Page 65 - Gaza

Blinken holds talks with Turkey as he seeks to curb spread of Gaza war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Turkey's leaders Saturday during the first stop of his latest Mideast diplomatic mission as fears grow that Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza may expand into a broader conflict. Blinken's fourth visit in three months comes as developments in Lebanon, northern Israel, the Red Sea and Iraq have put intense strains on what had been a modestly successful US push to prevent a regional conflagration since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, and as international criticism of Israel's military operation mounts. Blinken held talks with Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, in Istanbul about what Turkey and others can do to exert influence, particularly on Iran and its proxies, to ease tensions, speed humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza and begin planning for reconstruction and governance of postwar Gaza. Much of the territory has been reduced to rubble by Israeli bombardments. Hours before Blinken's meeting

Gaza now 'uninhabitable' due to Israel-Hamas war: UN humanitarian chief

The U.N. humanitarian chief described Gaza on Friday as uninhabitable three months into Israel's war with Hamas, warning that famine was looming and a public health disaster unfolding. In a grim assessment of the devastating impact of Israel's military response to the horrific Hamas attacks on October 7, Martin Griffiths said that Gaza's 2.3 million people face daily threats to their very existence while the world just watches. He said tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children, have been killed or injured, families are sleeping in the open as temperatures plummet, and areas where Palestinians were told to relocate have been bombed. People are facing the highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded (and) famine is around the corner, Griffiths said. The few partially functioning hospitals are overwhelmed and critically short of supplies, medical facilities are under relentless attack, infectious diseases are spreading, and amidst the chaos some 180 Palestinian women ar

Families in Gaza desparate for food, water; wait in long lines for aid

Stranded in a corner of southern Gaza, members of the Abu Jarad family are clinging to a strict survival routine. They fled their comfortable three-bedroom home in northern Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war broke out nearly three months ago. The 10-person family now squeezes into a 16-square meter (172-square foot) tent on a garbage-strewn sandy plot, part of a sprawling encampment of displaced Palestinians. Every family member is assigned daily tasks, from collecting twigs to build a fire for cooking, to scouring the city's markets for vegetables. But their best efforts can't mask their desperation. At night dogs are hovering over the tents, said Awatif Abu Jarad, an older member of the family. We are living like dogs! Palestinians seeking refuge in southern Gaza say every day has become a struggle to find food, water, medicine and working bathrooms. All the while, they live in fear of Israeli airstrikes and the growing threat of illnesses. Israel's bombardment and ground invasion

Int'l Court of Justice schedules public hearings on Gaza 'genocide'

The hearings will be held at the ICJ headquarters in The Hague on January 11 and 12, the court announced on social media

Mossad chief vows to hunt down Hamas members day after senior figure killed

The chief of Israel's Mossad intelligence service vowed on Wednesday that the agency would hunt down every Hamas member involved in the October 7 attack on Israel, no matter where they are. His pledge came a day after the deputy head of the Palestinian militant group was killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Beirut. Israel has refused to comment on reports it carried out the killing, but the remarks by David Barnea appeared to be the strongest indication yet it was behind the blast. He made a comparison to the aftermath of the slayings at the Munich Olympics in 1972, when Mossad agents tracked down and killed Palestinian militants involved in killing Israeli athletes. Israel was on high alert on Wednesday for an escalation with Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah militia after the strike in the Lebanese capital killed Saleh Arouri, the most senior Hamas member slain since the war in Gaza erupted nearly three months ago. The strike in Hezbollah's southern Beirut stronghold could cause the

Mossad vows to hunt down Hamas members day after killing senior figure

The chief of Israel's Mossad intelligence service vowed on Wednesday that the agency would hunt down every Hamas member involved in the October 7 attack on Israel, no matter where they are. He made the pledge a day after the deputy head of the Palestinian militant group was killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Beirut. Israel has refused to comment on reports it carried out the killing, but the comments by David Barnea appeared to be the strongest indication yet it was behind the blast. He made a comparison to the aftermath of 1972 Munich Massacre, when Mossad agents tracked down and killed a string of Palestinian militants involved in abducting and killing Israeli athletes at that year's Olympic games. Israel was on high alert Wednesday for an escalation with Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah militia after the strike in the Lebanese capital killed Saleh Arouri, the most senior Hamas member slain since the war in Gaza erupted nearly three months ago. The implications of the killing fo

