Page 63 - Gaza

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Gaza's expanding footprint

The conflict is getting unpredictable

UAE urges US to support immediate ceasefire of Israel's attacks in Gaza

President Joe Biden's administration has refrained from demanding a halt to the Israeli military campaign and vetoed a UN Security Council demand for a ceasefire put forward by the UAE in December

Israel's Netanyahu rejects any Palestinian sovereignty in post-war Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes any form of Palestinian sovereignty in post-war Gaza, his office said Saturday, appearing to rebuff US President Joe Biden's suggestion that creative solutions could bridge wide gaps between the two leaders' views on Palestinian statehood. In a sign of the pressures Netanyahu's government faces at home and abroad over the war, a protest outside the prime minister's home grew as more people joined a group representing families of the more than 100 remaining hostages held by Hamas and other militant groups. The families are demanding the government take bold steps to free the hostages, fearing that Israel's military activity in Gaza further endangers their lives. Netanyahu is also under heat to appease members of his right-wing ruling coalition by intensifying the war against Hamas, which governs Gaza, and must contend with calls for restraint from the United States, its closest ally. A statement from the prime minister's office said

Relatives of hostages held by Hamas protest outside Netanyahu's home

Relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza protested on Saturday outside the home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, expressing frustration over his government's seeming lack of progress in getting the more than 100 captives released as the war in Gaza drags on. A group representing families of the hostages said they had "begged for 105 days" and now demanded that the government show leadership and take bold steps to free the hostages. A member of Israel's War Cabinet has called a cease-fire the only way to secure their release, a comment that implied criticism of Israel's current strategy. The protest outside the prime minister's home and the remark by former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot were among signs of growing strife in Israel over the direction of the war in its fourth month. Netanyahu has said he will push for complete victory against Hamas but has not outlined how he would achieve it. Critics have accused him of preventing a Cabinet-level debate about a ...

EAM holds detailed discussions with Palestinian counterpart in Uganda

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday met with Palestine's Foreign Minister Dr Riyad al-Maliki here and held a detailed and comprehensive discussion on the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip. Jaishankar is here in the Ugandan capital to attend the two-day Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit, which began on Friday. Good to meet with Palestinian FM Dr Riyad al-Maliki in Kampala this afternoon. ... Had a detailed and comprehensive discussion on the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Jaishankar posted on X along with a photo of the meeting. Exchanged views on its humanitarian and political dimensions. Reiterated India's support for a two-state solution ... Agreed to remain in touch, he further said. The meeting comes a day after Jaishankar, in his address at the NAM summit, reiterated India's support for a two-state solution. Right now, the conflict in Gaza is understandably uppermost in our minds. This humanitarian crisis requires a sustainable solution that gives immediate relief

Women and children main victims of Israel-Hamas war with 16,000 killed: UN

Women and children are the main victims in the Israel-Hamas war, with some 16,000 killed and an estimated two mothers losing their lives every hour since Hamas' surprise attack on Israel, the United Nations agency promoting gender equality said Friday. As a result of the more than 100-day conflict, UN Women added, at least 3,000 women may have become widows and heads of households and at least 10,000 children may have lost their fathers. In a report released Friday, the agency pointed to gender inequality and the burden on women fleeing the fighting with children and being displaced again and again. Of the territory's 2.3 million population, it said, 1.9 million are displaced and close to one million are women and girls seeking shelter and safety. UN Women's executive director, Sima Bahous, said this is a cruel inversion of fighting during the 15 years before the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. Previously, she said, 67% of all civilians killed in Gaza and the West Bank were men and less the

US strikes Yemen sixth time, as Israel's war in Gaza raises tensions

The US fighter jets struck Houthi rebel sites in Yemen for the sixth time Friday, taking out anti-ship missile launchers that were prepared to fire, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing military operations. The Iranian-backed Houthi militants say their attacks on global shipping in the Red Sea corridor are aimed at stopping Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Now in its fourth month, the war has raised the temperature on tensions across the Middle East. In Israel, a member of the country's War Cabinet said only a cease-fire deal can win the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The televised comments by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot on Thursday were the latest sign of a growing rift among political and military leaders over the direction of Israel's war. Gaza's Health Ministry says more than 24,400 Palestinians have died in the conflict, and the United Nations says a quarter of the 2.3 million people trapped in Gaza

Israeli tanks renew push towards biggest hospital still working in Gaza

People inside Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital, forced to house displaced Gazans as well as patients, reported hearing shellfire from tanks advancing into the west of the city

Two sides of political Islam

Depending on one's viewpoint, global political Islam is either at its strongest or weakest. But the real unwinnable wars are between Islamic states

Non-Aligned Movement leaders denounce Israel's military campaign in Gaza

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after the Islamist militant group Hamas' Oct. 7 attack in which Israeli officials say more than 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed and 240 taken hostage

Rifts emerge among Israeli officials over handling of war in Gaza: Report

Rifts are emerging among top Israeli officials over the handling of the war against Hamas in Gaza. A member of the country's War Cabinet cast doubt over the strategy for releasing hostages, and the country's prime minister rejected the United States' calls to scale back its offensive. Only a cease-fire deal can win the release of dozens of hostages still held by Islamic militants in Gaza, and claims they could be freed by other means was spreading illusions", said former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, one of four members of the War Cabinet, in his first public statements on the course of the war. Eisenkot's comments late Thursday were the latest sign of disagreement among political and military leaders over the direction of Israel's offensive on Hamas, now in its fourth month. Sparked by an unprecedented October 7 Hamas raid into Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw about 250 others taken hostage, the Israeli assault has pulverised much of the Gaza Strip, home

In Davos, Israel's Prez calls ties with Saudi key to ending war in Gaza

Normalising ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia is a key element of ending the war with Hamas and a gamechanger for the entire Middle East, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Thursday at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in the Swiss town of Davos. It's still delicate, it's fragile, and it will take a long time, but I think that it is actually an opportunity to move forward in the world and the region towards a better future, Herzog said. It comes days after Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said on a Davos panel that the kingdom agreed regional peace includes peace for Israel. He said Saudi Arabia certainly would recognise Israel as part of a larger political agreement. But that can only happen through peace for the Palestinians, through a Palestinian state, he said. US Secretary Antony Blinken also reiterated in a talk at Davos that a pathway to statehood for Palestinians could help improve Israel's security and its relations with other countrie

US in demand, says Blinken as he mourns 'gutwrenching' scenes in Gaza

President Joe Biden's administration wanted to address could be tackled in isolation, echoing comments on Tuesday by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who called for greater global cooperation

At least $15 billion needed for Gaza housing, says Palestinian official

"We still didn't talk about infrastructure, we didn't talk about the hospitals that were damaged, the grids...," he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos

Over 9,000 terrorists eliminated in Gaza since beginning of war: Israel

The IDF has also eliminated two out of Hamas' five brigade-level commanders, the army announced. In addition, 19 battalion-level commanders and 50 company commanders were killed

United Nations seeks $4.2 bn to help people in Ukraine, refugees this year

The United Nations appealed on Monday for USD 4.2 billion to help people in Ukraine and displaced outside the country this year, saying that people on the front lines have exhausted their meagre resources and many refugees also are vulnerable. About three-quarters of the total, USD 3.1 billion, is meant to support some 8.5 million people inside Ukraine. The remaining USD 1.1 billion is sought for refugees and host communities outside Ukraine. A recent wave of attacks underscores the devastating civilian cost of the war and a bitter winter is increasing the need for humanitarian aid, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UN refugee agency said in a statement from Geneva. In front-line towns and villages, people have exhausted their meagre resources and rely on aid to survive, it said. Ukraine has been subjected to massive Russian barrages recently. More than 500 drones and missiles were fired between December 29 and January 2, according to officials in .

It's right time for Israel to scale back war as conflict hits 100 days: US

The comments exposed the growing differences between the close allies on the 100th day of the war

Israel cabinet passes amended 2024 budget, allocates $15 bn for war in Gaza

Israel last year approved a two-year budget for 2023 and 2024, but the Gaza war has shaken up government finances, requiring budget changes and additional spending

Netanyahu vows to keep fight against Hamas on as war hits 100-day mark

Israeli statements exposed a growing dissonance between the domestic perception of the timing and goals of the war and increasing international impatience in the face of a deepening crisis in Gaza