Page 61 - Gaza

Fleeing Gaza family killed by Israel along with medics sent to find them

The sound of gunfire crackled over the phone as the teenage girl hid in the car and spoke. An Israeli tank was near the vehicle as she and her family were trying to heed Israel's call to evacuate their home in Gaza. Something had gone horribly wrong. Everyone in the vehicle was dead, the teen said. Everyone but her and her five-year-old female cousin, Hind. "They are shooting at us," 15-year-old Layan told the Palestinian Red Crescent. "The tank is next to me." And then there was a burst of gunfire. She screamed and fell silent. That began a desperate rescue attempt by medics with the Palestinian Red Crescent, one of many during the war in Gaza and one that ended on Saturday with the discovery of their ambulance, blackened and destroyed. The two medics were dead. The Palestinian Red Crescent accused Israeli forces of targeting the ambulance as it pulled up near the family's vehicle. The organisation said it had coordinated the journey with Israeli forces as in the past. There was

Israel unveils tunnels underneath Gaza City HQ of UN agency for refugees

The Israeli military says it has discovered tunnels underneath the main headquarters of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza City, alleging that Hamas militants used the space as an electrical supply room. The unveiling of the tunnels marked the latest chapter in Israel's campaign against the embattled agency, which it accuses of collaborating with Hamas. Recent Israeli allegations that a dozen staff members participated in the Hamas attack on Israel Oct. 7 plunged the agency into a financial crisis, prompting major donor states to suspend their funding as well as twin investigations. The agency says that Israel has also frozen its bank account, embargoed aid shipments and canceled its tax benefits. The army invited journalists to view the tunnel on Thursday. It did not prove definitively that Hamas militants operated in the tunnels underneath the UNWRA facility, but it did show that at least a portion of the tunnel ran underneath the facility's courtyard. The military

Parl highlights: Lok Sabha adjourned sine die as Budget session concludes

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Biden order attaches human rights conditions to US military aid for Israel

A new directive by President Joe Biden appeared to ease a split among Democrats over his military support for Israel's war in Gaza, with lawmakers on Friday praising the order authorizing a swift cutoff of military aid to countries that violate international protections of civilians. For Biden, the commitment to conditioning U.S. military aid for Israel and other allies and strategic partners will help him shore up support among center-left Senate Democrats for his proposed $95 billion supplemental assistance package, which is aimed primarily at military aid for Ukraine in its war with Russia and for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza. Democratic senators on Friday called Biden's directive meant to bring breadth, oversight, deadlines and teeth to efforts to ensure foreign governments don't use U.S. military aid against civilians historic. This is a sea-change in terms of how you approach U.S. military aid and its impact on civilians, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said.

Israeli strikes kill 9 after Biden calls Israel's approach 'over the top'

At least nine people, including children and women, were killed in Israeli airstrikes overnight into Friday in the central area of the Gaza Strip and in the southern city of Rafah on the border with Egypt, witnesses and hospital officials said. The overnight airstrikes came hours after US President Joe Biden said Thursday that he considers Israel's conduct of the war to be over the top. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, left Israel on Thursday as the divide grows between the two close allies on the way forward. More than half of Gaza's 2.3 million population has been driven by Israel's military offensive toward the border with Egypt. Unable to leave the tiny Palestinian territory, many are living in makeshift tent camps or overflowing UN-run shelters. The Palestinian death toll from the war has surpassed 27,840 people, the Health Ministry in Gaza said. A quarter of Gaza's residents are starving. The war began with Hamas' Oct 7 assault into Israel, in which militants kille

Netanyahu orders population of Gaza's Rafah evacuated ahead of invasion

Israel says Rafah is the last remaining Hamas stronghold and it needs to send in troops to complete its war plan against the Islamic militant group

Israeli forces intensify strikes on Rafah in southern Gaza: Report

Aid agencies have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if Israel follows through on its threat to enter Rafah

Oil rises 0.72% to $79 a barrel on Gaza ceasefire rejection, US stock data

Brent crude futures rose 57 cents, or 0.72%, to $79.78 a barrel by 1043 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 47 cents, or 0.64%, at $74.33

No Israeli ties unless Gaza 'aggression' halted, says Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has resumed talks with the US about forging closer defense ties after a pause following the start of the Israel-Hamas war, people familiar with the discussions said in late January

Blinken to brief Israeli leaders on ceasefire, hostage talks as war rages

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to meet Israeli leaders on Wednesday as Hamas suggested it was open to a new ceasefire and hostage release deal, but both sides remain dug in on thus far elusive goals as the war enters its fifth month. The deadliest round of fighting in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has killed over 27,000 Palestinians, levelled entire neighbourhoods, driven the vast majority of Gaza's population from their homes, and pushed a quarter of the population to starvation. Iran-backed militant groups across the region have conducted attacks, mostly on US and Israeli targets, in solidarity with the Palestinians, drawing reprisals as the risk of a wider conflict grows. Israel remains deeply shaken by Hamas' Oct 7 attack, in which militants burst through the country's vaunted defenses and rampaged across southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting some 250, around half of whom remain in captivity in Gaza. The Unit

Hamas proposes three-stage ceasefire over 135 days, leading to end of war

According to a draft document seen by Reuters, the Hamas counterproposal envisions three phases lasting 45 days each

Still seek complete ceasefire in Gaza, end to Israeli offensive, says Hamas

Hamas says it has responded in a positive spirit to the latest proposal from the US and Mideast mediators for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages. But the militant group said in a statement on Tuesday that it still seeks a comprehensive and complete" cease-fire to end "the aggression against our people". Israel has ruled out the kind of permanent cease-fire sought by the militant group. Qatar's prime minister said on Tuesday that Hamas' reaction to the latest plan for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages was generally positive" as he met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was making his latest visit to the Middle East. Qatar, which has long mediated with Hamas, has been working with the US and Egypt to broker a cease-fire that would involve an extended halt in fighting and the release of the over 100 hostages still held by Hamas after its October 7 cross-border raid that ignited the war nearly four months ago. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman ..

Qatar PM says Hamas had positive response to Gaza cease-fire proposal

Qatar's prime minister said on Tuesday that Hamas' reaction to the latest plan for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages was generally positive" as he met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was making his latest visit to the Middle East. Qatar, which has long mediated with Hamas, has been working with the US and Egypt to broker a cease-fire that would involve an extended halt in fighting and the release of the over 100 hostages still held by Hamas after its October 7 cross-border raid that ignited the war nearly four months ago. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani did not provide any details on Hamas' response but said the group had comments. Blinken confirmed that officials had received Hamas' response and said he would brief Israel's leaders when he visits the country on Wednesday. Hamas said in a statement that it responded in a positive spirit to the latest proposal from the US and Mideast mediators. But the militant group said it still seeks a ...

Crude oil steadies after gains, Israel-Gaza ceasefire talks in focus

Brent crude futures dipped 8 cents to $77.91 a barrel by 0914 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 13 cents to $72.65. Both contracts gained nearly 1% on Monday

McDonald's Oct-Dec results: Sales rise 3.4%, hit by West Asia boycotts

A banner year came to a bumpy end for McDonald's, which lost sales in many markets due to the war in Gaza. Global same-store sales or sales at restaurants open at least a year rose 3.4 per cent in the October-December period, well below the 4.7 per cent increase Wall Street was expecting, according to analysts polled by FactSet. Customers in the Middle East were angered after McDonald's Israel which is operated by a local franchisee -- announced in October it was providing free meals to Israeli soldiers. In response, some franchisees, like McDonald's Oman, announced donations to relief efforts in Gaza. Last month, McDonald's President and CEO Chris Kempczinski warned that misinformation in the Middle East and elsewhere was hurting sales. In addition to customer boycotts, McDonald's has had to temporarily limit store hours or close some locations due to protests. We abhor violence of any kind and firmly stand against hate speech, and we will always proudly open our doors to anyon

Blinken heads to Middle East to hold negotiations on hostages, Gaza aid

Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and the West Bank from February 4-8. It is his fifth trip to the region since the Hamas' attacks on Israel on October 7

Hamas deploys police, distributes funds in sign of resurgence in Gaza

Hamas has begun deploying police forces and making partial salary payments to some of its civil servants in Gaza City in recent days, resurfacing in areas from which Israel had withdrawn the bulk of its troops a month ago, four residents and a senior official in the militant group said on Saturday. Signs of a Hamas resurgence in the Gaza Strip's largest city underscore the group's resilience despite Israel's deadly air and ground campaign against it over the past four months. Israel has said it's determined to crush Hamas militarily and prevent it from returning to power in Gaza, an enclave it has ruled since 2007. In recent days, Israeli forces renewed strikes in the western and northwestern parts of Gaza City, including in areas where some of the salary distributions were reported to have taken place. Four Gaza City residents told The Associated Press that in recent days, uniformed and plainclothes police officers deployed near police headquarters and other government offices, ...

EU worried Israel might extend Gaza war to unstable town near Egypt

The European Union on Saturday expressed deep concern over reports that the Israeli military intends to take its battle against Hamas to the town of Rafah at Gaza's border with Egypt where more than a million people have escaped the fighting. The EU's top diplomat warned that conflict is likely to spread throughout the region unless a cease-fire is agreed between Israel and Hamas, after U.S. airstrikes hit dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that around 1 million Palestinians have been displaced progressively against the Egyptian border. They claimed they were safe zones, but in fact what we see is that the bombing affecting the civilian population continues and it is creating a very dire situation. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Thursday that after Israeli troops seize the southern city of Khan Younis, from where tens of thousands of people have fled, they will

Half of US adults say Israel has gone too far in war in Gaza: Poll

Half of U.S. adults say Israel's 15-week-old military campaign in Gaza has gone too far, a finding driven mainly by growing disapproval among Republicans and political independents, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Broadly, the poll shows support for Israel and the Biden administration's handling of the situation ebbing slightly further across the board. The poll shows 31% of U.S. adults approve of Biden's handling of the conflict, including just 46% of Democrats. That's as an earlier spike in support for Israel following the Hamas attacks Oct. 7 sags. Melissa Morales, a 36-year-old political independent in Runnemede, New Jersey, says she finds herself watching videos and news from Gaza daily. Images of Palestinian children wounded, orphaned or unhoused by the fighting in Gaza make her mind go to her own 3-year-old boy. I just can't even imagine, like, my son roaming the streets, wanting to be safe. Wanting his mom. Or just .

10,000 Indian workers to reach Israel soon in batches starting next week

With Israel's construction sector suffering a severe manpower crisis post the October 7 conflict with Hamas, some 10,000 workers from India are to make their way here starting next week, industry sources said on Wednesday. These 10,000 workers will reach in batches of 700 to 1,000 a week, a source in the Israel's Builders Association (IBA) told PTI here. With Israel's latest conflict with Hamas in Gaza a little short of four months, and a ban on the entry of Palestinian workers and the departure of several thousand other foreign workers, the Israeli construction industry has been facing a deep crisis and several ongoing projects are getting either stalled or delayed. Following the conflict, Israel has banned the entry of Palestinian workers. The departure of several thousand other foreign workers, the Israeli construction industry has been facing a deep crisis. Israeli business daily The Calcalist in a report in Hebrew last week said that the quota of foreign manpower for the ...