Page 6 - Gaza

Israel, Hamas meet begins in Egypt on eve of Gaza war anniversary

Israeli and Hamas officials launched indirect talks Monday at an Egyptian resort on a US-drafted peace plan to end the ruinous war in Gaza on the eve of its second anniversary. Many uncertainties remain about the plan presented by US President Donald Trump last week, including the disarmament of the militant group a key Israeli demand and the future governance of Gaza. Trump has indicated an agreement on Gaza could pave the way for a Middle East peace process that could reshape the region. Despite Trump ordering Israel to stop the bombing, Israel continued to pound Gaza with airstrikes, killing at least 19 people in the last 24 hours, the territory's Health Ministry said. An Egyptian official said talks began at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh Monday afternoon. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly about the talks. The Israelis are led by top negotiator Ron Dermer, while Khalil al-Hayyah leads the Hamas delegation. Ha

Strong-armed by Trump, Netanyahu embraces Gaza deal as personal win

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel took credit for an emerging agreement, but it was clear that President Trump was calling the shots

US Gaza plan needs Trump's stamina and focus, not Nobel Prize distraction

Neither Israel nor Hamas fully supports the deal, with both sides issuing caveats and misrepresenting or ignoring key terms regarding Gaza's future

'Everybody's pretty much agreed to it': Trump on Gaza plan ahead of talks

In a Truth Social post, Trump said there have been positive discussions with Hamas and other countries, including Arab and Muslim nations, on the Gaza peace plan

We're dealing with killers, savages, terrorists: US secy of State on Hamas

Trump says global negotiations with Hamas for hostage release and ending Gaza war are "very successful and proceeding rapidly"

Israel strikes Gaza as Palestinians pin hopes on Trump's peace plan

Israeli forces warned residents who have left the city against returning, saying it was a 'dangerous combat zone'

Israeli military halts boats in aid flotilla, sparking global protests

A video from the Israeli foreign ministry showed Thunberg, the most prominent of the passengers, sitting on a deck surrounded by soldiers

Israel, Hamas set for talks over Trump's Gaza peace plan in Egypt on Monday

Egypt, a key intermediary in truce talks, said it would host delegations from both sides to discuss a possible exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners

Gaza becomes 'news graveyard' as journalists die bringing war to the world

Minutes after journalists gathered outside a Gaza hospital to survey the damage of an Israeli strike, Ibrahim Qannan pointed his camera up at the battered building as the others climbed its external stairs. Then Qannan watched in horror while broadcasting live as a second strike killed the friends and colleagues he knew so well. We live side by side with death, Qannan, a correspondent for the Cairo-based Al-Ghad TV said in an interview. I still cannot believe that five of our colleagues were struck in front of me on camera and I try to hold up and look strong to carry the message. May no one feel such feelings. They are painful feelings. The deaths of the five journalists in the August 25 strikes on Nasser Hospital add to a toll of nearly 200 news workers killed by Israeli forces while working to bring Gaza's story to the world. Those killed in the attack, which left a total of 22 people dead, included Mariam Dagga, 33, a visual journalist who freelanced for The Associated Press

Netanyahu hopes to announce Gaza hostage release 'in coming days'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hopes to announce the release of all hostages from Gaza in the coming days, as Israel and Hamas prepare for indirect talks in Egypt on Monday on a new US plan to end the war. In a brief statement late Saturday, Netanyahu said he has sent a delegation to Egypt to finalise technical details, adding that our goal is to contain these negotiations to a time frame of a few days. But Netanyahu signalled there would not be a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, something Hamas has long demanded. He said Israel's military will continue to hold territories it controls in Gaza, and that Hamas will be disarmed in the plan's second phase, diplomatically or through a military path by us. The prime minister spoke after Hamas said it has accepted some elements of the US plan. President Donald Trump welcomed the militant group's statement but on Saturday warned that Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off. Trump also ordered Israel to st

Dozens killed in Gaza despite Trump's call for Israel to halt bombing

I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again, he said

Bombing in Gaza City subsides; Israel readies for first phase of US plan

Israeli bombing of Gaza City has significantly subsided though at least five Palestinians were killed, a hospital official said Saturday, as Israel's army said the country's leaders had instructed it to prepare for the first phase of the US plan to end the war in Gaza. Israel has moved to a defensive-only position in Gaza and will not actively strike, said an official who was not authorised to speak to the media on the record. The official said no forces have been removed from the territory. Still, Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiyah told the AP that Israeli strikes killed five Palestinians across Gaza City, while bombing had "significantly subsided. The army statement came hours after President Donald Trump ordered Israel to stop bombing Gaza once Hamas said it had accepted some elements of his plan. Trump welcomed the Hamas statement but on Saturday warned that Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off. He noted that Israel had temporarily stopped the ...

