Page 10 - Gaza

France, Saudi to co-chair conference on two-state solution for Palestine

Macron also set priorities for the conference that include permanent ceasefire, hostage release, large-scale aid to Gaza, and a stabilisation mission in the Gaza Strip

UK outraged at Israel restricting aid, works to evacuate sick Gaza children

British officials are working to get critically sick and injured children out of Gaza so they can receive specialist treatment in UK hospitals, the British foreign secretary said Monday, adding that the first patients will arrive in coming weeks. David Lammy said he was outraged by Israel not allowing enough aid to enter Gaza as he announced USD 20 million more for medical assistance for Gaza and the region. This is not a natural disaster, it's a manmade famine in the 21st century, he said. I'm outraged by the Israeli government's refusal to allow in sufficient aid. We all know there is only one way out an immediate ceasefire, Lammy added. He told lawmakers that British officials are also supporting students from Gaza who have been granted scholarships at UK universities so that they can start their studies in the fall. Lammy said a massive humanitarian response was needed to prevent more Palestinians from dying and starving after the world's leading authority on food crises said

Israel kills Hamas spokesperson as hospitals report dozens killed in Gaza

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz announced Sunday that Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for Hamas' armed wing, was killed in Gaza over the weekend. Obeida's last statement was on Friday as Israel began the initial stages of a new offensive in Gaza City, declaring the area a combat zone. Hamas has not commented on Israel's claim.

Israeli airstrike kills Houthi rebel prime minister in Yemen's Sanaa

An Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the Houthi rebel-controlled government in Yemen's capital Sanaa, the Houthis said Saturday. He was the most senior Houthi official killed in the Israeli-U.S. campaign against the Iranian-backed rebels. Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in Thursday's strike in Sanaa along with a number of ministers, the rebels said in a statement. Other ministers and officials were wounded, the statement added without providing details. The premier was targeted along with other members of his Houthi-controlled government during a routine workshop held by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year, the Houthi statement said. Thursday's strike took place as the rebel-owned television station was broadcasting a speech by Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the secretive leader of the rebel group, in which he was sharing updates on the latest Gaza developments and vowing retaliation against Israel. Senior Houthi officials used to gather to .

Israel may halt or slow aid to northern Gaza as military offensive grows

Israel will soon halt or slow humanitarian aid into parts of northern Gaza as it expands its military offensive against Hamas, an official said Saturday, a day after Gaza City was declared a combat zone. The decision was likely to bring more condemnation of Israel's government as frustration grows in the country and abroad over dire conditions for both Palestinians and remaining hostages in Gaza after nearly 23 months of war. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, told The Associated Press that Israel will stop airdrops over Gaza City in the coming days and reduce the number of aid trucks arriving as it prepares to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people south. Israel on Friday ended daytime pauses in fighting to allow aid delivery, describing Gaza City as a Hamas stronghold and alleging that a tunnel network remains in use. The United Nations and partners have said the pauses, airdrops and other recent measures fel

US revokes visas of Palestinian president, other officials ahead of UNGA

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked the visas of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials ahead of next month's annual high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly, where the Palestinians previously have been represented. A State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss visa issues that are normally confidential, disclosed Friday that Abbas and other officials from the Palestinian Authority were among those affected. The move is the latest in a series of steps the Trump administration has taken to target Palestinians with visa restrictions and comes as the Israeli military declared Gaza's largest city a combat zone. The State Department also suspended a program that had allowed injured Palestinian children from Gaza to come to the US for medical treatment after a social media outcry by some conservatives. The department said in a statement earlier that Rubio also ordered some new visa applications from Palestinian officials, ...

Israel declares Gaza's largest city combat zone, halts humanitarian pauses

Israel's military on Friday said it was suspending mid-day pauses to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza City, calling it a a dangerous combat zone. The city was among the places that Israel paused fighting last month to allow food and aid supplies to enter from 10 am to 8 pm. The tactical pauses lasted applied to Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi, three places where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering. The pivot comes as Israel prepares to broaden its offensive, mobilising tens of thousands of troops to seize Gaza City. Israel's military did not say whether they had notified residents or aid groups about the plans to resume daytime hostilities. Israel has said in the past that Gaza City is a Hamas stronghold, with a network of tunnels that remain in use by militants after several previous large-scale raids. The city also is home to some of the territory's critical infrastructure and health facilities. The United Nations said Thursday that the ...

Turkiye foreign minister says country's airspace closed to Israeli flights

Turkiye has closed its airspace to Israeli planes in protest at the war in Gaza, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday. We have completely cut off our trade with Israel. We do not allow Turkish ships to go to Israeli ports. We do not allow their planes to enter our airspace, he told a special parliamentary debate on Gaza in Ankara. Turkiye severed direct trade ties with Israel in May last year, demanding a permanent ceasefire and the immediate entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza. In 2023, the two countries carried out USD 7 billion in trade. Turkish media reported last week that a ban on maritime traffic linked to Israel had been imposed, although there was no official statement. According to reports, Israeli vessels were banned from docking in Turkiye, and Turkish-flagged ships were not allowed to enter Israeli ports. Ankara has been a harsh critic of Israeli attacks on Gaza, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeatedly referring to Israel's actions as genocide and likening Pri

India calls killing of journalists in Gaza 'shocking, deeply regrettable'

Among the journalists killed were Al Jazeera's Mohammad Salama, Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri, and Mariam Abu Daqqa, a freelance journalist working for AP at the time

Microsoft to probe Israel tech use, condemns protest at Brad Smith's office

An employee group called 'No Azure for Apartheid' says that by selling software and AI tools to Israel's military, the company's Azure cloud service is profiting from the deaths of civilians

AP freelancer among 4 journos killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza hospital

Israeli strikes on a hospital in southern Gaza killed four journalists on Monday, including a freelancer who worked for The Associated Press, according to health officials. Mariam Dagga, 33, a visual journalist, freelanced for the AP during the war, as well as other news outlets. The AP said in a statement that it was shocked and saddened to learn of Dagga's death, along with those of other journalists. Two missiles hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, medical officials said. In all, 19 people were killed, according to Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Gaza Health Ministry's records department. The Israel-Hamas war has been one of the bloodiest conflicts for media workers, with at least 192 journalists killed in Gaza in the 22-month conflict, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Comparatively, 18 journalists have been killed so far in Russia's war in Ukraine, according to the CPJ. Dagga, who has a 12-year-old son who was evacuated from Gaza earlier in the war, frequently .

