequent offensive in Gaza has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians and driven some 80% of the territory's 2.3 million people from their homes. Most heeded Israeli orders to flee south, and around 1.5 million are packed into Rafah near the border with ...

Int'l community turning blind eye to 'genocide' in Gaza: Priyanka Gandhi

Priyanka also said that everyone will have to pay an "unimaginable price" for this if voices are not raised against it

48 people killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza amid calls for ceasefire

At least 48 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern and central Gaza overnight, half of them women and children, the territory's health officials said. European diplomats stepped up calls for a cease-fire on Thursday, with alarm rising over the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Tensions were also rising in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where three gunmen opened fire Thursday morning on the road near a checkpoint, killing one Israeli and wounding at least five, police said. Two of the attackers were killed and a third was found later and detained. Yoav Gallant, Israel's defence minister, said Thursday that Israel will expand the authority of its hostage negotiators, signalling a small sign of progress in ongoing international efforts to broker a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas. But unless Hamas agrees to release the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, Israel will launch a ground offensive into the crowded southern city of Rafah during the .

Israel army destroys major tunnel under Khan Yunis used by Hamas leaders

The tunnel boasted electrical and water infrastructure, kitchens, toilets and living quarters, costing millions of shekels to construct, the IDF said

Arabs put to vote UN resolution demanding immediate Gaza cease-fire

Arab nations are putting to a vote a UN resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, knowing it will be vetoed by the United States but hoping to show broad global support for ending the Israel-Hamas war. The Security Council scheduled the vote on the resolution at 10 am EST (1530 GMT) Tuesday. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield says the Biden administration will veto the Arab-backed resolution because it may interfere with ongoing US efforts to arrange a deal between the warring parties that would bring at least a six-week halt to hostilities and release all hostages taken during Hamas' surprise Oct 7 attack in southern Israel. In a surprise move ahead of the vote, the United States circulated a rival UN Security Council resolution that would support a temporary cease-fire in Gaza linked to the release of all hostages, and call for the lifting of all restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid. Both of these actions would help to create the conditions

Israel asks Brazil's Prez to apologise for comparing Gaza war to Holocaust

Israel's foreign minister said on Monday that Brazil's president would not be welcome in Israel until he apologises for comments he made comparing Israel's war in Gaza to the Holocaust, accusing him of a very serious antisemitic attack. On Sunday, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that what is happening in the Gaza Strip and to the Palestinian people hasn't been seen in any other moment in history. Actually, it did when Hitler decided to kill the Jews. Lula made the comments while speaking to reporters at the African Union summit in Ethiopia. Foreign Minister Israel Katz summoned the Brazilian ambassador to Israel's national Holocaust museum in Jerusalem on Monday for a reprimand. The things that Lula said when he compared the righteous war of the State of Israel against Hamas, which murdered and massacred the Jews, and Hitler and the Nazis is shameful and unacceptable, Katz said. On Monday evening, Lula recalled Brazil's ambassador to Israel, Frederico Meyer, to the country

Port workers' federation won't handle military cargo bound for Israel

The federation, which has representatives at 11 of the country's 12 major ports, said that loading and unloading these weapons helps provide organisations with the ability to kill innocent people

Over 29,000 Palestinians killed in Israel-Hamas war: Gaza health ministry

Gaza's Health Ministry says more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said on Monday that 107 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours. That brings the total number of fatalities to 29,092 since the start of the war. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its records, but says most of those killed were women and children. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage. More than 100 captives were released during a weeklong ceasefire in November in exchange for 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

UN opens hearings into Israel's occupation of lands sought for Palestine

Historic hearings are opening on Monday at the United Nations' top court into the legality of Israel's 57-year occupation of lands sought for a Palestinian state. Palestinian representatives will speak first as the International Court of Justice begins hearing legal arguments following a request submitted by the UN General Assembly for a non-binding advisory opinion into Israel's policies in the occupied territories. Though the case opens at the court's Great Hall of Justice against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, it focuses instead on Israel's open-ended control over the occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip and annexed east Jerusalem. The Palestinian legal team will tell the panel of international judges that Israel has violated the prohibition on territorial conquest by annexing large swaths of occupied land and the Palestinians' right to self-determination, and has imposed a system of racial discrimination and apartheid. We want to hear new words from the court, said Omar ..

EAM Jaishankar discusses Gaza situation with Palestinian counterpart

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday met his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki during which they exchanged views on the current situation in war-torn Gaza. Jaishankar is in Germany to attend the prestigious Munich Security Conference, the world's leading forum for debate on international security. "Nice to see Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki. Exchanged views on the current situation in Gaza," the minister posted on X, sharing a photograph of the meeting. India has been pushing for a two-state solution to the Palestine issue for many decades. During an interactive session at a security conference here on Saturday, Jaishankar underlined that an increasing number of countries are now not only supporting the two-state solution to the Palestine issue but seeing it as "more urgent" than before. The minister described the October 7 attacks on Israeli cities by Hamas as "terrorism". At the same time, he said Israel has an international obligation to observe

Egypt builds a wall near Gaza as Israeli offensive on Rafah looms

Egypt is building a wall and is leveling land near its border with the Gaza Strip ahead of a planned Israeli offensive targeting the border city of Rafah, satellite images analyzed Friday by The Associated Press show. Egypt, which has not publicly acknowledged the construction, repeatedly has warned Israel not to forcibly expel the over 1 million Palestinians now displaced in Rafah across the border into its territory while it battles the militant group Hamas for a fifth month. However, the preparations on the Egyptian side of the border in the Sinai Peninsula suggest Cairo is preparing for just that scenario, something that could threatened its 1979 peace deal with Israel that's been a linchpin for regional security. The Egyptian government did not respond to requests for comment Friday from the AP. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Feb. 11 issued a statement warning Israel over its possible Rafah offensive and its displacement of the Palestinian people. The satellite images, taken

S'pore police repeats call for not allowing Israel-Hamas-related protests

The Singapore Police Force has reiterated its stance on not allowing events related to the Israel-Hamas war to be held, amid online calls for a weekend march at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a sprawling park in the diplomatic conclave close to the British and the US embassies. Police said on Thursday that they are aware of calls on social media to gather for an event called Walk-Out Singapore' to demonstrate views related to the Israel-Hamas conflict". The SPF said that they contacted the organiser on Thursday and advised her on the matter. "A police permit is required for such activities," Channel News Asia reported, citing the SPF. Police said organising or participating in such an event is an offence. Earlier this week, the authorities also said that they were aware of calls to protest against Israel at the Singapore Airshow and have warned that organising or participating in a public assembly or procession without a permit is illegal. The Israeli defence contingent is ...

Israeli army fires into Gaza hospital; kills a patient, wounds six others

Israeli forces fired into the main hospital in southern Gaza early on Thursday, killing a patient and wounding six others, according to medics, as the army sought to evacuate thousands of displaced people from the medical complex that has been largely cut off by fighting for weeks. Israeli airstrikes meanwhile killed at least 13 people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, 10 civilians mostly women and children and three fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas. The strikes came just hours after a rocket attack from Lebanon killed an Israeli soldier in what was the deadliest of daily exchanges of fire along the border since the October 7 start of the war in Gaza. It also underscored the risks of a broader conflict. Negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza appear to have stalled, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive until Hamas is destroyed and scores of hostages taken during the October 7 attack that sparked the wa

Economic cooperation must continue despite Gaza, Red Sea conflicts: Kwatra

He was responding to a question on whether Israel's latest conflict would impact the India, Israel, US and the United Arab Emirates (I2U2), and the proposed India Middle East Economic Corridor (IMEC)