Page 52 - Gaza

'Closing of Kerem Shalom, Rafah set back delivery of humanitarian aid': US

Amid mounting airstrikes, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office reaffirmed the continuation of military operations in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas

Israel seizes Gaza's Rafah crossing, US reassures it isn't full invasion

Israeli troops seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday in what the White House described as a limited operation, as fears mount of a full-scale invasion of the southern city and talks with Hamas over a cease-fire and hostage release remain on a knife's edge. The United Nations (UN) warned of a potential collapse of the flow of aid to Palestinians from the closure of the Rafah crossing from Egypt and the other main crossing into Gaza, Kerem Shalom, from Israel, at a time when UN officials say northern Gaza is experiencing full-blown famine. The Israeli foray overnight came after hours of whiplash in the now 7-month-old Israel-Hamas war, with the militant group saying Monday it accepted a cease-fire proposal that Israel insisted fell short of its own core demands. The high-stakes diplomatic moves and military brinkmanship left a glimmer of hope alive for a deal to bring at least a pause in the war, which has killed more than 34,700 Palestinians, according to ..

Highlights of the day: Baba Kalyani rejects claims of nephew, niece seeking HUF partition

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Israeli forces take control of Gaza side of Rafah crossing with Egypt

The Israeli military said it had established operational control over the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip overnight Monday into Tuesday. Footage broadcast on Israeli media showed an Israeli flag flying on the Gaza side of the crossing, though the Israeli army refused to comment on the flag. On Monday night, the Israeli military said it was carrying out targeted strikes in eastern Rafah. It said 20 Hamas militants were killed in the operation and it discovered three tunnel shafts. An Israeli army official said the vast majority of people located in the evacuation zone have left. The crossing, just south of Gaza City, was taken over by Israeli tanks that are part of an armoured brigade, the Israeli Defence Forces and Palestinian officials said. Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, said the crossing, the main entry of humanitarian aid to the war-torn strip, was out of service. The whole western area (of Rafah) has become a the

Will Israel-Hamas war end soon?

Israeli forces have taken control of the Rafah crossing in Gaza amidst its military offensive in Rafah even after Hamas agreed to a ceasefire proposal. Watch the video to know why.

Gaza may be Biden's Vietnam but ready to battle Trump, says Bernie Sanders

In April, Bernie Sanders repeatedly stood shoulder to shoulder with President Joe Biden, promoting their joint accomplishments on health care and climate at formal White House events while eviscerating Donald Trump in a widely viewed campaign TikTok video. Then just last week, Sanders was bluntly warning that the crisis in Gaza could be Biden's Vietnam" and invoking President Lyndon B. Johnson's decision not to run for reelection as the nation was in an uproar over his support of that war. Such is the political dichotomy of Bernie Sanders when it comes to Joe Biden. They are two octogenarians who share a bond that was forged through a hard-fought primary in 2020 and fortified through policy achievements over the last three years. Now, in this election year, Sanders will be Biden's most powerful emissary to progressives and younger voters a task that will test the senator's pull with the sectors of the Democratic Party most disillusioned with the president and his policies, especial

Palestinian, Egyptian officials say Israeli tanks enter Gaza town Rafah

A Palestinian security official and an Egyptian official say Israeli tanks entered the southern Gaza town of Rafah, reaching as close as 200 metres from its crossing with neighbouring Egypt. The Egyptian official said the operation appeared to be limited in scope. He and Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV said Israeli officials informed the Egyptians that the troops would withdraw after completing the operation. The Israeli military declined to comment. On Sunday, Hamas fighters near the Rafah crossing fired mortars into southern Israel, killing four Israeli soldiers. The Egyptian official, located on the Egyptian side of Rafah, and the Palestinian security official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. The Associated Press could not independently verify the scope of the operation. Earlier Monday, Israel's War Cabinet decided to push ahead with a military operation in Rafah, after Hamas announced its acceptance of an Egyptian-Qatari proposal for a .

Biden, Netanyahu speak as Israeli military tells Gaza people to leave Rafah

The two leaders also discussed efforts to combat antisemitism and mark Holocaust Remembrance Day. The leaders spoke for about 30 minutes, according to an Israeli official

Progress in Gaza truce talks, Israel downplays chance of ending war

A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported noticeable progress in cease-fire talks with Israel, though an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war in Gaza. Pressure has mounted to reach a deal halting the nearly 7-month-long war. A top UN official says there is now a full-blown famine in northern Gaza, while Israel insists it will launch an offensive into Rafah, the territory's southernmost city on the border with Egypt, where more than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering. Egyptian and US mediators have reported signs of compromise in recent days, but chances for a cease-fire deal remain entangled with the key question of whether Israel will accept an end to the war without reaching its stated goal of destroying Hamas. Egypt's state-owned Al-Qahera News TV channel said Saturday that a consensus had been reached over many disputed points but did not elaborate. Hamas has called for a ...