Denmark's Maersk continues to pause all cargo shipments through the Red Sea

The Houthi group, which controls parts of Yemen after years of war, in November started attacking international ships traversing the Red Sea, saying it was a response to Israel's assault on Gaza

Israeli who fought Hamas for 2 months indicted for impersonating soldier

An Israeli man who never served in the military was charged with impersonating a soldier and stealing weapons after sneaking into an army unit and joining the fighting against Hamas. According to an indictment filed on Sunday, Roi Yifrach, 35, took advantage of the chaotic situation in the aftermath of Hamas' October 7 attack to join combat operations and steal large amounts of military gear, including weapons, munitions and sensitive communications equipment. Israeli media said he spent time fighting in Gaza and even appeared in a photo next to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during one of his visits to soldiers in the field. Yifrach went to southern Israel on October 7 and presented himself alternately as a combat soldier from elite anti-terrorism units, a bomb dispersal expert, and a member of the Shin Bet internal security service, the indictment said. Police arrested Yifrach on December 17 and found large amounts of weapons, grenades, magazines, walkie-talkies, a drone, ...

Israel pulling troops from Gaza in precursor to scaled-back offensive

The Israeli military confirmed on Monday that it was pulling thousands of troops out of the Gaza Strip, a step that could clear the way for a new long-term phase of lower-intensity fighting against the Hamas militant group. The confirmation of the planned troop drawdown came the same day that Israel's Supreme Court struck down a key component of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious judicial overhaul plan. While the plan is not directly connected to the war effort, it was the source of deep divisions inside Israel and had threatened the military's readiness before the October 7 Hamas attack that triggered the ongoing war. Politicians warned against reigniting those divisions and harming the national unity that has prevailed throughout the Israel-Hamas war. Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with the military offensive until Hamas is crushed and the more than 100 hostages still held by the militant group in Gaza are freed. But Israel has come under growing international .

Israel's court overturns key component of Netanyahu's judicial overhaul

Israel's Supreme Court on Monday struck down a key component of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious judicial overhaul, a decision that threatens to reopen the fissures in Israeli society that preceded the country's ongoing war against Hamas. Those divisions were largely been put aside while the country focuses on the war, which was triggered by a bloody cross-border attack by Hamas. Monday's court decision could reignite those tensions, which sparked months of mass protests against the government and had rattled the cohesion of the powerful military. There was no immediate reaction from Netanyahu. In Monday's 8-7 majority decision, the court narrowly voted to overturn a law passed in July that prevents judges from overturning government decisions they deem unreasonable. Opponents had argued that Netanyahu's efforts to remove the standard of reasonability opens the door to corruption and improper appointments of unqualified cronies to important positions. The law was th

Israel shifts troops out of Gaza strip first time since war began

Thousands of Israeli soldiers are being shifted out of the Gaza Strip, the military said on Monday, in the first significant drawdown of troops since the war began as forces continued to bear down on the main city in the southern half of the enclave. The troop movement could signal that fighting is being scaled back in some areas of Gaza, particularly in the northern half where the military has said it is close to assuming operational control. Israel has been under pressure from its chief ally, the United States, to begin to switch to lower-intensity fighting. Word of the drawdown came ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region and after the Biden administration bypassed Congress for the second time this month to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel. But fierce fighting continued in other areas of Gaza, especially the southern city Khan Younis and central areas of the territory. Israel has pledged to charge ahead until its war aims have been achieved,

New Year's Eve celebrations roll across Asia, but wars cast shadow on 2024

Revellers across Asia celebrated the countdown to midnight on New Year's Eve with fireworks and brightly lit signs offering a hopeful start to 2024 for some, even as the globe's ongoing conflicts raised security concerns and let to muted or even cancelled festivities. As the clock struck midnight in Australia, more than 1 million people a number equivalent to one in five of the city's residents watched a 12-minute firework display focused on the Sydney Harbor Bridge from the shore and from boats in the harbour. It's total madness, said German tourist Janna Thomas, who had waited in line since 7.30 am to secure a prime waterfront location in the Sydney Botanic Garden. Organisers worldwide have readied for large-scale celebrations despite the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine. In New York City, where there have been near-daily protests sparked by the Israel-Hamas war, officials and party organizers said they were prepared to ensure the safety of tens of thousands of revelers who wil

