Page 45 - Gaza Conflict

PM Modi, Prez Macron express 'grave concerns' over Red Sea conflict

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed "grave concerns" at the possibility of further expansion of the conflict in the Middle-East, including in the Red Sea. A joint statement issued late on Friday night said the two leaders called for upholding the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and underlined the need for respecting the international law of the sea. Modi and Macron held wide-ranging talks at a luxury palace on Thursday. The French President was the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in Delhi. The two leaders expressed "grave concern at the possibility of further expansion of the conflict in the region, including in the Red Sea", which already resulted a significant economic impact, the statement said. The Houthi militants have been attacking merchant vessels in the Red Sea since November, apparently in response to Israel's military offensive in Gaza. "They (Modi and Macron) recalled the utmost importance of upholding freedom o

Israel must take steps to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, says ICJ

South Africa brought the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) earlier this month, asking it to grant emergency measures to halt the fighting, which has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians

Israel's El Al airline suspends South Africa route over World Court case

'Israelis don't want to fly to South Africa,' said an El Al spokesperson. "They are cancelling flights and planes are pretty empty... We understand it's the situation because it was different before

UN court set to issue ruling in South Africa's genocide case against Israel

Israel is set to hear on Friday whether the United Nations' top court will order it to end its military offensive in Gaza in a provisional ruling while the panel hears a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide. The International Court of Justice's president, Joan E. Donoghue, will read out the highly anticipated decision taken by a panel of 17 judges. The ruling comes at an early stage in South Africa's case alleging that Israel's military action in its war with Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide. Israel vehemently rejects the accusation and has asked the court to throw out the case. South Africa has asked the judges as a matter of extreme urgency to impose so-called provisional measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza while the case proceeds slowly through the court, a process likely to take years. Top of the South African list is a request for the court to order Israel to immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza. Israeli government spokesper

Gaza blames Israeli troops for deadly shooting as crowd waited for aid

Gaza's Health Ministry and witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire as a crowd of Palestinians gathered for humanitarian aid in Gaza City on Thursday, killing at least 20 and wounding dozens. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. The Associated Press could not independently confirm the details of what happened. Witnesses and health officials said the shooting took place at a roundabout on Gaza City's southern edge, where a large crowd had gathered for distribution of food. Footage posted online and confirmed to have been taken on the main road near the roundabout showed hundreds of people fleeing, some carrying boxes of aid, as fire rang out in the background. Men loaded wounded Palestinians onto horse and donkey carts that took off charging down the avenue. At Shifa Hospital, where casualties were treated, Mohammad al-Reafi lay on the floor, his bloodied leg bandaged, as medics worked on other wounded around them. He said Israeli troops fired into the crowd.

Israel instructs Northern farmers to be prepared for expansion of war

People are also instructed to check the functioning of generators, to increase food stocks and to perform any additional action they think is right in order

ICJ verdict looms: What if interim ruling goes against Israel on January 26

In a pivotal development, the International Court of Justice is set to deliver its highly awaited verdict on January 26 in response to South Africa's plea for an interim ruling against Israel

Israel slams UN for false allegations it is hampering Gaza aid efforts

The Israeli agency COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories"For weeks, we've been saying we're inspecting more aid than you can handle," COGAT said on Twitter/X in direct response to UNWRA's charges. "We adjusted long ago. Did you? The answer is no.""Stop spreading accusations and start doing your job," added COGAT. "Hundreds of aid trucks are waiting for you at the border, including now. Collect and distribute them."The post included pictures of the trucks ready to enter Gaza.The comments came after UNWRA alleged on Twitter/X, "Intense fighting, access denials & restrictions + communications blackouts are hampering UNRWA's ability to safely & effectively deliver aid. As risk of famine grows, UN calls for a critical increase in humanitarian access.

EU pushes for Palestinian statehood, rejecting Netanyahu 's insistence

'The declarations of Benjamin Netanyahu are worrying. There will be a need for a Palestinian state with security guarantees for all,' French Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Sejourne told reporters

Kin of hostages in Gaza storm Israel's parliament asking for release deal

The developments showed the increasing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has dug in on both fronts

Won't recognise Israel without path to Palestinian state: Saudi official

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister says the kingdom will not normalise relations with Israel or contribute to Gaza's reconstruction without a credible pathway to a Palestinian state. Prince Faisal bin Farhan's remarks in an interview with CNN broadcast late Sunday were some of the most direct yet from Saudi officials. It puts them at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has rejected Palestinian statehood and described plans for open-ended military control over Gaza. The dispute over Gaza's future coming as the war still rages with no end in sight pits the United States and its Arab allies against Israel and poses a major obstacle to any plans for postwar governance or reconstruction in Gaza. Before the October 7 Hamas attack that triggered the war, the US had been trying to broker a landmark agreement in which Saudi Arabia would normalise relations with Israel in exchange for US security guarantees, aid in establishing a civilian nuclear programme in the kingdom,

Israel's plan to destroy Hamas not working, peace talks needed: EU officia

EU officials concede that Israeli officials and diplomats currently evince no interest in the so-called two-state solution but insist it is the only option for long-term peace

Death toll soars past 25K in Gaza with no end in sight to Israel-Hamas war

The Palestinian death toll in Gaza from over three months of war between Israel and the territory's Hamas rulers has soared past 25,000, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday. At least 178 bodies were brought to Gaza's hospitals in 24 hours along with nearly 300 wounded people, according to Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra. The war began with Hamas' surprise attack into Israel on October 7, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 hostage, including men, women and children. Israel responded with a three-week air campaign and then a ground invasion into northern Gaza that flattened entire neighbourhoods. Ground operations are now focused on the southern city of Khan Younis and built-up refugee camps in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.

In strategic bind, Israel weighs freeing hostages against destroying Hamas

Government's two main goals are mutually incompatible, say military commanders

UAE urges US to support immediate ceasefire of Israel's attacks in Gaza

President Joe Biden's administration has refrained from demanding a halt to the Israeli military campaign and vetoed a UN Security Council demand for a ceasefire put forward by the UAE in December

Women, children main victims of Gaza conflict, with 16,000 killed: UN

Women and children are the main victims the Gaza war, with some 16,000 killed and an estimated two mothers losing their lives every hour since Hamas' surprise attack on Israel, the U.N. agency promoting gender equality said Friday. As a result of the more than 100-day conflict, UN Women added, at least 3,000 women may have become widows and heads of households and at least 10,000 children may have lost their fathers. In a report released Friday, the agency pointed to gender inequality and the burden on women fleeing the fighting with children and being displaced again and again. Of the territory's 2.3 million population, it said, 1.9 million are displaced and close to one million are women and girls seeking shelter and safety. UN Women's executive director, Sima Bahous, said this is a cruel inversion of fighting during the 15 years before the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. Previously, she said, 67% of all civilians killed in Gaza and the West Bank were men and less then 14% were women. Sh

Biden-Netanyahu hold talks after almost a month, discuss two-state solution

The US President also discussed the ongoing efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages under Hamas captivity and reviewed the situation in Gaza

US strikes Yemen sixth time, as Israel's war in Gaza raises tensions

The US fighter jets struck Houthi rebel sites in Yemen for the sixth time Friday, taking out anti-ship missile launchers that were prepared to fire, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing military operations. The Iranian-backed Houthi militants say their attacks on global shipping in the Red Sea corridor are aimed at stopping Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Now in its fourth month, the war has raised the temperature on tensions across the Middle East. In Israel, a member of the country's War Cabinet said only a cease-fire deal can win the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The televised comments by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot on Thursday were the latest sign of a growing rift among political and military leaders over the direction of Israel's war. Gaza's Health Ministry says more than 24,400 Palestinians have died in the conflict, and the United Nations says a quarter of the 2.3 million people trapped in Gaza

Israeli tanks renew push towards biggest hospital still working in Gaza

People inside Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital, forced to house displaced Gazans as well as patients, reported hearing shellfire from tanks advancing into the west of the city

Rifts emerge among Israeli officials over handling of war in Gaza: Report

Rifts are emerging among top Israeli officials over the handling of the war against Hamas in Gaza. A member of the country's War Cabinet cast doubt over the strategy for releasing hostages, and the country's prime minister rejected the United States' calls to scale back its offensive. Only a cease-fire deal can win the release of dozens of hostages still held by Islamic militants in Gaza, and claims they could be freed by other means was spreading illusions", said former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, one of four members of the War Cabinet, in his first public statements on the course of the war. Eisenkot's comments late Thursday were the latest sign of disagreement among political and military leaders over the direction of Israel's offensive on Hamas, now in its fourth month. Sparked by an unprecedented October 7 Hamas raid into Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw about 250 others taken hostage, the Israeli assault has pulverised much of the Gaza Strip, home