Hostage held in Gaza dies as Israel, Hamas work on cease-fire deal

Dror Or, a 49-year-old held captive in Gaza, has died, the Hostages Families Forum said Friday. Or marks the 38th hostage killed, the forum said. He was one of about 250 people abducted when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others. Dozens of people demonstrated Thursday night outside Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to release the hostages. Meanwhile, Hamas said it would send a delegation to Cairo as soon as possible to keep working on cease-fire talks. A leaked truce proposal hints at compromises by both sides after months of talks languishing in a stalemate. Across the United States, tent encampments and demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war have spread across university campuses. More than 2,000 protesters have been arrested over the past two weeks as students rally against the war's death toll and call f

Destruction of housing in Gaza unprecedented, not seen since WW2: UN

The world hasn't seen anything like the unprecedented destruction of housing in Gaza since World War II, and it would take at least until 2040 to restore the homes devastated in Israel's bombing and ground offensive if the conflict ended today, the United Nations reported Thursday. The UN assessment said the social and economic impact of the war launched after Hamas' surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7 has been increasing in an exponential manner. It called the level of casualties 5 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million population -- unprecedented in such a short time. By mid-April, it said, over 33,000 Palestinians had been killed and more than 80,000 injured. About 7,000 others remain missing, most believed to be buried under the rubble. Every additional day that this war continues is exacting huge and compounding costs to Gazans and all Palestinians said United Nations Development Program Administrator Achim Steiner. The report by UNDP and the UN Economic Commission for ..

In online world, a new generation of protesters chooses anonymity

On campuses from New England to Southern California, students leading one of the largest protest movements in decades have increasingly strapped on face masks

Highlights of the day: Joe Biden says anti-Semitism has 'no place' on any US campus

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Joe Biden keeps quiet as Gaza protesters, police clash on college campuses

President Joe Biden is staying mum about student protests and police crackdowns as Republicans try to turn campus unrest over the war in Gaza into a campaign cudgel against Democrats. Tension at colleges and universities has been building for days as some demonstrators refuse to remove encampments and administrators turn to law enforcement to clear them by force, leading to clashes that have seized attention from politicians and the media. But Biden's last public comment came more than a week ago, when he condemned antisemitic protests and those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians. The White House, which has been peppered with questions by reporters, has gone only slightly further than the president. On Wednesday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden is monitoring the situation closely", and she said some demonstrations had stepped over a line that separated free speech from unlawful behaviour. Forcibly taking over a building," such as what happened

Donald Trump praises New York police raid on Columbia university protesters

Trump comments addressed the spread of student protests against the war in Gaza across the US in recent days, seeking to capitalise on concern over campus unrest

Violence, chaos erupts on campuses in US as protesters clash over Gaza war

A brawl erupted at UCLA after a pro-Palestinian encampment was forcefully attacked, the school's chancellor said Wednesday, while activists at the University of Wisconsin in Madison clashed with police officers who destroyed their tents, in a day of escalating violence on some college campuses over the war in Gaza. Fifteen people were injured during the UCLA confrontation, including one person who was hospitalised, according to the president of the University of California system. The chaotic scenes unfolded Wednesday after police burst into a building occupied by anti-war protesters at Columbia University on Tuesday night, breaking up a demonstration that had paralysed the school. Chancellor Gene Block at UCLA said in a statement that a group of instigators came on campus Tuesday to forcefully attack the pro-Palestinian encampment, prompting the school to ask for assistance from outside law enforcement. After a couple of hours of scuffles between duelling demonstrators at the ...

Biden administration weighing measures to help Palestinians bring families

The Biden administration is weighing measures to help Palestinians living in the United States who want to bring family from the war-torn region. We are constantly evaluating policy proposals to further support Palestinians who are family members of American citizens and may want to come to the United States, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. Jean-Pierre said discussions were underway but had no further details on how procedures might work. The new measures would help those who are legal permanent residents or US citizens and who have family in the region. It's difficult right now for anyone to get out of the Gaza Strip as the Israel-Hamas war continues, and more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health officials, around two-thirds of them children and women. The discussion comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that Israel will move forward with a major military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah

Highlights of the day: US Fed holds key rates unchanged at 5.25-5.50% for 6th straight meeting

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US ships working to build pier for Gaza aid, to cost at least $320 million

A US Navy ship and several Army vessels involved in an American-led effort to bring more aid into the besieged Gaza Strip are offshore of the enclave and building out a floating platform for the operation that the Pentagon has said will cost at least USD 320 million. Sabrina Singh, Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters the cost is a rough estimate for the project and includes the transportation of the equipment and pier sections from the United States to the coast of Gaza, as well as the construction and aid delivery operations. Satellite photos analysed by The Associated Press on Tuesday show the USNS Roy P. Benavidez about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) from the port on shore, where the base of operations for the project is being built by the Israeli military. The USAV General Frank S. Besson Jr., an Army logistics vessel, and several other Army boats are with the Benavidez and working on the construction of what the military calls the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, ...

Highlights of the day: Delhi court issues fresh summons to BBC at UK address

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