Let's remember people in Gaza facing most unjust assault: Priyanka Gandhi

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday urged people to remember "our brothers and sisters" in Gaza and slammed "the so-called leaders of the world" for watching in silence and moving on "unperturbed in their quest for power and greed". In a post on X on new year's eve, the Congress general secretary said that while our children celebrate, the children of the people in Gaza are being "murdered mercilessly". "As we celebrate the beginning of a new year and wish each other that love, peace, laughter and goodness should fill our lives, let us remember our brothers and sisters in Gaza who are facing the most unjust and inhuman assault on their right to life, dignity and freedom," Priyanka Gandhi said. "While our children celebrate, their children are being murdered mercilessly. The so-called leaders of the world watch in silence and move on unperturbed in their quest for power and greed," she said. Yet there are millions of ordinary people who are raising their voices demanding

Blast near Israel embassy: Police register FIR, 6 suspects questioned

Days after a blast near the Israeli embassy here, the Delhi Police has registered an FIR against "unknown" people and quizzed about half a dozen suspects, officials said on Saturday. According to an official, it has been decided to hand over the case to the Special Cell, the anti-terror unit of the Delhi Police, to "dig out the deeper conspiracy". While the suspects were questioned on Saturday, the FIR was registered on Friday night under Section 3 (punishment for causing an explosion) of the Explosive Substances Act and Section 427 (mischief causing damage) of the Indian Penal Code at the Tughlak Road Police Station based on a complaint lodged by a police officer, an official said. The blast occurred on Tuesday evening in the area between the boundary walls of a house on plot number 4 -- Nanda's House -- and the Central Hindi Training Institute on plot number 2A on Prithviraj Road. The area has bushes, plants and trees and no CCTV camera. It is behind the Israeli embassy on Dr APJ

Gaza war will go on for 'many more months', says Netanyahu as he thanks US

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza will continue for "many more months", pushing back against persistent international ceasefire calls after mounting civilian deaths, hunger and mass displacement in the besieged enclave. Netanyahu thanked the Biden administration for its continued backing, including approval for a new emergency weapons sale, the second this month, and prevention of a UN Security Council resolution seeking an immediate cease-fire. Israel argues that ending the war now would mean victory for Hamas, a stance shared by the Biden administration, which at the same time urged Israel to do more to avoid harm to Palestinian civilians. In new fighting, Israeli warplanes struck the urban refugee camps of Nuseirat and Bureij in the center of the territory Saturday as ground forces pushed deeper into the southern city of Khan Younis. The Health Ministry in Gaza said Saturday that more than 21,600 Palestinians have been killed in ..

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Carefully evaluating all aspects of unfolding situation in Red Sea: MEA

India values the free movement of commercial shipping and is closely evaluating all aspects of the unfolding situation in the Red Sea, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, however, also added that New Delhi is not part of any multilateral initiative or operation in or around the Red Sea.Notably, tensions have brewed in the Red Sea after Houthi rebels stepped up attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea as a mark of 'protest' against Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip.Addressing the weekly briefing, Bagchi said, "As we said earlier, we value the free movement of commercial shipping, which is one of the fundamental principles underpinning global commerce. We are carefully evaluating all aspects of the unfolding situation in that region. Our defence forces are taking necessary measures in this regard"."But I'm not aware that India is part of any multilateral initiative or operation presently in or around the Red Sea," he ...

US allies reluctant on Red Sea task force to counter Houthi rebel attacks

Two of America's European allies who were listed as contributors to Operation Prosperity Guardian - Italy and Spain - issued statements appearing to distance themselves from the maritime force

IDF uncovers Hamas' tunnels inside, around multiple hospitals within Gaza

The tunnel shafts, that the Hamas fighters used are dozens of metres deep and are linked by an underground network that runs beneath the hospital and into Gaza City

Can do in Beirut what we did in Gaza: Israeli minister warns Hezbollah

"Hezbollah looks at what is happening in Gaza and it understands very well - what we did in Gaza can also be done in Beirut," declared Israel's Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant