Page 32 - Gaza

Gaza ceasefire talks have resumed after long hiatus, says Hamas official

A Hamas official said Thursday that international mediators have resumed negotiating with the militant group and Israel over a ceasefire in Gaza, and that he was hopeful a deal to end the 14-month war was within reach. Ceasefire negotiations were halted last month when Qatar suspended talks with mediators from Egypt and the United States because of frustration over a lack of progress between Israel and Hamas. But there has been a reactivation of efforts in recent days to end the fighting, release hostages from Gaza and free Palestinian prisoners in Israel, according to Bassem Naim, an official in Hamas' political bureau who spoke with The Associated Press in Turkiye. Another official familiar with the talks confirmed the return of Qatari mediators. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the negotiations with the media. Since the talks broke down, there have been significant shifts in the global and regional landscape. Donald Trump w

UN resolutions ignoring terrorism, not in India's interest: EAM on Gaza war

Addressing the Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar condemned terrorism and hostage-taking while explaining India's stance on the Israel-Gaza war

Genocide committed against Palestinians in Gaza, says Amnesty International

Amnesty International accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid. The human rights group released a report Thursday in the Middle East that said such actions could not be justified by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, which ignited the war, or the presence of militants in civilian areas. Amnesty said the United States and other allies of Israel could be complicit in genocide, and called on them to halt arms shipments. Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now, Agns Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said in the report. Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic blood libel. It i

Israeli airstrikes on tent camp in Southern Gaza kill at least 21 people

Israeli airstrikes tore through a tent camp for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza on Wednesday, sparking fires and killing at least 21 people, according to the head of a nearby hospital, in the latest assault on a sprawling tent city that Israel designated a humanitarian safe zone but has repeatedly targeted. The Israeli military said it struck senior Hamas militants involved in terrorist activities in the area, without providing additional details, and said it took precautions to minimize harm to civilians. The strike on the Muwasi tent camp was one of several deadly assaults across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. An Israeli attack in central Gaza killed at least 10 more people, including four children, according to Palestinian medics. Israel's devastating war in Gaza, launched after Hamas' October 2023 attack, shows no signs of ending after nearly 14 months. Hamas is still holding dozens of Israeli hostages, and most of Gaza's population has been displaced and is reliant on ...

New UN aid chief admits to challenges in fundraising amid numerous crises

The new head of the UN humanitarian aid agency says it will be ruthless when prioritising how to spend money, a nod to challenges in fundraising for civilians in war zones like Gaza, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine. Tom Fletcher, a longtime British diplomat who took up the UN post last month, said his agency is asking for less money in 2025 than this year. He said it wants to show "we will focus and target the resources we have, even as crises grow more numerous, intense and long-lasting. His agency, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, on Wednesday issued its global appeal for 2025, seeking USD 47 billion to help 190 million people in 32 countries though it estimates 305 million worldwide need help. The world is on fire, and this is how we put it out, he told reporters on Tuesday. The office and many other aid groups, including the international Red Cross, have seen donations shrink in recent years for longtime trouble spots like Syria, South Sudan, the Middle Eas

India votes on resolution calling for withdrawal of Israel from Palestine

India voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that called for the withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, and reiterated the call for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in West Asia. The draft resolution Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine' tabled by Senegal was overwhelmingly adopted in the 193-member General Assembly on Tuesday. India was among the 157 nations that voted in favour, while eight Member States - Argentina, Hungary, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea and the United States voted against it. Cameroon, Czechia, Ecuador, Georgia, Paraguay, Ukraine and Uruguay abstained. The resolution, adopted as orally revised, reiterated its call for the achievement, without delay, of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East (West Asia) on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions and an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967, includi

Netanyahu thanks Donald Trump for warning Hamas to release hostages

Trump made it clear that those responsible for the hostage situation would face severe consequences

'All hell to pay if hostages not released': Trump issues warning to Hamas

US President-elect Donald Trump said that despite global concern over the Israeli hostages, there has been no significant action taken

UN halts aid via Gaza's main crossing after looting; blames Israel for it

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees say it is halting aid deliveries through the main cargo crossing into Gaza because the route on the Gaza side has become too dangerous. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, the main aid provider in Gaza, said Sunday said the route is vulnerable to looting. Armed men robbed a large convoy last month, and he said armed gangs stole another shipment on Saturday.

