Page 63 - Gaza

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

No one can halt Israel's war to crush Hamas, including world court: PM

Israel will pursue its war against Hamas until victory and will not be stopped by anyone, including the world court, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a defiant speech on Saturday, as the fighting in Gaza approached the 100-day mark. Netanyahu spoke after the International Court of Justice at The Hague held two days of hearings on South Africa's allegations that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, a charge Israel has rejected as libelous and hypocritical. South Africa asked the court to order Israel to halt its blistering air and ground offensive in an interim step. "No one will stop us, not The Hague, not the axis of evil and not anyone else," Netanyahu said in televised remarks on Saturday evening, referring to Iran and its allied militias. The case before the world court is expected to go on for years but a ruling on interim steps could come within weeks. Court rulings are binding but difficult to enforce. Netanyahu made clear that Israel would ignore orde

30 Palestinians killed in strikes while fears grow the conflict could widen

More than 30 Palestinians, including young children, were killed in Israeli bombardments overnight into Saturday in the Gaza Strip, officials said, while a new US strike against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen heightened fears that the Israel-Hamas war could escalate into a regional conflict. Fears of a wider conflagration have been palpable since the start of the war, triggered by the deadly October 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas and other Gaza militants. New fronts quickly opened, with Iran-backed groups Houthi rebels in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria carrying out a range of attacks. From the start, the US increased its military presence in the region to deter an escalation. Following a Houthi campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, the US and Britain launched multiple airstrikes against the rebels on Friday, and the US hit another site on Saturday. In another fallout from the war, the International Cou

US struggling to sway Israel on its treatment of Palestinians. Here's why

President Joe Biden's administration keeps pressing Israel to reengage with Palestinians as partners once fighting in Gaza is over and support their eventual independence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps saying no. Even on actions to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians, the two allies are far apart. That cycle, frustrating to much of the world, seems unlikely to end, despite U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's fourth urgent diplomatic trip this week to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war started. Though the United States, as Israel's closest ally and largest weapons supplier, has stronger means to apply pressure on Israel, it shows no willingness to use them. For both Netanyahu and Biden, popular opinion at home and deep personal conviction in the rightness of Israel's cause, and each man's battle for his own short-term political survival, are all combining to make it appear unlikely that Netanyahu will yield much on the U.S. demands regarding the ..

Oil jumps 4% as tankers avoid Red Sea after US-UK joint strikes on Houthis

Brent crude futures were up $3.16, or 4.1%, at $80.57 a barrel at 1124 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed $3.05, or 4.2%, to $75.07

What is Genocide Convention, basis of South Africa's case against Israel

South Africa has contended that Israel violated the Genocide Convention as "it failed to prevent genocide and failed to prosecute direct and overt incitement to genocide" in its ongoing Gaza offensive

Israel to defend itself at UN's top court against genocide allegations

Accused of committing genocide against Palestinians, Israel planned to defend its war in Gaza in front of the United Nations' highest court Friday, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the allegations as hypocrisy that screams to the heavens. Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has vehemently denied the accusations brought by South Africa in one of the biggest cases ever to come before an international court. South African lawyers asked the court Thursday to order an immediate halt to Israeli military operations in the besieged coastal territory that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians. Israel often boycotts international tribunals and U.N. investigations, saying they are unfair and biased. But, in a sign of how seriously they regard the case, Israeli leaders have taken the rare step of sending a legal team and engaging with the International Court of Justice to defend their reputation. South African lawyers argued that the war is part of ..

ICJ opens hearing on Israel's 'genocide' in Gaza as toll mounts to 23,200

Gaza war: South Africa has initially asked the ICJ to order an immediate suspension of Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip

Blinken sees path to Gaza peace, reconstruction after his West Asia tour

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his latest urgent Mideast tour on Thursday in talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi as American officials claimed modest success in getting wide regional support for planning for reconstruction and governance in Gaza after Israel's war with Hamas ends. Blinken secured buy-in from previously reluctant Arab and Muslim nations to begin such planning in discussions with the leaders of Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain over the weeklong mission, his fourth to the Middle East since the war began in October. Each country along with Greece, which Blinken also visited pledged to participate in the general planning, although precise contributions have yet to be determined. On our previous trips here, I think there was a reluctance to talk about some of the day-after issues in terms of long-term stability and security on a regional basis, Blinken told reporters at Cairo's airport after his .

Found traces of hostages in an underground tunnel in Gaza: Israeli military

The Israeli military said Wednesday it has found evidence that hostages were present in an underground tunnel in the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, which has become the focus of Israel's ground offensive. The military showed the tunnel to journalists who were escorted into a neighborhood near the ruins of destroyed homes and streets. A corrugated tin hut covered the tunnel's entrance in a residential yard. A makeshift ladder led to the narrow underground pathway, about 2.5 meters (8 feet) below. The tunnel was hot and humid, with walls lined with concrete and electrical wires. Farther inside was a bathroom, where the military said it found evidence that hostages had been there, including their DNA. Hostages were held here in this tunnel system, said Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the army's chief spokesman. Hagari offered no details on what exactly was found in the tunnel, nor did he say when the hostages were there or identify them. He did not say if they were known to be dead or ...

Blinken rallies Mideast leaders to prepare for Gaza's post-war future

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that four key Arab nations and Turkey have agreed to begin planning for the reconstruction and governance of Gaza once Israel's war against Hamas ends. Blinken, who is on an urgent Mideast mission aimed primarily at preventing the conflict from spreading as fears rise of a regional war, said Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey would consider participating in and contributing to day after scenarios for the Palestinian territory, which has been devastated by three months of deadly Israeli bombardment. Those countries had previously resisted U.S. calls for post-war planning to begin, insisting that there must first be a cease-fire and a sharp reduction in the civilian suffering caused by Israel's military response to Hamas' deadly October 7 attacks. On what is his fourth trip to the Mideast since the war began in October, Blinken said those countries were now open to such planning and that each would consid