Israeli forces intensify strikes on Gaza outskirts, expand ops in north

Tens of thousands of reservists are expected to report for duty on September 2, with the large-scale operation anticipated to follow in the coming weeks

UN body declares first famine in Gaza as ceasefire demands rise

More than 640,000 people in the Palestinian territory will face "catastrophic levels of food insecurity" by the end of September

Israeli defence minister warns Gaza may face destruction over Hamas row

Israel's defence minister warned on Friday that Gaza City could be destroyed unless Hamas accepts Israel's terms, as the country prepares for an expanded offensive in the area. A day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would authorise the military to seize Gaza City, Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that the enclave's largest city could turn into Rafah and Beit Hanoun, areas reduced to rubble earlier in the war. The gates of hell will soon open on the heads of Hamas' murderers and rapists in Gaza until they agree to Israel's conditions for ending the war, Katz wrote in a post on X. He restated Israel's cease-fire demands: the release of all hostages and Hamas' complete disarmament. Hamas has said it would release captives in exchange for ending the war, but rejects disarmament without the creation of a Palestinian state.

18 arrested as Microsoft staff protest Israel military tech ties review

Worker-led protests erupted at Microsoft headquarters this week as the tech company promises an urgent review of the Israeli military's use of its technology during the ongoing war in Gaza. A second day of protests at the Microsoft campus on Wednesday called for the tech giant to immediately cut its business ties with Israel. The police department began making arrests after Microsoft said the protesters were trespassing. We said, Please leave or you will be arrested,' and they chose not to leave so they were detained, said police spokesperson Jill Green. Microsoft late last week said it was tapping a law firm to investigate allegations reported by British newspaper The Guardian that the Israeli Defense Forces used Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform to store phone call data obtained through the mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Microsoft's standard terms of service prohibit this type of usage," the company said in a statement posted Friday, adding

Israel plans new phase of Gaza operation as ceasefire talks continue

Israel is preparing to launch an expanded military operation in Gaza City, possibly in the coming days, even as negotiators scramble to bring Israel and Hamas to a ceasefire to end 22 months of fighting. The Israeli military said Wednesday that the country's defence minister has approved plans to begin a new phase of operations in some of Gaza's most densely populated areas, and that it would call up 60,000 reservists and lengthen the service of an additional 20,000 reservists currently serving. It comes as human rights groups warn that a humanitarian crisis could worsen in Gaza, where most residents have been displaced, vast neighbourhoods lie in ruins, and communities are facing the threat of famine. A military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said that the military will be operating in parts of Gaza City where the Israeli military has not yet operated and where it believes Hamas is still active. The official said that Israeli ..

Record 383 aid workers killed in global hotspots in 2024, half in Gaza: UN

A record 383 aid workers were killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half of them in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas, the UN humanitarian office said Tuesday on the annual day honouring the thousands of people who step into crises to help others. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said the record number of killings must be a wake-up call to protect civilians caught in conflict and all those trying to help them. Attacks on this scale, with zero accountability, are a shameful indictment of international inaction and apathy, Fletcher said in a statement on World Humanitarian Day. As the humanitarian community, we demand again that those with power and influence act for humanity, protect civilians and aid workers and hold perpetrators to account. The Aid Worker Security Database, which has compiled reports since 1997, said the number of killings rose from 293 in 2023 to 383 in 2024, including over 180 in Gaza. Most of the aid workers killed were national staff servin

Hamas agrees to ceasefire proposal in Gaza as Palestinian deaths exceed 62K

Hamas said Monday it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip but Israel indicated its positions haven't changed, as Gaza's Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from 22 months of war has passed 62,000. US President Donald Trump appeared to cast doubt on the long-running negotiations that Washington has mediated as well. We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be, he posted on social media. Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavily populated areas after ceasefire talks appeared to break down last month, raising the possibility of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which experts say is sliding into famine. Plans to expand the offensive, in part aimed at pressuring Hamas, have sparked international outrage and infuriated many Israelis who fear for the remaining hostages taken in th

Israel airdrops 161 food aid packages in Gaza with support from 9 countries

Also on Sunday, the Israeli military said tents and equipment to erect shelters will be provided to the Palestinians who have been displaced multiple times in 22 months of war

Israel's growing frustration over Gaza war sparks nationwide protests

Israeli police blasted crowds with water cannons and made dozens of arrests on Sunday as thousands of protesters demanding a deal to free hostages in Gaza aimed to shut down the country with a one-day strike that blocked roads and closed businesses. Groups representing families of hostages organised the demonstrations as frustration grows in Israel over plans for a new military offensive in some of Gaza's most populated areas, which many fear could further endanger the remaining hostages. Fifty hostages remain, and 20 of them are believed to still be alive. We don't win a war over the bodies of hostages," protesters chanted in one of the largest and fiercest protests in 22 months of war. Even some former Israeli army and intelligence chiefs now call for a deal to end the fighting. Protesters gathered at dozens of places including outside politicians' homes, military headquarters and on major highways. They blocked lanes and lit bonfires. Some restaurants and theaters closed in ...