Lebanese fishers hope ceasefire with Israel means a return to normal life

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brought hope for normality back to many in southern Lebanon on Friday, including fishermen who have long launched their single-engine wooden boats into the Mediterranean at dawn. During the last two months of its year fighting Hezbollah, Israel imposed a siege on southern Lebanon that kept hundreds of fishers at this ancient Phoenician port on shore, upending their lives and the industry. While less important than destruction and displacement, the port siege cut many people off from the key ingredients for traditional Lebanese dishes like sayadiyeh fish and rice boiled in fish sauce or fried and grilled fish eaten with dips such as hummus and tabbouleh or fattoush salads. The loss of fish damaged a deep association with home, but now the possibility of renewed Lebanese fishing on the country's southern coast is helping fuel hope for a brighter future. On Friday, a few boats went out close to the shore as fishers in the port worked on the

Israelis wary of returning to north, don't trust ceasefire with Hezbollah

Dean Sweetland casts his gaze over a forlorn street in the Israeli community of Kibbutz Malkiya. Perched on a hill overlooking the border with Lebanon, the town stands mostly empty after being abandoned a year ago. The daycare is closed. The homes are unkempt. Parts of the landscape are ashen from fires sparked by fallen Hezbollah rockets. Even after a tenuous Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire designed to let Israelis return to the north, the mood here is far from celebratory. The ceasefire is rubbish, said Sweetland, a gardener and member of the kibbutz's civilian security squad. Do you expect me to ring around my friends and say, All the families should come home?' No." Across the border, Lebanese civilians have jammed roads in a rush to return to homes in the country's south, but most residents of northern Israel have met the ceasefire with suspicion and apprehension. Hezbollah could still come back to the border, and who will protect us when they do? Sweetland asked. Israel's governm

Israel denies authority of ICC warrants against PM Netanyahu, Gallant

The charges include allegations of targeting civilians and enforcing policies of starvation in Gaza

Want a future that has hope for Palestinians: Israeli Ambassador to India

Ambassador Reuven Azar said that Israel has given very severe blows to Hamas

Israel, Hezbollah start a ceasefire after nearly 14 months of fighting

Israel has approved a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah that would end nearly 14 months of fighting linked to the war in the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire agreed on Tuesday would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza, where Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages and the conflict is more intractable. Hours before the ceasefire with Hezbollah was to take effect, Israel carried out the most intense wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs since the start of the conflict and issued a record number of evacuation warnings. At least 24 people were killed in strikes across the country, according to local authorities, as Israel signalled it aims to pummel Hezbollah before the ceasefire takes hold at 4 am local time on Wednesday. Another huge airstrike shook Beirut shortly after the ceasefire was announced. There appea

Israel strikes Lebanon as leaders draw closer to ceasefire with Hezbollah

Israel's military launched airstrikes across Lebanon on Monday, unleashing explosions throughout the country and killing at least 12 while Israeli leaders appeared to be closing in on a negotiated ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group. Israeli strikes hit commercial and residential buildings in Beirut as well as in the port city of Tyre. Military officials said they targeted areas known as Hezbollah strongholds. They issued evacuation orders for Beirut's southern suburbs, and strikes landed across the city, including metres from a Lebanese police base and the city's largest public park. The barrage came as officials indicated they were nearing agreement on a ceasefire, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Security Cabinet prepared to discuss an offer on the table. Airstrikes kill at least 12 Massive explosions lit up Lebanon's skies with flashes of orange, sending towering plumes of smoke into the air as Israeli airstrikes pounded Beirut's southern suburbs ...

Israel-Hezbollah close to ceasefire deal: Israeli envoy to Washington

On Sunday, Hezbollah fired at least 250 rockets and drones into Israel, wounding several people

Israeli strikes kill dozens across Lebanon, 29 dead in Beirut attack

The Beirut airstrike is just one of several across the country as Israel continues its aggressive military campaign against Hezbollah

Israel cracks down on Palestinians who speak out against war in Gaza

Israel's yearlong crackdown against Palestinian citizens who speak out against the war in Gaza is prompting many to self-censor out of fear of being jailed and further marginalised in society, while some still find ways to dissent carefully. Ahmed Khalefa's life turned upside down after he was charged with inciting terrorism for chanting in solidarity with Gaza at an anti-war protest in October 2023. The lawyer and city counsellor from central Israel says he spent three difficult months in jail followed by six months detained in an apartment. It's unclear when he'll get a final verdict on his guilt or innocence. Until then, he's forbidden from leaving his home from dusk to dawn. Khalefa is one of more than 400 Palestinian citizens of Israel who, since the start of the war in Gaza, have been investigated by police for incitement to terrorism or incitement to violence, according to Adalah, a legal rights group for minorities. More than half of those investigated were also criminally

What is the International Criminal Court that issued Netanyahu's warrant?

International Criminal Court issued warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of crimes against humanity related to the 13-month war in Gaza

More aid workers have been killed in 2024 than in any other year, says UN

Bloodshed in the Middle East has been the single-biggest cause of the 281 deaths among humanitarians globally this year