UK confronts rising long-term terror threat linked to ongoing Gaza conflict

The fatal Manchester attack by Jihad Al-Shamie has heightened UK security concerns since Oct. 7, 2023, though his motives and path to the standoff remain unclear

PM Modi welcomes Trump's leadership as Gaza peace efforts show progress

India welcomes US President Donald Trump's leadership as peace efforts in Gaza make decisive progress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday. Modi referred to the indications of the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas and said it marks a significant step forward in efforts to restore peace in the region. He said on X, "India will continue to strongly support all efforts towards a durable and just peace." Trump has ordered Israel to stop bombing the Gaza Strip after Hamas said it had accepted some elements of his plan to end the nearly two-year war and return all the remaining hostages taken in the October 7, 2023, attack. Hamas said it was willing to release the hostages and hand over power to other Palestinians, but that other aspects of the plan require further consultations among Palestinians.

Israel ready to implement Trump's Gaza peace plan, says Netanyahu | Updates

Israel said it is ready to start the first step of Trump's Gaza peace plan, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and discuss handing Gaza's control to a Palestinian-led body

Hamas accepts some elements of Gaza peace plan after Trump issues ultimatum

Hamas said Friday that it has accepted some elements of US President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip, including giving up power and releasing all remaining hostages, but that others require further consultations among Palestinians. The statement came hours after Trump said that Hamas must agree to the deal by Sunday evening, threatening an even greater military onslaught nearly two years into the war sparked by the October 7 attack into Israel. It was unclear how the US and Israel would respond to partial acceptance. Hamas said it was willing to release hostages according to the plan's formula, likely referring to the release of Palestinian prisoners. It also reiterated its longstanding openness to handing power over to a politically independent Palestinian body. But it said aspects of the proposal touching on the future of the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rights should be decided on the basis of a unanimous Palestinian stance reached with other factions and based

Israeli strikes kill 57 in Gaza as Hamas considers Trump's plan to end war

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 57 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, health officials said Thursday, as Hamas was still considering its response to US President Donald Trump's proposal for ending the nearly two-year war. The plan requires Hamas to return all 48 hostages about 20 of them thought by Israel to be alive give up power and disarm in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and an end to fighting. However, the proposal, which has been accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sets no path to Palestinian statehood. Palestinians long for the war to end but many believe the plan favours Israel, and a Hamas official told The Associated Press that some elements were unacceptable, without elaborating. Qatar and Egypt, two key mediators, said it requires more negotiations on certain elements. Israel intercepts activist aid flotilla At least 29 people were killed by Israeli fire in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital, which ...

Hamas has till Sunday to accept deal or 'all HELL' will break out: Trump

Trump on Tuesday said he would give Hamas three to four days to accept the 20-point document, which calls on the group to disarm a demand it has previously rejected

Israel intercepts boats attempting to break Gaza blockade, activists held

Hundreds of Israeli police officers were deployed Thursday to the southern port of Ashdod to process some 450 international activists detained by Israeli naval forces hours earlier in the Mediterranean Sea, Israeli authorities said. The activists, including European lawmakers, were taking part of a flotilla attempting to break Israel's blockade of Gaza when their vessels were intercepted, drawing widespread condemnation and sparking protests around the world. The Global Sumud Flotilla was the largest yet to try to break the blockade, and it comes at a time of growing criticism of Israel's conduct in Gaza, where its offensive has laid waste to wide swaths of territory and killed tens of thousands of people. Activists had said they hoped that the sheer number of boats would make it more difficult for Israeli authorities to intercept them all but Israel's Foreign Ministry declared the operation over on Thursday afternoon. Israeli police shared a video showing some 600 officers workin

Activists say Israeli navy has begun intercepting Gaza-bound aid flotilla

Activists on board a flotilla of vessels sailing toward Gaza said late Wednesday that the Israeli navy has begun intercepting their vessels as they approach the besieged Palestinian territory. The Global Sumud Flotilla, with Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela's grandson, Mandla Mandela, and several European lawmakers aboard, consists of nearly 50 boats and 500 activists and is carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid. It has remained undeterred in its mission to break the Israeli blockade of the coastal strip and reach Palestinians. Greg Stoker, an American veteran aboard one of the boats in the flotilla, said around a dozen naval vessels with their transponders off had approached it. They are currently hailing our vessels, telling us to turn off our engines and await further instructions or our boats will be seized and we will face the consequences," he said in a shaky video while wearing a red life jacket. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said on X that the navy had reached out to